New to the party, NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are the new crypto trend that has taken the internet by storm. After the 2020 Defi Summer, more conventional investors and cryptocurrency holders have started speculating on these blockchain assets.
Think of an NFT as a virtual token that symbolizes your ownership of a scarce and distinct digital item. That could be any in-game item, artwork, music, and so on.
These digital items are different from regular cryptos like Ethereum or Bitcoin because you cannot exchange them one for another. Every token has unique attributes and a specific value.
Additionally, you can’t buy NFTs on decentralized or centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. You find these tokens to trade and buy within online marketplaces, explicitly made for NFTs.
Best NFT Marketplaces 2024 – Reviews
NFT started taking off when Beeple sold a piece of crypto artwork entitled Everydays: The First 5000 Days, in March 2021, for $69 million.
On NFT Marketplaces, artists can utilize the platform to their advantage for sales. It helps to understand it in relation to platforms like Etsy, Amazon, and eBay. NFT marketplaces function much in the same way.
Here are the top NFT marketplaces:
1. OpenSea
After making the declaration and seeing some of the moves they’ve made, OpenSea is widely regarded as the largest NFT marketplace. They have a vast range of NFTs, including sports, trading cards, collectibles, and other virtual world assets. It also has the assets ERC1155 and ERC721.
You can discover, sell, and buy exclusive digital items such as ENS names, Axies, Decentraland, CryptoKitties, and much more. They display more than 700 art and digital projects and name systems like Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
Creators, or artists, can develop their pieces on the blockchain by accessing the minting tool available on OpenSea’s platform. There, you can create an entire collection of NFTs at no cost without knowing how to code.
If you choose to develop a smart contract for a digital item or project, you can get added to OpenSea with no problems.
If you choose to sell items, you can make auction listings, sell at a fixed price, or make a declining price listing.
All you need to get started on Open Sea is an Ethereum wallet to connect to dapps (decentralized applications).
The most popular option is Metamask, but you can use Fortmatic, Coinbase, and Dapper on OpenSea as well.
Remember that your collection of NFTs is free with the program, but OpenSea charges a 2.5 percent commission for all transactions. That’s pretty competitive for NFT marketplaces!
This is the best for the collectors who want to have a variety of tokens, beginners, and traders who want to sell and buy NFTs.
Pros:
- The commissions are competitive
- They feature a large display of NFT collectibles
- The platform leads the industry in security features
Cons:
- Only cryptocurrency payments are valid
- You need a cryptocurrency wallet to sell or buy collectibles
2. Rarible
Rarible is an NFT marketplace owned by the community. It seeks to become a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), and it looks like an attainable goal given the rapid growth in recent months.
This NFT platform utilizes its own crypto coin, known as RARI, and it is the first type of governance token of its kind. RARI allows the highest number of active collectors and creators on the site to vote for upgrades to the platform.
They can also participate in moderation and curation, and they receive 75,000 RARI each week.
The artists on Rarible have to get their creations approved by submitting them first. Pretty much anyone is allowed to list their items in the portal.
With a specific focus on digital artwork, Rarible lets creators mint new non-fungible tokens to sell. That includes movies, metaverses, music albums, games, books, games, art, memes, domains, and so forth.
The seller also gets to offer visitors a sneak peek at the piece, while the entire project is only given to the purchaser.
Being secured by blockchain, Rarible’s platform is safe for all users and buyers. Since it is non-custodial, which means your non-fungible tokens don’t leave your wallet until the sale is complete, you don’t have to worry about getting scammed.
You only need ETH and an Ethereum wallet. You may also use Coinbase, Torus, MetaMask, or Fortmatic. The commission fee for Rarible is 2.5 percent.
Pros:
- It is a non-custodial market
- The process to sell and create NFTs is easy
- The artists on Rarible can select royalties up to 50 percent for future use
- Governance on the platform derives from a native token
Cons:
- The platform has a higher commission than surrounding competitors
- Rarible doesn’t have a mobile app
3. SuperRare
At SuperRare, the name gives away its focus. They specialize in single-edition unique digital art pieces. Every digital item is an authentic artwork created and tokenized in the network to be a crypto-collectible that you can trade or own.
The platform describes itself as a cross between Instagram and Christie’s, which is an auction house. They provide an innovative way to interconnect with collecting, culture, and art on the web.
Each digital asset is a collectible secured through cryptography and can be tracked via the blockchain. SuperRare has even developed a social network in conjunction with their market.
Every transaction gets completed with Ether, which is the principal cryptocurrency from the Ethereum wallet.
Because they focus on rarity, SuperRare only collaborates with a limited number of artists that they have selected themselves. However, it is possible to submit an artist profile to the platform for review in hopes of making their next launch.
You can use a variety of crypto wallets with SuperRare, provided they are Ethereum (their preferred network) compatible.
Keep in mind that the buyer has to pay a 3 percent transaction fee for every purchase. Primary sales have a 15 percent gallery commission fee, which is high for an NFT marketplace, but lower than real galleries.
The artists themselves receive 10 percent in royalties for any secondary sales.
Pros:
- They have a rare and exclusive platform
- The royalties are high for artists
- Their interface has a simple design for easy navigation
- They feature a buying system option
Cons:
- The commission is high in comparison to other marketplaces
- They only accept ETH for payments
- The Ethereum network fees are sometimes costly
4. Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is a popular NFT marketplace that has recently seen the number of sales on its platform skyrocket.
Their mother company is Gemini LLC, a crypto exchange website that twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Howard Winklevoss have founded.
While you may be able to find some cheaper NFTs on Nifty Gateway, the vast majority of items are going to be rare collectibles. For this reason, it is harder to become a featured artist on the Nifty Gateway marketplace.
The platform offers high-tech security options, and it is one of the most well-known NFT spots.
Nifty’s team prepares the curated digital assets available on this exclusive marketplace.
They work with popular artists such as Deadmau5, Gramatik, Carl Cox, Lil Yachty, and Ozuna. Each of them has had drops, or collections, that have gotten sold for thousands.
While anyone can apply as a creator or artist, Nifty gets to choose which commissions are received. That might be 50 percent or 5 percent of each secondary sale. The platform also takes 5 percent plus 30 cents, outside of the agreed-upon artist’s fee.
Pros:
- They feature highly exclusive artists on the Nifty platform
- You can purchase non-fungible tokens with your credit card
- Their platform is simplistic and easy to use; great for crypto beginners
Cons:
- This is a custodial NFT marketplace (no crypto wallet)
- You have to be a popular artist to get accepted to Nifty’s platform
5. Foundation
Foundation is the NFT marketplace for you if you’re looking for a specialist platform designed to join crypto natives and digital collectors together to improve the culture. It refers to itself as the new creative economy. Foundation marketplace primarily focuses on digital art.
For every non-fungible token trade made on Foundation, the artist will make 10 percent on the secondary transaction. Furthermore, whenever a collector resells an artist’s work to someone else for a higher price, the artist will receive 10 percent of the total sales value.
The latest bid, NFTs, and the remaining time left in the auction can all be presented in various ways depending on the NFT marketplace. It will be up to you to choose which NFT you’re most comfortable with viewing and using.
When using the browse section of the Foundation platforms, the auction with the shortest amount of time left will be displayed, and the list will continue from shortest to longest.
Once a particular NFT gets chosen, you’ll receive the details concerning that token. The breakdown will include how much is left in the auction, how rare the token is, and the current bid.
Foundation has the highest service fees at 15 percent. Currently, we do not know of any other platforms which charge more than 15 percent. Moreover, the 15 percent fee does not include the Ethereum gas fees.
These fees are necessary for the processing of the transactions by the Ethereum network.
Pros:
- There aren’t as many artists competing on the site
- If you’re networking, there’s a better chance of gaining exposure
- The artwork is curated
Cons:
- There’s no organic keyword search available
- There’s a listing fee and a mint fee for each non-fungible token
6. MakersPlace
Based in the United States, MakersPlace has been in business since 2018.
If you’re in search of low-cost NFTs from unknown artists, there’s a chance that you could find them here. However, be mindful that most of the NFTs sold and minted at MakersPlace get created by more renowned NFT-creators.
MakersPlace mainly focuses on exclusive digital art. With that said, there’s less rare art available here as well. The NFTs are on the ETH blockchain.
Different NFT marketplaces will present their latest bid and remaining time left in an auction, and the NFTs themselves, in different ways. So let the particular style that you’re drawn to be the determining factor for you.
Using the MakersPlace browse section, you can use their convenient search field to search for NFTs. You can search for a specific category or search for NFTs based on how recent or popular it is and much more.
When there’s a successful sale on the floor, the platform will receive a commission of 15 percent. This is right in line with what you’d expect from other NFT marketplaces. Furthermore, if the transaction happens via credit card, there will be an additional charge of 2.9 percent.
MakersPlace is presently an invite-only platform for artists and digital creators alike. To learn more about joining the forum, visit their website.
Reselling: A great feature of sharing digital artwork on MakersPlace is that all creators receive guaranteed royalties on resells. This is possible because all ownership gets tracked on-chain through the transfer of links to your digital art.
For secondary sales, there’s a 12.5 percent commission; 10 percent goes to the creator and 2.5 percent to the platform.
Pros:
- It’s the perfect platform for people just starting in cryptos of any kind
- MakerPlace provides a good chance to support works of art
- Buyers get high quality and authentic work
Cons:
- The technology can be kind of hard to understand
- Custodial NFT marketplace means there’s no crypto wallet
Types of Marketplaces
NFTs are created or minted by digital objects. These creations represent both intangible and tangible items which include the following:
- Designer sneakers
- Art
- GIFs
- Collectibles
- Videos and sports highlights
- Music
- Virtual avatars and video game skins
Although there are many kinds of marketplaces, art-oriented and universal platforms happen to be the most popular.
Furthermore, you can find NFT marketplaces that are niche. These obscure marketplaces list specific types of assets that are non-fungible such as digital collectible cards, virtual real estate, and in-game items.
Looking for niche digital items such as digital fantasy football cards or virtual world avatars? Well, there are five primary platforms where a vast majority of these NFT sales come from.
Axie Infinity: This is a platform that plays host to cartoon characters for the Axie Infinity game. In this game, players will breed, trade, and battle Axies, which are digital pets.
This game is quickly gaining popularity; you’ll find some in-game collectibles around $14 and some as high as $1000.
NBA Top Shot: This is an NFT marketplace established on Flow. In this marketplace, participants sell and buy digital collectible cards which feature some of the NBA’s most memorable moments.
The platform has been able to generate more than $230 million in video highlights alone. One NBA top shot of LeBron James emulating a famous dunk by Kobe Bryant made $387,600.
Decentraland: This is a unique platform created and owned by users. Decentraland is a multiplayer role-playing game that grants users the ability to build a virtual world as an NFT.
The paraphernalia and goods have security through the Ethereum blockchain. You can explore entire worlds created from the minds of community members, and you can sell and buy things like wearable avatar skins, estates, and lands on this premium platform.
Sorare: Sorare is a global fantasy football game, and they have a platform where you can buy virtual cards of football players that can get used on Sorare.
Each card has a level of uniqueness and scarcity that makes it valuable. The cards come in different levels of rarity known as Unique, Super Rare, and Rare.
Buyers can sell and trade these cards and use them to participate in various game activities.
Looking Glass Factory: Holograms allow people to view events or other people in a beautiful 3-D interface.
This platform creates digital holograms, and they can then get sold as tokens. Looking Glass is a distinct platform because the holographic images can be of a real person or one that you have imagined.
The first-ever holographic display up for auction was a collaboration with musician Reggie Watts and the band Panther Modern. It is a 3-D loop video entitled, The NonCompliance of Being.
Valuables: This is a platform that has a singular focus on selling tweets. This site allows people to auction off their tweets for payment in the form of Ether.
The CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, was able to sell the first tweet he made for nearly $3 million. This platform works well for celebrities and other people of vital stature.
Different Networks
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a data unit stored on a blockchain; a blockchain is a digital ledger. Through this medium, digital assets get certified as unique. That means they don’t have an equal value to another asset; you cannot swap them out.
Moreover, the buyer of the NFT will have access to the first file created and will not get restricted in any way.
Even though anyone can just find copies of the item, blockchains track the ownership from person to person. The new owner has proof that they now own the digital item, but that’s not the same as copyright entitlement.
This system is completely decentralized, with a peer-to-peer unchangeable data storage spread over a network of willing participants. All of the blocks contain a cryptographic hash of the previous block, transaction data, and timestamp.
The timestamp serves as evidence and proves that the transaction data existed when the block was published to get in its hash.
Since blocks contain information about the block before them, a chain gets formed in which every additional block reinforces the credence of the one before it.
As a result, blockchains are resistant to their data being modified – once it’s been recorded, the data in any block cannot be altered retroactively without altering every block thereafter.
The most popular system for purchasing, selling, and creating digital items is indeed Ethereum. However, there’s a growing list of competitors joining the fray, which includes the following:
- Tron
- Binance Smart Chain
- EOS
- Flow (by Dapper Labs)
- Solana
- Tezos
- Polkadot
- Algorand
- Hedera Hashgraph
- WAX
- Cosmos
You’ll find that some of these blockchain systems are interoperable, and others are closed systems, meaning that you can use the platform’s payment method.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the responses to some of the most commonly asked questions regarding NFT marketplaces:
1. Where is the best place to buy NFT?
This will depend on your goals because different NFT marketplaces will have different benefits.
Here are some of the best features of a quality NFT marketplace:
Storefront: There’s price history, previews, bids, owners, and more.
Filters: Aids you in choosing the right product quickly and without much effort by filtering out what you don’t want.
Advanced token search: With this, you can get good info with very little to no effort. Items will be sorted by features such as music, images, videos, memes, and art. This quick search makes life easier for customers.
Ratings: Check the experience of other users who are similar to you in regards to interest.
2. What is the largest NFT marketplace?
The world’s first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens or NFTs is OpenSea.
OpenSea has documented that the platform has a transaction volume worth $3.4 billion via Ethereum. That figure is over ten times higher than was recorded for July.
OpenSea plans to use its capital to scale its NFT platform, emphasizing hiring engineering talent, making it easier to access, buy and sell digital assets, and expand internationally to new markets.