The world beyond the OpenSea
Let the sea set you free
OpenSea is the most popular NFT marketplace today. It was founded back in 2017 by Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer in NYC. The idea to build an entire online marketplace just for NFTs was incredibly forward-thinking at the time. The only notable NFT project at the time was CryptoKitties which was a blockchain-based game. The game became so popular that it overwhelmed the infrastructure of the Ethereum network, causing a system-wide slowdown.
But the universe of NFT marketplaces is much broader, and in this article, we will show you the infinite possibilities for navigating this open sea.
Let’s sail!
Rarible
Rarible is an aggregated, community-based, multichain NFT marketplace. Rarible supports different blockchains, such as Ethereum, Solana, and Tezos. On Rarible, you can create, buy or sell NFTs. In addition, they accept other types of wallets and cryptocurrencies for NFT trading.
There’re plenty of benefits that you can access using Rarible, such as free upfront gas fees for creating NFTs and rewards for the platform users.
That’s the difference between an ordinary marketplace and an aggregated one!
Rarible also rewards its users with the RARI token, which allows voting on proposals that affect the platform. However, the RARI token does not support APIs or IPFS storage, and Rarible charges a 2.5% fee to both the seller and the buyer.
Zora
Zora is a marketplace specialized in NFT art. Beyond the PFP NFTs, there is a market for art. These NFTs have an intangible and priceless value, and they also carry on all the principles of traditional art combined with web3 values, such as decentralization.
Zora seeks to become a benchmark for decentralization among NFT markets. Its ideal aligns with the objectives of the web3 ecosystem. In addition, the platform attracts the attention of artists who seek more autonomy to connect with the public and to commercialize their creations.
Zora is zero-fee for sales, and you don’t have to pay to create and list NFTs. However, you still need to pay the Ethereum network gas fee.
Super Rare
SuperRare is an alternative to OpenSea and Rarible as it focuses on the exclusivity and rarity of NFTs exposed in the marketplace. For this, digital arts are evaluated by the community before being listed on the site.
The goal is to offer an NFT marketplace for a community that understands the importance of the authenticity and exclusivity when it comes to non-fungible tokens.
The SuperRare marketplace also works with a variety of cryptocurrency options for trading. Super Rare charges the buyers on 3% for each trade. However, all the creators receive a 10% commission with secondary sales of their NFTs.
As Rarible, SuperRare also has its governance system based on the RARE token. Their website tells that $RARE is the SuperRare governance and curation token. With an initial distribution to those who brought SuperRare to where it is today, $RARE will be a crucial tool in shaping both SuperRare’s future and the digital art community. Using $RARE, community members will have power to being a stakeholder in defining SuperRare’s future.
$RARE is also used for voting on Spaces, granting community members an active role in SuperRare’s path toward decentralized curation.
Blur
Blur is an NFT marketplace focused on traders. They promise to be the fastest NFT marketplace on earth. It is the only marketplace that lets you sweep across multiple marketplaces, snipe reveals faster than anywhere else, and manage your portfolio with advanced analytics.
It sweeps 10x faster with up to 17% less gas.
They also promise that the traders will receive an airdrop with the launch of the $BLUR token early next year.
Foundation
Foundation is known as the most curated marketplace. The website design is similar to OpenSea, but the platform provides artists and creators, a decentralized way to create valuable artwork and monetize it by sharing it with interested collectors.
They value connectivity between users and creativity. These points increase the autonomy of the artist.
In the beginning, the Foundation was curated entirely by the community. Some hand-picked artwork by the platform’s community team is featured on the website, in newsletters, and on social media.
Their goal is to create an ecosystem that supports all community members. However, different from other marketplaces, Foundation has some rules for its users. You can understand more about the rules in this article.
These are just a few of the thousands of NFT marketplaces. Each marketplace has specificities and benefits for creators and buyers. There is no perfection, and each marketplace has its own problems as well. The most important is: do your research and choose wisely the marketplace that fits better in your expectations, whether you are a creator, artist, builder, or collector.
Our goal is to show you other options beyond popular marketplaces. Web3 is being built, and innovations are coming full steam ahead. Therefore, a suitable sailor must always be up to date and observe market movements!
Let’s sail together in this endless sea called web3!
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