Top NFT marketplaces are what you can draw out when reading this article. We collect 10 popular and potential platforms that NFT minters and investors love to use. Not only advantages but we also shed light on disadvantages for you to have a bigger picture. As a result, you can pick the most suitable marketplace to enrich your digital account.
OpenSea
OpenSea is a leading NFT marketplace.
Jumping into the game in the early days, OpenSea has the bravery to be the first and enough experience to become the web3 leader in NFTs and crypto collectibles.
Whatever digital assets you want are available on the platform. You do not have to spend fees to sign up and browse the extensive offerings. Also, more than 150 different payment tokens are usable in this marketplace. Thus, it paves the path for artists and creators to have an easy-to-use process for minting and monetizing NFTs .
OpenSea gains more trust when having big firms as its back, such as Coinbase, Combinator, Trust Wallet, Andreessen Horowitz, Dapper, etc.
Yet, a crown has its weight!
The phenomenal growth of OpenSea brought about more revenue, funding, and handshakes with tech giants like Twitter. At the same time, it has to deal with emerging security incidents and endless copycat NFTs .
Being trapped between a rock and a hard place makes the growth less fast. As it has to handle the consequences of the lightning growth and competition of other marketplaces.
Axie Marketplace
Axie Marketplace adds the edge to the game Axie Infinity.
Axie Infinity monetizes the time you play games as it is a video game where you play to earn NFTs. Axie Marketplace is an online shop for new Axie, a mythical creature for training and pitting against other players. Also, you can buy entire lands and other items through the Axie shop to play the game profitably.
Axie Shards are the Ethereum-based tokens for use in Axie Infinity. As a result, it is also possible to trade such tokens on various NFT marketplaces and crypto exchanges, not only within the game.
It sounds perfect, doesn’t it?
Yes, it sounds but not actually is. Every platform has problems in the path of its development. Axie marketplace is no exception.
As it is the attachment of Axie Infinity, a video game, you should play and love playing this game to earn rewards of NFTs. It can be a niche show for passionate game players!
High entry fees are necessary to start Axie Infinity. It can reach USD 1000 to own at least three Axies to have a kickoff in the game.
Larva Labs/CryptoPunks
CryptoPunks bring about glory and controversy for Larva Labs.
If you are interested in NFTs, you must have seen some articles mentioning CryptoPunks’ NFT project . Larva Labs is the marketplace behind this viral project. Despite being originally given away free in 2017, some cryptopunks now have the price of million dollars! All cryptopunks are now sold out, yet you can still bid or buy from other third-party marketplaces
Besides, Larva Labs leads other digital art projects such as Autoglyphs and other Ethereum-based app development projects like Meebits.
What should Larva Labs improve in the future?
While OpenSea is open for a wide range of NFT options, Larva Labs only accepts two NFT collections which are both lines of digital characters. It means you cannot purchase NFT digital art or videos on this platform.
Another issue comes from the controversy of V1 punks. At the beginning of this year, one of the Larva Labs founders sold 40 V1 punks for 260 ETH worth over $500,000. However, Larva Labs stated that V1 Punks were not real CryptoPunks and it would take legal action against this case. The firm’s credibility suddenly dropped.
Also, this platform does not allow users to mint NFTs . It indicates that you can only buy and sell Larva’s own NFTs!
NBA Top Shot Marketplace
NBA Top Shot Marketplace monetizes the basketball play moments.
NBA Top Shot is a step of the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association into the NFT world. You can trade collectible moments such as video clips, play highlights, art, etc. on this marketplace.
It uses the Flow blockchain by Dapper Labs. You can easily do the signup and the direct purchase on the Top Shot website. If you are a basketball fan and would like to collect unique moments in historic games, this is it!
Deciding that the Top Shot is good or bad walks a fine line.
Some people complained about the unstable servers and laggy websites. This issue does not only affect your experience of trading NFTs, yet it can involve some risks of missing out the good timing and good prices. This con can be improved in the near future with more investments!
Rarible
Rarible vs. OpenSea: Which do you think will win the market?
Rarible is among the most similar to OpenSea when it opens for the exchange and lazy minting of various NFT types, such as art, videos, music, and collectibles. The partnership between Rarible and notable firms including Yum! Brands, Taco Bell, Adobe, etc. add to its advantages in the competitive market.
You use its own token (Crypto: RARI) to vote on future marketplace changes. Yet, you cannot use it to buy or sell NFTs. The platform gets connected with various wallets including Ethereum, Metamask, and MyEtherWallet. Also, you can use a credit card for the payment of the purchase on Rarible.
Another edge that Rarible can favor its users is the freedom to determine the royal fee. Meanwhile, OpenSea makes a fixed rate of 10%.
The runner-up has his own issues.
It seems like Rarible and OpenSea are now in the top race. Rarible also has to deal with security scandals and the creation of superior features. At the end of the day, the happier users are, the more successful the marketplace becomes. To be fair, NFTs and marketplace development are still new so it can be too challenging to make zero mistakes in the early years.
SuperRare
SuperRare highlights the originality of content.
SuperRare does not limit NFT options as it allows to exchange of and mint art, videos, 3D images, etc. Living up to its name, it appreciates originality by allowing users to mint single and several editions of artworks.
The smooth experience on the platform is another plus. It is based on the second-largest alt-coin blockchain, Ethereum. So, you can transfer NFTs across Ethereum-compatible marketplaces. Another advantage is the offer of high royal fees for artists and creators on SuperRare.
Heads up, we have some notes for you.
This marketplace aims to run a premium service so the service fees are higher than Rarible and OpenSea. The signup is strict to have a qualified account. Also, it is not instant as it can take a few days for verification. Another drawback can be the size of files as you cannot upload more than 50-MB-sized files on this marketplace. The reason behind this is to guarantee site optimization.
Foundation
Foundation: A place to own and monetize valuable artworks.
Foundation is an Ethereum-based marketplace to bid on digital art. It is a newcomer in the field as the launch was in early 2021 but the records now reach more than $100 million of NFTs.
Artists with available digital artworks are welcome in the Foundation community. Valid buyers are those who have a crypto wallet funded with Ethereum. If you want to create or mint your own NFTs, Foundation is not ideal. Yet, if you want to exchange or collect valuable artworks, it is amongst the best due to its energetic community.
The drawbacks you should know before joining Foundation.
It is not free to sign up on Foundation as you need an invitation to join the community. There is no more the feature of “unlockable content” which can help you add digital artwork with high resolution.
Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway highlights the exclusivity of artwork
Nifty Gateway is an art curation platform by Gemini, a crypto exchange controlled by the Winklevoss twins. It is also based on the Ether blockchain. One of the biggest pluses is the exclusive artwork that you can find nowhere else.
Yet, the values of exclusive artworks are higher so the collections on Nifty Gateway become more attractive to hackers. There are several cases where some Nifty accounts were hacked. The loss can be thousands of dollars. After the founders of this marketplace recommended the users install the 2FA functionality.
Mintable
Is Mintable a copy or an upgraded version of Opensea?
Mintable can be seen as an effort or ambition of Mark Cuban to create a similar marketplace to OpenSea. It is open to mining, selling, and buying NFTs for all types, from artworks to music scores. The platform also optimizes itself to make bidding and purchases more convenient.
It is also a free platform to sign up with a simple process. You can also enjoy free listings on Mintable. Yet, you have to pay high transaction fees if you want to transfer NFTs to other NFT marketplaces.
Theta Drop
Theta Drop is another newcomer in the NFT marketplaces.
Theta Drop is also a new marketplace as it was launched in 2021 with the World Poker Tour’s digital collectibles. It focuses on the decentralized distribution of videos and TVs. Rather than based on other blockchain technologies, Theta Drop uses its own tokens and crypto wallet app.
The user-friendly interface of Theta Drop’s site generates an optimized experience for its audience. Partnering up with celebrities like Katy Perry adds more value to Theta Drop and adds heat to the community for hotter deals.
Yet, the limited options for payment and the lack of functionality are the disadvantages of this marketplace.
How to Choose the Best Among the Top NFT Marketplaces?
The Top NFT marketplaces above are great if you take them as references rather than supreme instructions. They are popular with many NFT users, which cannot guarantee that they are a matching point to your needs. The best way is to consider both advantages and disadvantages after clarifying what you want to achieve when investing in NFTs (Link)
