Kraken’s NFT marketplace beta is now open to the public
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced Thursday that it is opening its non-fungible token marketplace beta to the public, allowing collectors to join, discover and safely trade digital crypto collectibles.
“Since 2011, our mission has been to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies with a secure platform that both protects client funds and offers a comprehensive range of products and services,” said Jesse Powell, co-founder and CEO of Kraken.
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are a type of blockchain-based crypto-asset that represent the ownership of digital objects such as photos, artwork – which are often used as profile pictures – digital trading cards and video game items. NFTs can be created, bought and sold for cryptocurrency, giving them a value that can be exchanged for money.
The marketplace launched with a curated offering of more than 110 of the highest traded NFT collections in the market today to kick off the market, including NFTs from Azuki, Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and Doodles. Collections supported on the marketplace must first go through a vetting procedure, with new collections added regularly.
Collectors can access the screener tool on Cryptowatch to track real-time NFT market data, as well as average sales price and in-depth statistics for hundreds of different collections.
“Kraken has always championed free and diverse expression,” Powell said. “NFTs enable content creators to effectively monetize their unique perspectives and connect directly with like-minded audiences. We believe NFTs have the potential to become the way most people begin to interact with crypto.”
In order to make the NFT collections on the market as accessible as possible, Kraken also makes buying and selling “gas-free”. This means that any NFTs held on Kraken can be exchanged without having to pay transaction fees and will not deal with the underlying blockchain they are on. Collectors can also trade during high network activity. However, transaction fees will apply when transferring NFTs from Kraken to other platforms.
Creators of original content will automatically earn a portion of NFT sales as royalties as a reward for content creation. All the supported collections will also have clear rarity rankings so that collectors can assess how rare an individual NFT is and inform about bids and offers.
The new marketplace has more than 200 funding options so customers can offer an NFT in a variety of currencies, including cash or cryptocurrency backed by Kraken. Currently, NFTs can be traded for eight different world currencies and more than 200 different cryptocurrencies.
According to Kraken, the first Kraken NFT collections will begin with those built on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Support for other blockchains will be added in the near future. Users will be able to collect, buy, sell and trade NFTs on the platform using a single wallet, although more blockchains are added in the future.
“We were the first major exchange to list ether and recognize the promise of the non-fungible space,” Powell said. “As a secure gateway complete with curated collections and a host of unique features, we believe Kraken NFT will be the destination of choice for collectors from all backgrounds.”
