If you haven’t heard everyone, literally everyone talking about NFTs around you, then you’re definitely don’t know what you’re missing out on. Because one thing that almost every resident on Earth knows about is NFT. NFTs were born in 2017 and have matured ever since. A non-fungible token (NFT) is a one-of-a-kind digital ledger data unit that can be owned by only one person or entity. All digital data such as videos, photographs, music, movies, etc can be represented as NFTs. This technology uses blockchain to create a verifiable and public proof of ownership to avoid any duplication.
If you also want to hop in on the NFT craze, an NFT marketplace is just what you were looking for. NFT marketplace is the gateway to participate in the sale of these digital assets and claim one to your name. NFT marketplace is just like Amazon of the digital realm. But before we discuss the top 10 NFT marketplaces to look at, we must first decide what kind of NFT you wish to buy, sell or create. Choosing the right NFT marketplace is as important as buying one NFT for yourself. Let’s explore how to choose an NFT marketplace.
Selecting an NFT marketplace
Before creating, buying, or selling an NFT one must remember that an NFT (non-fungible token) is simply a representation of ownership of an asset. Before one chooses an NFT marketplace one must decide the kind or type of digital asset they are interested in. Everything digital- be it art, pictures, videos, written word, video games, etc can be easily tokenized with the help of blockchain such as Ethereum. Ethereum is the most common blockchain network on which NFTs are generally built. Another factor to consider before choosing a marketplace is the type of tokens that the NFT marketplace supports. While a few marketplaces support a wide variety of tokens, man are closed NFT marketplaces using a specific proprietary token. It is also recommended to fund the blockchain wallet with the right crypto-asset while participating in a site activity. The NFT marketplace requires you to link your wallet to the platform once logged in.
Users are also recommended to see the security measures taken by the platform to safeguard their assets and money. It is advisable to read through the past issues if any experienced by the platform and then make a choice.
Additional Read: How to buy NFTs – Step by Step Guide
Top 10 NFT Marketplaces: Popular Platforms to Buy & Sell NFTs (in no particular order)
| Name | Website |
| OpenSea | https://opensea.io/ |
| Axie Marketplace | https://marketplace.axieinfinity.com/ |
| NBA Top Shot Marketplace | https://nbatopshot.com/marketplace |
| CryptoPunks or Larva labs | https://www.larvalabs.com/cryptopunks/forsale |
| SuperRare | https://superrare.com/ |
| LooksRare | https://looksrare.org/ |
| Rarible | https://rarible.com/ |
| Foundation | https://foundation.app/ |
| Decentraland | https://market.decentraland.org/ |
| Nifty Gateway | https://niftygateway.com/ |
Additional Read: Top 10 Most Expensive NFTs sold
1. OpenSea: OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace. It consists of all sorts of digital assets that are available in the NFT sector. It aces in all possible ways from having the largest trading volume to a great market cap. It accepts more than 150 cryptocurrencies. It now also uses the Polygon blockchain.
OpenSea also supports creators and artists by providing an easy-to-use process for the creation or minting of their own NFTs. OpenSea is a great place to start if a crypto enthusiast is new to the world of non-fungible tokens or NFTs.
2. Axie Marketplace: Axie Marketplace is the online shopping place for all the in-game items for Axie Infinity. Axies are mythical creatures within the game that are bought, trained, and then fought against other players to earn rewards. Axie Marketplace is the online portal to buy axies as well as an entire land along with other items to use within the game. These all in-game items are nothing but NFTs.
The native token of the game, Axie shards (AXS) are built on the Ethereum blockchain. These tokens can be easily bought and sold in various crypto exchanges like CoinDCX, India’s simplest and safest crypto exchange, or on other NFT marketplaces.
3. NBA Top Shot Marketplace: NBA Top Shot is the foray of the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball association into the metaverse world in the form of NFTs. On this NFT marketplace, users can find collectible moments from the game such as highlights or videos which can be purchased from the premier basketball leagues of the world.
It is a closed marketplace just to buy and sell Top Shot with the help of Flow blockchain that was built using Dapper Labs. It’s a user-friendly website to buy and sell Top Shot NFTs. These collectible moments are available for purchase for as low as a few dollars.
4. CryptoPunks or Larva labs: Heard about the viral NFT CryptoPunks? Well, Larva Labs is the marketplace where you can find those projects. Although these NFTs were given away for free back in 2017, some of these projects sold for millions of dollars ever since. Other digital art projects present on Larva Labs are Autoglyphs as well as other Ethereum blockchain-based app developments.
Although all Larva Labs’s CryptoPunks are sold out, these NFTs can be bought from third-party NFT marketplaces. Some other Larva Labs projects to look at are Meebits. You can directly buy these from the built-in marketplace of the company.
5. SuperRare: SuperRare is an NFT marketplace for all the digital creators out there. The site sells videos, art, as well as 3D images. However, these artworks can be bought only through Ethereum. SuperRare also announced its native token that goes by the same name and was launched on the Ethereum blockchain.
These tokens shall be utilized to find as well as curate new talent for the marketplace. Wondering if these NFTs are available on OpenSea? Well, yes SuperRare NFTs are also available on OpenSea.
6.LooksRare: LooksRare is a relatively new NFT marketplace launched in January 2022. However, this new kid on the block has been making some serious noise. Within 10 days of its launch, it had already crossed the trading volume of OpenSea. It is a community-first NFT marketplace where the users are rewarded for participating.
There are a variety of NFT collections available on the platform. Users can not just list NFTs on this platform but can also list them elsewhere. However, the users shall not receive rewards for trading NFTs if traded on a different platform than LooksRare.
7. Rarible: Rarible is another huge NFT marketplace for all the different NFTs for your perusal, just like OpenSea. All forms of videos, arts, and collectibles can be bought, sold, and traded on the platform. The platform also supports the creation of NFTs. The only difference between Rarible and OpenSea is that one needs to use the native token of that marketplace RARI to buy and sell on this marketplace. This platform too is built on the Ethereum blockchain. Rarible has been in partnership with some big brands like Yum! Brands, Adobe, etc. Taco Bells has also listed their art on Rarible. Adobe partnered with Rarible to secure the work of creators and artists.
8. Foundation: Foundation is a collection of different kinds of NFTs. Foundation is another NFT marketplace built on the Ethereum blockchain. It was designed for a simple and no-fancy way to bid for digital art. One can buy and sell on this platform using Ethereum. This is also a relatively new NFT marketplace but has sold more than $100 million worth of NFTs.
The platform invites digital artists and buyers need to simply buy their choice of NFT using a crypto wallet funded by Ethereum. However, experts do not recommend Foundation as the first stop to creating your own NFTs. However, the marketplace does have plenty of artwork to buy from.
9. Decentraland: Decentraland is a copy of the physical world into a virtual world. It is a blockchain-based game where users can buy and sell land (NFTs) and can monetize them. Decentraland (MANA) calls itself a virtual reality platform that is powered by the Ethereum network allowing users to not just create an experience but also monetize the applications and contents.
The land from this virtual reality game can be bought using the MANA token. The decentraland NFT collectibles are also available on other NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, LookRare, etc. MANA coin is also used to pay for various avatars, names, wearables, and other products available on the Decentraland (MANA) marketplace.
10. Nifty Gateway: Nift Gateway facilitates the sale of some of the most popular digital artists such as musician Grimes and Beeple. It is an art curation platform powered by the crypto exchange called Gemini. The NFTs known as Nifties are built using the Ethereum blockchain.
Apart from being a curation platform, Nifty Gateway also hosts purchased NFTs. This means that these NFTs might not be stored in your wallet and Nifty Gateway does the work of storing these for you. Nifty purchases can also be carried out using fiat currency such as US dollars without making a cryptocurrency purchase first.
Read more blogs on NFTs
How to assess the value and worth of an NFT
How to create an NFT and sell it
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