The largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace by trade volume, Opensea, has announced the company has let 20% of its staff go after CEO Devin Finzer said the layoffs were due to a combination of “crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability.” Opensea’s decision follows the startup surpassing $31 billion in all-time NFT sales volume, and the company adding a variety of new support features.
Opensea CEO reveals company layoffs
Opensea joins the growing list of crypto asset companies announcing layoffs this year as the downturn in the crypto market has affected nearly every aspect of the industry. On July 14, 2022, Devin Finzer, CEO of Opensea, Explain the company had a “hard day”, having had to lay off around 20% of its workforce. Finzer further shared the note he wrote to Opensea team members before announcing the layoffs via Twitter.
Finzer’s note to the team says that management had to make an “incredibly sad and difficult decision,” and the statement highlighted the fact that the industry was dealing with a demanding “crypto winter.” Finzer added that Opensea needs “to prepare the company for the possibility of a prolonged downturn.” The CEO explained that the changes will help the company continue strong with “multiple years of runway.”
The move comes at a time when a myriad of tech companies, blockchain firms, and cryptocurrency firms have laid off thousands of workers. Last week, Meta explained that he was slowing down his hiring process and hinted at future layoffs. Companies such as Bitso, Robinhood, Coinbase, Gemini, 2TM, Rain Financial, Blockfi, Bitpanda, Buenbit and Crypto.com have all announced layoffs. Austrian stock exchange Bitpanda said it needed to lay off staff in order to “navigate the storm and emerge financially healthy”.
While many crypto companies have let people go, there are still a number of positions available in the digital currency and blockchain industry. This past weekend, Binance co-founder Yi He told Fortune that the company still has jobs available. “We currently have more than 2,000 roles open from engineers, product, marketing to business development,” Yi He said. “The crypto space is still in its early stages, and bull markets tend to care more about price while bear markets have more value-conscious teams that continue to build the industry. We see this as a great time to bring on top talent,” the Binance co-founder noted.
Opensea executive says NFT market is in a ‘strong position to continue pushing the space forward’
Opensea’s Finzer continued to compliment departing employees on Thursday in his Twitter feed. “The people leaving us are smart, hardworking, mission-driven people who have played an immeasurable role in growing OpenSea and the NFT space where we are today,” the CEO said. wrote. “They will be missed and will always be part of our history and our community.” Finzer’s Twitter feed highlighted that the CEO still has “tremendous belief in the NFT space”, and he further noted that Opensea has a role to play in the growing industry.
“During this winter, we’ll see an explosion in innovation across the ecosystem,” Finzer remarked. “And with the changes we’ve made, we’re in a strong position to continue driving the space forward.”
Prior to the company layoffs, data shows Opensea had a total of $31.29 billion in all-time NFT sales volume. NFT marketplace added support for the Solana (SOL) network in April, and in the same month crypto startup Moonpay announced the ability to pay for Opensea NFTs with credit cards, Google Pay and Apple. Pay. In the first week of January 2022, Opensea revealed that the company had secured $300 million and later that month the company acquired Dharma Labs. The exact number of dismissed Opensea employees is unknown.
Opensea’s Finzer added that the leading NFT marketplace is focused on its goals. “When the global economy is uncertain, our mission to build a foundational layer for new, peer-to-peer economies feels more urgent and important than ever,” Finzer concluded.
