Back in 2021, the popularity of NFTs reached its peak with the sale of digital artworks, generating millions in the process (NOS Nieuws, 2023). As a result, many companies wanted to become part of this NFT business, including HYPE, the company behind K-pop superstar BTS (and multiple others).
Following this trend, at the end of 2021, HYBE announced its plans to launch an NFT business by setting up a joint venture with Dunamu, the company behind one of South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange platforms, Upbit (Lee, 2021). With the goal of creating NFTs photocards of their K-pop idols.
However, after its announcement, there was a major backlash from fans, with their hashtags hitting the top-trending list of Twitter in December 2021. Most of their criticism centred around the negative environmental impact of the NFTs, something that went directly against BTS’s climate activism standpoints. (Sohn, 2022)
Despite the backlash, HYBE and Dunamu still pursued their NFT business, eventually releasing it with its own platform, Momentica, in October 2022 (Jung, 2022; M. H. Lee, 2022). Even so, it did not go unnoticed that BTS was not part of this NFT business. And while the reason for this was never officially acknowledged, fans speculated that BTS’s leader, RM, requested his group not to take part in the project (Cherrie, 2023).
The reports on the performance of the Momentica platform varied, with Cherrie (2023) stating that it had low performance, generating around $6,500, while Im (2023) reported the platform’s success, mentioning its No. 1 spot in the entertainment section of the Japanese App Store. During this time, Dunamu was said to be a leader in the Web 3.0 market with its blockchain tech (Im, 2023).
After just 3 years, the platform silently closed down on July 2, 2025, with nearly no news articles mentioning its closure or the reasoning behind it. The one that did, noted that the joint venture, called Levvels Inc., suffered from an operating loss of approximately $9.5 million in 2024, with a net loss of $9 million. The other cited factors were the platform’s centralised control over user transactions and limited rescale options (L, 2025). However, this one article does not come from a trustworthy source, so the real reasons remain unknown.
References
Cherrie, S. S. (2023, 23 januari). ARMYs speculate that BTS’s RM might have influenced HYBE’s NFT project policies – Koreaboo. Koreaboo. https://www.koreaboo.com/news/armys-speculate-bts-rm-might-influenced-hybe-nft-project-policies/
Im, E. B. (2023, 29 juni). Dunamu leads Web 3.0 market with blockchain tech – The Korea Herald. The Korea Herald. https://www.koreaherald.com/article/3158303
Jung, M. K. (2022, 22 september). Upbit operator picks NFT venture with BTS’ Hybe as most anticipated project – The Korea Herald. The Korea Herald. https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2961908
L, P. (2025, 3 juni). Dunamu and HYBE’s NFT platform ‘Momentica’ to cease operations amid ongoing losses. HK Businesswire. https://hkbusinesswire.com/momentica-nft-platform-shutdown-2025/
Lee, M. H. (2022, 5 oktober). Dunamu, HYBE set to launch NFT platform via joint venture. The Korea Times. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/economy/cryptocurrency/20221004/dunamu-hybe-set-to-launch-nft-platform-via-joint-venture
Lee, Z. (2021, 5 november). BTS agency Hybe partners with crypto exchange operator to sell NFT photo cards. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zinnialee/2021/11/05/bts-agency-hybe-partners-with-crypto-exchange-operator-to-sell-nft-photo-cards/
NOS Nieuws. (2023, 25 september). Twee jaar na de hype rond NFT’s is het merendeel waardeloos. NOS. https://nos.nl/artikel/2491825-twee-jaar-na-de-hype-rond-nft-s-is-het-merendeel-waardeloos
Sohn, J. (2022, 24 maart). BTS’ NFT venture hits sour note with fans. KED Global. https://www.kedglobal.com/newsView/ked202201030010
