In recent news, EtherFi, a decentralized liquid staking platform, has been in trouble with OpenSea, a popular NFT marketplace. The platform launched ether.fan, an NFT collection backed by staked ETH and focused on Ethereum decentralization. After successfully hitting all 3k NFTs within a day with over 6200 ETH in play, all listings on OpenSea disappeared without warning.
When contacting OpenSea, EtherFi was told that NFT collections that conduct financial activities subject to registration or licensing are not allowed on the platform. This raises concerns about the conservative stance OpenSea has taken, as not even the SEC has explicitly stated that staked ETH is subject to licensing and registration.
EtherFi had been in contact with OpenSea before launch to ensure compatibility, integrate their API for metadata, and make sure the collection looked good. Despite this, they received no indication that there would be any problems. The sudden and inexplicable deletion of all listings on OpenSea left EtherFi users confused and frustrated, with many searching for answers.
That being said, I think there are many examples of companies in the crypto space willing to take a stand. Coinbase is the prime example. I think that’s the right approach. Otherwise, what’s the point of the whole thing?
Mike Silagadze wrote in the letter to OpenSea
While EtherFi does not believe OpenSea acted maliciously, they do suggest that there may be communication gaps due to the size of the company. As businesses grow in size, they often become more risk averse and are effectively run by their legal and accounting teams. This can stifle innovation and creativity and alienate users who may feel their needs and concerns are not being listened to.
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