Following Hyundai, South Korea's Lotte Closes NFT Project

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Several South Korean retailers including Lotte and Hyundai are closing their non-fungible token (NFT) operations one after another. This condition is a big blow to the NFT sector.

Lotte launched its NFT Shop platform more than two years ago, in May 2022. The company announced on June 12 that it would end its NFT shop service on July 2. Customers can access the trading platform via the Lotte Home Shopping mobile application.

Initially, Lotte envisioned the platform as part of a medium and long-term strategy to build a metaverse platform.

But unlike most NFT trading platforms, NFT Shop uses fiat KRW as the transaction currency, in an effort to promote accessibility and convenience among non-crypto holders.

Launching Crypto News, Saturday (15/6/2024), the company attempted to increase the store's popularity by releasing its own series of NFTs, featuring its corporate character Bellygom. Lotte Home Shopping is collaborating with Lotte Group's crypto startup Daehong Communications for the project.

The company released NFTs on the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain network. Lotte Home Shopping then expanded its NFT partnership with Daehong.

Lotte Home Shopping also developed an NFT tie-up with “virtual influencer” Lucy, as well as the hit 2022 horror film “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One”.

The company has also unveiled plans to enable secondary NFT sales on Opensea, the world's largest NFT trading platform.