January 09, 2023
By Anjali Kochhar
The Non-fungible tokens (NFT) marketplace SuperRare is cutting 30% of its staff, according to a Slack message from CEO John Crain. This is as per a screenshot of the message on Twitter posted by the SuperRare CEO.
“During the recent bull run, we grew in tandem with the market. In recent months, it’s become clear that this aggressive growth was unsustainable,” Crain wrote.
“We over-hired, and I take full ownership of this mistake.”
SuperRare raised a $9 million Series A in March 2021, led by Velvet Sea Ventures and 1confirmation.
SuperRare differentiates itself from competitors by focusing more closely on working with artists, but broader platforms like OpenSea were more successfully able to take advantage of the bull market.
Even though OpenSea has managed to raise at a possibly inflated valuation of over $13 billion, it has not been immune to the downmarket. The company laid off 20% of its staff, leaving it with 230 employees, in July.
“We know that there is still much innovation and transformation yet to come for Web3, NFTs, cryptoart, decentralized finance and governance,” Crain wrote. “We are facing headwinds, yes — but there remains an incredible uncaptured opportunity as we continue building something totally new.”
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
