"SEC Clears OpenSea, NFTs Not Securities; Illuvium Slashes Staff by 40% to Speed Game Development; Blockchain Gaming: A 'Musical Chairs' Market"

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea, according to a statement from the platform's co-founder and CEO, Devin Finzer. The SEC had opened the investigation in August 2024 following a Wells notice alleging that OpenSea operated as a marketplace for unregistered securities. Finzer welcomed the closure of the investigation, stating that classifying NFTs as securities would misinterpret the law and hinder innovation in the space.

In a separate development, NFT creature collector game Illuvium has cut about 40% of its workforce in an effort to expedite its game development timeline. The company's co-founder and CEO, Kieran Warwick, told Cointelegraph that the layoffs, which reduced the staff count from 110 to 65, did not affect any developers. Instead, the cuts were made in other areas such as marketing, operations, security, and quality assurance. Warwick described the move as a "somber moment" but expressed the company's commitment to becoming more efficient.

Meanwhile, Gunzilla Games' Web3 director, Theodore Agranat, has described the blockchain gaming market as a "game of musical chairs." Speaking at Consensus 2025 in Hong Kong, Agranat noted that no new money is entering the system, and existing capital is being recycled between projects. He also observed a lack of loyalty among players, who move from project to project to extract value before moving on to the next opportunity.