EBay acquires NFT marketplace KnownOrigin
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Dive card:
- EBay announced that it has acquired non-fungible token marketplace KnownOrigin, according to a press release from the company.
- KnownOrigin, which describes himself as one of the first and largest NFT marketplaces, provides space for artists and collectors to create, buy and resell NFTs through blockchain-backed transactions. The acquisition will usher in “a new era of digital collecting for the world’s premier destination for collectibles,” according to eBay.
- The agreement was signed and finalized on Wednesday, but further terms and details of the acquisition were not made public.
Diving Insights:
About a year after eBay allowed the buying and selling of NFTs on its own platform, the company decided to go all-in on crypto assets with the purchase of KnownOrigin.
Known Origin announced the acquisition on its own social media channels and said it joined eBay to help lead its NFT and digital collectibles strategy with the mission to build out the company’s Web3 capabilities. Web3 is the concept that the next phase of the internet will be powered by blockchain technology.
“Ebay is currently undertaking a technology-led reimagination, and we are at the heart of their vision,” KnownOrigin’s founders wrote in a post. In another, the company said that it was impressed by eBay’s “enthusiasm to learn, embrace and immerse itself in Web3.”
Ebay has been working on a “technology-led reimagination” strategy over last two years which focuses on modernizing its marketplace. The company cited this strategy as one of the reasons it began exploring NFTs in May 2021.
“Ebay is the first stop for people around the world looking for the perfect, hard-to-find or unique addition to their collection, and with this acquisition we will remain a leading site as our community increasingly adds digital collectibles,” said Jamie Iannone, CEO of eBay, in a statement.
During the company’s investor day in March outlined its long-term strategy for the future and pointed to collectables. The company unveiled eBay Vault, a secure storage facility and digital marketplace for trading cards and collectibles, which will launch in the US next quarter with plans to expand into luxury goods.
Other retailers have recently experimented with NFTs. In June, Prada said it was is launching a Timecapsule NFT collection with gender neutral physical products and a gifted NFT. At the start of the year Gap launched in NFTs through a collaboration with the New York-based artist Brandon Sines and the open source blockchain platform Tezos. In addition is GamesStop testing a digital resource wallet for users to store, send and receive NFTs and cryptocurrency, and PacSun held an NFT auction in May.
