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Social token platform ‘Rally’ announced on January 31 the shutdown of its sidechain blockchain network, meaning that users would not be able to access non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its sidechain. Rally communicated the shocking message to its users via email that said the Rally sidechain would start winding down on Tuesday, January 31, the same day the firm sent the email. Rally Close Down Sidechain Amid Difficult Market Conditions Explaining the reason behind the unusual move, Rally cities 2022 has been a difficult year. It said the year was not only challenging for the platform but also for the entire cryptocurrency sector. Related Reading: Cardano Leads Development With Unique Sidechains And Toolkits Rally said although its team made attempts to create a new path for the business continuation, the firm has been unable to overcome the ongoing challenges and negative macroeconomic factors that began last year. Rally CEO Rob Collier explained that they would start winding down the platform immediately because of a lack of support at work. The CEO admitted that funding was the major obstacle for the company. He said the firm developed its sidechain in 2018, but the mainnet has been extremely expensive to maintain compared to all of the new layer-1 blockchain tech stacks that the firm recently launched. Rally said the sidechain is no longer supported, and therefore, users may experience a decline in NFT services or may soon become inaccessible. Rally network is an Ethereum-based platform that enables creators to launch their social tokens. It allows musicians, team sports, and personalities to engage with and monetize their independent communities through direct engagements on the platform. Rally has become the latest victim of the ongoing crypto winter, which has so far led several crypto firms to announce bankruptcy protection and impose massive layoffs. The new year started with several challenges brought forward by the previous one. The crypto winter is still causing troubles and has shown no signs of slowing down. Over the past months, there have been cases of job cuts, companies announcing losses, and regulators heightening their oversights. Several adverse crypto events have defined the beginning of 2023, with crypto lending firm Genesis laying off 30% of its workforce, crypto exchange Huobi cutting 20% of its workers, and crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital Corp. letting 40% of its staff go. Rally price action Following the announcement, the value of the native token RLY went down by about 10% to $0.01353. At the time of writing, Rally trades at $0.012498. Related Reading: Blockstream CEO Adam Back: How Bitcoin Sidechains Could Destroy Altcoins The token is down 17.09% in the last 24 hours, with a trading volume of $9,342,835. Its market cap sits at $58,222,590, and the token is currently ranked number 354 amongst all cryptocurrencies, according to Coinmarketcap. RLY is currently down 28.62% from its 7-day record high of $0.01812. Perhaps, this has been triggered by the current slight bearish sentiment in the market. Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView