Is the promise of the "old king" still valuable? Can OpenSea's SEA Airdrop bring back a million "heartbroken" NFT veterans?

Written by: Luke, Mars Finance

In the memory of the digital wave, OpenSea was once the undisputed hegemon of the NFT (non-fungible token) universe, and its name is almost equivalent to the pulse of the entire emerging ecosystem. However, the market is changing much faster than the iteration of code. On May 30, 2025, when its fully revamped platform OpenSea 2.0 (OS2) finally opened its doors to the public after a lengthy beta test, and the long-smelling SEA token issuance plan gradually became clear, the former industry giant was undoubtedly staggering at a life-and-death crossroads. This move is not only a profound strategic turn in OpenSea's own development trajectory, but also a backwater battle for a glimmer of life under the double strangulation of internal and external troubles - the fierce offensive of competitors and the continuous shrinking of the overall market.

The Transformation of OS2: From "NFT Marketplace" to the Grand Narrative of "Super Hub for All Chain Assets"

OpenSea's self-redemption is fundamentally embodied in the OS2 platform. Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer envisions it as "the infrastructure for the next generation of OpenSea," a grand blueprint dedicated to creating "the best destination for all on-chain assets, from NFTs to tokens, across chains and communities." This clearly indicates that OS2 is not just a simple UI overhaul or functional iteration, but a complete reconstruction that is "built from the ground up" and deeply transformative. Its strategic intent is to break away from the past image of being a "NFF marketplace" and rapidly evolve into a comprehensive trading hub that can accommodate a broader range of crypto asset categories.

The most intuitive embodiment of this evolution is OS2's ultimate embrace of the multi-chain ecosystem. The new platform announced support for token transactions on up to 19 blockchains, including established mainstream public chains such as Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Avalanche, as well as emerging networks such as Base, Blast, Sei, Berachain, and ApeChain (Klaytn is limited to OS1). Initially launched with support for 14 new chains, the rapid expansion to 19 is a strong signal in itself. Notably, OS2 has significantly enhanced trading support for Solana-based fungible tokens (FTs) and popular meme coins such as Bonk and Ai16z. Mr. Finzer has also repeatedly emphasized that OS2 is carefully designed to "span all chains, from NFTs to tokens". This is a sign that OpenSea is trying to break beyond the inherent boundaries of NFTs and capture broader crypto market opportunities, especially those asset classes that are rapidly emerging driven by meme culture and community.

Along with asset diversification comes an all-round improvement in user experience and platform performance. OS2 offers significant improvements in speed, reliability, and modularity to deliver faster load times, greater system stability, and greater asset discoverability. The new user interface, real-time analytics capabilities, and the introduction of on-chain compliance tools all point to a more professional and efficient trading environment. In terms of cost-effectiveness, OS2 has also responded positively, with significant reductions in market fees – some sources mention a sharp drop from 2.5% to 0.5%, and other sources generally acknowledging the reduction in fees – and optimizing the execution of gas fees. In addition, OS2 has eliminated swap fees. These measures are undoubtedly a direct and painful response that OpenSea has to make in the face of competitors such as Blur encroaching on market share with extremely low fees (or even zero fees) strategies. The integration of advanced order types, royalty optimization tools, cross-chain exchange and minting tools, as well as the ability to aggregate pending orders from multiple markets to ensure users get the best price, further equips the platform to rebuild its competitiveness in the eyes of professional traders.

Behind this ambitious strategic adjustment is OpenSea's urgent need to seek breakthroughs and diversify its revenue sources under the dual pressure of the continuous shrinking NFT market and the serious loss of market share caused by fierce competition by platforms such as Blur through token incentives and other means. It is worth mentioning that OpenSea has carried out up to 50% layoffs at the end of 2023, which officials say is to focus resources on the development of OS2. Such a large-scale internal restructuring reflects both its determination to transform and why a number of plans, including the TGE (Token Generation Event), have been delayed. In February 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the termination of its investigation into OpenSea, which undoubtedly cleared a potential regulatory hurdle for OpenSea to let go of such an expansion, especially for the SEA token it plans to open up to U.S. users.

SEA Token: A meticulously planned "industry benchmark" or a belated "lifesaver"?

If OS2 is the skeleton restructured by OpenSea, then the SEA token is expected to be the blood and soul driving this skeleton to run. The main way to obtain eligibility for the SEA token airdrop—the "Voyages (" XP points system—is designed to guide users to participate more deeply in the platform. Users can accumulate XP points by completing tasks such as sharing their personal galleries, conducting cross-chain exchanges, purchasing NFTs on new blockchains, and participating in "meaningful" and "organic" activities defined by the platform (especially token trading). Finzer stated that "Voyages" is a step towards a "more purposeful way of participation." Chief Marketing Officer Adam Hollander pointed out that most "voyage tasks" can be completed with a small amount of funds, aimed at encouraging broad rather than capital-intensive participation.

OpenSea seems to have learned from past events that led to large-scale wash trading and negative community feedback due to the poor design of its points system (including its own painful experiences and those of its competitors). Previously, OpenSea faced widespread criticism for its initial XP reward mechanism (primarily targeting listings and bids), which was seen as unfairly favoring high-frequency traders and bots, ultimately forcing it to suspend the related rewards. The "Voyage Log" system aims to establish a more sustainable and harder-to-manipulate reward system by rewarding "simple actions" and emphasizing "meaningful interactions" and exploration of the platform's breadth. This is crucial for the long-term health of the SEA token and community sentiment, although the risk of users finding new ways to "score points" objectively exists, as the saying goes, "the higher the road, the higher the devil."

Regarding the utility of SEA tokens, the information disclosed by the official sources mainly positions it as the governance token of the OpenSea protocol, granting holders voting rights on key decisions such as protocol upgrades, incentive mechanism design, and treasury expenditures. The airdrop mechanism is designed to consider both historical users (providing retrospective rewards for platform activities before 2025) and current active users, and it has been confirmed that users from the United States are eligible to participate in this airdrop. To ensure the compliance and independence of the token issuance, OpenSea has specifically established the OpenSea Foundation (reportedly registered in the Cayman Islands) to oversee the issuance and subsequent management of SEA tokens.

Although XP is closely related to airdrops, OpenSea has not yet clearly confirmed how XP will be directly converted into SEA tokens in terms of ratio or method, despite widespread market expectations. Besides governance, whether the SEA token will have other practical utilities in the future, such as discounts on transaction fees, priority access to new features, or enhanced platform experience, is still in the speculation stage in the market, and the information disclosed by the official sources is quite limited.

The specific timetable of TGE, which is the most concerned by the market, OpenSea officials have always been silent. CMO Adam Hollander explained that the Foundation is "pressing ahead" with the matter, but that "certain key features must be put in place to guarantee the utility and durability of the token" before the token is launched. He also emphasised ambitiously that it would be a "major TGE" that aims to be an "industry standard" and a "milestone moment for the entire crypto industry". OpenSea's insistence on deploying key features ahead of TGE to ensure that the token is supported by real-world use cases as soon as it comes out is a double-edged sword. Theoretically, this guarantees the intrinsic value of the token and avoids pure hype; On the other hand, this also greatly lengthens the waiting time of users, which may continue to consume users' patience and enthusiasm, and make the market environment faced at the time of token issuance more uncertain. This suggests that OpenSea is taking a big gamble: betting on a utility-rich token, even if it is issued late and in poor market conditions, is more sustainable in the long term than rushing to launch a token that is purely incentive-driven and lacks substance. This is a major test of whether it can deliver a truly compelling utility to overcome market apathy.

Echoes and Reflections of History: An Enlightening Chronicle of the Rise and Fall of NFT Track Token Issuance

Reviewing the token issuance history of other major projects in the NFT space can provide valuable references for evaluating OpenSea's SEA token issuance strategy.

Early Movers' Trial and Error: LooksRare )LOOKS( vs. X2Y2 )X2Y2( LooksRare launched its LOOKS token in January 2022. At that time, although the NFT market was still in the afterglow of a bull market and was still hot, sales in Q1 2022 had fallen by nearly 50% month-on-month (although the US dollar trading volume only fell by 5% due to the increase in the average price of NFTs). LOOKS once accounted for up to 82% of the market's trading volume through large-scale airdrops and high-value trading rewards (so-called "vampire attacks") for OpenSea users, but up to 70% of them were alleged to be pure brush transactions, aiming to earn LOOKS token rewards. Its core strategy is to suck blood from OpenSea. However, with the decay of incentives and the market turn, the market capitalization of LOOKS has shrunk significantly from its all-time high (about $7.07) and is currently hovering at a low of $16 million to $17 million. X2Y2 followed suit, conducting its Initial Liquidity Offering (ILO) and launching the X2Y2 token on February 14, 2022. The market environment is similar to that of LooksRare, and although NFT popularity is starting to show fatigue, there is still some support. X2Y2 briefly became the second-largest NFT marketplace, with an all-time high of around $4.14-$4.17. Compared to LooksRare, X2Y2 seems to have been more successful in attracting real trading volume initially, still retaining about 18% of the market share after brushing, thanks to its low transaction fee rate of 0.5% and optional royalty strategy. However, the good times were short-lived, as X2Y2 announced the closure of its marketplace on April 30, 2025 due to declining overall trading volumes and continued increased competition, and its token market cap has fallen below $540,000 and is almost zero. These two cases profoundly reveal the vulnerability of tokenized exchanges that rely on high short-term incentives and lack a sustainable value capture mechanism.

Disruptors in the Bear Market: Blur )BLUR( Blur's trading marketplace went live in October 2022, while its highly anticipated BLUR token opted for a TGE on February 14, 2023. At this time, the NFT market has been mired in a long bear market. However, the issuance of the BLUR token was a shot in the arm, causing the platform's activity to soar, and the daily trading volume at one point far exceeded that of OpenSea. At the time of its issuance, it had a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $2.5 billion, a launch price of $4.99, an all-time high of $5.02, and a current market capitalization of about $235 million to $240 million. Blur's huge success once forced OpenSea to respond in a reactive way to cut market fees and adjust royalty policies. At the heart of its strategy is the precise targeting of professional traders and whale users, offering extremely aggressive multiple rounds of token airdrop incentives (such as announcing $300 million worth of BLUR tokens for the next season), 0% market transaction fees, and flexible royalty options. However, Blur has also faced serious accusations of brush trading, with its trading volume highly concentrated in the hands of a small number of top projects and users, sparking widespread discussion about its ecological health and fairness.

The rise of Magic Eden, especially in the Solana ecosystem, has brought new variables to the competitive landscape of the NFT market and directly challenged OpenSea's market position in the early stages of multi-chain expansion. Founded in 2021, Magic Eden has quickly become the go-to NFT marketplace on the Solana chain, with its success largely due to deep cultivation of the local community, lower transaction fees (0% in the early days, later adjusted to around 2%, still lower than OpenSea's rates at the time), and a faster trading experience. In the face of a giant like OpenSea, Magic Eden is not in a hurry to launch a platform governance token, but has adopted more flexible and phased incentives. For example, they launched NFTs with airdrop expectations, such as "Magic Ticket", as rewards for early adopters and active community members, and explored the possibilities of community governance through "MagicDAO". In addition, Magic Eden is also actively expanding into other blockchains such as Ethereum and Polygon, differentiating itself from OpenSea by partnering with specific projects and providing customized marketplace services. Although Magic Eden is also facing pressure from the overall market downturn and competitors (such as Blur) to introduce new incentive models, it has shown considerable resilience in terms of user stickiness and specific on-chain market share through continuous product iteration, community operations, and targeted incentive programs (such as diamond rewards, loyalty programs, etc.). Magic Eden's path shows that even without an immediate large-scale platform token TGE, a well-designed incentive system that is tightly aligned with platform growth and user contributions, can still take its place in a competitive market and lay the groundwork for possible tokenization in the future. Its strategy is more focused on strengthening the moat through organic growth and community building, rather than relying solely on the short-term stimulus of external tokens.

Historical experience has clearly shown that while "vampire attacks" and token incentives alone can be effective in acquiring users and transactions in the short term (although often accompanied by severe scaling), such growth is unsustainable once incentives are depleted or the platform lacks sustained real utility and value capture capabilities, as evidenced by the dismal closure of X2Y2. OpenSea's repeated emphasis on delaying TGE is to ensure the maturity of the product (OS2) and the long-term utility of the token (SEA), which seems to be an effort to learn from the lessons of its predecessors and try to build a more sustainable model, rather than rushing into the "vampire attack" during the market frenzy and overdrawing long-term trust with short-term benefits. Magic Eden's exploration of the incentive mechanism also provides OpenSea with a reference that is not a direct TGE but can also mobilize the enthusiasm of the community.

However, this also leads to a fundamental strategic trade-off: whether to seize the market heat and first-mover advantage in the early stages of the bull market with immature products and token utility (e.g., LooksRare, X2Y2), or to enter a market that may have cooled significantly and users more discerning after the product and token utility have been polished more (as OpenSea claims). Blur's case illustrates another possibility: even in the depths of a bear market, aggressive incentives and precise user targeting can still generate significant market impact. OpenSea has clearly chosen to prioritize product maturity and the intrinsic value of the token over market timing, which is a departure from the path of most first-mover players. Its success or failure will ultimately depend on whether the OS2 platform and the SEA token can truly provide unique value and lasting appeal beyond market apathy.

The Cost of Waiting and Strategic Considerations: Analyzing OpenSea's "Late" TGE

OpenSea has chosen to advance its SEA token plan at the end of May 2025, against the backdrop of a still chilly NFT market, which may involve multiple complex strategic considerations.

The obsession with product readiness and utility first: As CMO Hollander repeatedly emphasizes, ensuring the key features of OS2—functioning as a comprehensive multi-chain, multi-asset class trading platform—are fully launched and operating stably, thereby providing the SEA token with solid "utility and durability", is OpenSea's top priority. This reflects a commitment to product quality, but it may also be a helpless move in the face of complex technological challenges and internal adjustments.

Clarification of the regulatory environment: The SEC terminated its investigation into OpenSea in February 2025, which is undoubtedly a key positive signal for OpenSea, which plans to airdrop SEA tokens to U.S. users, greatly reducing potential compliance risks. The registration of the OpenSea Foundation in the Cayman Islands also demonstrates its prudent layout in responding to the complex global regulatory environment. This regulatory "liberation" is likely a crucial prerequisite for the SEA token to be ultimately put on the agenda and planned to benefit U.S. users.

A prudent lesson learned from past experiences: Observing the issues commonly faced by early tokenized NFT exchanges, such as wash trading, unsustainable incentive mechanisms, plummeting token values, and the resulting crisis of community trust, OpenSea may have adopted a more cautious and thorough strategy in an attempt to avoid repeating the same mistakes and to build a healthier token economic model.

The inevitable result of internal restructuring and strategic focus: As mentioned earlier, OpenSea made layoffs of up to 50% of its staff by the end of 2023, with the goal of "flattening the organizational structure" and concentrating resources on the development of its core product OS2. Such a large-scale internal adjustment and shift in strategic focus will naturally significantly delay the execution timeline of other important plans, including TGE.

However, OpenSea's "late" strategy may also come at a considerable cost, bringing about a series of potential negative effects:

Missed the first-mover advantage of tokenization incentives: During the period from 2022 to 2023, when competitors like Blur quickly seized a significant market share from OpenSea by leveraging token incentives as a core weapon, OpenSea struggled to effectively implement user retention and counter-strategies due to the lack of corresponding token tools, and could only passively endure the blows.

The wealth effect of airdrops and their market impact may be significantly discounted: If OpenSea had chosen to issue tokens and conduct airdrops during the peak of the NFT bull market in 2021 or early 2022, the immense market enthusiasm and liquidity could have generated a wealth effect and user loyalty far exceeding today's levels. Conducting airdrops in the current bear market may diminish their perceived value, market response, and the resulting network effects.

The fatigue and skepticism among user groups are intensifying: the crypto community has witnessed too many complete cycles of NFT market tokens rising and falling, which may lead to higher skepticism and lower expectations for newly issued platform tokens. From the very beginning of its launch, the SEA token will face a more severe market scrutiny and user testing than LOOKS or BLUR did in their early stages.

The network effects brought by token speculation have weakened: During a bull market, the issuance and speculation of tokens can greatly amplify the existing strong network effects of a platform. Now, OpenSea has to attempt to leverage tokens to rebuild and expand its gradually diminishing network effects in a much more challenging and subdued market environment, making the difficulty exponentially greater.

Objectively speaking, OpenSea, with its long-standing brand recognition and large historical user base in the NFT field (even though these advantages have been somewhat weakened in competition), has a certain capital to delay the issuance of tokens. This is different from emerging platforms that need to issue tokens to acquire initial users and market attention from scratch. However, this apparent "composure" has also caused it to lose some degree of initiative in market competition, allowing competitors to seize the opportunity. The launch of the SEA token is a key effort by OpenSea to regain lost ground and revitalize itself in the new market norm.

Crossing the Long NFT Winter: Is the Future of SEA Tokens the Starry Sea or a Muddy Abyss?

The overall performance of the current NFT market can be described as "bleak and desolate," as it has yet to emerge from the deep adjustment period that began in 2022, and the road to recovery seems long and uncertain.

The market has been in a state of deep recession for a long time: since the historical high in 2021, the NFT market has experienced a dramatic contraction. Overall trading volume has plummeted by more than 60% from its peak. OpenSea's own monthly trading volume also dropped sharply from nearly $5 billion at the beginning of 2022 to less than $200 million recently. Specific data shows that NFT sales in the first quarter of 2025 were only $1.5 billion, a sharp decrease of 61% compared to $4.1 billion in the first quarter of 2024. The trading volume in the NFT lending market has astonishingly decreased by 97% from January 2024 to May 2025, indicating a severe lack of market liquidity and confidence.

Negative indicators at the beginning of 2025 exacerbate the situation: Following a brief market recovery at the end of 2024, NFT trading volume in January 2025 fell again by 26% month-on-month, and in February it further shrank drastically by 50%. As March arrives, sales plummet by 76% year-on-year, spreading a pessimistic sentiment throughout the market.

Multiple deep-rooted reasons for the market crash: The reasons leading to the prolonged bear market in the NFT sector are multifaceted, including the significant decline in the overall cryptocurrency market prices, a general decrease in public interest in NFTs, increased regulatory uncertainty globally, the collapse of early speculative bubbles and cooling of speculative enthusiasm, as well as the combined effects of a deteriorating broader macroeconomic environment (such as inflation and interest rate hikes).

A glimmer of hope recently emerged (May 2025): After a prolonged slump, the NFT market data for May 2025 seems to show some positive signals. NFT sales rebounded to $430 million in May, a 15% increase from April's $373 million, marking the first monthly growth recorded since 2025. Even more notably, the number of independent NFT buyers surged by 50% to 936,000, the highest level since October 2024; meanwhile, the number of independent sellers continued to decline, reaching the lowest point since April 2021. This significant divergence in activity between buyers and sellers may indicate an increase in market demand, while selling pressure is easing, potentially signaling that the valuation of certain NFT assets might stabilize or even rebound. Sales of some leading blue-chip projects like CryptoPunks have also seen a significant jump.

The overall bear market sentiment remains the main theme: although the data from May brought a glimmer of warmth, the market as a whole still resembles a "distant shadow of past glory." Most industry experts predict that even if the market sees a rebound, it will be "moderate" and "gradual," and it is unlikely to reproduce the irrational frenzy seen from 2021 to early 2022. The market urgently needs new, sustainable catalysts to drive recovery, such as the effective integration of RWA (real-world assets) with NFTs, and more innovative application scenarios. It is still unclear whether this faint positive signal is a precursor to the market hitting bottom and rebounding, or just a brief dead cat bounce in a bear market. If the market fails to sustain a recovery, the issuance of SEA tokens will face continued headwinds; even if it is a slow recovery start, SEA tokens may benefit from it, but expectations should not be set too high.

In the current severely challenging and uncertain market environment, the launch of the SEA token will undoubtedly present OpenSea with numerous unprecedented challenges:

Users' general apathy and skepticism have intensified: After experiencing numerous NFT projects going from popularity to obscurity, as well as the dramatic fluctuations and even zeroing out of countless platform tokens, the user base (especially retail investors) has become more cautious and rational, no longer easily harboring fantasies about new token issuances, and being less susceptible to mere speculation and marketing.

Significant decrease in overall market liquidity: A bear market means a drastic reduction in the overall funding scale flowing into NFTs and related tokens, which may severely impact the price discovery mechanism of SEA tokens, trading activity in the secondary market, and depth.

The standards for examining the real practicality of tokens are unprecedentedly strict: in the frenzy of a bull market, speculative demand alone is enough to drive up token prices; however, in a prolonged bear market, only projects that possess real practicality, can solve actual problems, and have a sustainable token economic model are likely to achieve long-term success and user recognition. OpenSea's repeated emphasis on this is based on a clear understanding of this harsh reality.

Intensifying competition for attention: Even during market downturns, new crypto projects and tokens continue to emerge. SEA token must not only stand out among numerous NFT market tokens to attract user attention and funds, but also compete for limited market resources with various other tokens in the broader cryptocurrency space.

Potential negative impact of past XP system controversies: OpenSea faced widespread criticism from the community when it initially implemented the XP reward system, as its design was accused of encouraging wash trading and unfairly favoring platform fee contributors (i.e., high-frequency traders). Although the new "Voyage" system claims to address these issues, any perception that the new system is still unfair or susceptible to manipulation could quickly escalate and worsen market sentiment towards the SEA token.

Issuing tokens during a bear market can be interpreted as the platform’s strong confidence in its products (OS2) and the intrinsic value and long-term utility of the tokens (a stance of "pursuing high-quality development"). However, it may also be viewed by the market as a desperate move to rekindle user interest and stimulate trading activities when the platform and the overall market are in distress, or even a reckless gamble. OpenSea's official promotion and statements from executives clearly aim to steer the narrative towards the former, but the market's ultimate judgment will coldly depend on the actual performance of the OS2 platform and the real utility of the SEA token. The allegedly "overwhelmingly positive" user feedback received by the OS2 platform in its early stages might be a good start, but the true utility of the tokens and their sustainable value capture ability will be the real ultimate test.

Final conclusion: OpenSea's century gamble in the world of Web3 transformation.

OpenSea's ambitious strategic transformation through the thorough innovation of the OS2 platform and the carefully planned issuance of the SEA token is a direct response and desperate struggle against the intensifying competitive pressure and the harsh reality of the continuous shrinkage of the NFT specialized market. The "late" TGE, according to official statements, is a cautious choice made to ensure the high maturity of the product and that the token possesses solid long-term utility; however, this choice also requires it to issue its tokens in an exceptionally cold market environment filled with skeptical eyes, the difficulty and risk of which are self-evident.

At the heart of this gamble is the question of whether the highly-anticipated SEA token will truly "redefine incentives" and succeed in setting the so-called "industry standard", as its CMO Adam Hollander passionately envisions, or will it simply seem "too late" and "out of time" in a market that has largely grown tired and numb to the extensive, speculative-driven token incentive model of 2022? Hollander claims that SEA TGE aims to be the "industry standard", which is an extremely high self-benchmark. Achieving this ambitious goal in the current market environment requires not only a technically functional and well-designed token, but also a token that truly solves the pain points faced by the NFT ecosystem, fosters sustainable, organic community engagement, and provides a compelling long-term value proposition that goes beyond the initial airdrop hype. This is a direct challenge to the failure model of NFT market tokens that have tended to be short-lived and largely driven by speculative sentiment in the past.

The future outcome may lead to two completely different extreme scenarios:

Successful ideal scenario: OS2, as a new generation multi-asset, multi-chain comprehensive trading platform, gains widespread recognition and significant adoption in the market, successfully attracting a large number of users and trading volume; the SEA token effectively incentivizes community participation and platform development with its well-designed governance mechanism and rich utility, helping OpenSea reclaim a strong industry leadership position and proving that its cautious, product and utility-first token issuance strategy is correct.

The bleak scenario of failure or mediocre performance: The OS2 platform struggles to compete with professional centralized exchanges like Binance and OKX or decentralized exchanges like Uniswap in the highly competitive field of alternative tokens (FT), failing to effectively expand new growth curves; the SEA token, aside from generating some speculative interest during the initial airdrop phase, has failed to create sustained user attraction or demonstrate convincing practical utility, ultimately becoming yet another lackluster governance token. OpenSea may continue to struggle to survive in the increasingly shrinking and fiercely competitive niche NFT market, with its industry position continuously declining.

In addition, a deep challenge that cannot be ignored lies in the rebuilding of trust and the real realization of decentralized governance. While OpenSea has tried to emphasize its determination to embrace the Web3 ethos and decentralized governance through the issuance of the SEA token and the establishment of the OpenSea Foundation, its history of operating over the years as a dominant centralized entity in the NFT market, as well as the controversy over events such as the early XP reward system, make it an incredibly difficult task to build real trust in the community and achieve effective decentralized governance. SEA's success as a governance token will be highly dependent on the perceived independence and transparency of the OpenSea Foundation by the community, as well as the amount of power that token holders actually have to influence the platform's decision-making.

OpenSea is betting heavily on product innovation, strategic broadening of its reach, and a well-planned but uncertain token offering that it hopes will reinvigorate and set a new benchmark for the industry. The next few months or even a year or two will be a critical period to determine whether this gamble of the century will eventually lead to brilliant success or mediocre failure, and it will also ruthlessly reveal whether the former "king of NFT" can successfully adapt to and navigate the new rules and new realities of the Web3 world that has undergone profound changes with his new strategic conception and execution capabilities. This is not only about the survival of OpenSea itself, but also may have a profound impact on the future direction of the entire NFT industry.