OpenSea is about to "transform": from NFT purism to a full-chain trading hub

NFT leader is up to something

OpenSea, which occupies 55% of the NFT market, has announced an ambitious plan - to no longer focus on NFTs, but rather to become the “universal platform” for on-chain trading.

OpenSea founder and CEO Devin Finzer released a major announcement on X: the platform's trading volume has exceeded $2.6 billion this month, and it is now moving from “Chapter One of NFTs” to “A Panoramic View of the On-chain Economy.”

From “Collectibles Market” to “Exchange”

The core logic of this transformation is very clear — users now need to frequently switch between tokens, culture, art, and digital items, crossing different networks, wallets, and protocols to complete a transaction. It's too cumbersome.

OpenSea aims to create a platform that feels “like home” (rather than “like a bank”), allowing users to seamlessly trade all on-chain assets. In short, it wants to become the next centralized exchange, but in a web3 manner.

SEA Token is Here: Launching in Q1 2026

The OpenSea Foundation will issue its native token SEA in the first quarter of next year. This time it’s not the “issue and abandon” routine:

• 50% of the supply allocated to the community (the highest ratio in the industry)
• Most of them were distributed to early participants through initial distribution.
• Original users and reward program participants will “significantly tilt”
• The platform promises to use 50% of its revenue for SEA buybacks.

SEA is designed as a “deeply integrated” governance token — users can stake SEA to bet on their favorite tokens and NFT series.

What other new moves are there?

• The mobile app has entered closed testing, targeting the experience of new and old users.
• Developing perpetual contract trading feature (still in early stages)

This is not just a platform upgrade; OpenSea wants to redefine its position in the Web3 ecosystem. The NFT market is saturated, liquidity is depleted, and expanding the trading categories has become an inevitable choice.