eBay, a global commerce leader that connects millions of sellers and buyers around the world, and KnownOrigin, an innovative non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, have announced that eBay has acquired KnownOrigin. KnownOrigin’s technology and platform provide artists with a place to create unique, authentic, digital collectibles, in the form of NFTs.

This acquisition is an important step in eBay’s tech-led reimagination, ushering in a new era of digital collecting to the world’s top destination for collectibles. KnownOrigin, which was founded in 2018 in Manchester, UK, enables artists and collectors to create, buy and resell NFTs via blockchain-support transactions. Since its founding, KnownOrigin has seen significant growth as it has revolutionized the way people create, buy, and sell NFTs. eBay’s tech-led reimagination has resulted in significant upgrades to the company's technology, performance and customer experience, including tools that make it easier than ever to discover, buy or sell anything. As a part of this, eBay began allowing the buying and selling of NFTs in May 2021.

“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,” said Jamie Iannone, CEO of eBay. “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 is acquiring KnownOrigin and the companies have signed and closed the deal as of 21 June. Further details were not disclosed.