LG’s NFT marketplace for TVs is shutting down

LG is shutting down Art Lab, its NFT marketplace for TVs. In a notice posted to its website, LG says it has made the “difficult decision” to close the platform on June 17th.

LG launched its Art Lab app during the NFT craze in 2022, billing it as a way to “buy, sell and enjoy high-quality digital artwork” from your TV. It added new digital art to the platform through “groundbreaking” NFT drops, which users could purchase by scanning a QR code to complete transactions through Wallypto, LG’s crypto wallet app.

At launch, LG Art Lab operated on the Hedera network, which used a blockchain alternative called hashgraph, but it expanded to Ethereum last year. Prices of the NFTs varied widely, with a “Bloom” animation from Bryan Brinkman costing the equivalent of $59.82, and a single-edition piece from Amadon selling for over $3,800. That’s more than LG’s newest 77-inch OLED 4K TV.

But as of March 10th, users can no longer make purchases on the platform. The company says the LG Art Lab team will automatically transfer their NFTs to their own wallets by April 30th. “As the NFT space continues to evolve, we believe it is the right time to shift our focus and explore new opportunities,” LG says. The platform will shut down completely in June.

Art Lab appeared shortly after Samsung launched a similar NFT TV marketplace, which it still seems to offer — at least for now.