Why E-commerce Giant eBay Acquired NFT Marketplace KnownOrigin

BitcoinistPublished on 2022-06-23Last updated on 2022-06-23

Abstract

According to a press release, e-commerce giant eBay has acquired the NFT marketplace KnownOrigin. As part of the platform’s strategy...

According to a press release, e-commerce giant eBay has acquired the NFT marketplace KnownOrigin. As part of the platform’s strategy to expand into the nascent asset class, eBay is trying to provide its users with access to a “new era of digital collecting”.
This platform is one of the most popular around the world, there were over 182 million people on eBay in 2021 with over 100 million visitors per month. The platform records billions of dollars in trading volume and as much as $10 billion in revenue.
Therefore, any NFT collection listed on eBay seems poised to gain a lot of attention. As the release claims, the platform is used by collectors to track down precious items. Jamie Iannone, CEO of eBay said the following about this acquisition and the platform’s reputation as a collector’s venue:
eBay is the first stop for people across the globe who are searching for that perfect, hard-to-find, or unique addition to their collection and, with this acquisition, we will remain a leading site as our community is increasingly adding digital collectibles.
The e-commerce giant purchased KnownOrigin because the platform enables users to create, buy, and trade with NFT collection and blockchain-based transactions. The release claims that the platform has experienced “significant growth as it has revolutionized the way people” trade with digital assets. Iannone added:
KnownOrigin has built up an impressive, passionate and loyal group of artists and collectors making them a perfect addition to our community of sellers and buyers. We look forward to welcoming these innovators as they join the eBay community.
eBay enabled its users to trade with NFTs in May 2021, according to KnownOrigin co-founder James Morgan, the blockchain-based platform has joined the e-commerce giant to help them implement Web3 capabilities.
Into The NFT Space, What Is eBay’s Strategy?
In addition, Morgan emphasized that KnownOrigin will expand to a “much bigger audience” and become a “truly worldwide platform”. On their partnership with eBay, Morgan said:
One of the main reasons why we have taken this decision is because eBay’s culture is fueled by a strong belief in community and innovation (…). eBay is currently undertaking a massive tech-led reimagination and we are at the heart of their vision. We’re excited to see how together we can empower our existing creators and introduce a whole new global audience through this acquisition.
Data from DappRadar records that KnownOrigin has $7.8 million in total trading volume. The platform was founded in 2018 and since that time, it records that 5,187 traders have used its services.
In comparison, OpenSea, one of the most popular platforms in the world, records $30 billion and 1,831,532 traders since it was founded in 2017. The eBay partnership, as Morgan said, could allow KnownOrigin to catch up with OpenSea and become a competitor.
At the time of writing, ETH’s price trades at $1,110 with a 5% loss in the last 24 hours.

ETH’s price trends to the downside on the 4-hour chart. Source: ETHUSD Tradingview

Three Months, 35 Billion Yuan: Investors Rush to Grab the OpenAI of the Physical World

Investors flock to a physical AI startup as the race for the "OpenAI of the physical world" heats up. Ji Jia Shi Jie (GigaWorld), a company dedicated to developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for the physical world, has raised 3.5 billion RMB (approximately $490 million) in just three months, according to a report from investment media outlet Touzijie. The latest B2 funding round of 1 billion RMB attracted a wide range of top-tier investors, including sovereign wealth funds, industrial capital, and financial institutions. This brings the total funding for the young company, now valued over 10 billion RMB, to 3.5 billion RMB across three recent rounds. The company is led by Huang Guan, a post-90s Tsinghua University PhD with extensive experience in AI, autonomous driving, and entrepreneurship. Its core innovation is a "dual-pyramid" system comprising a five-layer data pyramid (from internet videos to real-world robot data) and a three-layer algorithm pyramid focused on world simulation, action alignment, and reinforcement learning. This system underpins its key models: the "World Action Model" (e.g., GigaBrain series for robot control) and the "World Generation Model" (e.g., GigaWorld series for simulating and understanding the physical world). Its models have reportedly achieved top rankings in global robotics benchmarks. Ji Jia Shi Jie argues that while current digital AGI excels in information processing, the next frontier is physical AGI—systems that can understand and interact with the real world. The company believes the field is approaching its "GPT-3 moment," a key inflection point in capability scaling. To achieve this, the company is pursuing a dual-market strategy. For the consumer (C) market, it launched the "SeeLight" brand and its S1 general-purpose humanoid robot, which has secured initial orders for deployment in real homes. For the business (B) market, it focuses on industrial automation with its Maker series robots, having signed agreements for large-scale deployment in factories, and its DriveDreamer world model for autonomous driving, which is already in use with over 30 automakers and tech companies. The report concludes that by bridging the gap between digital intelligence and physical action, Ji Jia Shi Jie aims to unlock a new wave of productivity, ultimately bringing physical AGI into everyday life.

marsbit6m ago

Three Months, 35 Billion Yuan: Investors Rush to Grab the OpenAI of the Physical World

marsbit6m ago

What's the Connection Between Pinduoduo's Huang Zheng and Blockchain?

This text explores the unexpected connection between Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang and blockchain, as suggested in his article *Turning Capitalism Upside Down*. Huang argues Pinduoduo's core business is about managing "uncertainty." He posits that wealth flows to the rich because they absorb life's uncertainties (e.g., illness, job loss) that devastate the poor, who pay a premium for certainty through insurance or stable prices. Pinduoduo's model attempts a "reverse insurance": by aggregating consumer demand via group-buying and flash sales, it creates a large, predictable order for manufacturers. This certainty allows factories to remove risk premiums, passing savings back as lower prices, thus partially reversing the wealth flow. The key obstacle, Huang notes, is that an individual's buying intent is an unreliable promise. He then asks if blockchain is the natural solution for this "reverse insurance." The text elaborates that blockchain, through smart contracts with binding deposits, could transform casual intent into a costly-to-break, enforceable commitment. This replaces interpersonal trust with coded rules, making promises credible, pricable, and resistant to fraud. Finally, the author draws a parallel to Bitcoin, framing two paths to creating certainty: the "Pinduoduo path" of aggregating decentralized will into scale, and the "Bitcoin path" of locking rules into immutable code. Both sacrifice something—personal freedom or system flexibility—to manufacture trust and predictability.

链捕手1h ago

What's the Connection Between Pinduoduo's Huang Zheng and Blockchain?

链捕手1h ago

The Storage Magnate Who Conquered a Trillion-Dollar Kingdom, Yet Ultimately Could Not Become the Richest

**Summary:** "The Memory Magnate Who Built a Trillion-Dollar Empire, Yet Never Became the Richest" explores the journey of Zhu Yiming, founder of GigaDevice (603986) and co-founder of the soon-to-IPO ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The article positions GigaDevice, a fabless chip designer now valued at ~¥340 billion, as a prequel to the massive IDM (Integrated Device Manufacturer) venture, CXMT. Starting in 2005 with minimal capital, Zhu strategically "picked up the pieces" by focusing on niche markets like NOR Flash and microcontrollers (MCUs), areas major players were exiting. This allowed GigaDevice to grow into a diversified semiconductor company, maintaining robust profitability even during industry downturns by controlling costs. However, the piece argues that in the highly cyclical and capital-intensive memory chip industry, the fabless model has limits. True resilience and scale require the ability for "counter-cyclical expansion" – investing heavily during downturns – a tactic only possible for IDMs like Samsung or SK Hynix. This insight led Zhu to partner with the Hefei city government in 2016 to establish CXMT, an IDM focused on DRAM. Zhu's symbolic moves, like forfeiting salary and diluting his equity, were crucial in securing the massive state and bank funding needed. CXMT's equipment base is now valued even higher than that of BYD's vast auto manufacturing empire. Despite the potential for CXMT to reach a market cap of ¥1-2 trillion upon its IPO, Zhu's indirect stake in both companies is estimated below 3%, placing his personal wealth far below that of China's top billionaires. The article concludes that his strategic vision built a trillion-yuan memory landscape, but the capital structure necessary to achieve it precluded a personal fortune of similar scale.

marsbit1h ago

The Storage Magnate Who Conquered a Trillion-Dollar Kingdom, Yet Ultimately Could Not Become the Richest

marsbit1h ago

Token Of Power Governance Exploit Drains $1.58 Million In WETH, TRM Says

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reports a governance exploit against the Token of Power protocol, resulting in a loss of approximately $1.58 million in WETH. The attacker exploited a missing timelock in the protocol's Aragon DAO setup, allowing them to propose, vote on, and execute a malicious action within a single block. The attacker funded the operation with 662 ETH from Tornado Cash, purchased enough TOP tokens to gain majority voting power, minted 10 billion new TOP tokens, and swapped them for WETH via a Balancer pool before moving funds back through Tornado Cash. The incident underscores that governance design is a critical security risk in DeFi, where parameters like timelocks provide essential reaction time. It also highlights how mixers and liquidity pools can be utilized in exploits without being directly compromised. Observers are now watching for any movement of the stolen funds and further remediation details from involved parties. This event is part of a broader shift in crypto, emphasizing the importance of underlying infrastructure, security, and governance alongside market movements.

bitcoinist4h ago

Token Of Power Governance Exploit Drains $1.58 Million In WETH, TRM Says

bitcoinist4h ago

XRP Ledger Daily Fees Drop Below $400 As Network Activity Question Returns

The XRP Ledger is drawing attention as daily network fees have fallen below $400. While low fees align with XRPL's design for affordable transactions and are often seen as a strength, the metric can also serve as an indicator of network demand and paid transaction volume. This data point of around $3,100 in weekly fee burn highlights the stark contrast with higher-fee chains like Ethereum and Bitcoin. The development fuels an ongoing debate. Proponents view low fees as a sign of efficiency and accessibility, while critics may question if the network is generating sufficient high-value activity relative to its market cap and payments-focused narrative. The article cautions against overstating the finding, noting a single low-fee day does not signify network failure. It instead adds context to discussions about XRPL's usage, especially alongside Ripple's broader initiatives in stablecoins (RLUSD), AI payments, and enterprise infrastructure. The report recommends monitoring for a fee rebound, checking transaction counts for a fuller picture, and confirming the trend via native explorers like Bithomp. It frames the story within a larger market shift where on-chain data, protocol updates, and infrastructure developments are becoming crucial alongside price action. The editorial stance is to present the verified data, explain its significance for assessing network activity, and avoid hype, positioning it as part of the daily crypto conversation.

bitcoinist6h ago

XRP Ledger Daily Fees Drop Below $400 As Network Activity Question Returns

bitcoinist6h ago

Trading

Spot

Futures