NFT marketplace OpenSea is taking an ‘open-minded approach’ when it comes to the prospect of being acquired, said CEO and co-founder Devin Finzer in an interview with DL News published over the weekend.
When asked if there had been some interest by other companies in acquiring OpenSea in the past, the CEO responded in the affirmative but wouldn’t divulge any details, saying they were “confidential.”
An OpenSea company spokesperson clarified the report, telling Rarity Sniper, “OpenSea is not actively looking for a suitor and has no plans to be acquired. Reports indicating otherwise are inaccurate. While we approach all aspects of our business with an ‘open mind,’ that does not indicate any active or pending plans on behalf of the organization.”
OpenSea has had a rough time during the bear market, seeing its daily trading volumes shrink below $10 million dollars and its daily active users often ranging below 10,000 per day, according to Dune Analytics.
It was once the leading marketplace in the NFT space, accounting for 90% of trading volume and having a $13.3 billion valuation. It received investments from a variety of top firms, including Andreesen Horowitz, Paradigm, and Coatue Management.
But slowly other marketplaces have eaten into OpenSea’s dominance. This includes Blur, a market that caters to pro NFT traders, and OKX NFT, which once passed OpenSea in trading volume.
In November, Coatue Management slashed the valuation of its stake by 90% to $13 million. Around that time, OpenSea restructured its operations, laying off 50% of workers, to become leaner and move with “speed, quality, and conviction.”
OpenSea Innovates During Bear Market
While OpenSea has had a tough time battling competitors this bear market, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t innovated or implemented new features. In fact, compared to the bull market of 2021-2022, it appears to have never been more proactive. Here are three stories suggesting as such.
First, three weeks ago, OpenSea launched a new feature that will allow users to create a self-custodial wallet solely from an email address. The marketplace built the innovation to “improve the onboarding experience” and onboard more people into Web3.
Next, four months ago, OpenSea did away with its lazy minting feature and put another in its place: Creator Studio. The new platform came with a number of perks for creators, including new image, video, roadmap, and Frequently Asked Questions sections.
Lastly, six months ago, OpenSea introduced ‘Deals,’ a safe and secure way for NFT enthusiasts to trade NFTs. The platform included features such as sweetening the pot with WETH and emphasized security, which is a well-known problem in the NFT trading space.
As these stories show, OpenSea has made progress this bear market, even if the numbers don’t completely indicate that. Will OpenSea be acquired? Time will tell, but there’s no doubt this bear market has put a hurting on even top companies in the space.