NFT Paris Cancels February Conference Amid Market Downturn

Previously published promotional material indicated the conference anticipated about 20,000 attendees, with hundreds of presenters and side events scheduled. Related parallel summits, including RWA Paris, Ordinals Paris for Bitcoin-based digital collectibles, and XYZ Paris dedicated to AI and DePIN, were also planned alongside the main conference.

Organizers have committed to refunding all tickets within 15 days. General admission tickets cost approximately $231.33, while VIP Access tickets were priced at about $1,161.30. The statement said organizers would do everything possible to close the chapter properly.

Some sponsors reported they would not receive refunds. Serc, the artist behind the Silhouettes generative art collection, claimed to have received an email stating NFT Paris is unable to offer refunds due to budget constraints. The email allegedly cited Article 12 of the agreement, noting that non-refundable costs incurred for the event exceed total sponsorship contributions received.

NFT market capitalization dropped from about $9 billion in January 2025 to just over $2.7 billion in 2026, representing a 68% year-over-year decline. Sales fell to about $320 million in November 2025 and reportedly slid lower in December.

Trading volumes across NFT marketplaces have dropped roughly 95% from 2021 highs. Collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks have seen valuations decline sharply despite a rebound in fungible token prices.

OpenSea announced in October a transformation from an NFT marketplace to a platform that allows users to trade tokens, collectibles, culture, and digital and physical items. CEO Devin Finzer described the shift as moving to "trade everything."

X2Y2 announced in March that it would shut down and pivot to AI. Rarible unveiled a new model in September to redistribute tokens to active NFT traders, stating that previous designs were not sustainable.

Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/nft-paris-cancels-february-conference-amid-market-downturn