NFT marketplace OpenSea cuts 20% jobs
The New York-based company said on Thursday that non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenC has cut its workforce by 20% to reduce costs in the face of a prolonged downturn in the digital asset markets.
OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, experienced explosive sales growth in 2021 as the rise of cryptocurrencies created a new group of crypto-rich speculators.
But the NFT market has slumped in recent months as cryptocurrency prices have plummeted and investors have become more risk averse to fears of high inflation, central bank rate hikes and recessions.
“The reality is that we have entered an unprecedented combination of a crypto winter and broader macroeconomic volatility, and we need to prepare the company for the potential for a prolonged recession,” Chief Executive Devin Finzer said in a statement. Said https://twitter. com/dfinzer/status/1547648521607659522 on Twitter.
OpenC’s NFT sales volume on the Ethereum blockchain fell to $700 million in June, down from $2.6 billion in May and a far cry from its January peak of nearly $5 billion.
NFTs are blockchain-based assets that represent ownership of digital files such as images and text.
Finzer said the job cuts would allow the company to maintain five years of current volume growth under various potential recession scenarios.
Last month, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it would cut about 1,100 jobs, or 18% of its workforce.