Although the NFT marketplace giant will not support Ethereum forks, OpenSea competitors may.
Once the network’s highly anticipated upgrade—the Merge—is completed, OpenSea will support the proof-of-stake Ethereum chain.
The Ethereum Merge will convert the blockchain’s current proof-of-work consensus to a more environmentally friendly, 99.9% more energy-efficient version.
The event, which is expected to take place on or around September 15, has prompted many crypto platforms to prepare for the change.
OpenSea said in a Twitter thread on Thursday, “First, and most importantly, we are committed to solely supporting NFTs on the upgraded Ethereum PoS chain.”
It also mentioned potential Ethereum PoW forks that may attempt to launch alternative chains, as well as the fact that existing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the Ethereum proof-of-work mechanism will no longer be supported or reflected in OpenSea’s marketplace.
According to DappRadar data, OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace for crypto collectibles on the Ethereum blockchain, with $31 billion in trading volume since its launch in December 2017.
Many consider Ethereum’s upcoming transition to be a watershed moment in the blockchain space.
According to Asaf Naim, CEO of decentralized application developer Kirobo, most platforms that currently run on Ethereum will also support the PoS chain because failing to do so would effectively cut them out of the ecosystem.
“However, I do not anticipate these platforms adopting OpenSea’s selective stance. I believe these platforms will be inclined to support a forked chain that remains on POW.
It’s important to note that any forked chain will lag behind the new PoS chain in terms of both use and price,” Naim added.
Circle, a stablecoin provider, has taken a stance similar to OpenSea’s, stating that it will only support the PoS chain and that its USD Coin (USDC) can only exist as a single valid version.
When combined with Tether’s similar decision regarding its USDT stablecoin, the lack of support is set to devastate DeFi applications on any forked chain.
