OpenSea Rebrands Gem, Launches Pro Platform For NFT Traders

OpenSea has announced the launch of OpenSea Pro, a marketplace with advanced features aimed at the growing market of professional NFT traders.

Leading non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has unveiled OpenSea Pro, a marketplace offering advanced features to cater to the burgeoning market of professional NFT traders. The move comes as rival NFT marketplace Blur has experienced rapid growth since its launch.

OpenSea Pro is a rebrand of Gem v2, the latest iteration of Gem's NFT aggregation platform. OpenSea acquired Gem in April 2022, with the intention of bringing professional trading tools to OpenSea users.

The new platform will operate with 0% fees and aggregate listings from 170 marketplaces to deliver the best deals for traders. It will support advanced "floor sweeping" for traders, instant sales, inventory management, gas fee optimization for efficient trades, a watchlist feature, and more. OpenSea Pro will also be available on mobile devices.

Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, informed CoinDesk that Gem has assisted OpenSea in developing OpenSea Pro to become the most efficient NFT trading tool on the market.

Finzer shares:

"[Gem v1] is amazing, you know, it's an incredible aggregator tool, but this is really a dramatic step up from it. It's incredibly fast, incredibly real-time. It's really the fastest user experience for purchasing NFTs."

OpenSea and Blur have been competing for market share of NFT trading volume. Blur, a zero-fee platform, has seen rapid growth since its launch in October, prompting OpenSea to eliminate its required marketplace fees to attract Blur traders.

As OpenSea Pro launches, OpenSea is reinstating its marketplace fees on the main platform at 2.5%. Finzer commented:

"We'll certainly, with regards to fees, continue investing the revenue back into making the space stronger."

Although OpenSea is releasing OpenSea Pro at a time when it is in fierce competition with Blur, Finzer emphasized that OpenSea will continue to focus on providing tools and improvements for retail traders and creators. This includes concentrating on new partnerships, primary drops, and smart contract standards.

Finzer said:

"We're investing in really exciting features that make it easier for people to explore and purchase their first NFT and then really push the use cases forward for NFTs," adding that "[users] can come to OpenSea and graduate to a professional experience."

Roughly three weeks ago, OpenSea discovered a major vulnerability which was quickly patched by its security devs. The platform has had a history of hacks because of the high-value NFTs that have been launched and sold on the platform. The platform's stack is evolving as well to combine better user experience with new functionalities.

The introduction of OpenSea Pro highlights the growing sophistication of the NFT market and the increasing demand for advanced trading tools among professional traders. As the NFT space continues to mature, it will be interesting to observe how platforms like OpenSea and Blur adapt and innovate to meet the evolving needs of both professional and retail traders.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.