US-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace operator OpenSea, which counts corporates Coinbase, Animoca Brands and Gumi as backers, received $300m in series C funding yesterday, further highlighting the growing popularity of digital blockchain-based assets.
The round was co-led by blockchain investment firm Paradigm and investment manager Coatue Management and included unnamed existing backers. The cash was secured at a $13.3bn post-money valuation, up from $1.5bn at the time of its July 2021 series B round.
OpenSea operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for NFTs and crypto collectibles and experienced an increase in transaction volume of more than 600-times over the course of 2021.
NFTs seem to be selling faster by the week, with some $30bn spent on NFTs and other crypto projects over the course of 2021, representing a higher amount that every other year combined, according to Pitchbook data cited by Bloomberg.
The NFT space alone was responsible for over $23bn in trades over 2021 according to NFT sales tracking firm DappRadar’s Industry Report, and are proving an attractive investment despite concerns over security issues, as highlighted by the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection.
Bored Ape, a collection of static image NFTs each showing an image of an ape with different styles and expressions, recently passed $1bn in sales volume, drawing in venture capitalists and Hollywood actors as buyers.
The most valuable Bored Ape NFTs have topped $2m in value but are also attracting hackers, with one collector revealing last week they had stolen $2.2m of NFTs from his collection.
OpenSea said it will use the proceeds from the round to accelerate product development, grow its team, invest in the wider NFT and Web3 space and improve its customer support and safety.
Devin Finzer, OpenSea’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “In 2021, we saw the world awaken to the idea that NFTs represent the basic building blocks for brand new peer-to-peer economies.
“They give users greater freedom and ownership over digital goods and allow developers to build powerful, interoperable applications that provide real economic value and utility to users.
“OpenSea’s vision is to become the core destination for these new open digital economies to thrive, building the world’s friendliest and most trusted NFT marketplace with the best selection.”
The round makes OpenSea possibly the most valuable company in the pure-play NFT space. Dapper Labs, the NFT collectible trading card developer backed by corporates including Alphabet, Samsung, Animoca Brands, Warner Music Group and Axiomatic, reached a $7.6bn valuation in a $250m round in September 2021.
The latest round comes after OpenSea raised $100m in a July 2021 series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz and backed by Coatue, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Durant, Kevin Hartz, Michael Ovitz and Tobi Lutke.
Andreessen Horowitz had joined Standard Crypto, Flamingo DAO, 1Confirmation, Pascal Capital and Blockchain Capital and unnamed private investors in a $23m round four months earlier.
The company had previously secured a total of $4.1m from investors including digital entertainment and blockchain technology developer Animoca Brands, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and mobile game producer Gumi.
