# Devin Finzer

> Devin Finzer is the American software engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded OpenSea with Alex Atallah in 2017 after abandoning a token-for-Wi-Fi idea in favor of a general marketplace for blockchain-based items. OpenSea became a defining venue of the NFT boom, reached a $13.3 billion private valuation in 2022, then endured a market collapse, competition, layoffs and regulatory scrutiny. Finzer remains its chief executive and has overseen a ground-up rebuild, OS2, that expands the company from NFTs into cross-chain token trading.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at OpenSea
- **Organizations:** OpenSea, Claimdog, Credit Karma, Pinterest, Flipboard, Google, Founders Pledge
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in computer science and mathematics, Brown University
- **Known for:** Co-founded OpenSea, launched in 2017 as a general marketplace for NFTs., Led OpenSea through Y Combinator's Winter 2018 batch and multiple venture rounds, including a $300 million Series C at a $13.3 billion valuation in 2022., Co-authored The Non-Fungible Token Bible in 2020, an early technical and historical guide to NFTs.

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Worked as a software engineering intern at Google and won first place at a LinkedIn Hackday.
- **2012** — Worked as a software engineer at Flipboard and was a KPCB Fellow.
- **2013** — Graduated from Brown University and joined Pinterest as a software engineer.
- **2013-2016** — Co-founded Claimdog, a service for finding unclaimed money; Credit Karma acquired it and Finzer led an integration team.
- **2017** — Developed WifiCoin with Alex Atallah, then pivoted after CryptoKitties revealed demand for a general NFT marketplace; OpenSea launched in December.
- **2018** — OpenSea joined Y Combinator's Winter 2018 batch.
- **2021** — OpenSea became a central marketplace of the NFT boom, surpassed $10 billion in cumulative volume and raised a $100 million Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation.
- **2022** — OpenSea raised $300 million at a $13.3 billion valuation; Finzer later announced a 20% workforce reduction during the crypto downturn.
- **2023** — Finzer announced a larger reset that cut more than half the staff and reorganized the company around a ground-up OpenSea 2.0 rebuild.
- **2024** — OpenSea disclosed an SEC Wells notice; Finzer pledged $5 million to help cover legal fees for NFT creators and developers facing similar notices.
- **2025** — The SEC closed its OpenSea investigation without charges. OpenSea released OS2 publicly, combining NFT and token trading across 19 chains at launch.

## Achievements

- Co-founded OpenSea, launched in 2017 as a general marketplace for NFTs.
- Led OpenSea through Y Combinator's Winter 2018 batch and multiple venture rounds, including a $300 million Series C at a $13.3 billion valuation in 2022.
- Co-authored The Non-Fungible Token Bible in 2020, an early technical and historical guide to NFTs.
- Previously co-founded Claimdog and sold it to Credit Karma.
- Was named to Forbes' 2021 NFTy 50 and PMI's 2021 Future 50.
- Oversaw the OS2 rebuild and its 2025 public release with fungible-token trading across 19 chains.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — OpenSea's rebuilt platform was processing both cryptocurrency and NFT trades at scale; Finzer described the strategy as expanding to trade everything onchain rather than abandoning NFTs.
- **2025-05** — OpenSea released OS2 publicly with token trading across 19 chains, cross-chain swaps and a quest-based rewards program called Voyages.
- **2025-02** — The SEC ended its investigation into OpenSea without bringing charges.
- **2025-02** — OpenSea introduced OS2 in beta and the OpenSea Foundation announced plans for a SEA token.
- **2024-09** — Finzer announced a $5 million pledge to help cover legal fees for NFT artists and developers who receive SEC Wells notices.

## Links

- Website: https://devinfinzer.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dfinzer
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/dfinzer
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dfinzer/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/devin-finzer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-26