eBay launched its first NFT collection with OneOf

eBay launched its first company-backed non-fungible-token collection on May 23, 2022 through a partnership with digital-collectibles platform OneOf. The initial release used animated and three-dimensional interpretations of Wayne Gretzky’s appearance on a Sports Illustrated cover, placing a familiar sports license inside eBay’s broader collectibles business.

The development mattered because eBay was already a large marketplace for physical cards, memorabilia and other collectibles. Its Genesis NFT Collection moved the company beyond merely allowing selected sellers to list blockchain-based items: eBay and OneOf were presenting a branded series designed for the marketplace’s existing consumer audience.

That distinction made the launch an institutional adoption event, but not evidence that NFT demand was expanding. The release established that the products were offered; it did not report completed sales, secondary-market turnover or independently measured buyer participation.

Thirteen digital collectibles across four tiers

The May 23 announcement described 13 limited-edition Gretzky collectibles divided into green, gold, platinum and diamond tiers. Green-tier designs could have as many as 299 editions each, while the announcement said the diamond tier was limited to 15 editions. Prices started at $10, and each token contained either a three-dimensional rendering or an animation of Gretzky performing a signature move on the ice.

The $10 figure was an offered starting price, not an average transaction price or a valuation for the complete collection. The announcement did not provide an event-day sales total, sell-through rate or secondary-market price series. It also did not identify a single blockchain in the collection details reproduced in the surviving company release. OneOf described itself as supporting multiple energy-efficient blockchains, so assigning the Gretzky tokens to a particular network without a collection contract or other primary technical record would exceed the verified evidence.

The companies planned additional releases during 2022 featuring athletes previously shown on Sports Illustrated covers. On May 23, those later drops remained plans rather than completed launches.

From permitted listings to a branded release

The launch followed eBay’s May 2021 policy change permitting NFT sales from selected sellers who met its standards. At that earlier stage, eBay said it expected to introduce programs and tools that would make blockchain-driven collectibles easier to buy and sell across more categories.

The OneOf partnership supplied a concrete implementation of that direction. Instead of requiring the announcement’s intended audience to begin at a cryptocurrency-native marketplace, eBay placed the collection inside a commerce environment already associated with auctions and collectibles. OneOf chief executive Lin Dai characterized the goal as reaching consumers who were not cryptocurrency experts. That was a contemporaneous company ambition, not a verified adoption count.

TechCrunch independently reported on May 23 that the Gretzky items were available and described the collection as eBay’s first NFT release. It also noted the competitive context: specialized NFT marketplaces already existed, while other mainstream technology and media platforms were testing ways to display or promote NFTs.

What the launch did—and did not—prove

The verified development was narrow but significant. A major online marketplace attached its brand and distribution channel to a defined NFT series, using sports imagery and comparatively low entry pricing to connect digital tokens with an established collecting category.

The record does not show how many editions were minted or purchased on May 23, whether buyers retained the items, or whether the collection developed a liquid resale market. It also does not establish that eBay accepted cryptocurrency as payment for the release. No cryptocurrency price, token return, trading-volume figure or market-capitalization claim is assigned to the announcement.

Later context

On June 22, 2022, eBay announced that it had acquired NFT marketplace KnownOrigin for undisclosed terms. That subsequent transaction indicated continued investment in digital collectibles, but it does not retrospectively establish the commercial performance of the May 23 Genesis collection.