Table of Contents
Introduction:
Based on the Ethereum ERC-721 standard, the layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum Polygon, the KIP-7 standard for Klaytn, and the SPL standard for Solana, OpenSea provides a marketplace that enables non-fungible tokens to be sold directly at a fixed price or through an auction.
The company’s income in 2021 increased as a result of increased demand for non-fungible tokens, reaching $95 million in February and $2.75 billion in September of that year. The company was valued at $13.3 billion by January 2022, making it the largest non-fungible token market. On May 1, 2022, the OpenSea marketplace’s daily trading volume reached a record $2.7 billion, but four months later it had fallen by 97%.
About:
An American non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called OpenSea is based in New York City. Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah launched the business in 2017. creator of blockchain-based financial software aimed at facilitating the trading of digital collectibles and cryptoassets. Users can speed their cryptocurrency transactions by using the company’s marketplace, which offers all additional asset kinds on the blockchain such software licences, collectibles, crypto cats, and NFTs.
The first and biggest marketplace for user-owned digital products, such as collectibles, gaming items, domain names, digital art, and other assets supported by a blockchain, is called OpenSea. These objects are referred to as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and they are available in a variety of forms. Everything from animated artwork created by some of the most well-known designers on the internet to clothing that can be worn in community-built virtual realities can be found on OpenSea.
Through the use of decentralised smart contracts, which ensure that no centralised authority ever has custody of the goods, brands and individuals may use OpenSea to manufacture, buy, sell, and trade NFTs with anyone in the world. Users instead keep their NFTs in digital wallets. Ethereum (ETH), USDC, and DAI are the three primary currencies on OpenSea.
Website : https://opensea.io/
Founder & Team:
The company was founded by Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah in 2017.
History:
- OpenSea raised $2.1 million in venture finance (including from Animoca Brands) in November 2019 following a pre-seed round from Y Combinator in 2018.
- OpenSea stated in December 2020 that anyone can mint NFTs on its platform for nothing. NFT collections would no longer need to be vetted in order to be featured, according to a later announcement by OpenSea in March 2021. This decision was later criticised for permitting widespread NFT plagiarism on the platform.
- OpenSea published an app for iOS and Android on September 17, 2021. The marketplace can be browsed via the app, but NFTs cannot be bought or sold. OpenSea acknowledged insider trading by a worker the same month. The Head of Product at OpenSea accumulated NFTs immediately before they were highlighted on the homepage.
- After acquiring Ethereum wallet developer Dharma Labs in January 2022, OpenSea refunded consumers for around $1.8 million after a user interface flaw allowed users to purchase NFTs valued more than $1 million at a discount.
- OpenSea announced on January 27, 2022, that it would restrict the number of NFTs a user can generate with the free minting tool. Following user outrage, OpenSea changed its mind the next day, but later acknowledged that 80 percent of NFTs produced with the tool contained plagiarism or spam.
- Some customers started to notice that some of their NFTs had vanished on February 19, 2022. Later, OpenSea disclosed that a phishing attack had been launched on their platform using a Wyvern Platform exploit. The business disputed reports that the theft originated through their website, their listing systems, their emails, or an improved contract system. On February 20, 2022, press reports claimed that a phishing assault had resulted in the theft of $1.7 million in NFTs.
- OpenSea declared in March 2022 that it will disable accounts that were subject to American penalties.
- Users were able to buy and sell well-liked Solana NFTs on OpenSea’s Solana beta in April 2022. This function was first introduced in November 2021.
- OpenSea announced its acquisition of the NFT marketplace aggregator business Gem.xyz on April 25, 2022.
- Nathaniel Chastain, a former product manager at OpenSea, was charged in June 2022 with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a plot to trade digital assets on the inside.
- After a Customer.io employee used his employee access to download and disseminate the email addresses of OpenSea’s subscribers, there was a significant email data breach that was disclosed by OpenSea on June 30, 2022. According to reports, around 1.8 million email addresses were exposed.
- Devin Finzer, the company’s chief executive, tweeted on July 14th, 2022, that one in every five employees would be let go.
- On May 1, 2022, the daily number of NFT transactions on OpenSea reached a peak of $2.7 billion, but within four months it had fallen by 99 percent to just $9.34 million, with daily users down by a third to 24,020.
- A tool that enables users to sell and buy more than 30 products at once was made available by OpenSea in October 2022.
Name & Logo:
OpenSea Highlight:
| Company Name | OpenSea |
| Founders | Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah |
| Started at | 2017 |
| Competitors | KnownOrigin, Magic Eden, and Authentic Artists |
| Website | https://opensea.io/ |
| Revenue | $421 million |
| Country | USA |
| Customer care Email | – |
| Customer care Contact details | – |
| Company Valuation | $420 M |
| Industry | NFTs |
| Headquarters | New York CIty |
Revenue:
Since its inception, OpenSea has raised over $421 million in NFT sales.
Funding & Investors:
The $4.2M total funding amount. P Bart Stephens, Hironao Kunimitsu, Blockchain Capital, and Gumi Cryptos Capital are the top four investors.
| Date | Amount | From | Notes |
| (millions of $) | |||
| 2018 | Y Combinator, Animoca Brands | Pre-seed round | |
| Nov-19 | 2.1 | Multiple sources | |
| Mar-21 | 23 | Andreessen Horowitz, others | Series A |
| Jul-21 | 100 | Andreessen Horowitz, others | Series B; valued at $1.5 billion |
| Jan-22 | 300 | Paradigm and Coatue Management, others | Valuation at $13.3 billion |
Business Model:
Because users can purchase, sell, and trade non-fungible tokens via its website, the OpenSea business model is scalable. When a digital item is sold on their website, service fees are levied in order to generate revenue. OpenSea has sold nearly $421 million worth of NFTs since its debut.
Fee Details (Service/Minting)
Each platform transaction is subject to a 2.5 percent service fee from OpenSea, making a $1000 transaction profitable for the company by $25.
Previously, OpenSea provided the bundles feature to help with problems when the cost of Ethereum gas was more than the cost of an NFT; however, OpenSea now pays for all Ethereum gas costs.
Registration Fees
The one-time fee charged by OpenSea to set up a user’s account ranges from $70 to $300. For a cost ranging from $10 to $30, OpenSea grants access to a user’s NFTs.
Contract Approval Fees
Customers who use OpenSea NFT (custom ones) contracts for transaction authorization must pay a one-time approval fee. The charge may also be paid the first time a fresh coin is used.
Services Offered thru OpenSea:
The world’s first and largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, allows you to buy, sell, and trade a variety of unique digital items. Collectibles, avatars, gaming items, domain names, and even digital representations of physical assets are examples of other digital commodities that are readily available outside of digital art.
Awards & Recognition:
Awards will be given by OpenSea and NFT.Kred to the top collections in a variety of categories, including biggest volume drops and top earning.
Competitors:
OpenSea’s top competitors include KnownOrigin, Magic Eden, and Authentic Artists.
Latest News:
The major criticism of the OpenSea system is how challenging it is to still create an account. However, a number of NFT inventors and traders show that this complexity is not a deterrent to entry into the exciting NFT industry. For NFT developers, substantial gains are possible, with the only real risk being the cost of opening an OpenSea account.
Future Plans:
Despite the popularity of the platform, OpenSea has not always had it easy. The platform barely generated $28,000 per month in March 2020, putting the company in a make-or-break situation. The founders threatened to close shop if their income did not double by the end of the year since they thought the NFT industry was dying. They would, in fact, reach that goal by September.
A copy of CryptoPunks was stored on a different network from CryptoPunks after Larva Labs, the creator of CryptoPunks, filed a DMCA takedown order against Polygonpunks. A group of NFTs had to be delisted by the company. However, following a successful appeal, Polygonpunks came back in September.
The OpenSea concept is brilliant and astoundingly straightforward. On the Ethereum blockchain, the initial transaction creates the account and its first NFT. Only when a sale is completed are further products added to an account’s inventory of for-sale items posted to the Ethereum blockchain. With this method, there is no longer any need to add items on the Ethereum blockchain and incur unnecessary costs until they are sold.
Some FAQs:
How do I connect to OpenSea?
To access the Profile icon, go to opensea.io and click it. After that, you will be asked to connect your wallet. You will proceed through several prompts before arriving at the connecting screen.
How do I buy OpenSea?
Go to the OpenSea marketplace by opening your browser. Discover the desired NFT by navigating the platform. Select “Buy Now” from the menu. Select “Checkout” after approving the marketplace’s terms. Now that the MetaMask extension has dropped down, you should be able to view your purchase price.
What is OpenSea website?
One of the most well-known platforms for buying and selling non-fungible tokens is OpenSea (NFTs). NFTs are distinctive digital assets that take on various shapes.
How do you make money with NFT?
The most common method of making money with NFTs is to sell them on online markets specifically for NFTs. You may generate, list, sell, and exchange NFTs on a number of platforms and markets now, such as OpenSea and Mintable.
Is OpenSea free?
While opening an account on OpenSea and beginning to browse are free, there are a few one-time costs associated with first-time listing an item on Ethereum.
Conclusion:
The Verge stated that hundreds of NFTs had been taken from OpenSea users around the middle of February 2022, which greatly alarmed the platform’s user base. The stolen tokens are worth more than $1.7 million, according to estimates. Only 32 people, according to OpenSea, have been impacted.
A digital asset trading platform called OpenSea has a strategy focused on minimising transaction costs. Due to the platform’s popularity, more transactions and associated transaction fees are likely to take place on OpenSea.
