Coinbase, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges in terms of transaction volume, has launched its long awaited Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplace in beta form for select customers after the exchange first unveiled plans for it in October, about six months ago.
This was disclosed by Coinbase via it’s blog post on Wednesday.
According to the post, the beta NFT marketplace is only accessible to everyone to view from today and only select users will be able to buy or sell. Sanchan Saxena, VP of product at Coinbase, told The Block that, “Coinbase will be onboarding a small number of users into the beta for Coinbase NFT.”
Coinbase opened a waitlist for the marketplace in October, after unveiling plans to launch a marketplace, which saw more than 1.5 million people signed up for. According to Coinbase, only some customers will initially be able to use the beta marketplace, based on their position on that waitlist.
What You Should Know
- The blogpost explained that Beta testers will be able to create a profile on the marketplace to buy and sell NFTs. It further states that these users can use any self-custody wallet, including Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask.
- While the marketplace is in beta, Coinbase said there would be no transaction fees for a limited time and the exchange aims to reduce gas fees for Ether (ETH) transactions by partnering with 0x Labs. The Ethereum blockchain is known for its high gas fees especially in times of network connections.
- Coinbase NFT for now only supports Ethereum-based NFTs and payments in ether. Saxena said the marketplace will integrate other blockchains in the future, and “full fiat on-ramps will be coming soon.”
- More than 8.4 million email addresses were on the waitlist for Coinbase NFT. The crypto exchange reported more than 89 million verified users trading $547 billion in quarterly volume, should the exchange’s liquidity extend to its NFT venture.
- Coinbase also stated that it will allow users to purchase NFTs via credit cards, as it announced earlier this year. The company has partnered with Mastercard to let users buy NFTs by card.
- Besides enabling buying and selling of NFTs, Coinbase says its NFT marketplace will also allow communities to engage. The company explained that its community-building function is the heart of how Coinbase NFT plans to position itself against competitors such as OpenSea and LooksRare.
- Saxena stated, “We’re building a marketplace where you can buy and sell NFTs, of course, but more importantly, you can engage. You can engage with the creator. You can engage with the collector. And you can engage with fellow collectors from a community around that NFT. This is an important piece of our strategy.”
- Coinbase is one of a few crypto exchanges attempting to get into the NFT space. Major crypto exchange Binance launched an NFT marketplace in June 2021 aimed at minimizing transaction cost, and FTX and its United States arm introduced a marketplace in September, allowing users to trade NFTs cross-chain on the Solana and Ethereum blockchains.