OpenSea PR Case Study: $1.5B Valuation, $2B Monthly Volume

Virgo PR built the media campaign around OpenSea's $100 million Series B, led by Andreessen Horowitz in July 2021 at a $1.5 billion valuation. The campaign paired tier-one funding coverage with a steady stream of product, hiring and partnership news. During the engagement OpenSea became the best-known NFT marketplace in mainstream media, reached $2 billion in monthly transactions in August 2021, and earned coverage in Bloomberg, Fortune, Fast Company, Business Insider, CoinDesk and CoinTelegraph.

Updated November 2, 2026

In this case study: what OpenSea does, the challenge, what Virgo built, the results, the coverage, why the campaign worked, and lessons for crypto, Web3 and gaming companies.

At a Glance: What Did the OpenSea PR Campaign Deliver?

Metric Result

Client OpenSea, the largest peer-to-peer marketplace for NFTs and crypto collectibles

Funding event $100M Series B announced July 20, 2021, led by Andreessen Horowitz

Valuation $1.5 billion, making OpenSea a unicorn

Participating investors Coatue, CAA, Michael Ovitz, Kevin Hartz, Dylan Field, Kevin Durant, Ashton Kutcher and Tobi Lutke

Monthly volume Over $1B in monthly transactions in 2021, reaching $2B in August 2021

Media Profiles in WSJ, Forbes, Fast Company, The Information, FT, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and CoinDesk

What Does OpenSea Do?

OpenSea is a peer-to-peer marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens. It supports digital art, gaming items, event tickets, domain names and other virtual goods, and in 2021 it listed more than 25 million assets backed by blockchains. The company launched in 2017, raised a $23 million Series A led by a16z in March 2021, and announced its $100 million Series B four months later.

The Series B also came with a product milestone. OpenSea launched official support for multiple blockchains, starting with a gas-free marketplace on Polygon, which made it the first cross-blockchain NFT marketplace. That gave the funding story a second, concrete news hook.

What Was the PR Challenge?

In mid-2021 NFTs were a headline category that most mainstream readers still could not explain. OpenSea needed to do three things at once:

• Own the category. Several marketplaces were competing for attention, and the winner would be the one journalists named first.

• Speak to two audiences. Crypto-native trade press already understood NFTs. Business and technology outlets wanted a clear explanation of why a marketplace deserved a $1.5 billion valuation.

• Sustain momentum. A funding announcement creates one news cycle. OpenSea needed coverage that continued after funding day.

What Did Virgo PR Do for OpenSea?

Virgo PR ran the communications campaign around the funding news. It worked directly with founders Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah on messaging and coordinated closely with the a16z team on the announcement. Virgo was already active in blockchain PR, with clients including Genies, Choice by Kingdom Trust and Alethea, before it took on OpenSea.

The program had four parts:

• Funding announcement strategy. Embargoed briefings and tier-one introductions so the round landed in business, technology and crypto outlets on the same day.

• Founder messaging. A plain-language story about why NFTs mattered, delivered by the founders in interviews and briefings.

• Ongoing news flow. Exclusive drops, new hires, feature launches and the multi-blockchain expansion, spaced out so OpenSea stayed in the press instead of spiking once.

• Partnership support. Announcements with Twitter and Adobe during the same period, which tied OpenSea to household technology names.

What Business Results Did OpenSea Achieve?

These are OpenSea's results during the Virgo engagement. Virgo's role was to build the visibility and narrative around them.

• $1.5 billion valuation. The Series B made OpenSea a unicorn, as reported by The Block and Cointelegraph.

• Rapid volume growth. OpenSea said it sold $160 million of digital assets in June 2021 alone and grew volume 45x in the first half of the year. It then passed $1 billion in monthly transactions and hit $2 billion in August 2021.

• A premium investor group. a16z led, with Coatue, CAA, Michael Ovitz, Kevin Hartz, Dylan Field, Kevin Durant, Ashton Kutcher and Tobi Lutke participating, and a16z general partner Kathryn Haun joining the board.

• Category leadership. Coverage described OpenSea as the world's largest NFT marketplace, which is the position a new category needs one company to claim.

• Mainstream reach. Media profiles ran in WSJ, Forbes, Fast Company, The Information, FT, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and CoinDesk.

Where Did OpenSea Get Press Coverage?

OpenSea's funding round and growth milestones ran across business, technology and crypto-native media.

Business and technology

• Bloomberg: World's Biggest NFT Marketplace Sees $2B in Transactions This Month

• Fortune: OpenSea raises at a $1.5 billion valuation despite an NFT pullback

• Fast Company: Why Andreessen Horowitz is betting big on NFTs

• Business Insider: NFT auction site OpenSea reaches $1.5 billion valuation after latest funding round

• CNBC: How to make, buy and sell NFTs

Crypto and market coverage

• CoinDesk: NFTs Over DeFi: OpenSea Just Overtook Uniswap on Ethereum Usage

• CoinTelegraph: OpenSea's daily volume is exceeding its 2020 total

• Benzinga: OpenSea Looks To Expand Team Of 37 As Weekly NFT Sales Exceed $1B On The Platform

Why Did OpenSea's Funding Announcement Need Coordinated PR?

A round led by a16z with investors like Ashton Kutcher and Michael Ovitz had to work for two audiences at once. Crypto-native trade press needed new facts. Mainstream business media needed context and a reason to care.

Virgo's campaign gave each group what it wanted from one set of messages. That is why OpenSea appeared in general business outlets such as Fortune and Bloomberg alongside crypto coverage in CoinDesk and CoinTelegraph. It also explains why the story kept moving after funding day: every following announcement, from hires to features to partnerships, reinforced the same position as the category leader.

What Can Other Crypto, Web3 and Gaming Companies Learn From OpenSea?

• Pair the money with a product milestone. The cross-blockchain launch gave reporters a second angle on funding day.

• Brief the investor. Coordinating with a16z meant the investor and the company told one consistent story.

• Plan the weeks after the announcement. Sustained news flow keeps a company ahead of competitors who go quiet.

• Explain the category before you sell the company. Mainstream media needs the plain-language version first.

For more Virgo work in this space, read our Genies avatar technology case study, the Ready Player Me metaverse avatar case study and the nWay Olympic play-to-earn game case study. You can also see how Virgo approaches crypto and Web3 communications and gaming public relations.

Frequently asked questions

How much did OpenSea raise in its Series B?

OpenSea raised $100 million in a Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, announced on July 20, 2021, at a $1.5 billion valuation.

What did Virgo PR do for OpenSea?

Virgo PR ran the communications campaign around the funding news. It handled messaging with the founders, coordinated with the a16z team, managed embargoed briefings and kept OpenSea in the press with exclusives, hires, feature launches and partnership announcements.

What results did OpenSea see during the campaign?

OpenSea reached a $1.5 billion valuation and passed $1 billion in monthly transactions, climbing to $2 billion in August 2021. It earned coverage in outlets including Bloomberg, Fortune, Fast Company, Business Insider and CoinDesk.

Why does a crypto company need an agency that understands Web3?

Crypto companies must explain a new asset category to mainstream media while keeping trade press engaged. An agency with Web3 experience already has the relationships and the vocabulary to do both.

Does Virgo PR still work with crypto and Web3 companies?

Yes. Virgo works across crypto, Web3, gaming and other emerging sectors. Talk to Virgo PR about your next launch or funding announcement.