OpenSea, a prominent NFT marketplace, has raised $23 million in a Series A round. It has secured backing from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, and others in the new funding round. Furthermore, the fundraiser additionally drew numerous high-profile investors, celebrities, and artists. Angel investors that joined in the fundraiser involve Naval Ravikant, Tim Ferris, Mark Cuban, Belinda Johnson, Ben Silbermann, and Alexis Ohanian. Various crypto artists, comprising 3LAU, RAC, and Justin Kan, also participated in the fundraiser.
Co-founder and CEO of OpenSea, Devin Finzer, advocates that the firm will employ the funds to scale up the site for a broader audience. He further contends that billions of people will recognize digital ownership in the coming years. Thus, OpenSea will act as a trusted entry point into that world. The site is expanding exponentially. Currently, its monthly volume surpasses $150 million. It is also growing its team, as a job listing shows that it is hiring 11 new personnel. Besides, Andreessen Horowitz has funded several crypto projects so far. It involves Libra, Maker DAO, and Coinbase. Last month the firm financed Optimism’s L2 scaling solution.
NFT Witnesses extensive growth in last few months
OpenSea facilitates the trade of NFTs or crypto-collectibles, a type of crypto token that includes digital art, game assets, or other items. The site manages over 20 million NFTs; however, the past few months have observed a few especially notable trades. This month, Nashville rock group Kings of Leon executed $1.4 million from NFT sales, organized by OpenSea. Moreover, OpenSea principally trades Ethereum-based tokens. This year, it expanded its assistance for other blockchains by promoting trades for Tezos-based NFTs, as declared in February.
However, the market for NFTs, has seen extensive growth over the past few months. NFTs are well-known as digital, blockchain-based collectibles that can transform anything online. The current growth has seen them implemented to everything from visual art to music to tweets. Musicians such as Grimes, Kings of Leon, and Yaeji have all become associated with NFTs, and the digital artist Beeple just traded an NFT at Christie’s for $69 million.
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