OpenSea has temporarily suspended its new airdrop reward system due to significant criticism from the community.
Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer announced a pause on XP rewards for listing and bidding and will instead focus on XP shipments, a feature introduced on February 14. This change is part of OpenSea’s efforts to revamp its marketplace, though the new system has drawn comparisons to competitor Blur.
OpenSea launched a beta version of its upgraded marketplace, OS2, introducing an experience points (XP) system to qualify users for an upcoming airdrop of its native token, SEA. This move faced criticism for promoting wash trading, overlooking builders and creators and benefiting those who increased platform fees.
Another primary concern was the lack of a cooldown period between sales and bids. While Blur initially had a 60-minute cooldown period for sales and bids, it was later reduced to 30 minutes, while OpenSea had no cooldown, encouraging high-frequency trading. Additionally, OpenSea’s elimination of royalties worsened the situation, as it allowed traders to engage in minimal-risk activities, unlike Blur, which maintained a minimum royalty system to support creators.
Influencer Wale described the XP farming practice as “Blur farming on steroids,” with top farmers engaging in rapid trading to maximize rewards. One NFT community member highlighted that a top airdrop farmer had already generated $20,000 in fees for OpenSea through their activities, leading to concerns about users dumping NFTs on each other’s bids to compete for points. Another user criticized OpenSea’s approach, stating that the XP campaign neglects the interests of key participants in the NFT ecosystem.
Meanwhile, OpenSea users face security concerns due to a past data breach from 2022, where over 7 million email addresses were compromised and are now publicly available. SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, reported that this leaked data had circulated multiple times, heightening the risk of phishing attacks. The breach included email addresses of notable figures in the crypto industry, such as former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, along with major companies and influencers.
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