NFT market OpenSea announces native SEA token

The OpenSea Foundation announced its SEA token for users of the popular NFT marketplace, with U.S. traders eligible and a new platform upgrade called “OS2.”

OpenSea users were told to expect a native token called SEA as a reward for trading non-fungible tokens on the multi-chain NFT exchange as part of an overhaul to improve on-chain digital collectible trading, per a Feb. 13 reveal via X.

The OS Foundation said U.S. users were eligible, as the firm was likely encouraged by shifting regulatory winds under the new President Donald Trump administration. Big projects have generally disqualified U.S. users from receiving airdrops in the past due to previous ambiguity surrounding crypto tokens and securities laws.

OpenSea’s Foundation didn’t share a date for the SEA airdrop. “No details on timing yet. We’re taking the learnings from this space and getting it right,” the Foundation tweeted.

The nonprofit, which exists to support OpenSea’s ecosystem, also shared scant details on the eligibility criteria. However, the Foundation said it would consider historical usage rather than just recent NFT trading activity.

Airdrops are usually highly anticipated events that often lead to surges in on-chain activity ahead of them. The extra patronage tends to swell performance metrics briefly, but the spike is typically short-lived. Recent airdrops have yielded lackluster price actions following distribution, leaving questions about SEA’s possible outcome after launch. 

Tokens from protocols like Berachain fell over 50% days after the airdrop, although a broad market downturn may have contributed to this pattern. Conversely, Hyperliquid’s (HYPE) airdrop received massive success, and its token has grown over 1000% since its launch.

While SEA’s drop date remained elusive, OpenSea also rolled out the OS2 as a rebrand to the NFT trading venue. The new platform will feature 0.5% fees for NFTs and 0% for tokens as OpenSea expands into crypto trading, said the company’s CEO, Devin Finzer.

Finzer noted that the platform had turned “too corporate, too web2” after the 2021 NFT bull market. The firm needed a change of course, and OS2 is a major oar for charting the new path, per Finzer. OS2 was initially scheduled to release in December, but the platform was delayed.

OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace, with control over 55% of the total market share, DefiLlama data showed.

I decided we needed a complete reset. So we went heads down and started rebuilding: tech, product, and most importantly — culture. Fixing those foundations has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. But it’s been incredible to see the team transform.

Devin Finzer, OpenSea CEO