OpenSea, a prominent non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, has stirred up rumors of a potential user token airdrop and token launch with its recent registration in the Cayman Islands. The NFT community started speculating after Waleswoosh, a pseudonymous researcher associated with the Azuki NFT collection, posted a screenshot of OpenSea’s Cayman Islands registration on December 14.
Previously, OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer announced in November that a revamp of the NFT marketplace was in the works, scheduled for a December launch. This cryptic announcement led some to speculate about a potential token airdrop, even though others, like DappRadar’s communications manager, “nederob” deemed it unlikely due to OpenSea’s US operations.
With the recent Cayman Islands registration, users are anticipating an airdrop by OpenSea. Comments like those from Matter Labs community manager “Golem” suggest hope for a reward to early platform users, suggesting that this could be OpenSea’s chance to turn things around.
There are, however, concerns that an airdrop may fail to take into account the booming NFT trading volumes of 2021 and 2022. Some are speculating whether OpenSea will mirror competitors like Blur and Magic Eden, which issued tokens as incentives and rewards for users.
OpenSea has previously tried stipulation-free measures to compete better with rival NFT marketplaces. It eliminated fees on February 18 in a bid to claw back ground from Blur, but Blur continues to remain a leader in NFT trading volumes, with OpenSea trailing behind as well as OKX.
OpenSea might also consider following the airdrop system introduced by Blur, where users earned tokens at the end of a trading season. This method proved successful as one Blur user earned $11 million in Blur tokens in 2023 when airdrop rewards were distributed for its second season. Magic Eden followed suit, promising an airdrop for its users, albeit with less success as its token value dropped significantly on launch due to complaints about the claiming process and bugs in the mobile application.