OpenSea’s highly anticipated OS2 update and the launch of its $SEA token airdrop have generated widespread controversy across the NFT community.
With OS2, users can now earn XP through bidding and listing NFTs, a system designed to distribute $SEA tokens in an upcoming airdrop. However, traders have quickly identified ways to game the system, engaging in high-frequency flipping of NFTs with minimal losses to maximise their XP rewards.
This has led to growing concerns that OpenSea has prioritised volume and fees over the long-term health of the NFT ecosystem.
Source: Waleswoosh (X)What has been the community reaction?
At the core of the controversy is OpenSea’s XP system, which rewards traders for placing bids and listing NFTs rather than making genuine purchases. This has led to an explosion of high-frequency trading, with top XP farmers flipping NFTs in seconds, pushing marketplace volume to artificial highs whilst causing significant damage to NFT floor prices.
Waleswoosh described it as “Blur farming on steroids” as he highlights OpenSea’s lack of a cooldown period—a measure Blur implemented in the past to curb excessive wash trading— and noted one farmer executing rapid trades to accumulate XP with minimal losses. According to the post, this trader was able to cycle through NFT bids, dumping them onto the next farmer in under 24 seconds, whilst paying just $5.38 in OpenSea fees per transaction.
Many sees OpenSea’s strategy as a desperate move to boost engagement numbers and secure investor returns and more members is criticizing the platform for prioritising revenue over the health of the NFT ecosystem and calling it “an absolute disgrace” that copied Blur’s farming mechanics with no consideration for collectors and creators.
The frustration is further echoed as another member describes the upcoming $SEA airdrop as as nothing more than “a last-minute liquidity play before the cycle ends.”
Source: Devin Finzer (X)How did OpenSea responded to the controversy?
Despite the growing outcry, OpenSea has not directly addressed these concerns.
Co-founder Devin Finzer briefly commented that XP rewards extend beyond bidding and listing, but no further details have been provided on how the company plans to mitigate concerns about wash trading and declining floor prices.
For now, OpenSea’s bet on farming-based incentives is pushing the NFT market into another high-risk cycle. Whether the platform listens to its community and makes adjustments remains to be seen, but as history has shown with Blur’s previous farming seasons, unchecked speculative trading can leave lasting damage to the NFT ecosystem.