OpenSea’s transformation from the dominant NFT marketplace into a multi-chain trading hub has been one of crypto’s more ambitious pivots.
The token that was supposed to cap it off will have to wait.
OpenSea postponed its SEA token generation event indefinitely as NFT market capitalization fell 50% since January, even as the platform’s OS2 rebuild shifts most volume to crypto trading.
The timing problem runs deeper than a rough week.
NFT market capitalization has fallen roughly 50% since mid-January to around $1.6 billion, and OpenSea’s monthly volumes have slipped below $500 million.
Yet the platform’s OS2 rebuild has quietly shifted its center of gravity, with more than 90% of its October trading volume coming from regular crypto swaps rather than NFTs.
To soften the delay, OpenSea will end its current rewards wave, offer fee refunds for participants in waves three through six, and introduce zero-percent token trading fees for 60 days starting March 31.
CEO Devin Finzer announced Monday that the OpenSea Foundation is pushing back the SEA token generation event, which had been slated to begin during a March 30 event.
“A delay is a delay. I’m not going to dress it up, and I know how it lands,” Finzer posted on X, citing challenging market conditions.
No new date was given.
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