July 14 (Reuters) – Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace
OpenSea has cut 20% of its workforce to reduce costs in the face
of a prolonged slump in digital asset markets, the New
York-based company said on Thursday.
OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in the world, had
explosive sales growth in 2021 as the rise of cryptocurrencies
created a new group of crypto-rich speculators.
But the nascent NFT market has slumped in recent months as
cryptocurrency prices plunged and investors became more risk
averse in the face of high inflation, central bank rate hikes
and recession fears.
“The reality is that we have entered an unprecedented
combination of a crypto winter and broad macroeconomic
instability, and we need to prepare the company for the
possibility of a prolonged downturn,” Chief Executive Devin
Finzer said in a statement https://twitter.com/dfinzer/status/1547648521607659522
on Twitter.
OpenSea’s NFT sales volume on the ethereum blockchain
plunged to $700 million in June, down from $2.6 billion in May
and a far cry from January’s peak of nearly $5 billion.
NFTs are blockchain-based assets which represent ownership
of digital files such as images and text.
Finzer said the job cuts would allow the company to maintain
five years of growth at current volumes under various potential
downturn scenarios.
Last month, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said
it would cut about 1,100 jobs, or 18% of its workforce.
(Reporting by Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru and Elizabeth
Howcroft in London; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Josie Kao)
