OpenSea Fielding New Investment Offer to Send its Valuation to $10B As NFT Interest Reaches New Highs

Popular NFT marketplace OpenSea is getting new investment offers that could increase its valuation by about 6x to $10 billion or higher, according to a The Information report, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. The New York-based company hasn't initiated the new fundraising process yet. Just four months back, OpenSea raised $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in a Series B round led by VC giant Andreessen Horowitz, which also led OpenSea’s Series A in March. A couple of months back, one of the platform’s executives was accused of insider trading leading to the resignation of its head of product, Nate Chastain. As non-fungible token mania goes mainstream and takes over the world this year, everyone wants to be a part of it. The four-year-old startup has managed $11 billion in sales to date. In August, the trading volume on the platform peaked at over $3.4 billion, up from nearly $95 million in April and $3.5 million in December 2020, according to data from Dune Analytics. NFT interest is currently at new highs, as seen in the worldwide Google searches for “NFT” despite relatively stagnant volume on OpenSea. While daily volume ticked up a bit in recent days, to above $100 million, up from less than $50 million in late October and early November, they are still well below late summer highs between $250 million and $300 million. “The continued rise in search interest suggests NFTs are far from dead and may even be an early indication that another wave of activity is on the horizon,” noted Delphi Digital. The ongoing disconnect in volume could imply that there is now less speculative hype and a greater focus on projects with strong, growing communities, it added. Amidst the lack of NFT mintings in this cycle, which can lead to less secondary market trading activity as such lower volume on marketplaces, Profile Picture (PFP) NFTs have soared the past week. Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) partially gained traction thanks to Jimmy Fallon joining in, NBA star Rudy Gobert showing off his ape, and Post Malone featuring his ape in his new music video. This traction spilled over to Mutant Ape Yacht Club, which saw more than a 1000% uptick in its volume.