What is OpenSea? A Guide to OS2 and the $SEA Token Airdrop

OpenSea was the number one marketplace for NFT trading, lost its position to Blur and Magic Eden, and made a comeback. Now the NFT marketplace is revamping itself with a complete makeover, bringing new features to table and delivering an exciting airdrop for their own $SEA token.

With almost 8 million wallets trading and close to $40 billion in all-time trading volume, OpenSea has become the leading marketplace for NFTs. NFT trading moved from Ethereum to a plethora of other chains, including Polygon, Immutable, and of course Solana. OpenSea couldn’t keep up with these new developments and lost its leading position, only to make a comeback in early 2024.

At the end of September 2025, OpenSea processed the most NFT sales and generated one of the highest volumes in the industry. How much? Over 4.29 million NFTs sold in the past 30 days, good for $167 million in volume. These are numbers over the entire month of September. Please visit the Marketplace Rankings to get a better idea about the current market, which clearly shows the improved position of OpenSea, as airdrop farming is coming into play.

Last update: 26 September 2025

What is OpenSea?

At its core, OpenSea is a non-custodial marketplace. That means it never holds your NFTs or tokens – instead, you connect your crypto wallet (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Ledger, etc.) and trade directly from there. This design was crucial in building trust: assets stay in your wallet until you sell, and purchases are delivered straight to you on-chain.

By September 2025, OpenSea had already surpassed 7 million active users and billions in trading volume, cementing its role as the go-to NFT hub. It was also one of the first platforms to standardize royalties for creators, making sure artists earned a percentage each time their work changed hands. For many, this was a turning point – NFTs weren’t just speculative assets, they became a new digital economy for creators.

Its mission? To become a “one-stop shop for everything on-chain”: art, collectibles, gaming assets, domain names, tickets, and whatever new form NFTs take in the future.

Key features that made OpenSea a leader

Minting & creator tools

Through OpenSea Creator Studio, anyone can launch an NFT collection without needing to code. Features like lazy minting (NFTs are only minted on first sale, saving upfront gas costs) and on-chain royalties via ERC-721C empowered artists to reach global audiences. For creators, OpenSea isn’t just a marketplace, it is a launchpad.

Marketplace trading

Collectors can explore trending collections, filter by price or category, and place bids or buy instantly. OpenSea tracks floor prices, volumes, and sales history, helping users make informed decisions. In a sense, it’s both a store and a stock exchange for NFTs.

Wallet support

With support for all major wallets, including MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, Ledger, and WalletConnect, OpenSea became accessible to anyone in crypto. This non-custodial model lets users keep full control of their assets.

Royalties

While some marketplaces cut creator royalties, OpenSea doubled down on supporting them. With ERC-721C, royalties are now enforceable at the contract level. Creators can set their rates in Studio, ensuring they’re rewarded every time their work is resold.

Analytics & rewards

OpenSea introduced Voyages, a quest-based reward system where users earn XP by exploring new chains, completing swaps, or trading across collections. This gamification keeps users engaged while preparing for token-based rewards.

OpenSea 2.0 features

In early 2025, OpenSea unveiled OS2, a rebuilt platform designed to address long-standing issues and prepare the marketplace for its next chapter. The entire website was reimagined to serve both casual collectors and professional traders, with tools that make navigating the NFT space faster, smoother, and more rewarding.

Some of the most important changes include:

• NFTs + Tokens, side by side: For the first time, OpenSea supports not just NFTs but also fungible tokens. This means the marketplace is no longer just about digital art or PFPs – it’s a complete hub for on-chain assets.
• Cross-chain trading: Users can now purchase NFTs across different blockchains using tokens from another chain. For example, you can buy an Ethereum NFT using funds held on Polygon, making the platform truly multi-chain.
• 14 supported chains (and growing): OS2 currently supports assets on 14 chains, including Ethereum, Polygon, Flow, ApeChain, Soneium, Berachain, and more. This makes OpenSea one of the broadest NFT and token marketplaces available.
• Pricing flexibility: Users can choose to see prices in crypto or in USD, making it easier for newcomers to understand value at a glance.
• Lower fees at launch: OpenSea set marketplace fees at 0.5% for NFT trading and 0% for token swaps during the launch period. Fees may be adjusted later, but this setup incentivizes users to trade on OS2 instead of competitors.
• XP & loyalty rewards: Every action on OS2 – buying, selling, bidding, sweeping – earns XP (points). These XP can be boosted by specific activities or by holding certain NFTs, giving loyal users additional perks. OpenSea has made it clear: active and loyal users will be rewarded over time.
• Simplified interface: Redundant features like English auctions were retired, while navigation, profile pages, and search were rebuilt for clarity and speed.
• Mobile-first design: A new AI-powered mobile app launched in September 2025, offering an integrated portfolio dashboard for users on the go.

In short, OpenSea 2.0 transformed the marketplace into a multi-chain, multi-asset hub where NFTs and tokens live side by side, and where loyalty is rewarded with XP, boosts, and potentially higher allocations in the SEA ecosystem.

OpenSea $SEA token airdrop

OpenSea has confirmed that $SEA will be coming. The airdrop will go to users who used OpenSea in the past, but also to those who are now using the updated version of the NFT marketplace. The OpenSea Foundation has communicated the following things to know about the SEA token airdrop.

• Historical OpenSea usage will be an important ingredient
• Recent activity will also play a role of course

The following may be some of the criteria used for the retrospective airdrop:

• Amount of NFTs traded on OpenSea, both buying and selling.
• Total trading volume from an individual wallet
• Trading NFTs on a variety of supported chains, such as Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain and Arbitrum.

The OpenSea Foundation promises to make the claiming process simple and accessible, and yes, they’ve confirmed that US users will also be able to get the airdrop. The team emphasizes that they want to airdrop in such a way that there’s long-term sustainability. However, at the moment there are no details on the timing yet.

How to farm the OpenSea $SEA token airdrop

If you want to maximize your chances of a strong allocation, here are strategies the community is using:

• Trade actively on OpenSea: Buy, sell, bid, and list NFTs regularly.
• Avoid competitors: Engaging on rival NFT marketplaces may reduce your score.
• Target boosted collections: Some collections give XP multipliers:
  • ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Doodles, Kaito Genesis (5x boost)
  • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pudgy Penguins (4x boost)
  • ⭐⭐⭐ Azuki, BAYC, Milady Maker, Gemesis (3x boost)
• Consider Gemesis: With a floor price of ~0.0233 ETH and nearly 30,000 trades in the past week, it’s one of the most farmed collections.
• Other low-price whitelisted collections (<0.1 ETH): Seven Peaks of Celestial Stars, Nakamigos, K-16 (Karu), Doodles Genesis Box, Kemonokaki, DarkNOUNs, The Sandbox LANDs, Skyborne Genesis Immortals, Story Protocol: Onchain Chronicles, The Memes by 6529, Rare Pepe, Fake Rares, Peplicator by Matt Furie, InfiniGods. (These usually provide a 1-star XP boost.)
• Use the “Sweep” function: Buying multiple NFTs at once from high-volume collections boosts activity.
• Place bids instead of just buying: Competitive collection-wide bids help farm XP.
• Don’t multi-wallet: Splitting activity across multiple addresses may look suspicious.
• Try token trading: OpenSea recently launched ERC-20 token features. Using them also grants XP that could improve allocations.

Important

The OpenSea Foundation hasn’t released any detailed information about the token distribution or farming criteria. These details have been gathered from online discussions on X, and reading between the lines of OpenSea’s public communications. By focusing on consistent, legitimate activity and staying updated, you can position yourself well for the SEA token airdrop.

NFT trading may have tax consequences (e.g., capital gains or income tax). Consult a tax professional if needed.

How much $SEA tokens will you receive in the airdrop

Of course that depends on your activity and participation. However, when we’re talking about the retrospective airdrop you could look at your historical activity on OpenSea. There’s a Dune dashboard where you can check the data behind individual wallets. It could be an indication on how much your airdrop may be worth.

OpenSea Pro becomes part of OS2

OpenSea Pro, launched in 2023 as an aggregator to rival Blur, is now being integrated directly into OpenSea 2.0. Instead of shutting down, Pro’s advanced tools – like bulk buying, analytics, and cross-market aggregation – are becoming part of the main OpenSea platform.

This integration creates a more unified experience, combining OpenSea’s retail-friendly interface with Pro’s trader-focused features. The result: one streamlined marketplace serving both casual collectors and professional traders.

The above does not constitute investment advice. The information given here is purely for informational purposes only. Please exercise due diligence and do your research.