E-commerce giant eBay is reportedly reconsidering its strategy regarding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) after facing challenges with its initial plan. Recent reports suggest that eBay may be downsizing its staff at KnownOrigin, the NFT marketplace it acquired in June 2022, with a rumored 30% reduction in workforce.
David Moore, co-founder of KnownOrigin, shared insights into the situation, stating, “The last 7 days have been the toughest and some of the most challenging in my time at KnownOrigin/eBay.” He then acknowledged the difficulty of witnessing significant layoffs within the team.
Despite these developments, eBay has not officially confirmed any layoffs or outlined its future plans. It remains uncertain whether the company is considering a complete departure from its NFT initiatives or merely scaling back its focus on them.
The decision is a significant one, given eBay’s efforts to strengthen its position in the NFT market. Following the acquisition of KnownOrigin in 2022, eBay quickly formed partnerships to attract traffic and fans to the platform.
Notable collaborations included a partnership with Notable Live in February 2023 to introduce NFTs and exclusive player merchandise, as well as a collaboration with OneOf in May 2023 to launch an NFT series featuring hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.
Despite these initiatives, 2023 proved to be a challenging year for the NFT market, with downturns impacting various projects, including the closure of GameStop‘s marketplace.
The market showed signs of a revival and increased interest in NFTs at the beginning of 2024, prompting some projects, such as the cricket-focused NFT platform Rario, to reconsider previously announced shutdown plans.
