NFTs are getting popular every day as people are beginning to realise the hidden opportunities and rewards in utilizing the non-fungible tokens and their platforms too. In 2021, the NFTs market generally was about $40 billion in valuation and still pushing up in 2022.
The first step in getting involved in NFTs is to choose a good, cost-effective and dignified platform which will meet your investment needs.
This article will discuss the top 10 NFTs marketplaces where you can start minting and trading NFTs in 2022
Read Also: What Are NFTs And How Do They Work?
What Is An NFT Marketplace?
Let’s first talk about what an NFT marketplace is all about before delving into the special five marketplaces you can choose from.
An NFT marketplace is just like a market where you can buy and sell NFTs, just that this time, it is a digital marketplace void of physical interaction.
Therefore, an NFT marketplace is a digital platform for trading NFTs. On these marketplaces, people can mint NFTs, exhibit their NFTs, store them or trade them for money or cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
However, these transactions are carried out from one party to the other for a fee which varies across different NFTs marketplaces.
Each NFTs marketplace has a distinct way of operation, transaction fees, type of listed NFTs, permitted blockchains and payment options. So, all these and the entire terms and conditions depend on which one you use.
Also Read: How To Create Your NFT Marketplace in 2022
Top 10 NFTs Marketplaces Of May 2022
1. OpenSea:
At the mention of “Opensea”, the next thing that comes to mind is NFTs. Why?
Opensea is the most primitive and among the largest, if not the largest NFTs marketplaces active today.
Since it was launched in 2017, it has been a host of many famous NFTs like photos, music, art etc.
The good thing about Opensea is the user-friendly nature of the marketplace. A new user only needs to set up an account for free in minutes and start surveying NFTs or create NFTs immediately.
Opensea charges a 2.5% transaction fee for every successful transaction. Since Opensea is an Ethereum based marketplace, you will also pay the ” gas fee”(Transaction fees paid to miners) for completing NFT transactions with Ethereum.
Do you want to avoid gas fees? Then buy and sell NFTs with Polygon but ensure that the NFT item displays the polygon logo.
Opensea does not accept fiat currencies like the US dollars or Naira but the major cryptocurrencies used on OpenSea are Ethereum(ETH), Solana(ADA) and USDC, though other cryptos are featured in payment options.
This marketplace is a gold choice for starters who need a reliable marketplace with a lot of options for their NFTs trading and minting career.
2. Rarible:
Rarible is a good and another famous NFT marketplace that NFT creators can exploit.
Rarible is a marketplace that offers a large array of discoveries as users can browse tending collections, live auctions and tope sellers easily. The layout is much more concise and attractive when compared to other marketplaces harbouring a wide variety of NFTs collections.
Rarible charges the same 2.5% transaction fee as Opensea and the prices are denominated in Ethereum(ETH) only, but one can still use the Rarible token to make purchases.
3. Crypto.com:
Crypto.com is another NFT marketplace in the world with high potential.
The initial plan for the platform was to host only NFTs on the crypto.com blockchain but recently, it has integrated the Ethereum blockchain which makes the choices of NFTs one can purchase on this platform to be slightly broadened.
There’s something different about crypto.com and guess what?
Apart from the fact that Crypto.com does not charge any transaction fee for buying NFTs, it is a marketplace where one can buy NFTs with a debit or credit card. Yes, you read right, you can pay for digital arts using your debit or credit cards.
However, creators of NFTs pay a 1.99% fee for each art that is sold.
Crypto.com is quite easy to use, it offers a built-in exchange and an integrated wallet. It also offers crypto as a payment option which makes it easy to move money around and swap currencies for NFTs trading.
NFTs in the crypto.com marketplace are denominated in USD.
4. Binance:
It may interest you to know that Binance is not just a cryptocoin marketplace but also one of the world’s largest NFTs marketplaces, maybe because it’s connected to the Binance crypto exchange.
A huge spectrum of digital assets can be seen on Binance, from collectable items to some new drops from potential creators. Binance curates its NFTs into trending collections for easy collection of arts.
Binance charges a 1% transaction fee on every purchase which is quite economical, considering its huge reputation. Creators can dominate their NFTs on any crypto of their choice but the platform gives a USD estimate for easy comparison.
You can swap on Binance Exchange if you want to exchange crypto for payment.
5. Nifty Gateway:
Nifty Gateway is another popular NFTs marketplace known for its reputation of hosting expensive and exclusive NFT sales. One of the biggest sales of this platform is the digital artist Pak’s “The Merge,” which sold for a whopping $91.8 million.
This marketplace is more concerned about artwork and art collections, especially from celebrities.
Nifty Gateway deployed an “open editions” system to boost the demand for artworks. That is to say that you can only buy editions of a new type of NFT for just a limited time.
You can not make use of credit cards to make purchases in this type of marketplace. Nifty Gateway seems to be a marketplace for big investors who want to make large investments in NFTs and gain access to bigger options.
6. SuperRare:
SuperRare is another Ethereum blockchain-based NFT. This is a special NFT marketplace that is very selective in the NFT artists it deals with. It is the pioneering marketplace that deals with exclusive NFT artworks with the sole intention of preserving them for the tradition of the art collection
The SuperRare marketplace has a distinct vetting and approval mechanism that digital arts must go through before they could be listed for sale.
It is one of the best NFTs platforms in the digital space which is driven by creativity amongst the creators while ensuring that the collectors get the best of the NFT collection.
SuperRare is exclusive and as such, the transaction fee on primary sales is around 15%.
7. Solanart:
Solanart is a new Marketplace for the NFT digital space. The Solanart NFT marketplace is based on the Solana blockchain. On this marketplace, users can mint, sell and buy NFTs that are developed on the Solana blockchain.
Even though this marketplace is still new to the NFT digital space, it has a remarkable total trading volume of about $500 million, presently.
8. NBA Top Shot:
The NBA Top Shot is exclusively for National Basketball Association league NFTs. It is a Flow network-based NFT marketplace that enables basketball enthusiasts to trade, buy, and sell NBA-related NFTs. If you are not enthusiastic about NBA, then NBA Top Shot is the wrong place for you.
NBA Top Shot allows fans to buy and own special court moments of their favourite stars in all NBA sports collectibles.
NFTs on NBA Top Shot are officially licensed and can be purchased in packs like trading cards, just like the ones you loved as a kid. It is a wonderful place for NBA lovers to gain some profits through creating and collecting NBA NFTs.
9. Axie Marketplace:
Axie Infinity is an Ethereum based NFT game built by Sky Mavis, a Vietnam developer. These NFT games are traded on the Axie marketplace but since it’s an Ethereum based NFT, you don’t need to use the Axie marketplace exclusively to trade them.
Axies are fine, balloon-shaped creatures that you can breed, go on an adventure with, fight and trade. So, if you love the fantasy world, trading cards and cute creatures, then Axie Infinity is a good shot for you.
Axie Shard is the native token used to buy and sell Axies on the Axie Marketplace.
10. Mintable:
Mintable is another Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, backed by billionaire Mark Cuban.
Mintable marketplace offers a wide range of NFTs collections like videos, photography, music, digital art etc.
Mintable allows creators to mint new NFTs with zero fees and when they subscribe to the Mintable service “Mintable Pro”, creators can get access to advertising, custom stores and other perks.
Mintable Academy gives a range of educational content to those looking to learn more about NFTs.
Conclusion
If you have plans of either collecting or creating NFTs in the future but yet unsure of which marketplace to choose from, do not sweat it. All you need to do is read through the characteristics of the above mentioned NFTs marketplaces, and consider their features, your objective, your target audience, and your budget.
