OpenSea Dead Stop
Greetings Warriors
Looks like OpenSea just hit the brakes on its XP rewards system, and the NFT community had a lot to say about it. If you missed the drama, here’s the rundown.
On Jan. 28, OpenSea rolled out OS2, a beta version of its upgraded marketplace, introducing XP points that would count toward an upcoming SEA token airdrop. Sounds great, right? Well, not exactly.
Turns out, a lot of users weren’t feeling it. Builders and creators felt left out, while traders realized the system was favoring wash trading and prioritizing OpenSea’s fees over actual engagement. Basically, some top XP farmers were flipping NFTs between each other at lightning speed to rack up points—without taking on any real risk. NFT influencer Wale called it “Blur farming on steroids.”
One user broke it down even further: XP farmers were dumping the same NFTs on each other’s bids, competing for points instead of valuing the art. Another pointed out that one trader alone had already generated $20,000 in fees for OpenSea just by farming XP. Meanwhile, creators? They were getting nothing—since OpenSea had already set royalties to zero.
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Faced with backlash, OpenSea’s CEO Devin Finzer took action, announcing a pause on XP rewards for listing and bidding. Instead, they’re shifting focus to XP shipments, a mechanism they introduced on Feb. 14. The goal? Reward buying and holding NFTs rather than just flipping them.
BUY MY ART🖤
The move was unexpected, especially considering OpenSea’s massive user base and revenue, but some see it as a step in the right direction. Community member Langerius even gave OpenSea credit for actually listening to feedback.
So, what do you think? Did OpenSea make the right call, or was the backlash overblown? And here’s the bigger question—should NFT marketplaces even be gamifying trading like this in the first place? Drop your thoughts below. 👇🔥
