Major Web3 Events Canceled Following Market Downturn
NFT Paris and RWA Paris 2026 have been officially canceled by their organizers, marking the end of a four-year run for these prominent Web3 conferences. The decision comes in the wake of what organizers describe as the “pressures of the crypto market crash” that occurred in late 2025. What’s interesting, I think, is that these events managed to survive through the 2022-2023 bear market but couldn’t withstand the latest downturn.
The team behind the events made a public announcement explaining their situation. “The market collapse hit us hard,” they stated. “Despite drastic cost cuts and months of trying to make it work, we couldn’t pull it off this year.” That’s a pretty straightforward admission of the financial realities they faced.
Refund Situation and Market Context
Ticket holders will receive refunds, but there’s some uncertainty around sponsors. The organizers mentioned they may not be able to refund all sponsors since the event was progressing until they simply ran out of funds. That’s never a good position to be in, and it speaks to how sudden the financial pressures must have been.
This cancellation brings more attention to the broader NFT market situation. In 2025, as crypto sentiment shifted, older narratives like NFTs were affected pretty deeply. NFTs remain near all-time lows in terms of activity and interest, which perhaps explains why an event dedicated to them would struggle.
The Current State of NFT Markets
Looking at the numbers, NFT creation actually continued in 2025, boosting the total number of collections. But trading activity slowed down significantly. Ethereum still carries about $2.74 million in NFT activity, remaining the most active network for legacy collections. Other chains like Solana, Polygon, Cardano, and Immutable have varying levels of activity.
There’s an interesting pattern though. Cardano and Bitcoin collectibles have gone through more active periods depending on specific project popularity. In fact, Bitcoin briefly held the leading position as the most active chain for collectibles in the past 30 days. But NFTs on most L2 or new L1 chains are even less active, with practically negligible volumes.
OpenSea continues to carry traffic for NFTs on Base, which relies on low transaction fees and low-cost activity. It’s a different kind of market than what we saw during the peak.
Top Collections and Market Dynamics
CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, and Pudgy Penguins are still the top three NFT collections, but their values have changed. For CryptoPunks, the price floor has fallen close to its all-time lows from 2024, sitting around 29 ETH. Ape NFTs are down to an all-time low floor of 5.52 ETH, while Penguins had a recovery to 5.15 ETH.
NFTs as an idea still exist and are issued alongside tokens, as additions to games, or as community swag. But at the same time, NFTs no longer store value in the way they once did and are rarely resold in high-profile auctions.
In the short term, NFTs still have occasional price floor rallies or achieve high-value sales. Some NFTs are also part of treasuries and change hands at relatively high valuations. NFT building continues, but the market is extremely illiquid.
Looking Forward
The cancellation of conferences is seen as a lagging indicator, as the NFT market bottom was already established. At the same time, building on-chain transactions and activity are expanding for new collections. Despite some collections crashing to zero, NFTs may make a comeback in another form.
It’s a strange time for the space. You have these major events canceling after years of operation, yet development continues. The market feels like it’s in a transitional phase, waiting for whatever comes next. Perhaps the cancellation of NFT Paris and RWA Paris 2026 is just another sign of this broader shift in how Web3 communities organize and gather.
