E-commerce giant eBay Acquires NFT Marketplace KnownOrigin

American e-commerce giant eBay has acquired Manchester-based NFT marketplace KnownOrigin for an undisclosed amount. According to eBay, the deal has been concluded and all necessary documents have been signed as of the 22^nd of June.

NFTs, short for Non-Fungible Tokens, have become really popular. They’ve grown to become as popular as cryptocurrencies and both individuals and businesses want to get their hands on them. E-commerce companies like eBay may be looking to leverage the growing NFT buzz and an imminent super boom that the metaverse would bring.

As part of the terms of the acquisition, KnownOrigin’s founders Andy Gray, David Moore, and James Morgan who founded the NFT marketplace in 2018 will be joining eBay. KnownOrigin’s entire company including its team and IP now belongs to eBay.

While eBay is an American multinational e-commerce company that facilitates C2C and B2C sales via its website, KnownOrigin allows artists and collectors to create, sell and purchase NFTs.

In a statement, eBay’s CEO Jamie Iannone said that “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. 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.”

E-commerce giant eBay’s acquisition of KnownOrigin follows shortly after it launched its first NFT collection a month ago in partnership with OneOf, a web3 platform. eBay admits that the astronomical surge and huge interest in collectibles led to its first collection.

Speaking on the development, co-founder David Moore in a statement said that “We founded KnownOrigin to empower creators and collectors by giving them the ability to showcase, sell, and collect unique, authenticated digital items. As interest in NFTs continues to grow, we believe now is the perfect time for us to partner with a company that has the reach and experience of eBay. With more than twenty-five years building similar communities of passionate individuals, we are excited by the opportunity to bring a whole new audience on this journey. This is the start of a new chapter in the KnownOrigin story and we couldn’t choose a better time to focus on building and innovating with the team at eBay. This partnership will help us attract a new wave of NFT creators and collectors.”