NFT Marketplace OpenSea's CFO Steps Down

The Chief Finance Officer of world's largest NFT marketplace OpenSea, Brian Roberts, has officially resigned just ten months after joining the firm.

The NFT industry broke major records in 2021 when it reached new heights in trading volumes and prices increased tremendously. However, following the onset of the bearish market, the volumes declined and general interest in these blockchain-based assets declined.

Roberts, who joined the NFT marketplace in early December 2021 when it was enjoying its newly found success and expanding rapidly, also previously worked at Lyft, Microsoft and Waltmart.

"Well it is time for me to come ashore from the "open seas". I'm grateful for the opportunity and proud of many accomplishments but none more than the strength of the finance team at OpenSea," said Roberts last week on LinkedIn. "I've been working closely with Devin Finzer and the supremely capable Justin Jow to ensure a smooth transition, and I will be staying on as an advisor to the company."

As per the data from DApp's statistics page, it is clear that the transaction volumes of NFTs across the major NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea, have declined sharply. In January, the volumes were well above $200 million and now, they are hovering north of $8 million.

Roberts said that he remains bullish on Web3 and OpenSea despite his departure from the marketplace.

As previously reported, OpenSea also laid off 20% of its employees due to the prevailing crypto winter and the broad macroeconomic instability.

"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," said Devin Finzer, the CEO and co-founder of the NFT marketplace.

Numerous executives have been leaving crypto firms recently. Bankrupt crypto lending firm Celsius Network's co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Daniel Leon recently resigned and the firm's global tax director Lior Koren is set to replace him.