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If you thought the crypto market was volatile, the NFT market offers an even wilder ride. It wasn't too long ago that NFT volumes were dismally cratering but like clockwork, the market is peaking once more.
In August, monthly trading volumes hit their lowest in two years, with OpenSea Ethereum active users shrinking to just 126,000. But just as we were ready to write off NFTS, NFT volumes hit a 4-month high in November.
Tiger Global Management has seemingly had enough and has cut its stake in both Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and OpenSea by 69% and 94% respectively. The firm recorded an 18% paper loss in its biggest fund in September.
Blockhead
Rocky (Open)Seas
NFT FUD was also shared by OpenSea investor Coatue Management, which cut its $120 million stake in the platform by 90% last month.
Despite the recent surge in NFT activity, OpenSea continues to struggle with the ongoing volatility. With investors pulling out, OpenSea's valuation has plummeted from $13.3 billion last year to $1.4 billion. Last month also saw the axing of 50% of OpenSea's workforce, as part of CEO Devin Finzer's plan to launch Opensea 2.0.
5/9
— Devin Finzer (dfinzer.eth) (@dfinzer) November 3, 2023
So we took a step back and reimagined our operating culture, product, and tech from the ground up.
And today, we’re re-orienting the team around “OpenSea 2.0,” a big upgrade to our product - including the underlying technology, reliability, speed, quality, & experience.
"We’re building a new foundation so we can innovate faster and we’ll have some experiences to share with you soon. We will change how we operate - shifting to a smaller team with a direct connection to users. So today, we’re saying goodbye to a number of OpenSea teammates," Finzer said.
Days later, half of OpenSea's remaining staff were sent on a two-week luxury company retreat at a $9 million West Hollywood mansion.
BAYC-ut
Whilst BAYC's volatility isn't as wild as the NFT market as a whole, its floor price seems to be on a downward trajectory.
At around 30 ETH, BAYC's floor price is a far cry from its 153.7 ETH all-time high.
Just like OpenSea, BAYC creators Yuga Labs announced an undisclosed number of layoffs in October.
"We’ve been spread quite thin for a while as a company, and while there have been some wins, our execution in other areas hasn’t been up to our standards. With this reorg, Yuga is still over 120 employees, and is focused on specific priorities," co-founder Greg Solano tweeted.
I’m sure many of you have seen the news that Yuga is undergoing a restructure today. Shit day obviously. Hurts to part ways with team members who have been in the trenches with us. But we needed to make some changes to the company in order to make sure we’re set up for longterm… https://t.co/RF0QGydqze
— Garga.eth (Greg Solano) (@CryptoGarga) October 6, 2023
However, a soured market and a Yuga Labs budget cut didn't stop the firm's other co-founder, Wylie Aronow, from splashing $1.5 million on NFTs from marquee collections like CryptoPunks, Doodles and Beeple last month.
Going to grab some non-BAYC NFTs this week. Don't freak out. I'm still ape papi and I love you very much.
— GordonGoner.eth (Wylie Aronow) (@GordonGoner) November 6, 2023
