OpenSea, once regarded as the premier NFT marketplace, is encountering a notable decline in user engagement, reaching its lowest levels since 2021. Emerging platforms such as Magic Eden and Blur are swiftly gaining traction, posing a challenge to OpenSea’s dominance.
According to data from Token Terminal, OpenSea’s NFT trading volumes have plummeted by 33% over the past month, now resting at $89 million. Concurrently, the platform’s weekly user base has dwindled to approximately 21,000 traders.
This decline marks a regression for OpenSea to its 2021 trading figures, a period characterized by subdued NFT activity. In April alone, monthly user statistics hovered around 73,000, representing the lowest since August 2021. Previously, at its zenith, OpenSea boasted over 500,000 monthly active users, illustrating the formidable challenges it now faces.
Despite the overall surge in NFT trading volumes, OpenSea grapples with a significant portion of this activity diverting to competitors Blur and Magic Eden.
Moreover, the sales volume on OpenSea has experienced a notable slump, with April witnessing the sale of only 134,197 NFTs. This figure marks the lowest since June 2021 and pales in comparison to its peak performance, where the platform facilitated the sale of over 2.5 million NFTs in a single month.
Monthly trading volumes have similarly contracted, dipping below $100 million this year for the first time. During its prime, OpenSea’s monthly volumes approached $5 billion. This downturn has substantially impacted revenue, with fees remaining high despite the escalation in Ethereum prices. However, these fees have failed to bolster OpenSea’s revenue prospects, with royalty fees reaching a record low in April.
The ascendance of Blur and Magic Eden has exerted pressure on OpenSea, relegating it to third place in the industry with approximately 9.5% of the total NFT trading volume. Blur leads the market with over 67% market share, closely followed by Magic Eden with over 14%.
In light of these challenges, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer has alluded to a potential sale of the company, acknowledging the platform’s struggles in an evolving marketplace.
