Devin Finzer: NFTs and the Great OpenSeaScape

As of late, other than the (unfortunate) plummeting prices of cryptocurrencies, OpenSea has been perhaps the biggest news story in blockchain tech. The world’s largest NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace has just raised a new series C venture funding round, valuing it at $13.3B dollars. If you’re skeptical about its new colossal valuation, here’s a stat for you: the platform experienced $14B in trading volume in 2021, which is more than a 40,000% increase from a trading volume of $33M just a year prior in 2020. 

If you’re unfamiliar with OpenSea or NFTs, Devin describes it as the gateway to the world of Web 3. You might have seen a surge of bizarre cartoonish looking profile photos on Twitter, or heard mentions of celebrities being part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. These digital ‘profile photos’ are unique and can be owned, bought and sold. Different from digital goods previously, these goods are not at the mercy of any other platform. Even if say, Twitter, went down or decided to remove your profile, you would still be the recognized owner of the profile photo since your ownership is encoded on the blockchain. The new attributes of NFTs have really driven a cultural shift of truly valuing goods online to match the pace of our lives becoming more and more digitally native. 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Devin Finzer is the CEO and co-founder of OpenSea, the first and largest peer-to-peer marketplace for blockchain-based assets. Devin has a background in software engineering at Google and Pinterest and sold his previous company to Credit Karma.

SHOW NOTES

[3:55] Origin of NFT Term

[5:50] The Seascape of OpenSea, who are the users and creators?

[7:40] Fastest emerging vertical

[9:50] Why do people value intangible assets?

[11:50] Technical limitations to current blockchain capabilities

[13:55] Why have Gaming NFTs not taken off yet?

[18:20] How to think about creating digital scarcity?

[21:35] Lending and licensing

[24:20] NFTs for real world things (“digital twins”)

[28:20] What people don’t understand about NFTs?

[29:30] Future jobs and technologies