A beginners Guide to crypto NFT and top 10 NFT Marketplaces

A beginners Guide to crypto NFT and top 10 NFT Marketplaces

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have disrupted all areas of human expression. From entertainment to financial services, from fashion to the art they are quickly making their way to every aspect of our lives.

As eBay and Amazon in their time new NFT marketplaces are quickly rising and getting recognized in 2021. NFTs are becoming the new asset to follow and care about in the crypto space. NFT marketplaces, simply put, provide a marketplace for the buying, selling, and trading of NFT tokens.

What is Crypto NFT?

Non-Fungible tokens or NFTs for short are unique digital items created on a blockchain. In many ways, they possess similar qualities to items in the real world. They are similar to physical goods such as collectible baseball cards, or the limited edition drops by clothing brands such as Louis Vuitton.

Their applications are universal and they allow a unique representation of physical assets and ownership in the blockchain. Some examples of NFTs include collectibles, game items, event tickets, or simply proof of ownership of some asset.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are ERC-20 tokens, they are not as unique as many people think.

However, an NFT or ERC-721 token carries unique identifiers. In this characteristic that gives the NFT its value, like Bitcoin, it’s short supply. Decentralized Apps such as CrypotKitties and Cryptopunks have been pioneering the NFT collectibles push back in 2017 and continue to lead the space even today.

Knowing that an NFT ERC-721 token is completely unique, some of the first iterations to enter the market have utilized art and digital items. A good example of it is Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first-ever tweet being sold for the equivalent of USD 2.9m (£2.1m) to a Malaysian businessman. The tweet, which said “just setting up my twttr,” was first published on March 21, 2006, and was auctioned off by Mr. Dorsey for charity.

It’s also quite understandable why art came to the front so quickly. After all, if Edvard Munch would have made a hundred copies of “The Scream” then the original would never have been so valuable or stolen we think. 

What is Crypto  Arts?

Fine crypto art has been inspired by the blockchain and crypto movement. Hosted on the blockchain itself it is a tokenized representation of a physical art piece,  it has taken numerous forms all of which are amazing.

Many artists around the world have been inspired to develop eye-catching paintings that depict the lack of knowledge or meaning they have of the crypto/blockchain movement. On the other hand, it has promoted and redirected artists to create art and host its ownership on the blockchain in a tokenized form, allowing users to pay for it through cryptocurrencies and exchange it easily.

Such a form of art has appeared in two forms.

The first uses of NFTs as a token of ownership for a physical art sketch, painting, or sculpture. The second form tokenizes the digital art itself that serves as collectibles. For example Cryptokitties, a gamified collectible ERC-721 token that lets you purchase “kitties” that you can play with, groom, breed, and trade. Just like in real life, but  It just takes virtual pets to another level and people love it!

An example of fine crypto art is MakersPlace where you can find artists as, Frenetik Void, Cody Seekins, or Emotionull. You can purchase futuristic utopian art pieces, some of them incorporating technology into their creations that aptly describe the crypto movement. You can browse the gallery, select your preferred art piece, purchase and that’s it. You’ll be a proud owner of a digital NFT Art piece.

Where can I buy them?

Cryptokitties and is MakersPlace are just two examples in the myriad of crypto fine arts online markets. that hundreds of artists are using crypto tokenized digital art to sell their amazing works to thousands of collectors and users. It’s low cost and gets your talent great exposure visibility.

Now imagine how good would it be to have a marketplace where you can browse and purchase all available NFTs? Millions of art and collectibles all in one place! That’s exactly what OpenSea is. A crypto marketplace where you can browse hundreds of NFTs and purchase directly from there through your wallet.

How can I buy them?

Now that you’re probably hyped to get a collectible for yourself, the first question you might ask is how can you buy them? The truth is quite simple. Since NFTs are hosted on the Ethereum blockchain, you need to own Ether. Once you have the Ether, you would need a wallet that supports the ERC-721 collectibles.

Two recommended wallets support ERC-721 tokens:

  1. MetaMask: All-Purpose Ethereum Wallet
  2. Dapper: Ethereum Wallet optimized for Collectibles

MetaMask comes as a Chrome or Firefox extension and allows you to pay for collectibles right from your browser. Once you sign up and create your wallet, add ETH to your wallet and you are ready to go.

Dapper, on the other hand, comes as an extension as well as an Android application. You will need to download the application or use the browser extension to create an account, verify your email and phone number before you are ready to go.

What’s Next?

Now that we have been introduced to the world of NFTs and crypto fine arts, let’s explore the top marketplaces that service the growing sector of NFT collectors, enthusiasts, and prospectors.

Some marketplaces are specific to certain dapps, and these are included at the bottom of the list.

These are:

  1. OpenSea
  2. Rarible
  3. SuperRare
  4. Atomic Assets
  5. Known Origin
  6. Axie Marketplace
  7. Decentraland Marketplace
  8. Viv3
  9. TreasureLand
  10. NFT ShowRoom
  11. Arkane Market

Opensea

OpenSea is the first and biggest P2P NFT marketplace for crypto goods. It is the “eBay” on the blockchain. Items available include collectibles, game items, and many other virtual goods that are secured by a blockchain.

On OpenSea, you can buy, sell, and trade these items with anyone in the world. OpenSea is the biggest general marketplace for user-owned digital goods, with the broadest set of categories, and currently has more than 4 million items for auction and sale.

Explore OpenSea

Rarible

Rarible is an NFT marketplace, similar to OpenSea. But it is also a platform for creating NFTs. So users can go to Rarible with content they own a digital image or motion graphic and go forward and create an NFT.

Sellers can create multiple NFTs for one single image and sell it many times, or distribute a single item which is then deemed rarer. An interesting feature is that artists can set a percentage to receive on lifetime future re-sales.

Buyers can purchase NFTs and create a portfolio. Many users have built a personal portfolio with items of their liking, whilst others are building a collection of art they see future value in for future sale.

Explore Rarible

SuperRare

SuperRare is a social platform that promoted the creation and collection of crypto art. It was founded by John Crain and Jonathan Perkins frpm Pixura. SuperRare has worked with artists since its conception.

Explore SuperRare

Atomic Assets

Atomic Assets is a sub-section of the Atomic Hub specifically for marketplace listings of the NFTs hosted on WAX (Worldwide Asset Exchange).

NFTs such as Street Fighter, Cogs, and Blockchain Heroes. The marketplace has a familiar layout and users need to sign up for a WAX cloud wallet or alternatively sign in with Anchor or Scatter.

The WAX blockchain has staked a serious claim on the NFT sector having already completed many sold-out campaigns throughout 2020 in partnership with brands like Topps, Blockchain Heroes, and Street Fighter.

Explore Atomic Assets

Known Origin

Known Origin encourages artists and designers to create, discover and own rare digital artwork secured by the Ethereum blockchain. They can submit their artwork as a jpg or Gif to the KnownOrigin gallery. The files are held decentrally on IPFS. All assets are given unique identifiers that can be easily tracked.

Known Origin focuses on digital art so there is no point going here to look for Cryptopunks or CrypotKitties for example. The items sold here think of them as you would those at an art gallery.

Explore Known Origin

Axie Marketplace

Axie Infinity is a Pokemon-inspired digital universe where players use their characters called Axies in various games. The Axie Infinity Universe highlights the benefits of blockchain technology through a “Play to Earn” gameplay model and a player-owned economy.

In the marketplace, players can show their Axies and sell them auctions.

Prices can go up or down from the start price to the end price, depending on the seller’s intention. Other players have to be well-calculated to take the chance to buy the desired Axies from sellers.

Explore Axie Marketplace

Decentraland Marketplace 

Decentraland is a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Inside Decentraland world, users can create, experience, and monetize what they build and what they own.

In the shared virtual world users can buy land, they are recorded on a blockchain-backed ledger. The land itself, as well as the virtual properties built on top of it, is a type of NFT or utility token called LAND, which is stored in an Ethereum contract.

Users can explore, travel, and visit venues in a similar way to in the real world. The platform is also a P2P network for users to interact.

Explore Decentraland Marketplace

Viv3

VIV3 is the first general marketplace on the Flow blockchain. founded on the idea that the world is switching from physical to digital ownership. Viv3 has a target vision to empower a billion people to create, trade, and own the world’s most valuable creations by building on the Flow platform.

Artists, game studios, and brands use VIV3 to mint unique tokens each representing their digital creations on the Flow blockchain as NFTs. These NFTs are purchased by fans, collectors, gamers, and digital asset traders.

Explore Viv3

TreasureLand

TreasureLand is the first and largest NFT marketplace on the Binance Smart Chain. It allows the buying and selling of BSC NFT tokens. It’s a hybrid platform mixing the world of DeFi and NFTs. It has a complete NFT ecosystem including NFT Casting, Mining, Crafting, Auction, Trading, and more.

Getting your hands on some NFTs is pretty simple on the Treasureland platform. It allows for listings and auctions payable in a few different cryptos.

Explore TreasureLand

NFT Showroom

NFT Showroom is a digital art marketplace built on the Hive blockchain. Artists can register their digital creations and issue rare tokens, “proof of art” to be traded on the marketplace. The NFT Showroom has been gaining traction with the Hive community and is one to watch and appreciate for its speed and cost advantages.

Explore NFT Showroom

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