OpenSea’s journey has been a wild ride, filled with remarkable triumphs, unforeseen obstacles, and an unwavering commitment to navigating the unexplored territories of the NFT space. Devin Finzer, the CEO of OpenSea, a once $13 billion NFT marketplace, is now optimistic about NFTs as the platform explores new potential use cases.
OpenSea is planning a comeback following the recovery of the market. The rise in token values and the highly anticipated introduction of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have signaled the end of the crypto winter. However, despite being one of the hottest sectors in the past, a crucial segment of the digital asset universe has lagged behind.
According to CryptoSlam, a data tracker, global blockchain-based sales of NFTs, which represent unique ownership of assets like photos or physical objects, declined by 63% to $8.7 billion last year. This is despite the volume more than tripling to $918 million between October and November. In contrast, Bitcoin, a bellwether for the industry, saw a 160% increase in 2023.
This represents a significant shift from 2021 when multi-million dollar NFT sales played a defining role in the crypto bull market. These tokens, popularized by collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, were marketed as a fun and accessible way for the general public to enter the world of cryptocurrency. They also became a status symbol for those willing to spend a fortune on a cartoon ape to use as their Twitter profile picture.
Devin Finzer, the CEO of OpenSea, believes that it is important for the company to go beyond viewing NFTs solely as valuable images. He argues that when measuring success in the NFT market and evaluating his own company, sales figures are not the only factor to consider.
In August, the former head of product at OpenSea was found guilty of insider trading, and the company faced significant backlash for removing mandatory royalties for NFT developers using its platform. As a result, the startup had to let go of half of its workforce in November. Additionally, newer players in the market such as Blur, OKX NFT Marketplace, and Magic Eden have seen significantly higher trading volume than OpenSea in the past month, according to crypto data tracker DappRadar.
Will OpenSea be able to succeed in its recovery plan? Finzer revealed in an interview with Bloomberg that the company is working on OpenSea 2.0, an upgraded platform that will provide users with an enhanced experience and better differentiation between NFT categories as more use cases emerge.
He mentioned that currently, NFTs are displayed uniformly on OpenSea and other platforms, regardless of whether they represent event tickets or gaming tokens. In contrast, NFT marketplaces like Blur and Tensor offer users a more sophisticated trading experience, allowing them to take advantage of rapid price fluctuations.
OpenSea’s upgrade, according to Finzer, will enable users to access the platform’s pro trading features and switch between a “collector view” and a more advanced view. He also mentioned that the company has improved its detection capabilities for fraudulent NFT collections and harmful URLs, addressing the persistent issue of scams in the industry where users connect their wallets to malicious websites and have their cryptocurrencies and NFTs stolen.
Finzer declined to comment on OpenSea’s future plans regarding the reinstatement of a mandatory royalty program or the decision to remove required royalties for NFT creators.
In terms of other developments, Finzer has been keeping an eye on the increasing adoption of Ordinals, which resemble NFTs but are stored on the Bitcoin blockchain, and the growing prominence of the Solana blockchain for NFTs. He remains optimistic about Ethereum’s potential to be the preferred blockchain for NFTs, noting that its layer-2 chains have contributed to faster transactions and reduced costs. However, he does not foresee Bitcoin becoming a significant option for NFTs, despite the price increase driven by the ETF frenzy.
