OpenSea CMO: Building one app for NFTs, meme coins, and crypto

At Consensus Miami on Thursday, OpenSea’s chief marketing officer Adam Hollander told Karnika E. Yashwant, also known as Mr. KEY, that the company is shifting its focus. OpenSea no longer wants to be known only as the platform from the NFT boom a few years back. Instead, it’s building a single non-custodial app that handles NFTs, meme coins, perpetual futures, and major cryptocurrencies across 26 chains.

Adam explained his background before joining OpenSea. He started a software company that was later sold to Microsoft, then spent years learning large-scale product building and marketing. After leaving Microsoft and working as COO of a medical education firm, he became deeply involved in NFTs and digital ownership. About a year ago, he spoke with OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer and decided to join as CMO.

The product has changed significantly, Adam said. “You can now trade major crypto. You can trade meme coins, perps all across 26 chains.” Users can do that without bridging, keeping their wallets and assets together. The platform targets people who prefer controlling their own assets rather than leaving them with custodial services.

Rebuilding from the Ground Up

Mr. KEY asked how long the new product rollout has been happening. Adam said OpenSea rebuilt the platform about a year ago through OS2 because the old version’s foundations weren’t designed for these features. “The rails that sit behind everything weren’t built to be able to do everything I just mentioned,” he noted. The new architecture supports multiple pillars of discovery, trading, and ownership.

The upcoming OpenSea Mobile app is where the strategy becomes more consumer-focused. It creates a wallet in seconds, allows Apple Pay via fiat-to-crypto conversion, and spends across 26 chains. Adam emphasized that advanced users still have full power, but the average person just needs to know they have money to buy what they want.

User Numbers and Demographics

On user statistics, Adam couldn’t provide every exact figure but shared that over 1 million wallets joined OpenSea’s recent rewards program. Hundreds of thousands of unique users are active across token trading, NFTs, and other products. The rewards program ended about a month ago, so current users aren’t just there for incentives.

Most current users are crypto-native with non-custodial wallets, Adam said. However, the OS Mobile app targets outsiders. Around 600 beta testers are in one-on-one sessions with marketing and engineering teams. “We’ve been collecting that feedback to improve the product,” Adam explained.

Discovery and DeFi

Mr. KEY asked if OpenSea’s discovery system surpasses tools like DeBank or CoinStats. Adam said OpenSea has an edge because it sees cultural on-chain behavior through NFTs, offering powerful recommendations. However, DeFi isn’t part of the first release. Adam said the app focuses on direct asset ownership, not yield protocols. Perps are included, but DeFi may come later.

When Mr. KEY brought up banks also targeting normal users, Adam said those products are mostly custodial. OpenSea bets on user-owned wallets and support for NFTs and tokenized assets alongside major crypto. “Nobody can touch it with a 100-foot pole,” Adam said about large custodial platforms that lack proper NFT support.

Looking Ahead

Mr. KEY asked about the next one to two years before a potential bull market. Adam said the app launch is imminent, followed by marketing outside the crypto bubble. OpenSea is also preparing for agentic trading with an MCP server and API that let automated agents buy, sell, list, trade, and bid across NFTs, meme coins, and major cryptos.

The post OpenSea CMO: Building one app for NFTs, meme coins, and crypto appeared first on TheCryptoUpdates.