Last week, NFT marketplace OpenSea abruptly halted trading of the EtherFan collection, which was backed by staked ETH. However, this incident triggered a response from EtherFi, a liquid staking protocol, which released an open letter condemning the platform. The two companies had a close collaboration prior to the launch of the EtherFan collection, working on secondary market sales and promotional strategies. However, OpenSea's withdrawal of the EtherFan collection from the market without any explanation surprised the EtherFi team and prompted them to react.

Collaboration and Expectations:

According to EtherFi CEO Mike Silagadze, the EtherFan team seemed quite positive and supportive during the collaboration process. They had established a marketing strategy focused on secondary market sales and mutual promotion. However, after the EtherFan collection was launched on OpenSea, the team realized that the collections had inexplicably disappeared, and they received no explanation. Additionally, when the EtherFi team attempted to list their own NFTs, they encountered error codes.

EtherFi's Response and Open Letter:

With the EtherFan collection listed on Rarible, Blur, EtherFi's biggest competitor, was not an option as it did not support the ERC1155 token standard used by EtherFan NFTs. In this situation, EtherFi published an open letter condemning OpenSea's actions. The letter states that OpenSea is acting like an unlicensed casino and that listing a useful collection is prohibited. However, the letter also acknowledges that OpenSea may not have had intentional malicious intent and might not have control over the situation.

OpenSea's Response:

OpenSea avoided providing a direct response regarding the EtherFan collection. However, a spokesperson stated that they remove collections or content that violate their Terms of Service and in some cases, ban accounts.

EtherFi's Assessment:

EtherFi CEO Silagadze expressed frustration with the decision to halt NFT trading, emphasizing that staked ETH does not have inherent security value. He also highlighted that OpenSea's stance is an aggressive one and pointed out that other regulatory agencies have explicitly stated that ETH staking is not considered security. #opensea #nfts #NFTCommmunity

In Summary:

The halt in trading of the EtherFan collection sparked a debate between EtherFi and OpenSea. EtherFi condemned OpenSea's actions and argued that stopping the trade of NFTs was unnecessary. This incident brings attention to the complex issues and regulations in the NFT market, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and communication among industry players. #EtherFi #etherfan