eBay has made its most significant move yet by buying the NFT marketplace KnownOrigin in a world where digital collectibles are becoming increasingly popular. The value of the transaction was not revealed in today’s announcement, but according to the press release, it is completed as of June 21st.
“This partnership will help us attract a new wave of NFT creators and collectors,”
-KnownOrigin co-founder David Moore.
Why did eBay acquire KnownOrigin?
“eBay is the first stop for people across the globe who are searching for that perfect, hard-to-find, or unique addition to their collection and, with this acquisition, we will remain a leading site as our community is increasingly adding digital collectibles. KnownOrigin has built up an impressive, passionate and loyal group of artists and collectors making them a perfect addition to our community of sellers and buyers. We look forward to welcoming these innovators as they join the eBay community.”
-Jamie Iannone, CEO of eBay.
KnownOrigin is one of the world’s first and largest NFT marketplaces. According to DappRadar, it currently ranks number 12 on all-time trading volume for Ethereum-backed NFTs at $7.8 million. OpenSea holds the number 1 place with an all-time trading value of $30.43 billion, and Decentraland sits at number 8 with a trade value of $155 million.
Last year, eBay began allowing NFT sales on its site. With the KnownOrigin acquisition, eBay now has the ability to run a proper digital marketplace for NFT transactions, with the capacity to watch and regulate them.
Currently, eBay has approved sellers who can list NFTs in the same manner as a physical item, and many of today’s listings include information on the NFT mint number and what digital wallet the buyer will need to receive the transfer once the sale is complete. There are a few boundaries to eBay’s current NFT sales strategy, including a $10,000 limit, a Buy it Now approach (no bidding or best offers), and the requirement that both buyer and seller reside in the same country. Furthermore, NFTs cannot be purchased together with a real thing.
The last limitation of being unable to attach a physical item to an NFT sale is very interesting though, as eBay just this month launched a new real-world vault to safeguard tangible items and enable immediate digital sales without ever sending them out.
“As interest in NFTs continues to grow, we believe now is the perfect time for us to partner with a company that has the reach and experience of eBay. With more than twenty-five years building similar communities of passionate individuals, we are excited by the opportunity to bring a whole new audience on this journey. This is the start of a new chapter in the KnownOrigin story and we couldn’t choose a better time to focus on building and innovating with the team at eBay.
-David Moore, co-founder, KnownOrigin.
eBay has been pushing its collectibles industry hard in recent months, adding an authenticity guarantee to ensure that cards sold on the site aren’t phony and hosting live auctions to showcase even more collectible items. The eBay Vault and the KnownOrigin acquisition are taking advantage of the increasing popularity of collectible goods to cover both digital and physical assets, despite the fact that NFTs aren’t yet allowed to be stored in the eBay Vault.
If you are into NFTs, check out our selection of the best Play to Earn NFT mobile games. By the way, Bill Gates says NFTs are based on greater fool theory, do you believe that?
