OpenSea Launches Peer-to-Peer NFT Swap Feature, ‘Deals’

OpenSea announced on July 20th that it's rolling out “Deals,” a peer-to-peer NFT swap function to help traders bolster their collections and engage with other NFT collectors directly.

OpenSea recently announced a new feature called "Deals," which enables collectors to trade NFTs with each other, while also having the option to include wrapped ether (WETH) to enhance the exchange. This feature is powered by OpenSea's native NFT protocol, Seaport. The primary goal of Deals is to create a trustworthy NFT swapping process, preventing collectors from falling prey to dubious direct messages (DMs) or websites often associated with NFT trades.

According to the Deals webpage, users can enter the username, ENS name, or wallet address of the person they wish to trade with. They can then select up to 30 NFTs and decide whether to include any amount of WETH in the swap. Next, users choose the assets they want to offer in the trade and send the deal for consideration. Currently, OpenSea requires that the NFTs involved in the deal be on the same blockchain and from verified collections (badged).

If the recipient accepts the Deal, they will be responsible for covering any gas fees required for the transfers. As of now, Deals swaps do not incur OpenSea fees or require payment of creator royalties.

OpenSea has faced stiff competition from Blur, a leading zero-fee marketplace that challenged its market share since its launch in October. In May, Blur introduced Blend, its own native lending platform, which quickly gained significant traction, capturing 82% of overall NFT trading volume in its initial three weeks.