U.S. SEC Closes its Investigation Into OpenSea

TL;DR

• The SEC has dropped its investigations into OpenSea, a move many consider a win for the NFT ecosystem.

• This comes shortly after the regulator ended its lawsuit against Coinbase.

SEC Drops OpenSea Investigation

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dropping its investigation into major non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea. The company’s founder and CEO, Devin Finzer, announced this latest development over the weekend in an X post. 

The SEC is closing its investigation into @opensea. This is a win for everyone who is creating and building in our space. Trying to classify NFTs as securities would have been a step backward—one that misinterprets the law and slows innovation.

Every creator, big or small,…

— dfinzer.eth | opensea (@dfinzer) February 21, 2025

The regulator issued a Wells notice against OpenSea in August last year, indicating that it was investigating the activities of the NFT marketplace. The SEC alleged that OpenSea might be operating as an unregistered securities marketplace. 

However, this latest development comes as the SEC votes on a deal negotiated with Coinbase to drop its lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange. The move is also seen as a win for the broader cryptocurrency industry and the NFT market. 

While commenting on Finzer’s post, Chris Akhavan, chief business officer of NFT marketplace Magic Eden, pointed out that it was a win for the broader crypto space. 

“While we are competitors in the trenches, we share a deep belief in NFTs and what they will enable,” Akhavan added.