eBay dismisses over 30% of NFT department

The e-commerce giant eBay is said to be reassessing its NFT business strategy, leading to the dismissal of more than 30% of its personnel involved in this area.

eBay dismisses over 30% of NFT department

According to sources from NFTgators, eBay has laid off over 30% of its Web3 division staff following turmoil and disagreements with the NFT exchange platform KnownOrigin.

Specifically, eBay acquired KnownOrigin in June 2022. Since then, there have been apparent internal conflicts among the leadership, leading to the resignation of Stef Jay, Director of Business and Strategy for the Web3 division. Prior to that, David Moore, one of the founders of KnownOrigin, also left the company.

Two months after acquiring KnownOrigin, eBay further expanded into the NFT space by acquiring the trading card game platform TCGplayer for a massive $295 million. This reflected eBay's determination to enter the NFT/Web3 sector at the time.

However, the relationship between eBay and KnownOrigin is now reported to have deteriorated, with eBay halting all its NFT plans.

A source close to the matter told NFTgators:

"Many within the company are dissatisfied, blaming the lack of leadership and strategy for the layoffs. There have been internal criticisms, even at the senior level, questioning the competence of current Web3 leadership and eBay's strategy team."

In fact, the trend of Web2 companies scaling back their ambitions in the NFT/Metaverse space is not uncommon, as seen with Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft. Reasons vary from user dissatisfaction with NFT products to underwhelming revenue and internal disputes.