OpenSea investor marks down stake in platform by 90%: Report

by Jeremy

United States tech funding agency Coatue Administration has marked down the worth of its stake in non-fungible token (NFT) platform OpenSea by 90%. 

On Nov. 7, The Info reported on a doc it reviewed exhibiting Coatue diminished its funding from $120 million to $13 million — implying that OpenSea has fallen to an on-paper valuation of $1.4 billion.

Coatue additionally marked down its funding in Web3 cost supplier MoonPay by 90%.

In January 2022, OpenSea raised $300 million in a Collection C spherical led by crypto enterprise capital agency Paradigm and Coatue. The outsized funding noticed the NFT platform valued at $13.3 billion.

Following a cussed bear market and a year-long stoop in NFT buying and selling exercise, OpenSea introduced a 50% discount in workers in Nov. 3 as a part of its plan to relaunch as OpenSea 2.0.

OpenSea CEO Devin Fizner mentioned the brand new model of the platform will deal with upgrading its know-how in addition to rising its velocity and high quality. To Fizner, a smaller workforce will permit for the platform to stay “nimble and attentive.”

Associated: Elon Musk slams NFTs however finally ends up arguing the case for Bitcoin Ordinals

In August, OpenSea confronted criticism after it introduced it was retiring its operator filter, a characteristic that allowed creators to blacklist non-royalties imposing marketplaces.

Coatue’s markdown comes amid a stoop in NFT buying and selling volumes. The sector peaked in 2021, recording over $14 billion in gross sales throughout the yr. Since then, NFT recognition has been on the decline with total buying and selling volumes dropping by 80% since March 2022.

NFT buying and selling volumes grew barely in October, hinting at a potential development reversal. Supply: DappRadar

A Nov. 3 report from crypto information agency DappRadar discovered the NFT market recorded its first month of positive factors in over a yr, notching a $99 million enhance month-over-month in October.

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