OpenSea cuts staff by 50% in response to NFT bear market, "OpenSea 2.0" set to launch

The leading NFT trading platform OpenSea announced the launch of OpenSea 2.0 with a smaller team, aiming to accelerate innovation, significantly upgrade its product, but unfortunately, half of the employees will be laid off.

Second Round of Layoffs After Crypto Winter, Half of Staff Affected

OpenSea founder and CEO Devin Finzer announced on Twitter that the company is launching OpenSea 2.0 with a smaller team.

OpenSea is undergoing significant changes to focus on the next version of our product. We are changing how we operate—moving to a smaller team and direct user engagement. We are grateful for the teammates who are leaving and the contributions they have made. This is the hardest part of this transformation, and we appreciate the ongoing support from the OpenSea community.

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OpenSea is making some big changes today to focus on the next version of our product.

— Devin Finzer (dfinzer.eth) (@dfinzer) November 3, 2023

According to a report from Cointelegraph, this is the second round of layoffs for the NFT market pioneer following the crypto winter and NFT bear market. OpenSea laid off 20% of its staff in July 2022, reducing its workforce to 230 employees. A spokesperson for OpenSea stated that about half of the staff will be affected, with a particular focus on reducing mid-level management positions. Affected employees will receive four months of severance pay, accelerated stock vesting, and six months of continued healthcare and mental health care.

OpenSea to Accelerate Innovation with Major Product Upgrades

According to a report released by NFT analytics platform NFTGo at the end of October, there has been a gradual recovery in NFT market trading volume and prices recently. NFTGo also compared OpenSea to the emerging platform Blur—while OpenSea has lower trading volume than Blur, it has more transactions and a significantly higher level of user activity.

NFT market heating up, floor prices up 30%, how do OpenSea and Blur perform?

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer also stated:

OpenSea is repositioning the team around "OpenSea 2.0," which is a major upgrade to our product—including underlying technology, reliability, speed, quality, and experience. We are building a new foundation to accelerate innovation, and we will be sharing more with everyone soon.