Welcome To Child Labor Investments! Today we’re going to talk about OpenSea & Dharma. In my opinion, the purchase of OpenSea was significant and you’ll have to read on to find out why…
Hey all Robin here, I hope you enjoyed my latest post on [REDACTED]. Today’s a free article and we’re going to be doing a short overview of the current state of the NFT markets and why OpenSea’s acquisition of Dharma is one of the biggest crypto acquisitions ever for a small company.
State of the NFT Market
It’s red damn, hot.
The NFT market has been on a tear since Jan 2021 and will continue to see further growth due to the growth and development of firms like MoonPay partnering with celebrities like PostMalone, Jimmy Fallon, and Paris Hilton to encourage them to buy NFTs (you don’t think their interest was just random, right?).
While no one is sure how long exactly how long the NFT market can run red hot, it’s becoming clear that NFTs are here to stay in every sense of the phrase.
NFTs have penetrated internet culture as either a dividing force with one camp thinking they are massive opportunity to change how the internet works or being absolutely pointless and wasteful to the environment. However, the real interest and money movers in NFTs doesn’t come from people like us; it comes from whales and those whales are going to be in for a fun market.
Here’s why.
What is Dharma and why?
Dharma is a Smart Wallet by Dharma Labs and one of the few consumer friendly crypto companies in the world.
Dharma’s Smart Wallet enables users to easy buy and sell crypto using their bank account information and to move from TradFi to DeFi in a few taps.
Remarkable right?
Well, as it turns out the same kind of technology is incredibly useful for the NFT market and is a technology that OpenSea would like to own.
It’s also worth mentioning the Dharma Wallet is just plain easy to use and won’t give you an aneurism like when you try and use MetaMask for the first time.
Naturally, OpenSea would want something like this for a few reasons
Easy on-ramp for helping users buy NFTs.
Experienced design team to help with the development of the OpenSea app.
A desire to not be reliant on MoonPay.
A need to prepare for a fight with Coinbase.
What’s Coinbase got to do with this?
Coinbase is the great equalizer in Crypto and the AOL of this revolution.
The nice and friendly place where users begin their crypto journey.
After successfully making buying and exchanging crypto as easy and as friendly as using Venmo, Coinbase is now setting their sights on a new opportunity: entering the NFT market.
The NFT market is extremely nascent, complicated, and more confusing than we say it is.
In order to buy an NFT on OpenSea you need to do a few things right now:
Have a MetaMask wallet.
Sign up for an onramp like Coinbase.
Maneuver Coinbase to buy Ethereum.
Move those coins off the exchange and into MetaMask.
Log in to OpenSea.
No one actually thinks most normal people are up for this, right?
And even with the MoonPay integration with OpenSea it’s still maneuvering through so many damn windows that most whales (big money =/ “smart” enough to know how to maneuver through OpenSea).
Coinbase also partnered with Mastercard to make it extremely easy to buy and sell NFTs on their future platform by allowing for simple credit card transactions.
However, with a service like Dharma being in OpenSea’s pocket, being able to serve that big money in an easy way by enabling a user to buy an NFT with regular USD or a Credit Card is hugely transformative for NFTs.
Regardless of who wins here are some possible ripple effects: 1) The NFT market goes even higher. 2) NFTs penetrate mainstream culture in a more friendly way. 3) “Coinbasization” (user friendly horse to bring a section of crypto to normies) of NFTs continues and NFTs become embedded into almost every major app in a similar way to how almost every big fintech app lets you buy and sell crypto.
Why does this matter and what does it mean?
NFTs are here to stay and the market has the potential to go even higher as new money enters the scene. But it also signals the rise of more and more normal users entering the NFT market and you should expect the design and development of future NFTs to reflect that.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice in any way shape or form. I’m literally just an angry and angsty bird writing down my thoughts on the future and technology. Mom said the tendies would be done in 5 minutes but it has been 20.
NFTs for All?
1. Have a MetaMask wallet.
2. Sign up for an onramp like Coinbase.
3. Maneuver Coinbase to buy Ethereum.
4. Move those coins off the exchange and into MetaMask.
5. Log in to OpenSea.
Not to mention the several transactions that need to be processed and gas fees that need to be paid.