Devin Finzer, the CEO of the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea, revealed in a recent interview with DL News that the company is exploring potential acquisitions.
Finzer expressed an “open mind towards deals,” indicating the possibility of either acquiring other entities or being acquired.
This consideration follows Finzer’s recent emphasis on the platform’s long-term plans, focusing on personalized features and enhanced security measures. The discussion aimed to address the persistently low trading volumes recorded by OpenSea, an unfavorable trend that continues to endure.
According to data from DappRader, OpenSea currently holds the fourth position in the last 30 days with a trading volume of $104.36 million. Notably, competitors such as Magic Eden, OKX, and Blur have surpassed OpenSea, with Blur leading the pack with a trading volume of $731.18 million.
The year 2023 proved challenging for the NFT market, impacting OpenSea as well. In November 2023, the company underwent a reconstruction, resulting in a significant reduction of its workforce. Following this, Investment firm Coatue Management decreased its stake in OpenSea by nearly 90%, leading to a significant valuation adjustment.
While the NFT market has seen modest upticks in the last month of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, OpenSea appears to be struggling to fully recover. This is in contrast to January 2022, when OpenSea recorded an all-time high of $3.7 billion in monthly trading volume.
However, by August 28, 2022, the company processed only about $5 million worth of NFT transactions, representing a drastic 99% decrease from its peak of $405.75 million on May 1, 2022.
OpenSea is not unique in facing market downturns, as several companies in 2023 discontinued their NFT-related projects, citing market fluctuations and regulatory uncertainty.
Rario, Aqua, GameStop, and South Korean telecom giant KT all shut down their NFT platforms. Additionally, industry giants like Meta removed NFTs from Instagram, and X (Twitter) recently eliminated the NFT profile picture feature.
