OpenSea’s roots

Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah created OpenSea in 2017. They were inspired by early NFT projects, like Cryptokitties, and apps that were being built using blockchain technology, instead of being hosted on company servers. With NFTs, digital items can be unique, provably scarce, openly transferable, user-owned, and usable across multiple applications. Devin and Alex envisioned how this technology’s open protocols could enable developers and users to create open economies across games, platforms, and digital worlds, free from ecosystem walled gardens.

Fast forward to today: NFTs have taken off and new applications for NFT technology are expanding every day. Creators can make their living selling their work as NFTs, fans can buy NFTs from their favorite athletes and musicians, and communities can find belonging in NFT projects. At OpenSea, we see how far the space has come, and we’ve still barely scratched the surface of this technology’s potential.

We believe that one day, nearly everything we own will be accounted for on a blockchain. That’s why our goal is to build a trusted, inclusive, and accessible marketplace that welcomes everyone into the world of NFTs.

Why NFTs?

Blockchain technology reimagines the distribution of value, the same way the internet transformed the distribution of information, and NFTs are one of the first major applications of this new technology. 

Artists can now sell digital 1/1 pieces with the same verifiable ownership and scarcity as a physical artwork, and earn recurring creator earnings for the first time in history. Games can use blockchain technology to facilitate cross-game experiences and economies (like buying gear and being able to use it across multiple games). Events like Coachella can leverage NFTs to make it easier to grant, buy, and sell tickets or issue lifetime passes. Brands can use NFTs to provide exclusive access to perks, communities and events. Inventory can be remotely managed with NFTs, where the NFTs are eventually exchanged for physical goods. And this is only the beginning!

NFTs represent the building blocks for new peer to peer economies, where users have greater freedom and ownership over their digital items and data, and developers can build powerful applications to provide real economic value directly to users with fewer middlemen.

We believe NFTs will help people realize the broad value and impact of true digital ownership. 

Our values

Trust, inclusivity, and selection are the core principles that guide everything we do. 

Trust: We prioritize the trust and safety of all people on OpenSea, creators and collectors alike. We’re working hard to make sure everyone is supported by our policies, tools, and customer service. We understand and embrace that since the technology is so early in its development, we have an outsized responsibility to develop safe experiences for our users.

Inclusivity: On OpenSea, anyone can be an entrepreneur. Independent artists can leverage the same technology and smart contracts as big, established brands. Our platform helps level the playing field for anyone to enter the Web3 space.

Selection: We offer the most diversity and selection of any NFT marketplace in the world. We want to give everyone the choice and ability to explore, discover, and support all kinds of projects.

We’re honored and humbled to be building the future alongside everyone else in the Web3 community.