After the volume shrinks by 90%: NFT market leader OpenSea launches OS2 and announces the upcoming release of $SEA tokens

As the biggest winner in the 2021 NFT craze, the Non-fungible Token market leader, OpenSea, is now facing the challenge of shrinking volume. In order to revive its momentum, the platform has announced the launch of OS2 (OpenSea V2) and disclosed its $SEA Token Airdrop plan, hoping to rejuvenate its market influence.

Non-fungible Token trading is quiet, OpenSea seeks solutions

OpenSea announced today that it has made significant updates to its website interface, launching the "OS2 test version," focusing on creating a Non-fungible Token trading platform that is completely redesigned for collectors and professionals.

At the same time, the platform will expand its support for more than ten blockchains, including Berachain and Soneium, to seamlessly conduct cross-chain Non-fungible Token transactions, such as using non-Solana payment methods to purchase Non-fungible Tokens on Solana.

In addition, OpenSea has also reduced the market transaction fee to 0.5% and eliminated the Swap fee in OS2 Open Beta, trying to attract users back with more favorable rates.

At the end, the team also announced the future release of $SEA Token, and rewards for Airdrop will be given to new and old users, more details are yet to be explained.

(Is the commercial revival of Non-fungible Tokens? OpenSea's internal test version exposes 'coin issuance,' and old players can also receive retrospective rewards)

The prosperity of the former Non-fungible Token market

As an early unicorn in the Non-fungible Token market, OpenSea once set a peak daily volume of $476 million in the boring ape (BAYC) Otherdeed metaverse land sale craze in May 2022. However, the platform's volume has now dropped by 90% from its peak, with recent daily volume only remaining at $4 million.

OpenSea's volume for the month of 2024 can be described as dead.

Dune data shows that in January 2022, the monthly Non-fungible Token transactions on OpenSea exceeded 5 million, but by January this year, the volume had dropped by 80%.

As for royalty income, the company hit an astonishing figure of 268 million US dollars in January 2022, but the royalty income last month was less than 4 million US dollars, shrinking by over 98%.

Regulatory pressure and fierce competition, OpenSea road bumpy

In addition to a significant decrease in market volume, OpenSea is also facing a dual attack of regulatory pressure and competition. In August 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to the company, indicating concerns about potential involvement in unregistered securities. Subsequently, due to financial pressure, OpenSea had to reduce its workforce by 56%.

(After OpenSea's investigation, the CEO of Magic Eden: happy to see regulations become clearer )

At the same time, the competition in the Non-fungible Token market is intensifying, with platforms such as Blur and Magic Eden continuing to expand. Among them, the success of Magic Eden after opening up support for Ethereum and other chains may also be one of the reasons why OpenSea is now simultaneously supporting multiple blockchains.

(Magic Eden is about to integrate multiple cross-chain ecosystems and Tokens by the end of the year, with the founder calling out the MAGIC principle)

Non-fungible Token market cools down, can OpenSea return to its peak?

With many traders now more inclined to invest in meme tokens with higher liquidity and shorter speculation cycles, rather than Non-fungible Tokens, whether this market heat can reignite the glory of 2021 is still unknown.

Even though OpenSea tries to attract traders through platform upgrades, fee discounts, and $SEA TokenAirdrop, whether the former market leader can regain its footing or even reverse the downturn trend in the Non-fungible Token market with this wave of changes still remains to be seen.

This article, written after a 90% shrinkage in volume: The Non-fungible Token market leader OpenSea launches OS2, announcing the upcoming token $SEA was first reported by ChainNews ABMedia.