In a significant shift of direction, NFT marketplace OpenSea is downsizing its workforce by half. Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer explained in a social media thread that the company is creating a new foundation aimed at fostering innovation, necessitating a smaller, more user-focused team.
OpenSea is embarking on “OpenSea 2.0,” a strategic move centered on enhancing product technology, reliability, speed, quality, and overall user experience. Finzer shared that the decision to realign OpenSea’s strategy was based on user feedback indicating that the platform was perceived more as a follower than a leader in the NFT space. He emphasized the company’s intent to act with greater agility and conviction to make more significant strides.
The restructuring will prioritize community support and iterative testing of OpenSea 2.0 in a public setting, reflecting OpenSea’s commitment to staying adaptable, attentive, and concentrated.
Employees affected by the workforce reduction will receive four months of severance pay and other benefits. The new organizational structure will feature a flatter hierarchy with fewer middle managers.
OpenSea, once the dominant player in the NFT marketplace with over 73% market share as of October 2022, has seen a decline to 18% as of November 3, according to The Block’s Data Dashboard. The platform is striving to regain lost market share, particularly to emerging NFT platforms such as Blur.io.
