NFT marketplace giant OpenSea is recording impressive numbers a few days into 2022, with the platform’s trading volume already at a whopping $2 billion.
Data from Dune Analytics showed that the leading marketplace’s average daily trading volume so far in 2022 is over $260 million. While the monthly volume recorded in January has already surpassed $2 billion, the figure is yet to cross the all-time high (ATH) of over $3.5 billion reached back in August 2021.
Meanwhile, with the volume recorded just ten days into 2022, there is a possibility that January’s monthly volume could set a new ATH. The latest development comes shortly after OpenSea raised $300 million in a Series C funding round, led by Coatue and Paradigm.
The fresh injection of capital brought OpenSea’s valuation to over $13 billion, an astronomical rise from $1.5 billion recorded in July 2021. According to the platform, the $300 million will be used to achieve targeted objectives, including investment in the NFT ecosystem and robust product development.
There continues to be an increasing demand for various NFT collections, one of them being the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). As earlier reported by CryptoPotato, BAYC crossed $1 billion in sales on OpenSea.
The milestone was not entirely surprising, seeing as a number of celebrities bought various Bored Apes. NBA star Stephen Curry purchased such an NFT with 55 ETH (worth $180,000 at the time). American rapper Eminem also recently bought one worth over $460,000. Back in September 2021, 101 BAYC NFTs auctioned on Sotheby’s sold for $24 million.
While OpenSea has been recording some impressive performances back to back, the company has not been without criticism. Following the exit of the platform’s Head of Product, Nate Chastain, on reported allegations of insider trading, the marketplace appointed its first-ever Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in December.
The new CFO, Brian Roberts, previously occupied the same position at the US ride-hailing company, Lyft. Shortly after his appointment, Roberts said that considering the success rate of the company, the logical thing was to consider taking the leading marketplace public.
However, many in the crypto community did not take kindly to the CFO’s statement, stating that it was disappointing that the platform was not looking to do token airdrops. Roberts immediately tried to clear the air, saying that his comment was misunderstood.
According to the executive, OpenSea was not yet looking to go public and would consult with the community if it should do an IPO.