If you were here with me on Tuesday, you learned that there’s more to NFTs than meets the eye.
Today, we’ll dive into the top three marketplaces for NFTs. These three digital art stores have seen a combined $42 billion in trading volume to date.
Let’s take a closer look at what they offer…
The 3 Most Popular NFT Marketplaces
1. OpenSea
Source: OpenSea
The leader in NFT sales comes in at $23.21 billion to date. OpenSea touts itself as the first and largest NFT marketplace.
The platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain but offers a wide array of digital currency payment options. Artists can mint their NFT artworks (image, video, audio, or 3D art) and receive payment in one of their three core currencies (ETH/WETH, USDC, and DAI) or choose from over 150 others.
Source: Dune Analytics
OpenSea allows a creator to set a price on the original sale of their artwork and receive royalties for resales on the secondary market.
It’s also convenient. Depending on where you live, OpenSea allows you to buy Ethereum with a credit card. Of course, third-party fees may apply. But if you just want to buy some art without diving into the crypto exchanges, it’s a good way to go.
2. LooksRare
Source: LooksRare
LooksRare comes in second with $18 billion in sales to date. It dubs itself a “community-first NFT marketplace” and offers rewards for participation. Hello, fellow millennials, get your participation trophies over here!
LooksRare provides LOOKS tokens as a reward to site users. When you buy or sell NFTs on LooksRare, you earn trading rewards that are calculated daily.
Source: Dune Analytics
It also boasts trading fees that are 20% lower than OpenSea’s.
Its mission statement declares that it’s “tired of the de-platforming of creators, and the decision-makers who value business over community, seeking IPO instead of benefiting the communities that got them there.”
Its slogan is “By NFT People, for NFT people.” And it lives up to that promise by sharing revenue with its users. It also pays royalty fees at the point of sale as opposed to OpenSea’s two-week delay.
3. Magic Eden
Source: Magic Eden
Magic Eden runs things a little differently than OpenSea and LooksRare. It transacts on the Solana blockchain platform, which is reportedly INSANELY more energy-efficient than Ethereum.
Given the above, gas fees are much cheaper. They can be as low as a penny to Ethereum’s $30 or $40. Solana also recently launched Solana pay. This means a friendlier user experience where you can trade NFTs with a debit/credit card.
Source: Dune Analytics
Magic Eden isn’t nearly as big as the first two contenders … yet. But collections sell out every day.
Due to the lower overall cost, it inspires a higher velocity of trading.
Conclusion
NFT marketplaces are making moon jumps in the crypto space. And the more popular they get, the bigger the impact they’ll have on the prices of the digital currencies they run on.
It’s great to pay attention to which art projects gain momentum and which marketplaces become digital market leaders. Things can change fast though…
That’s why it helps to have a mentor who’s ahead of the game to help you identify trends as they emerge.
The best way to stay on top of the changing crypto and NFT landscape is to join me in the Crypto War Room. I share the latest trends, explain what’s influencing them, and break down the art of trading NFTs into simple, easy-to-understand concepts.