Coinbase’s NFT Marketplace Enters Beta Phase, No Transaction Fees for Testers for Sometime

Coinbase is diving deep into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFT). The US-based crypto exchange has released the beta version of its NFT marketplace for testers to explore. For the time being, Coinbase is not levying any transaction fee on NFT buying and selling. The company plans to add the fees as per the Web3 industry standards after a while and will notify users regarding the change whenever it happens. NFTs are digital collectibles, built and stored on blockchain networks.

Coinbase will open access to its NFT marketplace for a wider userbase gradually, it said in an official statement.

“We're starting with a small set of beta testers who'll be invited based on their position on our waitlist. We'll start at the top of the waitlist and open access to more people over time,” said Coinbase's Sanchan Saxena, VP of Product, Ecosystem Products.

The Coinbase marketplace will offer a platform for NFTs built on the Ethereum blockchain.

The platform aims to connect NFT artists and curators with like-minded people from around the world.

“We want Coinbase NFT to be a place that helps creators and collectors build and engage their communities. Follow other profiles and start the conversation with comments. Once signed in, you can post comments directly on NFTs, and can up/downvote comments as conversations unfold,” Saxena added.

Much like Instagram, Coinbase has added a ‘Discover Feed' feature where people will be able to browse through randomly selected artists and NFTs.

“We'll make personalized NFT recommendations to save you time searching for them. As you engage with the marketplace, recommendations will improve based on what you buy, what's trending, who you follow, and more,” the company revealed as part of its future plans.

As the new NFT marketplace becomes available to more people around the world, Coinbase plans to add token-gated communities and the option to buy NFTs with a Coinbase account or a credit card.

In time, more decentralised solutions will be put in place by Coinbase to usher its NFT marketplace towards the centre of the Web3 revolution.

Several NFT enthusiasts have posted screenshots of them already setting up their profiles on the Coinbase NFT marketplace as beta testers.

Surging sales and hefty prices on NFTs have baffled many but the multi-fold growth shows little or no depreciation whatsoever.

The sales of NFTs reached some $25 billion (roughly Rs. 1,84,700 crore) in 2021 as the speculative crypto asset exploded in popularity, data from market tracker DappRadar showed.

Presently, OpenSea, Autograph and LooksRare are among popular NFT marketplaces.

Other established institutions like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are awaiting approvals to operate as NFT marketplaces.

Even electronics giant Samsung has collaborated with Nifty Gateway, a digital art online auction platform for NFT art, to develop an NFT viewing, buying, and trading experience that's optimised for TVs.