Previously the strongest player in the NFT market OpenSeais working on a comprehensive market upgrade called 2.0. This upgrade is set to address key issues in the NFT ecosystem and improve the user experience, signaling a shift from the platform’s previous focus on collectible images.
As reported by CryptoSlam, the NFT market is set for a turbulent year in 2023, with global sales falling by 63% to $8.7 billion, despite transaction volume rising to $918 million between October and November. This decline is in stark contrast to the booming NFT sales that have characterized the crypto bull market in 2021, where multi-million dollar transactions are not uncommon.
OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer acknowledges the challenges but thinks a broader perspective should be taken when assessing the success of the NFT industry. “One of the things we’re most excited about is not so much how you get the most volume, but how you create the most compelling use cases for NFTs,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg.
The company, which had a peak valuation of $13 billion after a $300 million financing round in January 2022, could not maintain this performance during the harsh crypto winter. Problems with royalties paid for NFT creators, in addition to the company’s product manager being charged and arrested for alleged insider trading, have made things even worse for the company.
penSea responded by reducing headcount by 50% in November, resulting in increased trading volume to new participants such as Blur, OKX NFT Marketplace and Magic Eden.
Notable features of OpenSea 2.0 include the integration of on-calendar ticketing of NFTs to enable users to seamlessly follow events. Additionally, the platform will focus on tracking the popularity of Solana NFTs and will introduce a feature called “Ordinals.” Despite these innovations, Finzer remains optimistic that Ethereum and Layer 2 solutions will become the blockchains of choice for NFTs.