OpenSea Acquires Crypto Lending Platform and Wallet Provider Dharma Labs

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has acquired cryptocurrency borrowing, lending platform and digital wallet service Dharma Labs to invest in NFTs and the Web3 ecosystem. As part of the deal, the co-founder and CEO of Dharma Labs, Nadav Hollander will be OpenSea's new chief technology officer. OpenSea claims the deal would help it "dramatically improve the experience of buying, minting, and selling NFTs" on its marketplace, while also marking an end for the Dharma Labs app which has been around for a couple of years now.

“Our teams share a vision that NFTs will be the cultural focal point of crypto's adoption for years to come — and that vision can only be realized if using NFTs becomes easy and delightful for the average person,” OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer said in the post. “Ultimately, we believe this union will be a force multiplier for NFTs and Web3 adoption, and help us dramatically improve the experience of buying, minting and selling NFTs on OpenSea — whether you're a beginner or a pro.”

Speaking of Nadav Hollander's appointment as chief technology officer, Finzer said, "Nadav's impact will be wide-reaching, but his initial mandate will be two core priorities: improving the technical reliability and uptime of our products and building Web3-native mechanisms for engaging with and rewarding our early and loyal community."

“In 2022 and beyond, we're excited to turn our attention towards the focal point of crypto's mainstream adoption: NFTs,” Dharma announced in a blog post. “We will be bringing our knowledge, expertise, and technology to OpenSea in order to power a mainstream-friendly way to buy, sell, and mint NFTs. Together, we will push forward the NFT industry,” the now-acquired company said.

Hollander will replace OpenSea co-founder and current chief technology officer Alex Atallah, who will move into an externally facing role overseeing its Web3 and NFT ecosystem development efforts.

Brendan Forster, co-founder and chief operating officer of Dharma, will become OpenSea's head of strategy and hopes to bring a “Web3-native perspective into product, business, community, and marketing” to the company, according to the company's blog.

As part of the acquisition, Dharma will be sunsetting the Dharma wallet app over the next 30 days. Users must withdraw or sell their Dharma Smart Wallet funds before February 18, stated the blog.