OpenSea announced on Monday that it has set up a $1 million reserve to purchase what it calls “culturally relevant” non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The marketplace kicked off the initiative by acquiring CryptoPunk #5273, part of Ethereum’s first major profile picture (PFP) NFT collection.
Purchases will be decided by a cross-functional group of OpenSea employees and outside advisers from the digital art community.
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Blockchain data shows that CryptoPunk #5273 was bought on August 25 for 65 Ether (about $283,000 at the time) and was later moved to a different wallet on Monday. OpenSea said further acquisitions are planned.
OpenSea Expands Into NFT Reserves
The CryptoPunks collection, created by Larva Labs in June 2017, now holds a market capitalization of $2.1 billion, according to NFTPriceFloor.
While reserves for fungible tokens such as Bitcoin ($112,851), Ether ($4,367), and Solana ($219.47) have gained traction in 2025, similar reserves for NFTs remain almost unheard of. Unlike fungible assets, NFTs carry higher risks for investors since they are less liquid and more difficult to offload during downturns.
OpenSea’s chief marketing officer Adam Hollander said future acquisitions will roll out “over the coming months,” stressing that this is “not a limited campaign, but a living collection that will grow as the space evolves.”
In May, OpenSea revealed plans to launch its own token trading platform as part of a broader push to diversify beyond NFTs. The move follows a growing trend among marketplaces to expand into crypto trading. A month earlier, rival platform Magic Eden made a similar shift by acquiring the trading app Slingshot.
