The non-fungible token (NFT) market is booming, and at its head is the first NFT market – OpenSea. Or at least that was before it was overtaken by the new LooksRare. The latter now handles traffic representing more than double the figures recorded by OpenSea.
Naturally, OpenSea has been looking to expand its base farther from the Ethereum-based NFTs that it traditionally hosts, as several other players emerge across the market. According to recent reports, the platform may soon even feature NFTs based on the rival Solana blockchain, as Ethereum’s dominance in the space continues to decline.
It will also allow the larger market access to even more collectibles that are growing in popularity.
Popular hacker Jane Manchun Wong, who has previously leaked upcoming developments from popular platforms like Instagram and Facebook, revealed on Twitter that OpenSea is working to integrate Solana based-NFTs along with support for the Phantom wallet.
It should be noted, however, that OpenSea has yet to issue a statement accepting or denying Wong’s claims.
This comes at a time when NFT transactions on the Solana blockchain have crossed the $1 billion mark in total volume in January 2022. In fact, Solana-based marketplace Magic Eden was the fourth-highest in terms of daily transaction volume.
This could be cause for concern for NFT maestro Ethereum, whose market dominance has fallen from 98% to 80% in recent months. This can largely be attributed to rising gas fees and high transaction times that characterize the network.
Although, since these issues have also begun to seep into Solana’s system as its popularity soars, its emergence as a competitor to Ethereum has been seriously challenged too.
OpenSea itself has faced some challenges as the threat from competitors draws closer. The market saw a boom this month when it surpassed its previous all-time high set in September last year with sales of $3.8 billion. In fact, Zapper researchers found that since its inception, OpenSea has traded over $12 billion worth through 25 million transactions.
However, it has recently fallen behind recently launched LooksRare which fueled much of the January momentum and flipped OpenSea dominance.
Additionally, the recent or upcoming launch of marketplaces by centralized crypto exchanges like Coinbase and FTX could further harm OpenSea’s business, giving a lot of impetus to its decision to broaden its horizons beyond Ethereum.
