Original source: DL News
Compiled by: Felix, PANews
Affected by the collapse of the NFT market last year, OpenSea, once valued at $13.3 billion, appeared to be somewhat inflated. Today, the NFT platform is in the midst of an acquisition spree.
OpenSea CEO and co-founder Devin Finzer said this week that the company is open to deals, which could include being acquired.
"Frankly, we're taking a pretty open approach and we think if the right partner comes along, then of course we should consider it," Finzer said in an interview.
Blur catches up from behind, OpenSea aims to build a "security compliance" brand
However, Finzer said that OpenSea is not actively looking for a buyer and has "no plans to be acquired."
At its peak, OpenSea accounted for 90% of the market in the NFT industry. According to Dune Analytics data, OpenSea’s monthly trading volume has now decreased to $171 million, a 96% drop from January 2022.
Competitor Blur, an NFT platform launched at the end of 2022, has surpassed OpenSea through airdrop tokens and became the largest NFT market.
While OpenSea still has more users than Blur, the latter’s daily trading volume of $18 million is five times that of the former.
Finzer said he's not worried about Blur's performance and is focused on building a brand that "keeps users safe by removing any fraudulent or questionable collections."
We just noticed that Blur is taking a lot of legal and regulatory shortcuts.
OpenSea has made multiple mergers and acquisitions, but the value of its shares has still been reduced.
As the cryptocurrency market is in a “bear to bull” transition phase, with traders typically buying dips, the NFT market may see some consolidation.
OpenSea has already completed a number of deals. In 2022, OpenSea acquired NFT aggregation tool Gem. It also acquired early-stage crypto wallets Dharma and Mintdrop, which allow creators to quickly bring their work to market.
Finzer said the most important thing he values in acquisitions is talent:
Some of the most passionate people are those who create their own projects, those with an entrepreneurial spirit. Maybe they're not getting the attention they want in their startup, so they're looking for opportunities in other companies.
But OpenSea’s multiple mergers and acquisitions seem to have little effect. In November, Coatue cut the value of its OpenSea stake by 90% to $13 million, according to The Information.
Additionally, in December, Tiger Global Management wrote down the value of its OpenSea stake by 94%.
Finzer declined to comment on long-simmering rumors that OpenSea is keen on an initial public offering (IPO).
The market is picking up, and traditional brands are entering NFT
From their inception, NFTs have made sense for many content-based companies, including entertainment giants, professional sports leagues, museums, and fashion houses.
In the first weeks of 2024, Finzer was shuttled between luxury brand executives developing customized NFT projects and attending various Fashion Week events in Paris.
This isn’t a new trend — Gucci and LV entered the cryptocurrency space in 2021. But Finzer said this year is different.
I think now the outside world is starting to understand cryptocurrencies better. When I spoke with them, I was impressed by the maturity of the people running these projects and initiatives.
Finzer sees more promising market pick-up trends. Users are exchanging NFTs for physical goods, and brands are venturing into the metaverse (a broad term referring to an always-on digital environment) and “having a purely digital experience.”
After going through a difficult period, this transformation is most encouraging. Finzer confirmed that OpenSea laid off half its staff last fall. Finzer said:
The restructuring that we did was really about restructuring the team into a leaner, smaller team to operate more nimbly in the market, rather than downsizing due to financial pressures.
(The above content is excerpted and reprinted with the authorization of our partner PANews, original text link )
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〈OpenSea steps down from the altar? CEO admits: Open attitude to "being acquired"> This article was first published on "Block Guest".