eBay lays off 30% of Web3 and NFT staff — report

E-commerce firm eBay may be rethinking its NFT and Web3 strategy after reportedly laying off over 30% of its Web3 division staff.

According to an initial report from NFT news platform NFTgators, sources indicate that several employees "involved with Web3" operations have recently left the organization.

The move comes after eBay acquired Manchester-based NFT marketplace KnownOrigin in June 2022, whose team and IP became part of the company's Web3 division. Before this acquisition, eBay had a concurrent partnership with OneOf, a Web3 firm working with music NFTs. eBay later acquired TCGplayer for $295 million to expand its digital collectibles business.

The report also highlights that Stef Jay, eBay's business and strategy officer for the Web3 division, has resigned. David Moore, a founder from KnownOrigin, has also reportedly been made redundant (dismissed), although it was not clarified whether this was an individual redundancy case or a collective one.

According to NFTgator's source, KnownOrigin and eBay had a falling out, with the latter halting all plans for NFTs and other types of digital collectibles on its platform.

"Many within the company are unhappy, blaming the lack of leadership and strategy for the layoffs. There are internal criticisms, even at senior levels, questioning the qualifications of the current head of web3 as well as eBay's strategy team," the source states.

The crypto bear market for the past couple of years has heavily impacted interest and sales in NFTs. However, newer collections, such as Pudgy Penguins, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Moonbirds, Mad Lads, and Quantum Cats, among others, have seen renewed interest. Bitcoin Ordinals have also been gaining traction since their introduction in mid-December last year. 

According to data from Forbes, the global NFT market cap has reached roughly $50 billion, with a $46 million trading volume in the past 24 hours.

Despite these developments, it appears that eBay is either doing a strategy pivot or is simply reorganizing its Web3 initiatives in a leaner direction. The company has not publicly acknowledged or confirmed the reasons for these changes.