World’s Biggest NFT Marketplace Says It Will Only Support Proof-of-Stake Version of Ethereum (ETH)

The world’s largest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) says it will solely support digital collectibles based on the proof-of-stake (PoS) version of Ethereum (ETH) once the Merge update is complete.

OpenSea, the “eBay” of crypto collectibles with over 80 million in NFT selections and $31.3 billion worth of trading volume to date, says that tokens based on forked versions of the leading smart contract network will not be available on the NFT platform.

“First, and most importantly, we are committed to solely supporting NFTs on the upgraded Ethereum PoS chain.

While we won’t speculate on potential forks–to the extent forked NFTs on ETHPoW exist–they won’t be supported or reflected on OpenSea.”

The announcement comes ahead of Ethereum’s much-anticipated transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to the PoS model. The Merge, which aims to solve the network’s scalability issue and set the stage for future upgrades, will be completed by mid-September.

OpenSea says that it is now making the necessary preparations for Ethereum 2.0.

“Beyond our commitment to supporting the upgraded PoS chain, we’ve been preparing the OpenSea product to ensure a smooth transition.

While we don’t anticipate major issues, we also acknowledge this is a first! So we’re committed to monitoring, managing, and communicating throughout.”

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Tithi Luadthong