How to walk through-looking glass or what are the NFT marketplaces?

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been around for a while now, silently waiting to rock the world, and amaze everyone around. Recently the time has come – the popularity of non-fungible tokens became number one among other cryptocurrencies news.

2021 was the year NFTs exploded into the consciousness of people around the world promising great opportunities and, to be honest, quite a brand new world.

When it comes to NFT there is no slowing it down and no turning back: the technology with giant steps and enormous pace taking us to the future, giving artists more rights and preventing endless copies from shadowing the original.

Best marketplaces to buy or sell NFT

These unique tokens represent one special thing: those who own it also have a title of ownership over various types of digital content. It could be anything –  art, music, videos, animation, memes, and the extent of the object that once will become NFT is quite hard to predict.

Maybe we’ll turn this article into NFT like one of the best dictionaries did with the word NFT. The digital art scene actually made a great hype around the NFT market more than other spheres.

The Beeple’s $69 million auction at Christie’s not only became one of the main examples of NFT’s potential but also shocked many artists around the world. Us, too. This case wins over many enthusiasts for NFT.

Grimes, for example, also couldn’t help but try to do her thing in this area and also made and sold a digital item. Millions of dollars were spent on the NFT. The question here is also quite practical: where do people buy and sell these things? What is that Alice-in-Wonderland kind of place and do I have to chase after some rabbit in order to be there? Relax, we say, it is much easier to get there and make your collection bigger or just make your own thing. Let’s take a walk through these spots right now.

What are the marketplaces out there?

1. OpenSea

Yes, we are starting from the biggest marketplace for NFTs. OpenSea has a total trading volume of over $7.5 billion which kindly shows us the scale of NFT’s popularity. Here you can find and make everything: from gifs to videos or some weird stuff on the internet.

Many wallets are possible to connect here, and once you’re connected, buying an NFT is an easy process: go through the collections, take a look at the things and put in an offer. Once it is accepted, you will have the item.

If you want to upload your own NFT, it is also a few minutes thing:

• go to the “Create” tab;
• choose to connect your wallet as a creator;
• upload your NFT;
• write the description for it;
• you are there!

Opensea is not the only thing in the NFT world, but it represents a great deal of it, so don’t ignore this spot. 

2. Axie Marketplace

Wait, we didn’t mention something: NFT also can be games. Right! You can buy and sell characters, or some of their powers or artefacts from a game. From some game. NFT video game “Axie Infinity” is one of the most famous out there, but it is also quite a werewolf: Axie is the second-largest NFT marketplace, with a total trading volume two times smaller than Opensea.

To explain this gap is super easy – Axie Marketplace works exclusively inside itself: players (yes, players) can buy and trade here Pokémon-type stuff. Unlike art NFTs – you guessed already, right? This marketplace is not quite for artists – Axie Infinity’s NFTs are not really for collecting.

If you are on this marketplace, you should know that you can use things here to battle against monsters and other players, earning tokens as a result.

Interesting fact: some players in Asia are making a living through creating and trading things inside the game. So, a quick summary: if you are not into games, and your main area is art, this marketplace is not entirely what you need. But maybe it is worth trying?

3. CryptoPunks

If you are a fan of animated characters in pixel art, we have a heavenly spot for you to visit. One of the first NFTs that appeared on the Ethereum network is CryptoPunks.

What is this? Basically, it is a series of thousands of characters with unique features. At the moment the all-time trading volume is $1.5 billion.

4. Rarible

One of the best NFT marketplaces on Ethereum, Rarible is the spot that offers a great deal of digital art and collectables. This one is much closer to OpenSea, with a wide range of media files to buy and sell. Yes, it is not as crowded as OpenSea, but hey, you can sell things easier.

5. Nifty Gateway

Remember the thing about Grimes? Here’s the spot where she sold her art, but there are more famous people on the marketplace: Eminem, The Weeknd and others. To register here is not complex, but different from other similar platforms.

• Register for the site and verify your identity;
• Load some money on your account – could be a credit card or ETH;
• That’s it! You can buy or sell things now!

6. MakersPlace

The name kind of says for itself. MakersPlace is the NFT marketplace that offers a great deal of exclusive collections of digital fine art.

Famous people also drop their NFTs here: Shakira and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello are already on the platform.

7. KnownOrigin

KnownOrigin is not that famous, but it shouldn’t be a problem. The platform provides a more curated, chosen type of content. The interesting thing about NFT here is that all of the digital art files are held on IPFS. KnownOrigin focuses entirely on digital art.

So, if you are a creator or your company have a product video to turn into NFT or maybe some artefacts about your company – first tweet, viral video, famous product in your collection – you can put it on the market.

Is it an issue to register on the platform?

Not at all!  Some platforms allow you to mint and create NFTs, the other platforms allow you. Here are a few steps you must take before you can  post your art on the NFT marketplace:

• Set up a user account on the marketplace where you want to buy or sell NFTs;
• Choose what kind of cryptocurrencies you want to use;
• Get a crypto wallet that supports the NFTs you want to work with;
• Put some funds in your wallet.

How much does it cost?

Most of the platforms demand to pay a blockchain network fee once you list NFTs on the marketplace you chose. Well, we can’t tell you what the price is, because it is different from spot to spot. Ethereum, the main platform out there, is the largest ecosystem of NFT apps. You get it, right? The highest fees are here.

In any case, the NFT market is constantly growing and fees will be reducing over time. Buying vs selling vs minting

1. Buying Non-Fungible Tokens. You can get these tokens in two ways: directly at a price or an online auction. Sometimes, it is possible to negotiate a better price.
2. Selling Non-Fungible Tokens. Selling is a bit complex in comparison to buying. So, we recommend naming your price or setting up an auction. If you get approval, the asset will be ready for sale. If you choose the auction, wait for the marketplace to perform the transfer from the buyer to you.
3. Minting Non-Fungible Tokens. Ethereum is your starting point if you want to create NFTs. Here is the thing: you’re going to need a wallet that supports ERC-721 tokens. Those are MetaMask, Trust Wallet or Coinbase Wallet.

Summary

The NFT marketplaces are these spots that continue to improve and every day they get bigger. Therefore, people that create art, gifs, animated videos, cartoons, or any type of digital item could get some money on it.

Also, do you realize that we are witnessing a new, entirely new generation of collectors? If you want to place your own animated video – or video about your company, product or some fascinating case – on the marketplace, you can ask us to make one.

Just imagine how it can affect your brand visibility! “In the new era of NFT we made a video as NFT about our product. You have the unique possibility to collect both a product and its digital asset!”.