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Luis Clark
Luis Clark
Luis is a personal finance expert who has been passionate and writing about crypto for more than five years.
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    Opensea Review 2023: Security, Pros & Cons

    opensea review

    OpenSea Review: Our Opinion

    OpenSea offers a massive selection of NFTs with a variety of options that cater to all budgets. The NFT marketplace stands out for its gas-free option that allows users to transact on the platform void of blockchain fees. However, its biggest cons are the numerous security challenges and trust issues that have buffeted the platform in recent years.

    An Overview of OpenSea

    OpenSea was founded in December 2017 as the first open marketplace for any non-fungible token on the Ethereum blockchain. It is currently the largest NFT marketplace. It has more than 200 employees and supports over 2 million plus collections and 80 million+ NFTs. The OpenSea NFT marketplace has facilitated over $20 billion in trades.

    Currently, OpenSea is the largest general marketplace for user-owned digital assets and it supports several blockchains. The platform is backed by some of the leading firms and industry giants including Coinbase, Trust Wallet, Pascal Capital, Mark Cuban, Ben Silberman, Alexis Ohanian, etc.

    Pros

    Cons

    Key Features of OpenSea

    Bundles Sale

    bundlesale opensea

    OpenSea NFT marketplace users can sell a group of items all at once using the Bundles Sale feature. With these features, users can list all digital assets for sale at a single price. 

    Items can be listed as bundles gas-free. The digital assets do not leave the owner’s wallet when the bundle is created. This means that the owner can keep using them within OpenSea until they are sold. The owner can also put valuable individual digital assets that are in the bundle for sale. This can help in the selling of less valuable items. A bundle can contain a maximum of 100 items. If an item from the bundle is sold separately, the binder is delisted and considered invalid. 

    Every bundle created on OpenSea has a unique URL that is accessible to everyone. Potential buyers can view the items in the bundle through the link. Every OpenSea marketplace excluding old implementations of ERC721 can bundle items. New ERC721-based digital assets can also be bundled on OpenSea. Items can be bundled programmatically using the OpenSea.js SDK. 

    NFT owners can bundle their items on OpenSea marketplace by doing the following: 

    • Go to your account page and select “Sell a bundle” 
    • Add the items you wish to include in the bundle 
    • Add a name, link, and description to the bundle. 
    • Set a fixed price for the bundle 
    • You can also create a Dutch auction for the bundle. This will make the price of the bundle start at a specific price. 
    • Approve access to your items 
    • Click “Sign” on your Metamask. Once you do this, your bundles will be listed. 
    • Share the unique URL to the bundle with prospective buyers.

    NFT Gifting

    OpenSea users can gift NFTs to their friends and other OpenSea users. This can be done by transferring the digital art to the recipients’ wallets. The digital art can be transferred directly from the profile page or the item page. 

    To gift NFT from the Profile page, do the following:

    • Go to the NFT you wish to gift 
    • Scroll to the bottom left corner of the item card and click on the three-dot menu. 
    • Select “Transfer” 
    • Confirm your selection and click “Continue” 
    • Enter the recipient’s wallet address 
    • Click “Send Items” 
    • Go to your wallet and confirm the signature request. 
    • Once the item is sent to the recipient, you will be notified. 

    NFTs can also be transferred directly from the item page. To send directly from the item page, do the following:

    • Go to the “Transfer” button at the top-right corner of the item page. 
    • Enter the recipient’s wallet address 
    • Click “Transfer”. 
    • Confirm the signature request in your wallet. 

    Asides from these two methods, you can also gift NFTs from your crypto wallet. You can do this by selecting and sending your preferred digital asset from the NFT page in your wallet. 

    Users do not have to buy NFT from the platform to use this feature. NFTs purchased from other NFT marketplaces can be gifted on OpenSea. They can do this by simply connecting their wallet to OpenSea and sending the NFT from their wallet.

    OpenSea Ecosystem Grants

    grants opensea

    The OpenSea Ecosystem Grants are designed to empower developers, creators, and community members who are committed to the expansion of the NFT ecosystem. The grant focuses on 3 areas: 

    •  Community Education: These are resources that help make Web3 and NFTs approachable by supporting the Onboarding and education of new users. 
    • Usability and Tooling: These products and tooling empower creators and improve user experience. 
    • Accessibility and Inclusivity: This area focuses on creating a space where everyone has access to the opportunities and promises of NFTs 

    Builders, founders, and creators passionate about the advancement of the web3 space and NFT are all eligible for the grant. Enthusiasts can also apply for the grant. 

    Applicants are evaluated using the following criteria: 

    • Project Scope: This is focused on whether or not the project serves at least one of the core pillars of the grant program which includes: usability, education, and community enrichment. 
    • Project Impact: This has to do with whether or not the project has any meaningful impact on a subset of users in the ecosystem. 
    • Timelines: Will the project make any significant impact within 1 to 2 quarters of development? 
    • Team Composition: Can the team deliver the outlined project? 

    When you apply for the grant, the committee will review the application and give feedback to the applicant. The size of the grant is dependent on the scope and need of the project as outlined in the application. Depending on the roadmap of the project, instead of paying a lump sum, The committee can also decide to provide a percentage of the grant when a specific milestone is met.

    Types of NFT You can Buy and Sell

    category nft opensea

    As OpenSea is arguably the largest NFT marketplace you can practically buy and sell any type of NFT on the platform. That said, here are the various NFT categories offered by OpenSea:

    • Collectibles
    • Photography
    • Domain names
    • Art
    • Trading cards
    • Utility
    • Music
    • Sports
    • Virtual worlds

    Concerning the type of NFT token standard, at the moment, there are 2 types of NFTs supported on OpenSea:

    • 1/1 NFTs: These are known as ERC-721 tokens on Polygon and Ethereum and KIP17 on the Klaytn blockchain. 
    • Semi-fungible NFTs: These are known as ERC-1155 tokens on Polygon and Ethereum. They are also known as KIP37 on Klaytn. 

    To know whether an NFT is semi-fungible or 1/1 all users need to do is look at the “Details” tab at the bottom left of the item screen.

    Supported Blockchain

    OpenSea supports the following blockchains: Polygon, Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, and Klaytn.

    Supported Wallets

    OpenSea supports several wallets including Metamask, Portis, Coinbase wallet, Venly, Dapper, Magic, Opera Touch, Torus, Phantom, and Core. It also supports Glow wallet, WalletConnect, Bitski, Authereum, and Trust Wallet

    OpenSea does not support the use of Multi-Signature wallets.

    NFT Minting

    Minting on OpenSea is straightforward. On the Ethereum chain, OpenSea also offers lazy minting. This is a process that allows the user to avoid paying blockchain fees or gas fees to mint their NFTs. When the user lazy mints their NFT tokens they can list them for sale on OpenSea, however, it won’t be written to the blockchain yet. But when someone purchases your NFT, the mint is taken as a single transaction which means that the buyer will pay for all gas fees.

    To mint your NFT on OpenSea, here’s what to do.

    Create a Crypto Wallet

    To carry out any activity on the blockchain you need to have a crypto wallet. The wallet will hold your crypto and NFTs. A recommended choice is MetaMask as the wallet is available as both a hot wallet via its browser extension for Brave and Chrome as well as a cold wallet when integrated with physical hardware devices like Ledger and Trezor. Other options include Coinbase Wallet, Fortmatic, and WelletConnect.

    Connect Your Wallet

    connect metamask to opensea
    Head to OpenSea.io and go to the upper right bar and click on “Profile”. You should see a new page with a prompt to connect your wallet. If you created a MetaMask wallet, choose MetaMask. After going through several prompts requesting various permissions you’ll see a “connecting” screen pop up which will connect your OpenSea to your wallet.

    Create a Collection

    Before minting your NFTs on OpenSea, you’ll need to create the collection to which they will belong. At this point, you’ll make and explain your collection, pick a category, and include any social links. To do so, go to your profile and choose “My Collection” then click “Create” to start a new Collection. The new collection will have your logo image, banner, and featured image.

    Upload your NFT

    After setting up your wallet and creating the collection to which it will belong, you’re all set to begin minting your NFTs. The process is simple and the platform’s AI will handle the technical aspect of it. So you don’t have to bother about how it is minted. 

    To do so, head to your collection and click “Add Item” in the upper right corner. Next upload a new piece of art which can be a 3D model, image, or audio. Add your item’s details: its name and description. 

    Next, select the collection that your NFT will be under and fill in the properties of the NFT. Fill in all other required details and then choose the supply and the issuing blockchain. The supply is the number of copies of the NFT that can be minted. 

    Lastly, click “Create” and the new item will be displayed as a new NFT in your collection. You can put it up for sale at a particular price or auction it for the highest bidder. The platform takes a 2.5% fee for every transaction.

    How to Buy NFT OpenSea?

    To buy NFTs on OpenSea you need to get a crypto wallet if you don’t already have one. Some compatible wallets include MetaMask, Phantom, and Coinbase. NFT transactions happen via cryptocurrencies but some NFTs on the platform can be purchased using a credit or debit card to deposit funds. 

    That said, there are 3 ways to buy and sell NFTs on OpenSea: buy now, offers, and auctions

    NFTs listed as “buy now” have a fixed price and can be bought at any point during the sale period without any involvement with the seller. This is the fastest and easiest method of buying NFTs on OpenSea. 

    For NFTs put up for auction, OpenSea users can bid on them. The NFT will go to the highest bidder or any offer the seller chooses during the auction period. 

    To buy through offers on OpenSea, you can make an offer on any NFT even though it isn’t listed for sale. And if the item is listed you can make an offer if you want to offer a lower price than the listed one. 

    That said, here are the 5 steps to buy NFTs:

    • Choose the NFT you want to buy and click the buy now button
    • Connect your cryptocurrency wallet
    • Select your preferred payment method
    • Review fees 
    • Input your payment details

    That’s it!

    OpenSea Fees

    OpenSea offers a clear and simple fee model. The platform receives 2.5% of the sale price. OpenSea also supports creator fees that allow creators to earn up to 10% in fees anytime their work is sold. The gas fees paid on OpenSea do not go to the platform.

    OpenSea Payment Methods

    OpenSea supports Ethereum (ETH/WETH), AVAX, DAI, USDC, and SOL as payment methods. They also support credit and debit cards as payment methods for some NFTs. 

    OpenSea Security

    NFTs on OpenSea are secured on the Ethereum blockchain using the ERC-721 standard. A signature validating an order is required for any transaction to be confirmed on OpenSea.

    In January 2022, OpenSea was hit by a phishing attack which resulted in 32 users losing NFT worth $1.7 million.

    Following the attack, in June 2022, OpenSea announced a new security feature designed to protect NFT collectors from scams. This new feature automatically hides suspicious NFT transfers from view on the NFT marketplace. This is to ensure that only legitimate transactions are visible.

    The new feature also sends periodic notifications of suspicious transfers to users and includes new filter options labeled “Hidden by You” and “Auto Hidden”.

    Also, to solve the problem of plagiarized or stolen NFTs on the platform, OpenSea has set up a special moderation team to oversee digital asset review and moderation. The platform also uses critical auto-detection technologies to address copyright-related problems.

    OpenSea has also decided to invest in different aspects of security like theft prevention, scaling reviews and moderation, IP infringement, and reducing critical response times in high-touch settings.

    Customer Service

    customer service opensea

    OpenSea users who wish to contact the support team can get email support from the team by filling out a support form. Customers filing the support form are required to provide their email address, wallet address, and detailed information about the problem they are experiencing. 

    OpenSea does not offer phone support. The lack of phone support is a major issue that OpenSea users complain about as they have difficulty getting fast support from the support team via email.

    Final Thoughts

    Known as the NFT megastore, OpenSea is the largest online marketplace for NFTs. It is the best fit for NFT enthusiasts who are looking for a platform where they can buy and sell any type of digital asset to a large audience. However, just like most NFT marketplaces, the security challenges faced by the platform in the past if not handled could affect the platform’s growth in the future.

    Our extensive analysis of the NFT Marketplaces doesn’t stop here. You can check out our list of Top NFT Marketplaces.

    FAQ

    Most frequent questions and answers

    MetaMask is an excellent wallet for OpenSea as the solution can be integrated with hardware devices for cold storage, which is considered the safest way of storing cryptocurrency.

    As long as you do not give anyone your secret recovery phrase, it is safe to connect your wallet to OpenSea.

    OpenSea NFT exchange does not offer a wallet, so you can withdraw money via your connected wallet.

    Yes, OpenSea is one of the best NFT marketplaces to sell NFTs, the platform also allows NFT creators to mint their own NFT collections.

    NFTs minted with lazy minting do not incur gas fees for the seller.

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