Hello!
We're just into the second month of 2022, and we have got the word of the year already decided. Yes, we're talking about NFTs. NFTs are slowly taking over areas like art, music, gaming, sports, photography, and many others are soon expected to be touched upon.
An analysis led by Stephanie Wissink of Jefferies has raised NFT market-cap projection to more than $35Billion in 2022 and more than $80Billion in 2025.
It's quite clear that soon NFTs will be everywhere, and many have understood this. As a result, they're turning their creations into NFTs to monetize their talents like never before. That's where NFT marketplaces come in. These platforms are gateways to sell and purchase these digital assets.
In this blog post, we’re going to help you discover the best 2022 NFT marketplaces. But let’s understand a bit more about these marketplaces before we move to the crux of the matter.
What are NFT Marketplaces?
NFT marketplaces allow artists to create NFTs and trade them in the Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs). They're like e-commerce platforms that allow you to purchase stuff using your digital/e-wallets.
Most NFT marketplaces use Ethereum as a blockchain, but few platforms rely on newer blockchains with a smaller carbon footprint. A Web3 wallet is required to interact with NFT marketplaces. To buy and list NFTs, you will need the base currency for the blockchain you are working on.
What are Types of NFT Marketplaces?
Based on the type of NFTs listed, we can divide NFT marketplaces into six categories:
- Mass NFT Marketplaces: These NFT marketplaces cover a wide range of niches, be it art, sports, VR, or any other.
- Non-Curated/Self-Service NFT Marketplaces: These marketplaces provide free access to all users. Artists need to pay a transaction fee to mint NFTs. As they're open in nature, the quality is not regulated and can often vary in terms of quality.
- Curated/Invite-Only NFT Marketplaces: To list NFTs on these platforms, you must apply and undergo a vetting process. The process often takes time, but you can rest assured about the quality.
- Gaming NFT Marketplaces: These are platforms that focus on gaming and VR.
- Sports NFT Marketplaces: These platforms are dedicated to various sports. Some platforms are designated for a particular sport, while others offer many.
- Niche NFT Marketplaces: These NFT marketplaces are only for a particular niche.
Factors to Consider for Choosing the Right NFT Marketplace
With a plethora of options at your disposal, choosing the right NFT marketplace can be challenging.
Here, we've broken down the process by enlisting various factors you need to consider:
- Your interest area: The first factor you need to consider is the type of NFT you want to buy or sell. Like online shops, different platforms offer different kinds of NFTs. For example, you'll need to visit an NBA Top Shot if you're interested in NBA-related NFTs. The same goes for art, music, and other areas.
- Type of tokens supported: Another thing to consider is the type of tokens supported on these marketplaces. Some platforms support a wide range of tokens, while others support one or two. To participate in the NFT Marketplace activity, you must fund your blockchain wallet using the right token or crypto.
- Security: Often an underrated aspect, the security of an NFT marketplace should be one of your top considerations. The NFT marketplaces are full of frauds, and there have also been cases where they were hacked. Thus, you must do a thorough check of a platform and its security history before you choose to invest your time and money.
Top 7 NFT Marketplaces in 2022
Now that you've understood various essential aspects of NFT marketplaces, let's get into what you're here for: the best NFT marketplaces in 2022.
OpenSea
With a valuation of $13.3 billion, OpenSea is by far the most popular NFT marketplace in the world. It encompasses 80 million NFTs from almost all NFT categories, including arts, VR, gaming, sports, trading cards, etc.
OpenSea supports more than 150 cryptocurrency payment tokens. It has a simple interface, and you can create a free account to start selling, minting, and browsing within minutes.
- Categories: All
- Supported Payment: 150 cryptocurrency payment tokens
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Brokerage Fee: 2.5%
- Pros:
- Less brokerage fee
- Extensive NFT categories
- Security & reliability
- It also uses the polygon blockchain
- Cons:
- It doesn't support non-crypto currencies
- Uses Ethereum
CryptoPunks/Larva Labs
Larva Labs, best known as the viral project CryptoPunks, has also been working on Auto Glyphs. Larva Labs was the first to give free CryptoPunks out to the general public in 2017. Some have been traded for as high as millions of dollars.
Larva Labs sells out CryptoPunks in almost no time, but buyers can still find them on different third-party markets. Projects such as Meebits can still be tracked and purchased via Larva Labs' marketplace.
It also offers three types of punks. Red background punks are for sale by the owner. Blue background punks are unavailable for sale and have no bids. Contrary to punks with purple backgrounds, they have active bidding.
- Supported Payment: MetaMask & Ethereum
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Pros:
- You get receive 10,000 CryptoPunk characters
- The majority of CryptoPunk characters were sold for $1+ Million
- Compatible with MetaMask, which is a popular wallet
- It is the second most popular NFT collectible set in terms of sales.
- Cons:
- Higher Fees due to Ethereum
- Unavailability of cryptopunks
Rarible
Rarible was launched in 2020 and is a community-owned platform that allows NFT minting. Rarible features are a simple process for creating NFTs that can be used without programming knowledge. Sellers can create multiple NFTs for the same image.
It sells both single pieces and collections of art. It is used by media companies, including gaming and sports brands and artists releasing collections.
- Categories: Collectibles, Trading Cards, Gaming Assets, Sports, Art
- Supported Payment: ETH Wallet, Credit card, Paypal, & Google Pay
- Blockchain: Ethereum, Flow, Tezos
- Brokerage Fee: 2.5%
- NFT Categories: 200+
- Pros:
- Three blockchains
- Owned by community
- Ease of use
- You can pay with your debit card, credit card, or Google Pay, besides an ETH wallet.
- Cons:
- Charges 2.5% to both parties
- You need an ETH wallet to perform deposit and withdrawal
NBA Top Shot
The digital marketplace, owned by NBA, captures the best moments of every NBA star player and attempts to capture them into NFT cards. Other accessories worn by the players are also included in the NFTs.
- Categories: Sports
- Supported Payment: Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), DAI, or USDC) and Credit/Debit cards
- Blockchain: Flow
- Pros:
- Less brokerage fee
- You can purchase using credit/debit cards
- Regular new releases
Cons:
- Support few cryptocurrencies
- Still under development
Foundation
Foundation is an invite-only NFT marketplace. It's a community-curated platform that is managed by a handful of artists. Foundation members need to be invited by a current artist. Each artist has only one invite.
The Foundation team comprises only women, and they decide what type of artwork will appear on which website. A collector who resells digital artwork to an individual or entity at a higher price than before receives 10% of its total sales value.
- Categories: Fine art, digital art, photography, 3D art
- Supported Payment: Credit card, Paypal and Crypto
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Brokerage Fee: 15%
- Pros:
- High-quality NFTs
- Payment using a credit card and Paypal
- Run by artists
- Simple interface
- Cons:
- Invite-only platform
- Higher fees
Axie Nifty
Axie Nifty was a well-known NFT marketplace that caught the eye of NFT lovers shortly after it was launched. It's an amazing digital game that allows users to raise, battle, and gather animated creatures called Axies. They are taught to face other people's Axies and earn rewards.
A person can purchase land in this NFT Marketplace and new Axies or other collectibles in exchange for NFTs. Axie Shards are also known as the infinity tokens of Axie.
These tokens can only be used on the Ethereum Blockchain. The Axies are also available for purchase on other NFT markets like Coinbase Global.
- Categories: Video game
- Supported Payment: Ronin wallet
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Brokerage Fee: 4.25%
- Pros:
- One of the most successful video game based NFT marketplaces
- Play-to-earn opportunity
- Available on web and mobile
- Cons:
- Limited earnings due as it requires significant time
- High initial cost
Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is a top NFT marketplace that allows users to buy and sell Non Fungible Tokens quickly. The platform is home to many high-quality brands and celebrity artists. Nifties are limited-edition releases every three weeks. This page showcases the inspirational works of celebrities and performers such as Deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Grimes, etc.
Nifty Gateway is more focused on music and art-related NFTs. Nifty Gateway has partnered with many creators to launch NFTs "drops." Artists can decide how much they would like from secondary sales.
Apart from having celebrities, its ability to accept payments in USD has been another reason behind Nifty Gateway's popularity.
Thus, you don't need to convert funds to ETH every time you want to purchase. It does, however, charge a 5 percent marketplace fee.
- Categories: Digital art, verified and curated drops
- Supported Payment: Credit/debit card or with Ethereum
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Brokerage Fee: 5%
- Pros:
- You can buy it with USD
- Extensive NFT categories
- Ease of use
- Cons:
- Celebrity dominated market place
- High brokerage fees
Which NFT Marketplace is Right for You?
When it comes to NFT marketplaces, there's no such thing as "best," as it all depends on your requirements and preferences. Identifying your niche and where you stand as an artist or collector is the first step.
Once you have a reasonable clarity, the next step is to study the above-listed NFT marketplaces to understand which will be the most rewarding for you - not just right now but for the years to come.
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