NFTs
OpenSea boss says NFT platform is “open-minded” to acquisitions – including its own – DL News
- CEO Devin Finzer said OpenSea has received acquisition interest, but did not specify when and by whom.
- The NFT player is struggling to find its footing after a difficult few years.
- He said Blur had ‘cut corners’ on its way to market dominance.
Plagued by the collapse of NFTs last year, OpenSea has had difficulty justifying its single Valuation of US$13.3 billion.
Now, the non-fungible token market is at the center of another conversation: acquisitions.
Devin Finzer, CEO and co-founder of OpenSea, said DL News this week the company is keeping an open mind for business.
When asked if OpenSea was preparing to be acquired by another entity, he said, “the honest answer is that we take a very open-minded approach.”
“We think that if the right partnership comes along, then that’s something we should certainly consider,” adding, “we like to keep our options open.”
As for any prior acquisition interest or whether anyone was interested in buying OpenSea today, he said DL News that OpenSea “certainly had an interest,” but that was confidential.
When asked whether this interest arose last year or in 2022, Finzer said “the timeline was also confidential.”
In a follow-up email after the interview, Finzer said, “We have no plans to be acquired, nor are we looking for a suitor. If something came up, we would keep an open mind, but this is pure conjecture.”
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OpenSea vs Blur
At its peak, OpenSea represented around 90% of the NFT sector’s market share. Now it’s monthly volume of business decreased to $171 million, a 96% drop from January 2022, according to data from Dune Analytics.
And rival Blur, an NFT platform that went live in late 2021, used airdrops of its token to overtake OpenSea to become the top marketplace.
Although OpenSea still has more users than Blur, the latter’s daily trading volume of $18 million is about five times greater, according to Dune.
Finzer said he is unfazed by Blur’s performance and is focused on building a brand “that keeps users safe by removing any fraudulent or problematic collections.”
“We’ve just noticed that Blur has cut a lot of different corners when it comes to their legal and regulatory approach,” he said. DL News.
Blur did not respond to a request for comment.
Monkeys and penguins
Venture capitalists who backed OpenSea during the NFT craze in 2021 could once again welcome a deal from the rising crypto.
Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Coatue Management and tech-loving actor Ashton Kutcher have joined in fundraising rounds for OpenSea, which has become a marketplace for zeitgeisty NFT collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pudgy Penguins.
In November, Coatue reduced the valuation of its stake by 90% to US$13 million, The information reported.
Finzer has remained silent on rumors that the company is interested in an initial public offering.
Looking for talent
Traders have routinely gone bargain hunting when bear markets turn to bull runs. And with crypto in the midst of such a transition, there could be some consolidation in the NFT market.
OpenSea did its share of business. In 2022, OpenSea acquired Gem, an NFT aggregator tool. It also purchased Dharma, one of the first crypto wallets, and Mintdrop, which allows creators to quickly bring their collections to market.
Finzer said one of the main things he looks for in an acquisition is talent.
“Some of the most passionate individuals are those who start their own project, those kind of people with an entrepreneurial mindset,” Finzer said. “Maybe they haven’t gotten the level of traction they wanted in their own startup and are looking for a home elsewhere.”
Gucci Gaga for collectibles
From the beginning, NFTs have made sense for a range of content-based companies, including entertainment giants, professional sports leagues, museums and fashion houses.
Finzer spent the first few weeks of 2024 rushing between meetings with luxury brand executives to develop custom NFT projects and attending several Fashion Week events this week in Paris.
It’s not a new trend — Gucci and Louis Vuitton entered the crypto space in 2021. But Finzer said this year is different.
“I think now people are starting to understand this more deeply,” he said. “I was really impressed when I had these conversations and the level of sophistication of the people running these projects and initiatives.”
Layoffs
He sees more promising trends rising. Users are redeeming NFTs for physical goods, and brands are entering the metaverse – a loosely defined term that refers to always-online digital environments – and “having pure digital experiences.”
The change is very welcome after a difficult period. Last fall, OpenSea laid off half its staff, Finzer confirmed to DL News.
“The restructuring we did was really geared toward adjusting the team composition to be a much leaner, smaller team that could operate more nimbly in the market rather than downsizing due to financial pressure,” Finzer said.
This article was updated on January 29 to include additional context.
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin correspondent. Contact him at liam@dlnews.com.