- OpenSea plans to launch its SEA token in the first quarter of 2026, allocating 50% of the total supply to its community.
- The token launch coincides with OpenSea’s pivot from a single NFT marketplace to a multi-chain trading hub, with a mobile app and perpetual futures trading also planned.
- SEA will be an integral part of the product, enabling staking on collections, with 50% of platform revenue to be used for SEA token buybacks at launch.
OpenSea will launch its SEA token in the first quarter of 2026 and give 50% of total supply to its community, with more than half of that community allotment available during the initial claim.
The plan was announced in a joint X post by CEO Devin Finzer and the OpenSea Foundation.
The SEA token comes at a time when OpenSea pivots from a single-venue NFT marketplace to a multi-chain trading hub. This month the platform recorded over US$2.6 billion (AU$4.0 billion) in total trading volume, with more than 90% tied to token trading. Finzer also revealed that a mobile app and support for perpetual futures trading are coming soon.
Between now and Q1, we’re shipping the features that bring our vision to life. Mobile is now in closed alpha, and will put the entire onchain economy in your pocket. Perps will be coming to OpenSea. True cross-chain abstraction on its way.
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The announcement follows a year of speculation after the first reveal of a token plan. On Polymarket, odds on a 2025 launch fell from nearly 40% to under 1% after Finzer’s post.
Allocation and Buybacks at Launch
SEA will be an integral token of OpenSea’s core product, allowing users to stake on selected collections or projects. At launch, 50% of platform revenue will be used for SEA buybacks.
Naturally, users with historical activity and participants in rewards programs will be evaluated as separate cohorts, according to Finzer. “Both OGs and those who participated in OpenSea rewards programs will be meaningfully considered, separately”, he said.
But the announcement didn’t specify how that revenue share will be calculated, how frequent buybacks will occur, or how the purchased tokens will be handled post-buyback.
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