OpenSea Trading Volumes Plunge Amid Growing Competition from Blur and Magic Eden

Activity on the OpenSea non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace has dropped to the lowest level since 2021 amid growing competition.

OpenSea was once the largest NFT marketplace. However, the launch of other platforms such as Magic Eden and Blur has seen more activity being channeled to these platforms. OpenSea is now struggling to go back to its glory days.

OpenSea Activity Plunges to Lowest Level Since 2021

Data from Token Terminal shows that in the last 30 days, NFT trading volumes on OpenSea have dropped by 33% to $89 million. The number of weekly traders on the platform has also dropped to around 21,000 traders.

These numbers are not positive for OpenSea, as they have taken the platform back to its 2021 levels. At the time, NFT activity remained low. The number of monthly users recorded in April reached around 73,000 in April, which is the lowest level since August 2021.

When OpenSea was at its peak, the number of active monthly users surpassed 500,000. The recent data shows that the NFT marketplace is struggling to remain competitive as NFT trading volumes surge, but a majority of these volumes are going to rivals such as Blur and Magic Eden.

Besides trading volumes, the NFTs listed on this marketplace are also not performing well. The number of NFTs sold in a month has dropped to the lowest level since June 2021. In April, the platform sold 134,197 NFTs. This number was 19 times lower compared to its peak month when OpenSea sold more than 2.5 million NFTs.

The monthly volumes are also sitting at historically low levels dropping below $100 million for the first time this year. When OpenSea was at its peak, the monthly volumes on the marketplace reached nearly $5 billion.

The declining activity is affecting revenue on the platform. The fees charged have remained high compared to the second half of 2023. The rise in fees comes amid an increase in the price of ETH. However, the high fees are doing little to paint a positive outlook on the platform’s revenue. Royalty fees on the platform also dropped to a record low in April.

Blur and Magic Eden Dominate the NFT Market

Blur and Magic Eden have been dominating the NFT industry, and their vast presence is affecting the competitiveness of OpenSea. OpenSea now ranks as the third-largest NFT marketplace accounting for around 9.5% of the total NFT trading volumes.

The largest NFT marketplace by trading volumes is Blur, with a market share of more than 67%. Magic Eden ranks second with a market share of more than 14%. Amid the declining volumes, the OpenSea CEO, Devin Finzer, hinted at a possible sale of the company.