OpenSea’s NFT market share jumps to 71.5% amid SEA token hype

OpenSea has staged a dramatic comeback, reclaiming 71.5% of the Ethereum NFT market share in the past week.

Just four weeks ago, its share stood at 25.5%, with Blur dominating the space. The Block reports that this surge coincides with OpenSea’s long-awaited announcement of its native token, SEA, on Feb. 13.

Since the token reveal, OpenSea’s daily trading volume has skyrocketed, averaging $17.4 million, nearly five times its pre-announcement average of $3.47 million.

The number of daily transactions also more than doubled, jumping from 6,100 to 14,700 trades. The bulk of this growth came in the past week, as OpenSea’s market share spiked from 42.4% to 71.5%, largely at Blur’s expense.

OpenSea has encountered obstacles in its incentive rollout, despite the momentum. After users accused the platform of promoting wash trading and giving fee production precedence over actual ecosystem engagement, it recently suspended its XP-based incentives system.

Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, recognized the criticism and said the team is reassessing its strategy even though liquidity incentives are still crucial.

In place of the XP system, OpenSea has introduced “XP shipments,” a new rewards model targeting early adopters of its OS2 marketplace. Users who provided feedback via Discord have already received the first batch of XP rewards, while a second round is being distributed to those who have purchased NFTs on OS2. In addition, XP multipliers are available for those who’ve held top-volume NFT collections for more than three months. 

Although information about the SEA token is still limited, OpenSea has stated that U.S. users are eligible for the airdrop and that allocation will be based on past platform activity, which could potentially compensate traders who were active during the 2021 NFT bull run.