OpenSea said it has received a Wells Notice from the U.S. securities regulator.
OpenSea, the largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, received a notice that it is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC is “threatening to sue us because they believe NFTs on our platform are securities,” said OpenSea Chief Executive Officer Devin Finzer in a post on X.
NFTs are a way to inscribe property on-chain, with many NFTs used as digital collectibles and art.
“We’re shocked the SEC would make such a sweeping move against creators and artists,” Finzer said. “But we’re ready to stand up and fight….NFTs are fundamentally creative goods: art, collectibles, video game items, domain names, event tickets, and more. We should not regulate digital art in the same way we regulate collateralized debt obligations.”
The CEO also announced that OpenSea will be standing up for its artists, and is pledging $5 million to help cover legal fees for NFT creators and devs that also receive a Wells Notice.
Opensea was the top NFT marketplace during the NFT boom of 2021 and 2022, and raised $300 million at a valuation of $13 billion in January 2022.
There has not been an immediate reaction from the NFT market. Floor prices and volumes of the top collections are relatively stable at the moment, with CryptoPunks sitting at 28.5 ETH, Pudgy Penguins at 10.45 ETH, and the Bored Ape Yacht Club at 13.1 ETH.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/regulation/sec-is-investigating-nft-marketplace-opensea-ceo-says