NFT Trading Platform Giant OpenSea Raises $100 M in Series B Funding, Becoming Next Crypto Unicorn

The well-known NFT trading platform giant OpenSea announced the completion of a $100 million Series B financing and officially joined the crypto unicorn track.

Reportedly, the financing was led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Other investors include hedge funds and private equity firm Coatue, former Disney president Michael Ovitz, Co-Founder and Chairman of Eventbrite Kevin Hartz, CEO & Co-founder of Figma Dylan Field, famous NBA star Kevin Durant, American actor Ashton Kutcher, and the founder and CEO of Shopify Tobi Lutke.

The financing did not disclose the specific purpose of use. However, the company stated that its direct mission is to provide the best market for the creation and establishment of NFTs and to help establish systems and standards that can transform all types of digital wealth into a truly possessive and freely exchangeable form, stating that:

"OpenSea’s broader mission is to turn the internet from an information transfer machine into a value transfer machine."

According to a Forbes report, the funds raised this time will be used to develop the team and establish multi-chain support and provide customers with a smoother experience.

The OpeaSea team said that in the announcement:

“we're officially announcing cross-blockchain support, starting with a gas-free marketplace on the Polygon blockchain. Buyers no longer have to pay blockchain fees when making trades on OpenSea, and creators can fully earn their way into crypto for the first time.”

The B round of financing is the largest financing. The peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace for crypto collectables and non-fungible tokens (NFT) OpeaSea is valued at about $1.5 billion, becoming the latest crypto unicorn-referring to the establishment of fewer than 10 years valuation of $1 billion technology startups that are not listed on the stock market.

The well-known cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain in the United States and the recently completed $900M round of financing of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, etc., are currently well-known cryptocurrency unicorn companies.

This is not the first time Andreessen Horowitz has invested in OpenSea. On March 18, OpenSea, a notable digital marketplace for crypto collectables, completed an investment led by a16z with a total value of $23 Million.

So far, OpenSea has raised $127.2M in funding over 5 rounds, including this round of financing.