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Fantasy Top to Cease Operations Due to Unsustainable NFT Trading Model
Fantasy Top, a notable NFT-powered fantasy gaming platform, has announced it will shut down by the end of June. This decision comes after the company concluded that its NFT trading card economy was not viable for long-term sustainability.
Over two years of operation, Fantasy Top distributed more than US$20 million (approximately AU$28 million) to its players. Co-founder Kipit revealed that speculative behaviours associated with cryptocurrency undermined the trading card game framework, hindering sustainable growth.
An Overview of Fantasy Top
Launched in 2024, Fantasy Top allowed users to collect and trade digital cards linked to crypto influencers, with player rankings based on engagement metrics from the social media platform X, rather than traditional sporting performance. Initially built on the Blast platform, the game transitioned to Coinbase’s Base network in July 2025.
Throughout its operation, Fantasy Top provided players with significant financial benefits and allocated US$3.2 million (about AU$4.48 million) to influencers featured in the game. As part of the closure, the company assured investors that they would receive full refunds of their original contributions.
Challenges in the Crypto Trading Card Game Market
The company attributed its struggles to a fundamental misalignment between the economic principles of cryptocurrency and the foundational model of traditional trading card games. Kipit expressed this sentiment on X, stating that Fantasy Top attempted to overlay a crypto framework on a model not designed for such complexities. This led to speculative trading becoming the focus for users, often at the expense of the gameplay quality.
Kipit noted, “Once an economy is financialised from day one, every decision becomes harder… You stop building a game and start managing an economy. That’s the trap, and we walked straight into it.”
The platform faced additional hurdles as trading fees and NFT card transactions proved inadequate to sustain operations over the long haul. Despite numerous efforts to innovate with fresh products and social-finance functionalities, none managed to establish a durable connection with the user base.
Conclusion and Final Events
Fantasy Top is set to conclude its final fantasy competitions on 18 June, after which remaining rewards and payments will be distributed promptly before the service’s permanent cessation. Other game modes, including prediction markets, have already been discontinued.
This situation underscores the challenges faced by businesses operating at the intersection of gaming and cryptocurrency, particularly the difficulties of merging traditional game concepts with the volatile nature of crypto economies. As the industry evolves, it will be interesting to see how other platforms navigate similar problems and adapt their business models for better sustainability.
