NFT marketplaces connect buyers and sellers of NFTs. In some cases, NFT marketplaces also provide tools for artists to create unique NFTs within minutes.
The NFT market is worth more than $40 billion, according to The 2021 NFT Market Report from blockchain data company Chainalysis. A report from SkyQuest Technology reveals that the market was worth USD 15.70 Billion in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 122.43 Billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 34.10 percent from 2022 to 2028.
Artists can put their NFT works up for sale on specialized marketplaces. Buyers could look through the market for NFTs and bid on the item they wanted to buy. NFT developers or fans must check out NFTs marketplaces’ list to find deals on art, collectibles, and other digital assets that best suit them.
What are NFTs?
NFTs are financial securities made up of digital data stored in a blockchain. The owner of an NFT can alter its ownership, and this change is recorded in the blockchain. This makes it possible to sell and trade NFTs.
NFTs can be made by anyone with little or no knowledge of how to code. Most NFTs are usually in form of digital files like photos, videos, and music. NFTs are different from cryptocurrencies, which are fungible because they are assets that can only be owned by one person.
About NFT Marketplaces
You can buy and sell NFTs like art, music, and even whole virtual worlds on an NFT marketplace. NFT marketplaces can be thought of as your Amazon of the digital world.
There are a lot of NFT marketplaces out there, and many of them are unique in their way. What should you look for before deciding which NFT marketplace to use, and which marketplaces are the best?
The Best NFT marketplaces are listed below.
OpenSea
OpenSea has been around since 2017 and it is one of the largest NFT marketplaces. It has mainstream NFTs like art, music, photography, trading cards, and virtual worlds.
Ethereum, Solana, and USDC are the major networks used on OpenSea. Other cryptocurrencies are used as payment options. Just keep in mind that you can’t use your regular fiats.
OpenSea is beginner friendly. You can sign up for a free account and start exploring NFTs. You can also make your own NFTs on their platform.
OpenSea charges a fee equal to 2.5% of each transaction to cover costs. When you use Ethereum to do an NFT transaction, you must also pay the gas fee. Gas fees are what miners get paid for each transaction.
If you want to avoid gas fees, you can use the Polygon network to execute transactions. But you’ll need to make sure the Polygon logo is on the NFT item you’re interested in.
Rarible
Users can buy and sell art, collectibles, video game assets, and NFTs with Rarible. You can use the Ethereum, Flow, and Tezos network to buy and sell on Rarible.
Rarible charges a flat fee of 2.5% plus any gas fees for each transaction. You can purchase NFTs on Rarible with your fiat currencies.
One interesting thing about Rarible is that holder of its native token, RARI, is responsible for governance in the marketplace.
In 2021, Rarible and Adobe announced a partnership to make it easier to verify and protect the metadata for digital content, including NFTs.
Rarible could be the best NFT marketplace for people who want to connect to a large network with a strong community.
NBA’s Best Shot
If you are a big fan of basketball, you can buy NFTs of great moments in basketball history on the NBA Top Shot marketplace.
You can buy NBA and WNBA video clips, play highlights, and artwork. But some Moments don’t come cheap. In February 2021, a video of a slam dunk by LeBron James sold for $208,000.
The NBA created and runs this NFT marketplace, and they are the sole traders of NFT videos.
NFTs on the NBA’s Best Shot can be bought with credit or debit cards or cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, DAI, or USDC. And fees are always added to the price, whether you use a credit card or cryptocurrency to buy that iconic moment.
Binance NFT Marketplace
In 2021, Binance, one of the largest exchanges, added an NFT marketplace. The international crypto exchange is just one of many companies delving into the NFT market.
Binance NFT has the same kinds of digital assets similar with other marketplaces, like art, game items, and collectibles.
One significant thing about Binance NFT is that it has low fees. The trading the platform charges is only 1%. It’s also user-friendly as it was made with the same technology and layouts as their exchange.
Binance is such a big player in the cryptocurrency world that it has its blockchain, which gives it an extra advantage.
Axie Marketplace
The shop for the video game Axie Infinity is called Axie Marketplace. Axies are mythical creatures that can be bought, trained, and then used against the Axies of other players to earn rewards. On Axie Marketplace, players can use NFTs to buy new Axies, whole lands, and other items that can be used in the game.
The Ethereum blockchain is used to build Axie Infinity tokens, which are called Axie Shards. Because of this, they can be bought and sold on several other NFT markets as well as on some cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase Global.
Larva Labs/CryptoPunks
The CryptoPunks NFT project made Larva Labs famous. In 2017, they did a massive giveaway, but since then, some CryptoPunks have been sold for millions of dollars. Larva Labs is also working on digital art projects like Autoglyphs and app development projects anchored on the Ethereum blockchain.
The CryptoPunks NFTs from Larva Labs are all sold out, but you can still buy from third-party marketplaces. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on Larva Labs’ different projects, like the Meebits, which can be bid on directly from the company’s built-in marketplace.
Crypto.com NFT Marketplace
Crypto.com is another great choice if you want to buy NFTs. The well-known Exchange is one of the best places to trade cryptocurrencies, and more than ten million people use it. Crypto.com recently launched its NFT marketplace in addition to its popular crypto-trading services. The market opened in 2021 and sells NFTs in categories like art, celebrities, gaming, sports, and music.
Crypto.com make it easy for investors in general by letting them sign up for a Crypto.com NFT account in just a few minutes. NFTs can be bought at auction or for a set price, and users can use their credit or debit cards to buy them. You could also use the “Crypto.com Pay” gateway to buy NFTs with cryptocurrency. When you buy an NFT on Crypto.com, unlike many other platforms, there is no transaction fee. This is one of the unique things about the buying process. On Crypto.com, you can also find some of the most expensive NFTs on the market.
In Conclusion
These are just some of the many NFT marketplaces available for now. As the industry grows, we’re expecting more marketplaces to emerge. As always, make sure you do your research before investing your money into a project. This article is not investment advice, but just for education.