NAUGHTY OR NICE?: OpenSea Went Christmas Shopping Across Web3, Buying Over $1 Million In NFTs And Announced Another Wave of Its Ongoing Rewards Program

Oh, there’s no place like Web3 for the holidays!

NFT marketplace OpenSea is playing both Santa and the Grinch this Christmas season, decking the halls with over $1 million worth of floor sweeps to give out to the platform’s XP reward farmers, while also dropping a lump of coal in the NFT space’s stocking by announcing that Wave Four of its farming program kicks off later this week, leaving many in the community feeling less than merry.

On Monday, OpenSea showed up on the blockchain and timeline, sweeping Bored Apes, Pudgy Penguins, Moonbirds, and many more collections.

As OpenSea went shopping, the marketplace also updated the community on its XP reward program, which has been running since May 29th, 2025.

 

 

“On Wednesday (12/17), you’ll be able to unlock your Wave 3 chest, reveal your Treasures and rewards, and receive your Wave 4 starter chest,” OpenSea tweeted. “Between now and Wednesday, all trading activity will count towards your Wave 4 chest progress.”

 

While many across Web3 welcomed OpenSea’s big NFT buys, prominent figures such as 0xQuit, DFarmer, VonDoom, and Anon voiced frustration over another season of OpenSea’s rewards program.

“The waves will continue until morale improves,” 0xQuit wrote.

 

Regardless of opinions on the program or its impact on NFTs, two things are clear, it's happening, and you can try to win prizes while earning XP that will count toward OpenSea’s upcoming Token Generation Event, slated for Q1 2026, according to OpenSea Co-Founder and CEO Devin Finzer.

“Timing. $SEA is coming in Q1 2026,” he wrote on October 17th. “Distribution. The Foundation has confirmed that 50% of supply will be allocated to the community, with more than half awarded via an initial claim. Both OGs and those who participated in OpenSea rewards programs will be meaningfully considered, separately. - Tokenomics. 50% of revenue at launch will be used to purchase $SEA. - Utility. $SEA will be deeply integrated with OpenSea, including the ability to stake $SEA behind your favorite tokens and collections. $SEA isn't the destination, but it's a crucial moment everyone will be watching. You only get one TGE. While the Foundation is wrapping up the final details, we’re getting OpenSea ready. Between now and Q1, we're shipping the features that bring our vision to life. Mobile is now in closed alpha, and will put the entire onchain economy in your pocket. Perps will be coming to OpenSea. True cross-chain abstraction on its way."

 

 

Find out more about OpenSea’s reward program here: https://opensea.io/rewards

The Gazette will continue to follow all things OpenSea and will keep you posted when they officially announce their TGE. Stay tuned for updates!