OpenSea unveils SEA token and new version of its exchange
OpenSea finally confirms its token is coming and available to US residents days after screenshots swirled on Twitter
OpenSea and Adobe stock modified by Blockworks
OpenSea has finally confirmed the launch of a token, dubbed SEA, via the OpenSea Foundation.
OpenSea is also releasing its OS2 open beta, the next iteration of its token marketplace, which will include memecoins as well as other tokens in addition to NFTs, the company announced Thursday.
The SEA token will be usable on OS2 and is intended to “recognize active and loyal users” as well as early adopters. OpenSea Foundation General Manager James Hu said the SEA token will support the Seaport Protocol and is a “major step” to support the OpenSea community.
SEA’s release date has not yet been announced, however.
OS2 is intended to be “an expansion toward fun-filled trading,” an OpenSea spokesperson told me. Before the open beta, OpenSea had an OS2 waitlist set up where users could join the private beta waitlist by connecting their wallet or entering their email address. OpenSea Genesis NFT holders also had access to the private beta if they held the NFT on Jan. 26.
The OS2 private beta offered two main visual modes: Collector Mode or Pro Mode.
Collector Mode presents a graphic-forward, colorful look that lets you see NFT art details, while Pro Mode shows small images with a data-heavy focus as well as analytics that show charts upfront with data over time.The open beta will also be for casual collectors and advanced users, Stephanie Rheingold, OpenSea director of marketing and communications, confirmed via email.
Easy cross-chain purchases, aggregated marketplace listings, liquidity aggregators, live analytics and an improved search are just a few of OS2’s features that set it apart from its predecessor.
OS2 also has XP — gamerspeak for experience points — which can be earned by listing NFTs for sale and making collection-wide offers. XP is not a cryptocurrency or financial asset. It’s a non-transferable rewards feature, Rheingold said.
OpenSea confirmed the SEA token is coming just days after a few Crypto Twitter users shared links to an “OpenSea Foundation” website. The site, which no longer loads at the time of writing, showed a page to connect a crypto wallet with an image of a shipping container and the words: “Get ready to set sail,” according to multiple screenshots shared on social media.
Some posts also claimed to summarize the Terms of Use on that site, noting that US residents would not be eligible and VPNs would be blocked to geo-fence the airdrop. While these restrictions have been the trend with some recent token launches (like Berachain), Rheingold told me the OpenSea Foundation has decided SEA will be available to US-based users.
The verified OpenSea Foundation X account then responded to such posts earlier this week with the message: “None of the rumors on X today are true. Only trust links that we post from this account.”
OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer also responded to the screenshots indirectly: “Disappointed to see false rumors spreading,” he said in a post on Monday.
In a separate post, Finzer clarified: “There was some boilerplate language — not actual terms and conditions — on a test website for a short period of time. If it was official, the foundation would have linked to it.”
In 2023, OpenSea launched “OpenSea Pro,” another version of its NFT marketplace, that caters to “power traders” and Blur users.
Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.
Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.
Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.
The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.
