• OpenSea, a leading NFT marketplace, has laid off over 40 employees (~20% of its staff) citing the recent crypto downturn and broad macroeconomic instability. 

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: Despite starting off the year strong in January 2022 with a USD 300 million Series C funding round at a USD 13.3 billion valuation and plans to expand its headcount, OpenSea recorded the lowest monthly trading volumes in June 2022 (since July 2021), as the cryptocurrency markets crashed. The decline in OpenSea’s trading volumes could also partly be due to the internal issues faced during 1H 2022, such as phishing attacks , fraudulent transactions , data breaches , and insider trading .</ul>