NFT Marketplace OpenSea Lays Off 20% Employees

OpenSea, the biggest NFT marketplace in the world, said that it is laying off 20% of its employees due to the prevailing crypto winter.

Devin Finzer, the CEO and co-founder of the NFT marketplace, announced the new developments via Twitter on Thursday. He also posted a note that was shared with all the employees in the Discord group.

In a note shared on Twitter, Finzer said that OpenSea has been affected by the crypto winter and the broad macroeconomic instability. However, the CEO also added that after the current changes, if the market continues to perform poorly in the near future, but the volume remains the same, the firm has a position to face a crypto winter spanning five years.

"The folks leaving us are smart, hardworking, mission-driven individuals who’ve played an immeasurable role in growing OpenSea and the NFT space to where we are today. We will miss them and they will forever be part of our story and community," Finzer said.

However, the CEO continued to say that there will be an "explosion in innovation" in the OpenSea ecosystem amidst the bearish market. "With the changes we’ve made, we’re in a strong position to continue driving the space forward," Finzer added, hinting that the 20% layoff was necessary for future growth.

"When the global economy is uncertain, our mission to build a foundational layer for new, peer-to-peer economies feels more urgent and important than ever," he further said.

On the contrary, rival NFT marketplace, LooksRare, replied to Finzer via the official Twitter account that they are still hiring and mentioned a few open positions in the reply.