Every crypto enthusiast is familiar with the concept of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by now. It’s only natural, considering that the total NFT sales in the first half of 2021 were $2.47 billion. Thereafter, NFT’s parabolic run calmed down a little, before it got even crazier. Now, a single NFT trading platform has recorded half of 2021’s first 6 months’ sales volume in just 7 days. Yes, you read that right! OpenSea’s weekly trading volume reached $1.14 billion in August’21. Curious to know more about what OpenSea is all about? Read on!
What is OpenSea?
OpenSea, founded in 2017, is an Ethereum-based decentralized NFT marketplace where you can buy, sell, and trade rare collectibles, digital art, etc. The platform lists items in almost 200 categories that span music, domain names, virtual worlds, trading cards, sports, and diverse utility-driven NFTs. The platform charges a mere 2.5% from every NFT sale, making it one of the cheapest NFT trading platforms. Though Ether (ETH) is the default currency for payments on OpenSea, it supports and accepts over 200 currencies.
OpenSea never takes custody of the NFTs on its platform. It functions through smart contracts where sellers listing an NFT for sale need to have it in their respective wallets. Moreover, sellers can list items for sale even if they are listed elsewhere, provided they have the NFT in their own wallet.
Above all, creating and selling NFTs on the platform is very easy. You can do it in just 4 simple steps:
- Connect your crypto wallet (Metamask) to OpenSea.
- Click on ‘My Collection’ and set up your profile with a brief description, and select your secondary sales fee.
- You can now upload your NFT which can be an image, video or audio, and add details for the buyer.
- You are now ready to list the item for sale and can choose from ‘auctions’, ‘fixed-price listings’ or ‘declining-price listings’.
OpenSea NFT Sales History
We began the article with the spectacular sales volume that OpenSea is recording at the moment. There’s a reason for that. A staggering 98.3% of all Ethereum-based NFTs are sold on OpenSea. Some of the most famous profile picture (pfp) NFT projects, like CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Meebits are listed on the platform.
However, OpenSea wasn’t always breaking records like it is doing in 2021. In 2020, for instance, the platform made only $21 million in total transactions for the year. The scenario changed drastically from August 2021 onward. On August 14th, it recorded $75 million in sales in a single day from over 80,000 transactions. Whereas only a month ago, on July 15th, the paltform recorded just $12.6 million in sales.
Data is showing that the monthly sales volume jumped by 950% from July to August. In fact, just in two consecutive weeks in August, sales jumped by 170%. OpenSea has already recorded $2.49 billion in total sales in August this year. This happened after they broke their own record of daily sales volume and traded $208 million in a single day.
Most of the euphoria on OpenSea is fuelled by CryptoPunks whose trading volume has jumped 649%. Bored Ape Yacht Club is keeping close with a record-breaking $39 million in daily sales.
OpenSea’s Fundraising
While OpenSea was recording such phenomenal sales figures, a small team of just 37 people were managing all operations. It was high time for the project to raise more funds to grow and manage this deluge of sales volume. This is why OpenSea raised $100 million in funding led by A16z.
For those who don’t know, A16z is the codename for Andreessen Horowitz. The other people who backed Horowitz include actor Ashton Kutcher, CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz, Kevin Hartz, and Kevin Durant, among others. Following these investments, the New York-based OpenSea is now valued at $1.5 billion. The project’s plan is to utilize this fund for overall platform development and talent management.
Does OpenSea Have Its Own Token? Am I Eligible For An Airdrop?
You must be thinking that an NFT platform worth a billion dollars must have its own token. However, we regret to tell you that OpenSea doesn’t have its own token yet. But don’t be disheartened right away. There’s word in the market that OpenSea might launch its own token, followed by an airdrop.
The speculation reached such a frenzy that someone made a fake OpenSea coin and listed it on Uniswap. The OpenSea management had to resort to Twitter to warn that it’s fake. As expected, the Twitter thread was full of comments and requests to launch their own coin. That might be possible. Just like Rarible and SuperRare, OpenSea might launch its token and airdrop 10-15% tokens.
You might get free tokens if you already transacted on OpenSea. So don’t wait. Start sailing on OpenSea now. And to keep up with the latest update, follow Airdrop Alerts.
So if you want to start your NFT journy on Opensea, sign up with our referral link here.
