Morgan Chittum

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        <ul>
                <li>Roberts worked at Lyft for seven years and is known for playing a large role in helping the company go public in a multi-billion dollar IPO</li>
                <li>OpenSea has processed over $10 billion in gross merchandising sales</li>
            </ul>
    
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<p>OpenSea, the largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, has appointed former Lyft executive Brian Roberts as the start-up’s first Chief Financial Officer (CFO), according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-06/former-lyft-cfo-roberts-joins-crypto-startup-opensea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> by <em>Bloomberg</em> on Monday. </p>



<p>“I haven’t been this excited about something in a very long time,” he told <em>Bloomberg</em>. “It reminds me of 1995 eBay.”</p>



<p>Along with OpenSea’s newest hire, the marketplace may be trying to secure additional funding, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Devin Finzer confirmed to <em>Bloomberg</em>. Both OpenSea and Roberts have declined to comment further on the matter.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Although it’s the tech veteran’s first foray into cryptocurrency full time, he is already planning on how to take the company public.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><strong>“When you have a company growing as fast as this one, you’d be foolish not to think about it going public,” he said. “It would be well-received in the public market, given its growth.”</strong></p></blockquote>



<p>During his seven years at Lyft as CFO, the company saw $7 billion in capital raised, along with a successful initial public offering (IPO).</p>



<p>“While I have no intention of changing my license plate from GOLYFT, it is time for me to find new challenges in a new space,” Robert wrote in a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brianrobertspublicprofile_after-7-memorable-years-helping-lyft-scale-activity-6872282166626283520-pe_N" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn post</a> on Friday. “This will be my next great journey to learn, grow and help shape the future.”</p>



<p>The hiring report follows a whirlwind of a year for OpenSea.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Amid <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/openseas-nate-chastain-calls-it-quits-after-insider-trading-allegations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">insider trading allegations</a> that shook the marketplace and ultimately led to a resignation from former Product Head Nate Chastain, the start-up has also experienced explosive growth in 2021. </p>



<p>Founded in 2017,&nbsp; the platform has processed over $10 billion in gross merchandise value and has a valuation of roughly $12 billion. In August, OpenSea became the first NFT marketplace to hit $1 billion in monthly trading volume.</p>



<p>Specifically, trading volume on the platform was over $200 million in August compared to an average of less than $100,000 last December, according to DappRadar.</p>



<p>“Over the next few years we’ll help build a brand new, open, digital economy,” Finzer said in a <a href="https://opensea.io/blog/announcements/introducing-brian-roberts-our-new-cfo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a> on Monday. “I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future.”</p>



<p>Lyft Inc. stock closed on Monday&#8217;s news 6.28% higher, at $41.95 per share.</p>




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