It’s possible that OpenSea is preparing to add perpetual contracts, in a move that will take the NFT market deeper into crypto trading.
Summary
- OpenSea’s Zack Brenner asked users who want early access to perpetual contracts on the platform.
- Brenner later answered “YES” when asked if Hyperliquid would power the planned OpenSea feature.
- CoinGecko ranks OpenSea third in NFT market volume, with a monthly market share of 19.9%.
OpenSea Product Marketing Leader Zack Brenner asked users on X who wanted early access to the perpetual contracts on OpenSea. The post attracted attention because it pointed to a potential new trading product from one of the most popular NFT markets.
Brenner later appeared to confirm the infrastructure partner when a user asked if the service would be powered by Hyperliquid. He answered “YES”, according to a post shared by accounts focused on Hyperliquid on X. OpenSea has not yet released a full product page, launch date, supported assets or user terms for the planned feature.
The Hyperliquid link draws the attention of the trader
Hyperliquid is one of the most viewed off-chain platforms in crypto. It allows users to trade perpetual contracts, which track asset prices without requiring direct ownership of the asset.
The OpenSea integration likely places Hyperliquid’s infrastructure within a consumer-facing platform that is well-known for NFT trading. That would give OpenSea a path to crypto derivatives without building a full perp exchange from the ground up.
OpenSea expands beyond NFTs
OpenSea remains the largest NFT market, even after losing the market share it held during the NFT boom of 2021 and 2022. The latest CoinGecko market places OpenSea third by monthly NFT trading volume, with a 19.9% share and a volume of $66.52 million.
As previously reported by crypto.news, OpenSea delayed the launch of the SEA token in March due to weak market conditions. That report said SEA was expected to support a broader “everything trading” strategy that included NFTs, token trading and features such as perpetual futures.
Perps tease follows the delay of the SEA token
The new teasing of perps comes after OpenSea reduced its token issuance and adjusted its reward system. CEO Devin Finzer said the team wants to make sure “all the pieces are in place” before moving forward with the SEA launch.
Product perps may be part of that broader product change. It may help OpenSea provide users who want more than NFT buying and selling. It can also put the platform together for transactions that include spot trading, derivatives and rewards in a single application.
Crypto.news also reported that Hyperliquid is getting more attention from regulated market products. Grayscale recently renewed its Hyperliquid ETF coverage with the ticker HYPG and a fee of 0.29%, while 21Shares and Bitwise already have Hyperliquid-linked products on the market.
OpenSea has not guaranteed that perps will roll out to all users or start with limited testing. For now, Brenner’s post points to early access and a possible Hyperliquid release, but full details are still pending.
