OpenSea Cuts 50% of Its Workforce

In response to a challenging business environment, leading NFT marketplace OpenSea has recently announced a strategic shift, including a 50% reduction in its workforce.

OpenSea Cuts 50% of Its Workforce

According to CEO Devin Finzer on X (Twitter), OpenSea is undergoing a major overhaul to focus on a smaller team for developing OpenSea 2.0, which means the company will part ways with 50% of its staff.

This move is driven by the fact that the NFT market has become less attractive, with top NFT collections struggling and experiencing declines of 40% to 100% from their peaks as of July 19, and a 25% drop in August. Even in August, an investor decided to "sell at a loss" 624 ETH after nearly a year of holding BAYC NFTs.

It remains unclear how OpenSea 2.0 will differ from its predecessor, but it is known to be used for trading and collecting NFT collections like Bored Apes and Pudgy Penguins.

CEO Finzer stated:

“We are building a new platform to innovate faster and will soon have some experiences to share with you. We will change how we operate - moving to a smaller team with direct connections to users."

Finzer did not provide detailed information about the 2.0 release plan or timeline.

Previously, OpenSea had laid off about 20% of its staff in July 2022, slimming down to 230 employees, according to The Information.

Before OpenSea, other companies that recently adjusted their staffing include Chainalysis, Ledger, Yuga Labs, Polkadot, and CertiK.

OpenSea is the leading NFT marketplace by user volume. As competition in the industry has intensified, the platform has had to adapt, such as launching the Operator Filter and changing from a fixed 10% royalty fee to allowing creators to set their own rates, although this tool was soon removed due to controversy.