OpenSea: Comprehensive Research & Strategic Insights (2025) @opensea continues to function as a gateway to digital ownership and NFT liquidity. Starting as an "NFT-only marketplace," it is evolving into a broad web3 platform encompassing multi-chain asset trading, token economies, and intersections with real-world assets (RWA) as of 2025. The goal is to serve as a "home of web3" that provides performance and tools for experienced traders while offering easy onboarding for novice users. To achieve this, a major product overhaul (OpenSea 2.0), the introduction of a native token (SEA), expansion to over 22 chains, and strengthening mobile and AI intersections are being pursued simultaneously. The core infrastructure absorbs the latest standards beyond the standard ERC-721/1155, including account abstraction and ERC-6551 (token-bound accounts), integrating exploration, trading, and community features for creators, collectors, and institutions alike. The multi-chain strategy extends to Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Base, Ronin, and Hyperliquid, aiming to reduce "chain disconnection" in user experience by adding cross-chain swaps and token purchase functionalities. In terms of security, audit history and user protection policies have been strengthened, and the SEC wealth notice issue of 2024 is expected to conclude in early 2025, significantly reducing regulatory risk uncertainty. The royalty model has shifted from mandatory imposition to optionality, realistically balancing market competition and creator incentives. This change has sparked debates surrounding creator protection, but the toolkit and setting flexibility for new collections allow for continued experimentation with "sustainable royalties." The most notable inflection point in corporate history is the cycle of "massive growth - long adjustment - reorganization." Cumulative investment raised has exceeded $425 million, and the company's valuation peaked at $13.3 billion in 2022 but has dropped to about $1.5 billion amid market contraction. Despite a nearly 98% decrease in trading volume from its peak, it still maintains a top position in terms of user base and transaction share. The fact that the number of OpenSea 2.0 waitlist wallets has surpassed 1 million demonstrates that brand power, accessibility, and product expectations remain significantly intact even at market lows. The product roadmap includes the 2.0 overhaul that combines multi-chain, token trading, user galleries, and on-chain collectibles, along with redesigning the mobile app around AI and organizing cultural legacies through flagship collections of an archival nature. Partnerships are expanding through the official market for Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU token), integration with Avalanche and Ronin ecosystems, and strengthening mobile/social wallet capabilities through the acquisition of Rally. OpenSea's position in the competitive landscape is complex. While Blur dominates pro trader volume and absorbs liquidity with aggressive incentives, Magic Eden shows strengths in Solana and Bitcoin NFTs and expands its user base through mobile. Rarible has strengthened its aggregator and community/DAO identity, but its market share remains limited. In this context, OpenSea leverages its broad user base, brand, compliance capabilities, and multi-chain reach to adopt a "broad retail + pro" position. The introduction of the SEA token acts as a catalyst to reshape this identity through token incentives, governance, and royalty/XP-based rewards. However, it does not need to engage in a head-to-head battle with Blur's high-intensity rewards in the incentive competition. The narrative OpenSea should pursue is to materialize its conventional strengths of "scale, trust, compliance, and multi-chain user experience" through tokens, mobile, and AI. When separating strengths, risks, and opportunities, the outlines become clearer. Strengths include deep liquidity and recognition, a broad user base, durability in the regulatory environment, and multi-chain reach extending to over 22 chains. The experience of conflicts surrounding royalty policies is not solely a disadvantage; it allows for the re-narration of a "sustainable and market-friendly creator economy" through the refinement of creator toolkits and optional designs. Risks include intensified competition, structural declines in trading volume, uncertainty in royalty models, and the inertia of reputational issues left by past regulatory stacks. Opportunities lie on the contrary side. Benefits from regulatory clarification, creator-centric innovations (on-chain identity, copyright/secondary creation standards, AI production support), new demand derived from real-world assets, and the expansion of DeFi intersections all present potential catalysts for a renewed growth curve. Messages for different target segments should vary. For creators, OpenSea should be "the starting point of global digital ownership and a stage for economic autonomy." It should enable handling on-chain minting, cross-chain distribution, royalty settings, and IP toolkits all at once, combining education and exposure through regular contests, featured programs, and workshops. For collectors, it must firmly establish its identity as "the curation hub of global digital culture." It needs to expand value from 'ownership' to 'exhibition and identity' through devices like galleries, collection exhibitions, leaderboards, XP/SEA rewards, and early previews of flagship collections. For institutional investors, OpenSea should be "the gateway to compliance, security, and liquidity." It must open stable entry points by providing white-glove onboarding, compliance toolkits, and institution-exclusive auctions and custody integration. Marketing and retention can be explained through the triangle of tokens, products, and trust. XP-based royalties and SEA incentives encourage repeat visits, while multi-chain trading and personalized galleries create user habits. Trust is secured through transparent communication and consistent execution of security and compliance. Community management should repeatedly provide "reasons to participate" through regular touchpoints like creator contests, educational content, research/blogs/AMAs, public discussions around royalties and standards, virtual meetups, and hackathons. Ultimately, the principle OpenSea must uphold is simple: whether the market is overheated or in a downturn, it must prioritize the trust of users and creators above all else. Several strategic recommendations are clear. First, multi-chain and mobile should be pushed further from the perspective of "practical usability." By bundling swaps, bridges, and payments into a single flow, chain diversity becomes an advantage rather than a barrier to entry. Second, the SEA token should be the core of an 'economy that turns participation into value,' not just a simple reward. Connecting actions like creative contributions, curation, reporting/reviewing, and quality assurance to a token and honor system can enhance community quality. Third, education and community programs should be directly linked to "user conversion." Designing actions like on-chain tasks immediately after workshops, partner minting, and fee rebates will yield results. Fourth, proactively respond to royalty and regulatory issues. By formalizing recommended policies by collection type, on-chain copyright metadata guidelines, and dispute mediation/reporting systems, OpenSea can regain the image of being 'the safest default.' Fifth, continuously highlight success stories. Recovery of creator earnings, long-term holding stories from collectors, and best practices in institutional trading serve as powerful social proof of trust. OpenSea now stands on the bridge from "pure NFT market" to "comprehensive web3 platform." The success of this transition depends on how smoothly it can create a multi-chain user experience, how effectively it can establish the SEA token as a practical driver of participation, governance, and royalties, and above all, whether it can move forward with the community within the framework of regulation and trust. Market cycles may change, but the role of standardizing the infrastructure of digital ownership and gathering culture, identity, and liquidity in one place allows no room for gaps. To maintain that position, OpenSea must consistently provide the most fundamental values as the largest platform. The current reorganization and expansion seem to be a precise shift in focus toward that direction.