NFT marketplaces help create, buy and sell non-fungible tokens based on various digital objects, such as pictures, videos, audio recordings. Today, we’ll consider the main features and varieties of NFT marketplaces to select the best and most functional of them. Let’s get started!
What Are NFT Marketplaces?
Marketplaces for creating and trading NFTs can be divided into three main types:
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- Universal decentralized marketplaces. A good example is OpenSea. It usually works on the same blockchain or on related ones. OpenSea allows trading on Ethereum and Polygon and requires connection via web3 wallet. Every transaction, including sending NFTs for sale, comes with a network fee.
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- Marketplaces for collections. A good example is CryptoPunks. The platform also works in a decentralized manner, and each user connects using a web3 wallet. Still, you can’t create your own NFTs but only buy those that creators have already minted from scratch.
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- Centralized marketplaces. These include Binance NFT. One doesn’t need to have a separate wallet, and the marketplace balance is used to pay for a purchase or receive funds. Purchased NFTs are also stored centrally but can be sent to offline wallets.
The marketplace’s main functionality should have: minting new NFTs, buying/selling NFTs at a fixed price or using an auction, adding collections or objects to favorites, etc.
Top 12 Best NFT Marketplace to Know
The main selection parameter is whether the marketplace has the tokens you need. If you are interested in NFTs related to a specific project, check whether they are traded on the platform or use the project’s own marketplace. This list contains marketplaces that allow users to create their own tokens and buy pre-minted collections.
#1 OpenSea
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- Monthly trading volume: $4,130,000,000
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- Blockchain: Ethereum, Polygon
OpenSea is the absolute leader in popularity among the non-fungible token marketplaces. The platform provides all the necessary functionality to manage your collections and allows you to mint your own tokens. OpenSea provides a wide selection of popular and new collections, has a curatorship system and a statistics section where you can find out which collection is in the most demand.
#2 Binance NFT
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- Monthly trading volume: not announced
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- Blockchain: Ethereum, BSC
Binance NFT has become a very popular platform among celebrities due to the popularity of the exchange itself. Thus, famous artists often place their collections here. Users can make payments in different ways — ETH, BNB, BUSD. The author sets a fixed price or opens an auction.
#3 Rarible
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- Monthly trading volume: $5,220,000
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- Blockchain: Ethereum, Flow, Tezos
This multi-chain platform is very popular among many celebrities and large projects. Thus, features include instant messenger, temporary auctions, royalties, personalized activity feed, and more. The choice of assets on the platform is very wide: collectibles, music, domain names, metaverse objects. The DAO manages the protocol.
#4 Bybit NFT
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- Monthly trading volume: not announced
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
Bybit’s NFT marketplace allows you to get early access to exclusive collections as well as special projects supported by the exchange. The purchase is made with ETH, USDT, or BIT, with no additional fees. In addition, it is possible to buy mystery boxes at a fixed price, which contain random NFTs of varying rarity.
#5 LooksRare
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- Monthly trading volume: $11,600,000,000
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
It’s a relatively new but popular NFT marketplace with rewards for activity. It has its own LOOKS token, which can be used for staking with a yield of up to 225% per annum. It is stated that 100% of the platform’s trading fees go to LOOKS stakers. Another advantage is that NFT creators receive royalties at the time of sale.
#6 OKX NFT
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- Monthly trading volume: not announced
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- Blockchain: Ethereum, OKExChain
You can connect to the marketplace on the OKX exchange using a decentralized wallet from the exchange creators or Metamask. Since this is a decentralized app, minting NFTs will come with a fee. There is a search bar and all kinds of filters to search for tokens of interest.
#7 SuperRare
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- Monthly trading volume: $7,870,000
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
The SuperRare platform is focused specifically on digital art, works of famous and talented artists. A native RARE token for decentralized governance was launched with the community’s help. Membership in the SuperRare DAO allows you to curate the platform, control market parameters, and vote on this ambitious art project.
#8 Foundation
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- Monthly trading volume: $6,590,000
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
Foundation is a community-driven project that connects content creators and buyers. Authors receive 85% of the sale price and 10% from each resale of the asset in the secondary market. The main trading method is 24-hour auctions with the possibility of extension. Purchased NFTs can be added to your virtual gallery or shared on social networks.
#9 Nifty Gateway
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- Monthly trading volume: not announced
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
It’s a curated platform from the Gemini crypto exchange, which actively collaborates with well-known creative teams and accepts NFTs from any members. It should be noted that the platform is custodial. That is servers of the platform store all NFTs, which are accessed through an account.
#10 Mintable
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- Monthly trading volume: $1,260,000
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
It’s an NFT exchange and open market similar to OpenSea, backed by billionaire Mark Cuban. When a transaction is made, a MINT token is distributed to the wallets of a seller and a buyer, which can later be used for decentralized project management.
#11 Sorare
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- Monthly trading volume: not announced
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
Sorare is a digital football card collecting platform. Among the investors, the project is supported by the global gaming company Ubisoft and more than 130 football clubs. The owner of cards can create their own teams to take part in virtual tournaments with cash prizes.
#12 Valuables
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- Monthly trading volume: not announced
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- Blockchain: Ethereum
The marketplace is focused on tokenization and the sale of tweets. This is where Twitter creator Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet for $2.5 million in March 2021. Users can offer any tweet for sale, but authors must accept or decline the offer.
Conclusion
Choosing the right marketplace for NFT trading helps you quickly buy/sell a digital art or game object of interest. It also affects the benefit, that is, the amount of commissions that you have to pay. While most marketplaces use Ethereum, some opt for newer blockchains with low fees. This article contains examples of the best NFT marketplaces where you can create, buy and sell NFTs if you are a collector or investor.
What is your favorite NFT marketplace? Feel free to share the best one in the comments below!
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