OpenSea OS2 XP Rewards Program Fuels Airdrop Rumors

NFT marketplace OpenSea is finally rolling out a new version of its platform redesigned from the ground up.

The OS2 platform is still in beta. This week, the roughly 50,000 owners of Gemesis NFTs were given access to OS2, in addition to about 15,000 beta testers who were already let in off the waitlist. New users are being added daily. 

Some longtime users are upset, particularly those with a history of large trading volumes, but in response, CEO Devin Finzer clarified in a tweet, "seeing some confusion out there. goes without saying, but we haven't forgotten the OGs who helped build this space from day 0.

“It is a bit frustrating to have $10M+ in lifetime trading volume on the OpenSea platform and not have access to its v2 beta because <checks notes> I don't own a Gemesis NFT,” posted TylerD.

As part of the new platform, OpenSea has created a redesigned user interface and a new user rewards system, experience points, or XP.

According to an X post from beta tester john.weth, the XP system is a loyalty program that will additionally reward users who list their NFTs only on OpenSea.

Speculation has been rife that the XP system will lead to a token airdrop. OpenSea has said nothing about a forthcoming token but registered a foundation in the Cayman Islands last month, potentially a precursor to a token launch. Competitors Blur and Magic Eden have both used airdrops to incentivize usage.

It appears that the XP system currently only applies to new activities during the beta testing period, since no retroactive points were awarded to past users.

However, OpenSea founder and CEO Devin Finzer said in a Jan. 27 X post that it “goes without saying, but we haven't forgotten the OGs who helped build this space from day 0.”

[UPDATE: Story was corrected Jan. 30 at 3pm EST to add that 15,000 beta testers have access to the platform and Finzer's response to user frustration.]