One NFT marketplace ruled the roost back the last time NFTs boomed in 2021 – and the second big NFT boom could see it rise once again. That NFT marketplace is OpenSea.
The OpenSea platform played a huge role in the mainstream explosion of NFTs, being the NFT marketplace of choice for millions around the world – though with an army of competitors in the industry today, what does its future look like?
Master the topic, as we explain the past, present and future of OpenSea in 2025.
What is OpenSea NFT Marketplace?
OpenSea is a peer-to-peer NFT marketplace, initially built to support NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Users can create, buy, and sell NFTs across a wide range of categories, including digital art, collectibles, virtual land, and more.
Created by Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah, the platform was the first major player to respond to growing interest in blockchain-based digital assets in the late 2010s, becoming the marketplace of choice as the 2020s came around.
Users can engage in various types of NFT transactions, including:
- Primary Sales: debut NFT sales, held on the OpenSea launchpad
- Secondary Sales: NFTs listed for sale at a set price by their current holder
- Auctions: Holders can arrange auctions for NFTs they’d like to sell, concluding at a set time
- Offers: Buyers can propose a purchase price for an NFT, even if it is not listed for sale
OpenSea NFT Marketplace leverages smart contracts to ensure secure and transparent transactions. Users can connect a host of popular wallets to the site – such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet and many more – to view and interact with the NFTs listed on the site.
The OpenSea platform is best-known for being the historical go-to marketplace for trading of the most popular NFT collections, including CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Pudgy Penguins and more – though OpenSea also supports many smaller, more niche collections, making it an attractive hub for creators and collectors alike.
The history of OpenSea NFT Market
OpenSea’s story began when CryptoKitties – a blockchain game developed by Canadian studio Dapper Labs – gained rapid popularity in 2017. It was a wake-up call for Finzer and Atallah, who recognized the potential of NFTs and set out to build a marketplace that could serve as a central point for this emerging industry.
The OpenSea website went live in December 2017, and quickly found an audience of fans that liked its approachable, user-friendly design – one of the first of its kind.
The following years saw OpenSea become the go-to NFT trading platform – though volumes were still comparatively small. This all changed as NFTs rocketed into mainstream culture in 2021, with monthly trading volumes reaching billions of dollars in a matter of months, putting OpenSea at the heart of a cultural movement.
This boom led to a $100 million USD raise in July 2021, valuing OpenSea NFT Marketplace at $1.5 billion, before an additional $300 million raise in January 2022 took that valuation to an incredible $13.3 billion.
2022 saw a decline in peak NFT interest, though OpenSea were still making moves. April 2022 saw the acquisition of Gem, an NFT marketplace for experienced traders, later relaunched as OpenSea Pro in April 2023.
May 2022 saw OpenSea introduce the Seaport protocol, improving transaction efficiency and reducing gas fees by approximately 35% – making NFT transactions noticeably less expensive for its users. Seaport also brought with it bulk listings, collection offers, and the ability to trade NFTs using alternative assets.
Late 2022 saw OpenSea face its first major challenge, with the debut of NFT marketplace Blur in October of that year. Blur quickly usurped OpenSea to become the #1 NFT market worldwide, with an improved user experience and the allure of a token enough for many users to make the switch.
Across 2023 and 2024, OpenSea have faced further challenges, with the surge of NFTs on Solana – a blockchain OpenSea does not support – helping to surge Magic Eden to the top of the industry.
OpenSea’s journey hasn’t been without controversy. In its early days, the platform faced much backlash for its inability to detect and prevent the sale of plagiarised and stolen NFTs – though the development of suspicious activity detection and verified collection pages helped to mitigate this issue.
The platform has also come under fire for its back-and-forth stance on creator royalties – one of the major factors that saw the likes of Blur and Magic Eden supercede OpenSea’s initial dominance in the NFT marketplace realm.
Today, OpenSea is considered to be the third most popular NFT marketplace, behind both Magic Eden and Blur – though with NFTs once again rising in prominence, it’s anyone’s game in 2025.
What’s next for OpenSea NFT Marketplace?
As we enter 2025, OpenSea is in an intriguing spot.
Rumours have been abound for several months that OpenSea could release a platform token – bringing it in-line with competitors such as Blur with its $BLUR token, and Magic Eden with its soon-to-launch $ME token.
The OpenSea NFT Marketplace team also teased a revamp of the website to land in December 2024. Feedback that has been shared from private tests has been positive, but it remains to be seen if this overhaul of the OpenSea experience can transform its fortunes moving forward.
The last time NFTs hit their peak, OpenSea was perfectly situated to make the most of it, becoming the go-to platform for NFT trading. This time around, OpenSea is in a much more challenging position – but given their history, experience and momentum as we head in 2025, who knows what the year ahead could bring.
Riding crypto waves since 2012, bridging digital and physical worlds through prose.