Despite widespread claims that they were tremendously overhyped, Non-Fungible Tokens (or NFTs as they are more commonly known) are still in high demand. This is made evident by the increasing market size of the emerging crypto sector which has witnessed an enormous boost over the past few years.
For instance, NFT sales volumes reportedly hit an estimated $25 billion in 2021 alone, skyrocketing up from the comparatively meagre $94.9 million recorded in the preceding year. In the same vein, the size of the NFT market shot up from $340 million in 2020 to nearly $41 billion in 2021, suggesting explosive growth in the barely seven year old industry.
With an ever-increasing number of NFT projects and growing interest in the space,
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more people are making enquiries into how to get started to participate, and even which marketplace to choose to get on the board.
Those already familiar with space, will doubtless agree that choosing the right NFT marketplace, especially for newbies, makes a big difference. Whether you intend to buy, sell, exchange, or mint NFT art, choosing a marketplace that suits your creative medium is essential. To this end, we have compiled an unbiased list of the top 10 NFT marketplaces on which to trade in 2022.
Top 10 NFT Marketplaces on Which to Trade Digital Arts in 2022
10. Decentraland: Though it is not one of the typical NFT marketplaces you are most likely familiar with, Decentraland is definitely a go-to destination when it comes to minting, shopping, and trading NFTs. However, you must understand that, unlike other marketplaces, the most common NFTs found and traded here are not exactly framed artwork, memes, or avatars, and the reason lies in its nature.
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Decentraland is a 3D virtual world in which users may buy virtual property, such as plots of land, in the form of NFTs. The ability to acquire virtual plots as NFTs makes Decentraland’s approach to the NFT marketplace quite unique among its peers. So if you are looking for a marketplace that offers the sale of virtual land and estates as NFTs, then Decentraland is the perfect destination.
9. Axie Marketplace: If you are a GameFi fan, then you are most likely acquainted with the name ‘Axie Infinity’. In case you are not one of these people however, Axie Infinity is an NFT-based online video game that is prominent for its in-game economy that helps to incentivize player participation.
In terms of the in-game economy, the Axie Marketplace is the official online shop for Axie Infinity; here, players can easily find any in-game item, such as virtual land, or other items used in the mechanics of the game, including the Axies themselves (mythical pet characters in NFT form used to compete against other players in Axie’s mission and battles).
To complete a purchase on the Axie marketplace, players must have already acquired Axie Infinity tokens, otherwise known as Axie Shards. Doubling as the native token of the Axie ecosystem, Axie Shards are built using the ERC20 (Ethereum) token standard and can be traded beyond the Axie network. In other words, players can trade these Axie Shards, or their in-game items, on a variety of other NFT marketplaces, as well as on some cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase Global.
8. NBA Top Shot Marketplace: This particular NFT marketplace was built from the ground up with Basketball fans in mind and represents the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) pivot into the NFT space.
Thanks to NBA Top Shot, basketball lovers looking to procure a digital copy of special moments from the men’s and women’s premier basketball leagues, including video clips and game highlights, can do just that.
On the official NBA Top Shot site, which is powered by Dapper Labs, players can essentially buy, sell, and collect special digital NFT cards that represent influential NBA moments. These moments are minted in packs, and visitors can decide to either collect and hodl, or trade them on the marketplace for even higher gains.
The only downside of the NBA Top Shot marketplace is that it is themed specifically towards lovers of the world’s premier basketball league, and as such, it doesn’t accommodate any other sports or other mediums for NFT projects.
7. Mintable: Unlike the aforementioned themed NFT marketplaces, Mintable is a dynamic and multifaceted online shop for digital items. The marketplace allows users to browse, make bids, and purchase digital items of choice.
Naturally, these digital items exist on the blockchain and upon their acquisition, they are deposited into a user’s wallet as NFTs. For a newcomer to the space, Mintable offers one of the best marketplaces when it comes to venturing into NFTs for the first time as it encompasses a wide range of activities, from minting (i.e creating NFT items), to the selling, distributing, and trading of digital items.
A welcome benefit that Mintable brings to the table is its easy to navigate user interface, which makes the platform a less overwhelming alternative for beginners compared to a lot of other marketplaces available.
6. Larva Labs / CryptoPunks: If you have taken even a cursory glance into the NFT space, then the chances are high that you have stumbled on the name ‘CryptoPunks.’ In fact, there are probably very few articles talking about NFT that don’t make significant reference to CryptoPunks, simply because of the prominent role they have played in the emerging industry.
Interestingly, Larva Labs, who happen to be the developer of CryptoPunks, are not as outwardly well known, but they are the masterminds behind some of the earliest examples of non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum network.
CryptoPunks, which were initially offered for free until 2017, have since become some of the most expensive NFT collections in the crypto world. As such, this particular marketplace is best suited for professional traders and high-earning crypto enthusiasts.
Currently, every single CryptoPunk on the Larva Labs official website has already been purchased, however, interested investors can still bid for these highly valued pieces on a variety of third-party marketplaces.
5. Binance NFT: The world’s largest crypto exchange market has made sure not to be left behind in the NFT race, setting up its own dedicated branch for the in demand assets on its main website. Binance NFT, though relatively new to the game, is one of the most reliable marketplaces available when it comes to trading NFTs.
Interestingly, while it naturally runs on the Binance Smart Chain and is considered part of the broader ‘Binance services’, Binance NFT is in fact operated by an entirely different entity that goes by the name of ‘Hash Muse Pte Ltd.’
Binance NFT boasts a large market and could potentially become the final destination for NFT fans who are able to effectively leverage the marketplace’s range of minting possibilities, as well as its EVM support. Technically, by offering support for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), end-users enjoy interchain compatibility, and can host all manner of NFT items, regardless of their source.
Widely speaking, the Binance NFT marketplace provides end-users with facilities to mint, sell, purchase, bid on, collect, trade, showcase, and otherwise transact digital blockchain collectIbles, which may be represented as a non-fungible tokens linked with certain digital media and art (‘NFT Media’). The Binance off-shoot represents a great choice for anyone interested in NFT projects, regardless of their level of familiarity.
4. SuperRare: SuperRare is one of the more typical art-centric NFT marketplaces that prioritizes work demonstrating artistic intent over more “meme-friendly” artwork, or celebrity-endorsed NFT items.
SuperRare is considered a home for rare pieces, as it is notoriously picky in terms of the items that are accepted to feature on its marketplace. According to various reports, the platform only accepts 1% of the artists who apply to list or mint NFTs on its platform, thereby creating a kind of elitist reputation for the brand. As such, those who are accepted can count themselves lucky to be among a prestigious list of highly curated creators.
The aforementioned approach also positions the NFT platform as a high-end gallery, albeit, one that also comes with a strict clause permitting artists to mint only one of their originals, rather than several editions of a masterpiece. In this way, SuperRare is able to ensure that every piece is a rare find, further boosting the value of the items sold on the exclusive platform.
3. Nifty Gateway: This particular NFT marketplace is another top choice for those looking to procure high end assets as it is home to some of the most expensive NFTs ever to be sold. For reference, Beeple’s masterpiece titled ‘Crossroad’ as well as Pak’s ‘The Merge’ sold for the groundbreaking amounts of $6.6 million and $91.8 million respectively on Nifty Gateway, taking their places as two of the most expensive NFTs ever sold.
Given the incessant headlines about outrageous NFT sales, the platform has since attracted interest from a number of celebrities who have now made the platform their first choice for minting NFTs. As such, Nifty Gateway now houses a number of celebrity NFTs, making it a priority target among celebrity fans.
The Nifty Gateway marketplace is also known for its “open edition” approach which enables creators to mint an unlimited number of NFT editions and offer them at a base price. However, these collections are only available for a limited period of time; once the time is up, no more NFT can be issued under the edition again, thereby generating a form of rarity for those minted.
Another interesting aspect to the marketplace is that, unlike the majority of the marketplaces out there, Nifty Gateway allows users to buy, sell, and collect items using fiat currencies. Thanks to this decision, collectors are able to utilize their credit cards to execute a desired transaction, instead of having to reserve cryptocurrency in their wallets.
2. Rarible: This particular NFT marketplace has a general focus upon art, photography, virtual land, memes and games, and is compatible with digital assets based on the Ethereum, Flow, and Tezos blockchain networks.
While Rarible has typically been the most attractive to sports fans, gamers, media brands and artistic personnel, it does offer a variety of unique features that are hard to come by on other marketplaces. For instance, aside from the usual transactions that take place on the platform, users can also participate in the network’s governance, moderation, and voting processes, particularly regarding upgrades to the platform.
Due to offering support for three different blockchains, users are able to select from three different primary tokens when minting NFTs. This way, creators are able to avoid the high gas fees typically attributed to Ethereum, and choose either Tezos or Flow, both of which offer much more affordable options, with the added benefit of having a lower carbon footprint.
Finally, Rarible has its own native token ,RARI, which powers the operation of the community-centric marketplace. The ERC-20 token facilitates community activities such as content curation while also granting users veto power for participation in platform upgrade decision making.
1. OpenSea: At the top of the list is OpenSea which, aside from being the world’s first and largest NFT marketplace, has maintained a dominant position when it comes to NFT sales, thanks to its net worth of over $13 billion.
But it’s not the marketplace’s worth that makes it the top dog; OpenSea accommodates all categories of NFTs, ranging from artwork, memes, avatars, virtual worlds, and Domain names, to Music, Photography, Sports, celebrity NFTs, and so much more.
One of the unique features of the OpenSea marketplace is that it offers support for more than 150 different payment tokens, making it one of a kind in a competitive landscape. Therefore, if you are looking to kickstart your journey in the NFT space, then you can’t go wrong with OpenSea.
