Non-Fungible Tokens, popularly referred to as NFTs took the same or almost the same steps as cryptocurrencies in presenting themselves to the world. And although they share many similarities like being based on a blockchain, they are an entirely different species of digital or virtual assets from cryptocurrencies.
NFTs are, according to Investopedia, cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other. Unlike cryptocurrencies, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency. This differs from fungible tokens like cryptocurrencies, which are identical to each other and, therefore, can serve as a medium for commercial transactions.
NFTs, like cryptocurrencies, took the world by a storm, and now everyone wants in on them one way or the other. Individuals and corporate entities are beginning to get their hands in on NFTs. Recently, cloud-based software company Salesforce announced plans to release an NFT cloud. LimeWire, a file-sharing platform announced that it was relaunching to become an NFT marketplace years after shutting down. e-Commerce giant Amazon could also begin to sell NFTs on its platform as intimated by its CEO Andy Jassy. The possibilities with NFTs are endless and it only makes sense to be a part of it, either as a creator or as a collector.
NFTs have recorded sales in millions. Mike Winkelmann, a digital artist known as Beeple, sold an artwork as an NFT which holds the record of the most expensive NFT ever sold. The NFT sold for $69 million at Christie’s, an online NFT marketplace. According to the online marketplace, the NFT sale places Beeple “among the top three most valuable living artists”. Other notable NFT sales include the first-ever tweet by Jack Dorsey which sold for $2.5 million on a marketplace called Valuables by Cent, the sale of the World Wide Web Source codes NFT for $5.4 million at Sotheby’s, etc. The sale of NFTs ran up to $2.5 billion in the first half of 2021. According to the world’s largest data resource Nonfungible.com, sales of Non-fungible tokens soared 21,000 percent to more than $17 billion in 2021.
Impressively, the proceeds from the sale of an NFT were part of the donations received by Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. $1.86 million came from the sale of an NFT originally intended to raise funds for Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks. The Ukrainian Government’s Ethereum account received a CryptoPunk NFT worth $200 million.
To get into the world of NFTs, either as a creator or an enthusiast looking to collect them, a NFT marketplace is the passport you need. Justtt like a regular market, a NFT market is an online place where interested parties can offer to sell or buy NFTs. The world of NFTs can be fun and all. But with an avalanche of them, it can be quite hard to pick one. You may find yourself devoid of reasons to, so here’s a list of ten of our favorite NFT marketplace you can get started with.
OpenSea
OpenSea is a personal favorite of ours! The American NFT marketplace came into the picture in 2017. Founded by duo Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah, the marketplace has risen to be one of the most relevant, if not the most relevant, marketplaces existing today. OpenSea provides an extensive listing and is loved for providing support for artists and creators looking to create their NFT. That’s not all; the platform provides support for more than 100 payment tokens. It is easy to use as well as navigate and is a great place to start one’s NFT journey.
Foundation
Foundation is another marketplace that we are in love with. This is because the marketplace provides an effortless way to bid on NFTs. The marketplace has been around since February 2021 and has some impressive records. Per its website, creators on the platform have earned 57,955 Ethereum worth over $175 million since its inception. While buyers simply require a loaded Ethereum wallet to start making NFT purchases, creators need to be invited by the Foundation Community but it’s worth it.
The downside, however, of the platform is that if you’re looking to create your own NFT fast and easily, Foundation might not be the space for you. Apart from this, it is a great marketplace!
Rarible
Rarible makes our list because it is quite similar to OpenSea when it comes to providing a wide range of NFTs. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Rarible lets users create, sell and buy different types of art. From videos to art, pictures, music, collectibles, anything you can think of can be found on this marketplace. Unlike OpenSea, however, users can only use the marketplace’s eponymous token to buy and sell virtual tokens.
SuperRare
SuperRare is another NFT marketplace placing focus on creators and provides a wide range of NFTs. It provides videos, art, music, 3D images, etc. Purchases can be made using Ethereum although it recently announced an eponymous token that’ll be used for purchase on the marketplace. SuperRare NFTs can also be sold and purchased on OpenSea.
Knownorigin
This is a specified marketplace for rare digital artworks. Knownorigin provides authentic and unique artworks. The platform is based on the Ethereum blockchain and is great for creators looking to sell authentic artworks.
Axie Marketplace
This is another specified NFT marketplace. Axie Marketplace is the marketplace for video game – Axie Infinity. The game features mythical creatures called Axies which are bought and used to earn rewards after beating other players in the game. The marketplace is based on and designed for the game. In this marketplace, players can purchase not only Axies but also other pertinent virtual items such as lands, for use within the game. The marketplace features its token built on the Ethereum blockchain. Called Axie Infinity tokens or simply Axie Shards, they can be sold and purchased on other NFT marketplaces and a few crypto platforms such as Coinbase. You can also earn on Axie Infinity, so why not?
Theta Drop
Theta Drop is based on the Theta blockchain. Participation in this marketplace is done using Theta which is available on virtually every crypto exchange platform. Theta Drop made its first appearance last year with the World Poker Tour’s collectibles.
Mintable
Mintable allows creators to sell their works as digital assets. Mintable is looking to become an open NFT marketplace just like OpenSea where creators can put up their works for sale and interested parties can purchase them. Ethereum is the passport needed to be a part of the world of Mintable. Notably, the marketplace is backed by American entrepreneur and billionaire Mark Cuban.
Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway was founded by Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster and is a digital art online auction NFT marketplace. Currently owned by the Winklevoss twins, the marketplace has sold NFTs created by popular artists like Beeple known to be among the three most valuable living artists in the world.
Air NFTs
This marketplace makes our list because of its sports NFT segment which allows sports lovers to create, buy and sell sports NFTs. From sports to sports events, people can create, buy and sell sports NFTs. Over 240,000 NFTs have been minted on Air NFTs. It is highly focused on user experience and ease of use to create, buy, sell and trade NFTs. Transactions are completed on the platform using Air tokens, or AIRT for short.
Investing in NFT can be quite tedious with the unending avalanche of opinions and marketplaces available. The list above is sure to guide you in choosing the best NFT marketplace to join depending on if you’re a creator or collector or looking for specific NFTs.
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
