Opensea OS2 is live, sparking controversy over the NFT agriculture frenzy

Opensea’s highly anticipated OS2 update and the launch of $Sea Token Airdrop have sparked widespread controversy across the NFT community.

With OS2, users can now earn XP via bids and lists. NFTS is a system designed to distribute $Sea tokens to future AirDrop. However, traders are engaged in high frequency flipping of NFTs with minimal losses to quickly identify how to game the system and maximize XP rewards.

This has raised concerns that Opensea is prioritizing volume and fees over the long-term health of the NFT ecosystem.

What was the community’s response?

At the heart of the controversy is Opensea’s XP system. This rewards traders to bid and list NFTs rather than making real purchases. This has exploded high-frequency trading, with XP farmers turning NFTs over in seconds, pushing the amount of the market to artificial highs whilst causing significant damage to NFT floor prices.

Waleswoosh described Opensea as “steroid blurry farming” as it underlines the lack of a cooldown period. This is a measure implemented in the past to curb excessive washing transactions, and focused on farmers who carry out rapid transactions to accumulate XP with minimal losses. According to the post, the trader was able to cycle through NFT bids, dumping them on the next farmer within 24 seconds, paying $5.38 for each trade.

Many believe that Opensy’s strategy is a platform that will increase engagement numbers, ensure investors’ returns, and call it a “absolute stigma” that will prioritize revenue over the health of the NFT ecosystem, and copy Blur’s agricultural mechanics without considering collectors and creators.

The frustration is further reflected, as another member describes the upcoming $Sea Airdrop as just a “last-minute liquidity play before the end of the cycle.”

How did Opensea respond to the controversy?

Despite growing protests, Opensea has not addressed these concerns directly.

Co-founder Devin Finzer briefly commented that XP’s compensation has been extended beyond bids and listings, but no further details have been provided about the company’s plans to ease concerns about washing transactions and lower floor prices.

For now, Opence’s bet on agriculture-based incentives is pushing the NFT market into another high-risk cycle. It remains to be seen whether the platform will listen to the community and make adjustments, but as history shows in Blur’s previous farming season, unchecked speculative trading can leave lasting damage to the NFT ecosystem.