NFT marketplaces are digital platforms that facilitate the buying, selling, and trading of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for creators, collectors, and investors. NFTs are unique digital assets that are authenticated on a blockchain network, providing evidence of ownership and scarcity. These digital assets can include anything from art, music, videos, games, collectibles, and virtual real estate.
The popularity of NFTs has skyrocketed in recent years, resulting in the development of numerous NFT marketplaces. These platforms offer a user-friendly interface for purchasing and selling NFTs while also acting as a market data aggregator, providing traders and investors with up-to-date information on trends and pricing.
The following table, sourced from DappRadar and current as of February 16th, 2023, displays the top ten NFT marketplaces ranked by sales volume.
| Marketplace | Volume | Amount of traders | Average price | Blockchain |
| OpenSea | $34.53B | 2,672,366 | $247.36 | Arbitrum, Ethereum, Klatyn, Optimism, Polygon, Solana |
| Axie Marketplace | $4.27B | 2,188,868 | $167.38 | Ethereum, Ronin |
| CryptoPunks | $3.03B | 7,537 | $131,370 | Ethereum |
| Magic Eden | $2.08B | 1,420,168 | $120.83 | Solana |
| LooksRare | $1.7B | 129,370 | $5,720 | Ethereum |
| Blur | $1.4B | 138,481 | $1,230 | Ethereum |
| X2Y2 | $1.12B | 200,476 | $628.43 | Ethereum |
| NBA Top Shot | $981.7M | 571,371 | $47.07 | Flow |
| Mobox | $700.69M | 88,999 | $490.98 | BNB Chain |
| Solanart | $666.17M | 245,912 | $891.32 | Solana |
Opensea
OpenSea is a prominent NFT marketplace that facilitates the buying, selling, creating, and trading of NFTs. The platform was founded in 2017 and has since prioritized a user-friendly interface, allowing users to create an account in just a few minutes. OpenSea offers a comprehensive suite of NFT minting tools, including a free “lazy minting” feature that reduces the typically high gas fees associated with transactions.
With the most extensive inventory of NFTs available for purchase, OpenSea has become the go-to marketplace for both retail users and developers. Notable investors, including Mark Cuban, Kevin Durant, Ashton Kutcher, and crypto giant a16z, have contributed to OpenSea’s valuation, which now exceeds $1 billion, elevating the NFT platform to unicorn status almost overnight. OpenSea hosts a vast collection of NFTs, including digital artwork, music, photography, trading cards, and more. The platform charges a 2.5% fee on all transactions, along with a gas fee for miners if the transaction occurs via Ethereum.
Axie Marketplace
The Axie Marketplace is a unique NFT platform that serves as the official marketplace for the blockchain game Axie Infinity, which rewards players for their participation. The platform has an impressive trading volume of $3.6 billion, setting it apart from other NFT marketplaces.
At the Axie Marketplace, users can acquire Axies, which are creatures used in the game for breeding and battle. Each Axie is an NFT, making them highly valuable and tradable between players. This is how players earn money in the game, and to get started, each player must purchase at least three Axies to form a team. Additionally, users can purchase Land on the Axie Marketplace, which grants ownership of digital property within the game.
To purchase and sell in-game items, users must have an Axie account, an Ethereum wallet like MetaMask, and a Ronin wallet. Similar to other platforms, the Axie Marketplace allows users to sell items at a fixed price or through an auction.
Larva Labs CryptoPunks
Larva Labs is well-known for its CryptoPunks NFT project, which became viral. Although they were initially distributed for free in 2017, certain CryptoPunks have sold for millions of dollars since then. Besides Ethereum-based app development projects, Larva Labs has other digital art projects such as Autoglyphs.
While Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks NFTs are no longer available for sale, they can be purchased through several third-party marketplaces by placing a bid. Nonetheless, Larva Labs’ numerous initiatives are worth keeping an eye on. For instance, the company’s built-in marketplace enables direct bidding on Meebits.
Magic Eden
Magic Eden, despite being launched in September 2021, has already become the most popular NFT marketplace on the Solana network, which employs the native token SOL. The platform boasts the largest user base among SOL NFT markets and is the second-largest NFT platform in terms of trading volume, following only OpenSea.
The Magic Eden Launchpad facilitates regular NFT mints that connect creators with collectors, making it particularly attractive to collectors who are seeking new and emerging items. Although it initially began as a Solana-native platform, it has since expanded to support Ethereum-based NFTs and is in the process of adding support for other networks.
LooksRare
LooksRare is another NFT marketplace that has a unique rewards program for users who buy and sell NFTs. The platform offers 20% lower fees than OpenSea, its primary competitor. The rewards program operates as follows: Whenever you trade NFTs on LooksRare, you earn LOOKS, the marketplace’s token. It’s worth noting that both the buyer and seller earn this reward, and all NFTs from all collections you purchase or sell are eligible for the reward.
According to LooksRare, “Every day, trading rewards are calculated based on each user’s trading volume on LooksRare, as a percentage of the total platform trading volume, excluding private sales.” By staking LOOKS, you can earn additional LOOKS and trading fees in WETH, making it possible to earn even more rewards. In other words, LookRare’s trading fees are redistributed to stakers along with bonus LOOKS.
Blur
The Blur NFT Marketplace is a unique platform that caters to advanced traders, prioritizing fast throughput and orderbook-like execution. Its distinguishing feature is the consolidation of several NFT marketplaces onto a single platform, simplifying NFT trading, search, and discovery for users from various platforms. The marketplace stands out further by imposing no commission on trades, making it more appealing to traders. Furthermore, users are incentivized to trade on the platform with a future airdrop based on their trading volume. Due to its $BLUR token airdrop, the marketplace has gained immense popularity. The airdrop is intended to reward users for trading and completing specific tasks, and tokens are awarded based on the trading volume of particular NFTs. The tokens are then distributed proportionately to all participants, and at launch, the $BLUR token’s market capitalization is predicted to exceed $1 billion, making it an invaluable airdrop for both investors and users.
X2Y2
X2Y2 is an NFT marketplace that distinguishes itself from competitors with a range of unique features. Among these features is profit-sharing, where users can stake X2Y2 tokens on the platform and receive a percentage of all NFT trading fees. The more tokens staked, the higher the percentage earned.
To address the issue of gas fees for NFT traders, X2Y2 has implemented a solution for bulk buying and selling. With this feature, users can sell and purchase multiple NFTs at the same time, paying only one gas fee.
X2Y2 also simplifies the process of keeping track of your listed NFTs. Users receive email notifications for bids and direct sales, and they will be alerted if their bid is accepted.
For users seeking rare items, X2Y2’s intuitive rarity tracker provides in-depth analytics and history on any NFT available on the platform, including information on the rarity of each item.
NBA top shot
NBA Top Shot, the NFT collectible marketplace of the National Basketball Association, has gained considerable attention. It is a high-level platform that allows registered users to trade exclusive short video clips from NBA and WNBA games, where each clip is a unique NFT. Since it’s a closed marketplace, buying and selling NFT projects are limited to this platform. NBA Top Shot utilizes the Flow blockchain, providing a user-friendly experience that is suitable for beginners to purchase collectible moments for just a few dollars, which can yield significant returns in the future. The marketplace has been operating since October 2020, providing a blend of the traditional sports trading cards collecting experience with the blockchain technology used in other NFT platforms. As of 2021, the platform boasts over 1.1 million registered users who have traded NFTs worth nearly $800 million.
Mobox
MOBOX is an NFT gaming platform that operates on the Binance Smart Chain and offers a “free-to-play, play-to-earn” game model that integrates NFT gameplay and DeFi yield farming. This innovative approach allows players to earn rewards while playing games.
The platform features exclusive NFTs for use in various MOBOX games and leverages attractive yield strategies. Additionally, MOBOX aims to connect all metaverses by integrating NFT interoperability across various platforms and cryptocurrency games. This ensures a seamless and consistent gaming experience for players across different gaming worlds.
Overall, MOBOX represents an exciting and unique approach to the world of NFT gaming, with a focus on innovative design concepts and advanced technology that enhances the gaming experience for users.
Solanart
Solanart is a unique NFT marketplace that operates on the Solana blockchain, unlike most marketplaces that use Ethereum. Although its NFT collection is limited, it includes exclusive sets such as Aurory and SolPunks. Similar to Ethereum-based platforms, users must download one of Solanart’s compatible wallets to register. However, once you have met this requirement, bidding and purchasing your preferred NFT art is straightforward.
The future of NFT marketplaces
The potential for NFT marketplaces appears promising, as NFTs have demonstrated their worth as a valuable asset class. With increasing awareness of their potential benefits, the demand for NFTs is expected to rise, leading to a likely expansion in the number of NFT marketplaces available to buyers and sellers. The future prospects of NFT marketplaces appear bright, and the potential applications of NFTs appear nearly limitless. As technology progresses, it will be fascinating to witness the growth and development of NFT marketplaces and the broader NFT ecosystem.
