Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has sparked speculation of an impending token launch and user airdrop following its registration in the Cayman Islands.
The news was shared on Dec. 14 by Waleswoosh, a pseudonymous researcher from the Azuki NFT collection, who posted a screenshot of OpenSea’s Cayman Islands registration. NFT community members have since speculated that the digital collectible platform plans to launch a cryptocurrency and conduct a token airdrop.
Source: Waleswoosh
On Nov. 4, OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer announced that the NFT marketplace is planning a comeback. Although Finzer shared few details, he promised the revamped platform would be launched in December.
At the time, some users speculated that an airdrop could be included. However, others, such as DappRadar’s communications manager “nederob,” considered an airdrop unlikely due to OpenSea’s United States-based operations.
Users anticipate OpenSea airdrop
While OpenSea has not officially announced anything yet, users believe the Cayman Islands registration means the NFT platform will conduct an airdrop for its users.
Matter Labs’ community manager “Golem” hopes the platform will reward its early users, saying OpenSea had the chance to turn everything around. Another OpenSea user shared the same sentiment, hoping the NFT platform would reward their loyalty.
Source: Golem
One user voiced concerns about whether the potential airdrop would account for the high trading volumes from 2021 and 2022 when the NFT market experienced billions in sales. The user speculated that OpenSea could follow the lead of competitors like Blur and Magic Eden, which issued tokens to incentivize and reward users.
Top NFT marketplaces by trading volume. Source: DappRadar
OpenSea has made previous attempts to win back users from rival NFT marketplaces. On Feb. 18, the platform implemented zero fees in an effort to regain lost ground to Blur. However, Blur continues to dominate NFT trading volumes, followed by OpenSea and OKX.
Blur’s entry into the market was accompanied by an airdrop system, where users could earn tokens whenever a trading season ended. In 2023, a user earned up to $11 million in Blur tokens after the NFT marketplace distributed airdrop rewards for its second season.
Magic Eden also followed Blur’s strategy, promising an airdrop for its users. However, the token instantly plummeted as it launched. On Dec. 11, the platform’s ME token rallied to $13.10 before falling by almost 70% as users complained about the claiming process and bugs in the project’s mobile application.
Cointelegraph reached out to OpenSea for comment but did not receive a response by publication.
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