What To Know:
- OpenSea is shifting from an NFT marketplace to a multi-chain crypto trading aggregator, allowing users to trade tokens across 22 blockchains.
- The company has cut its workforce by over half, aiming to rebuild as a leaner and more focused startup.
- October 2025 marks OpenSea’s strongest month in three years, with $1.6 billion in crypto trades and rising activity in memecoins.
Once the undisputed leader of the NFT boom, OpenSea is now reinventing itself as a crypto trading aggregator. After enduring one of the toughest bear markets in digital art history, the company is transitioning into a platform where users can trade any token across multiple blockchains.
The move follows a steep decline in NFT trading and a hard reset inside the company. OpenSea’s cofounder and CEO Devin Finzer announced a major restructuring last year, cutting more than half the staff to rebuild the startup into a smaller, faster, and more focused team. Only about 60 employees and 10 contractors remain, most of them working remotely. As per a Forbes report, the decision cleared the way for OpenSea to transition toward a broader crypto market that has regained momentum in 2025.
OpenSea Reinvents into a Crypto Trading Platform
At its peak in January 2022, OpenSea generated $125 million in monthly revenue and was valued at $13.3 billion. By late 2023, that figure had plunged to just $3 million as NFT interest evaporated. Rival marketplace Blur, offering zero fees and no creator royalties, captured the attention of traders and forced OpenSea into a corner.
Rather than continue fighting for a shrinking NFT market, Finzer decided to shift focus. OpenSea now aggregates buy and sell orders across 22 blockchains, pulling liquidity from major decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap and Meteora. This change allows users to trade memecoins, DeFi tokens, and other cryptocurrencies directly from OpenSea’s interface, without surrendering control of their wallets.
In the first two weeks of October 2025, OpenSea recorded $1.6 billion in crypto trades alongside $230 million in NFT transactions, making it the company’s most active period in more than three years. The platform charges around 0.9% per trade, generating roughly $16 million in revenue during that span.
Finzer credits his wife, Yu-Chi Lyra Kuo, for planting the seed for OpenSea’s shift into broader crypto trading. A Harvard-educated lawyer and early crypto investor, Kuo worked with Finzer on the technical and strategic blueprints for OpenSea’s next phase. He calls her “a silent cofounder” of what he refers to internally as OpenSea 2.0.
Their goal is to build an intuitive, self-custodial trading platform that matches the simplicity of mainstream apps like Coinbase or Robinhood. The difference lies in OpenSea’s decentralized design: users maintain full control over their assets, a priority for crypto purists who distrust centralized exchanges after the FTX collapse.
Finzer admits the company made serious missteps during its NFT era. The royalty policy changes, in particular, angered both creators and traders. His earlier approach, trying to satisfy everyone, only led to confusion. Now, he says, decisions are made faster and with a clearer vision. “The only way you improve is by failing through it,” he notes.
The leadership overhaul also reshaped the company’s technical culture. Every engineer now writes code directly. Layers of management were removed to encourage speed and ownership. Finzer rejects the Silicon Valley norm of rapid hiring, instead keeping the team small and focused.
OpenSea’s biggest strength is this cross-chain aggregation. It lets users compare prices, execute trades, and discover new assets across the network, all in one place. This capability appeals to both retail traders chasing memecoins and professionals seeking liquidity.
Finzer insists that OpenSea complies with regulations despite not performing traditional know-your-customer (KYC) checks. Since the platform never takes custody of user funds, he argues KYC doesn’t fit its structure. Instead, it relies on TRM Labs to screen wallets against sanctioned addresses and flag suspicious activity.
Even as it regains momentum, OpenSea faces serious competition. Still, Finzer believes OpenSea’s focus on product quality and transparency gives it staying power. “There’s a lot of moat in just delivering what users expect,” he says.
Also Read: Dogecoin (DOGE) Struggles & Slides 8% as Market Turmoil Deepens
