Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) give you ownership of artwork, music, videos and other collectibles online. They exist on blockchains, the innovative technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
As the popularity of NFTs has grown, the NFT market has climbed to more than INR 3 trillion in value, according to The 2021 NFT Market Report released by blockchain data company Chainalysis.
Here are some of the most popular and well-rated NFT marketplaces where you can buy and sell these digital assets.
Top NFT Marketplaces in October 2022
Open sea
OpenSea is ancient by NFT standards, having launched in 2017, and it is also among the largest NFT marketplaces active today. It hosts many popular NFTs, including art, music, photography, trading cards, and virtual worlds.
The core cryptocurrencies used on OpenSea are Ethereum, Solana and USDC, and payment options have other cryptos. Just be aware that you cannot use fiat currencies such as US Dollars, Euros or Rupees.
On the bright side, OpenSea is very user-friendly for beginners. You can create an account for free within minutes and start browsing NFTs immediately, and you can even create NFTs on their platform.
For costs, OpenSea charges a fee equivalent to 2.5% of each transaction. You also have to pay the gas fee to complete NFT transactions with Ethereum. Gas fees are the transaction fees paid to miners.
If you want to avoid the gas tax, you can buy and sell NFTs with Polygon. But you must ensure that the NFT item of interest displays the Polygon logo.
In short, OpenSea is a solid choice for beginners who want to get started with a simple marketplace and want as many options as possible for NFTs.
Rare
Rarible allows users to buy and sell art, collectibles, video game assets and NFTs. You can buy and trade on Rarible with Ethereum, Flow and Tezos.
Rarible charges a flat fee of 2.5% for each transaction, plus any gas fees. A nice feature is that you can buy NFTs using a credit card, which allows transactions in fiat currencies.
An interesting aspect of Rarible: Instead of internal management deciding everything, Rarible created its own native token called RARI. The holders of RARI get to vote on company decisions such as changes to the company’s policy.
In 2021, Rarible announced a partnership with Adobe to make it easier to verify and protect metadata for digital content, including NFTs.
For those who want access to a large network with solid connections, Rarible may be the best NFT marketplace. At the same time, it also still follows a decentralized way of thinking.
WazirX
WazirX is a centralized Indian cryptocurrency exchange founded in the year 2018. It has around 7.3 million users. The exchange was acquired by Binance, a crypto trading platform. They launched an NFT marketplace dedicated to regional and traditional creators. WazirX is known for hosting its first NFT exhibition and musical NFTs and is said to be a very good option for beginners.
WazirX recorded revenue of around 2 trillion INR in a record year by November 2021. It even crashed due to high user activities seen after the news of the Indian government’s decision on cryptocurrency bill in the parliament.
It works on the binance smart chain network. To buy an NFT or place a bid, you must have a WRX token in your wallet. The BSC blockchain is faster than ETH with lower gas fees. It also allows multiple chain transfers. It’s easy for both creators and collectors. The advantage is that it is customizable with a simple layout that makes it easy to create new collections, organize them, bid on NFT trades and put them on auctions.
The crypto exchange charges 5% service fees, and the rest of the proceedings can be kept by the creators. It has an invite-only community and no other fees, making it a great marketplace with no downsides.
Jupiter Meta
Jupiter Meta is an Indian NFT marketplace based in Chennai. It was founded in 2021 to trade NFTs and various other cultural and creative segments. It is an innovative marketplace that emphasizes creating a unique metaverse experience through games, music and movies.
Currently, it is working on ‘Singara Chennai’, a digital NFT project that focuses on showcasing iconic Chennai destinations and artifacts. From places, food, places of worship and beaches etc in the background and a combination of past, present and future elements represented in the foreground.
It provides a personal experience and fixed prices. Its zero gas fee is supported by Rubix blockchain technology level 1.
Bollycoin
Bollycoin is the link between Bollywood and blockchain. It is devoted to Bollywood projects and can interest all Bollywood enthusiasts. An integral part of bollycoin is minting Bollywood-themed NFTs. They offer posters, stills, cinema tickets, film clips and other souvenirs.
All the decisions are taken by the Bollywood community through a voting process and acted upon on the DAO autonomously. Members can also earn royalties based on their activities and can use their crypto coins to purchase NFTs.
Recently they revealed their Dabangg collection in collaboration with Salman Khan.
BuyUCoin
BuyUCoin is a leading crypto exchange in India and was founded in the year 2016. It serves around 3,50,000 users and handles more than INR 24 billion in digital asset transactions. The main goal is to bring crypto into every Indian’s pockets.
They buy, sell and trade 33 cryptos including Bitcoins, Ethereum, Ripple, Steller, etc. It allows users to leverage UPI for the financial aspects. It is an engaged marketplace that has a user interface similar to OpenSea. They also have some of the famous NFT projects you can get your hands on. They only charge their users a producer fee of 0.24%.
Binance
Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, added an NFT marketplace in 2021. The international crypto exchange is one of many other industry players entering the NFT sector, such as Crypto.com NFT, which describes itself as a highly curated NFP- marketplace.
Binance NFT offers the typical digital assets found on other major platforms: artwork, game items, and collectibles.
A big advantage of Binance NFT is that it charges very low fees. The platform only charges a 1% trading fee. It is also a user-friendly platform built using similar technology and setup as their exchange.
As such a major player in the crypto space, Binance also runs on its own blockchain, giving it an added advantage.
What is an NFT Marketplace?
An NFT marketplace is a digital platform for buying and selling NFTs. These platforms allow people to store and display their NFTs plus sell them to others for cryptocurrency or money. Some NFT marketplaces also allow users to create their NFTs on the platform itself.
In exchange for a fee, the NFT marketplace will typically handle the transfer of an NFT from one party to another.
Each NFT marketplace has its own system for how it works. The types of NFTs available, fees, payment options, allowed blockchains and other rules will depend on which one you use.
How do NFT marketplaces work?
When you create an account with an NFT marketplace, you can browse all available options for selling. You can also add a payment method, and some require you to connect a crypto wallet to pay with crypto, while others allow you to use a credit card.
Some sites allow you to buy NFTs directly at a fixed price, while others will use an auction.
If you complete the transaction, the NFT marketplace will record it on its blockchain showing the change of ownership.
What is minting?
In the NFT world, minting refers to the process of creating new NFTs on a blockchain, most commonly Ethereum. When you create an NFT, you record data comprising a new NFT in a new block which is then added to a blockchain.
Minting an NFT usually comes with fees. For NFT systems using the Ethereum blockchain, this cost is paid in gas, a crypto token used to perform functions on the Ethereum blockchain.
More and more, NFT marketplaces are getting creative about how, when and to whom coining fees are charged.
