--- title: "Top NFT Marketplace OpenSea Fires 20 Percent of Its Employees" description: "Winter Blues The crypto winter has apparently reached the high seas. OpenSea, the world's most popular NFT marketplace, has announced widespread layoffs, joining several other industry leaders which have had to make major workforce cuts amid the cryptosphere's catastrophic slump. OpenSea CEO David Finzer announced the culling of 20 percent of company staff in a..." date: "2022-07-15" modified: "2022-07-15" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nft-opensea-fires-employees" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" - "NFTs" tags: - "crypto" - "nfts" - "opensea" - "the digest" --- # Top NFT Marketplace OpenSea Fires 20 Percent of Its Employees ![Crypto winter has apparently reached the high seas. OpenSea, the world's most popular NFT marketplace, has announced widespread layoffs, joining several other industry leaders who have had to make major workforce cuts amid the cryptosphere's catastrophic slump.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Winter Blues The crypto winter has apparently reached the high seas. OpenSea, the world's most popular NFT marketplace, has announced widespread layoffs, joining several [other industry leaders]() which have had to [make major workforce cuts]() amid the [cryptosphere's catastrophic slump](). OpenSea CEO David Finzer announced the culling of 20 percent of company staff in [a Thursday tweet](), which included an explanatory note written to the platform's remaining employees. "The reality is that we have entered an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability," wrote the non-fungible CEO. "And we need to prepare the company for the possibility of a prolonged downturn." https://twitter.com/dfinzer/status/1547648521607659522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1547648521607659522%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2022-07-14%2Fopensea-eliminates-20-of-workforce-as-crypto-job-losses-deepen ## ClosedSea OpenSea is a major platform. According [to *Bloomberg*](), it was valued $13.3 billion back in January, and has done about $31 billion in all-time sales (despite, we must point out, being [absolutely rife with scams]()). But June [was dismal]() across the [industry board](), Finzer's operation included. OpenSea [only saw]() about $700 million in sales, which was a far cry from the previous month's $2.6 billion — and as per Finzer's note, it doesn't look like things will get better anytime soon. Still, the OpenSea leadership seems to be as optimistic and faithful as ever about the future of Web3. Just a bump in the road, right? "With the hard (but important) changes we made today, we're in an even better position to capture what will soon become the largest market on the planet," Finzer's message to his team concluded, complete with the slightly menacing promise that "winter is our time to build." **READ MORE:** [*NFT Marketplace OpenSea Cuts 20% of Staff as Crypto Job Losses Deepen*]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on the NFT winter woes:** [*Even Bored Ape Nft Prices Are Plummeting Now*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()