NFT for Dummies: Understanding Fungible vs. Non-Fungible Tokens

David Heredia February 4, 2024
NFT for Dummies: Understanding Fungible vs. Non-Fungible Tokens

The world of blockchain technology has given birth to a new idea known as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which are one-of-a-kind digital assets that reflect ownership of various types of creative works. Because of their capacity to establish ownership over and scarcity of other digital assets, such as digital art, these assets have become extremely popular among artists, collectors, and investors. With the increased demand for NFTs, several marketplaces have formed to enable the buying and selling of these one-of-a-kind tokens.

We will examine the top 10 NFT marketplaces in this post, which provide a wide variety of NFTs, such as music, art, videos, and more, and offer a convenient venue for artists and collectors to exchange these digital assets.

Whether you’re an artist hoping to promote your work, a collector trying to add to your collection, or an investor seeking profitable chances, this list of NFT markets will help you discover the appropriate platform to fulfill your goals.

What are NFT marketplaces?

NFT markets are online platforms that enable the buying and trading of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). These marketplaces allow creators and buyers to exchange unique digital items, including art, music, videos, and more.

Benefits of using NFT marketplaces

NFT marketplaces offer a seamless platform for artists to display their works as well as for investors and collectors to find and purchase these rare digital assets. These marketplaces make it possible to trade NFTs for cryptocurrencies or other payment methods, and some may also provide extra features like bidding, auctions, and social features to foster a trading community for NFTs.

The openness and transparency of NFT marketplace apps are their key benefits. Buyers can make informed selections about which assets they should acquire since all transactions are easily accessible and verified since they are recorded on the blockchain.

Importance of NFT marketplaces

NFT marketplaces offer creators an opportunity to connect directly with their audience, as trades are almost peer-to-peer. Additionally, users benefit from the convenience of easily searching and purchasing their desired NFT items on these platforms. One can never be too careful while trading NFTs, so learn how to evaluate and authenticate them today.

Top 10 NFT marketplaces

1. OpenSea

Overview of OpenSea

OpenSea is a well-known NFT marketplace that was established in 2017. With over 4 million items on the market, including art, gaming gear, collectibles, and virtual real estate, it is one of the biggest and most varied NFT markets.

OpenSea is a decentralized platform built on the Ethereum blockchain that allows producers to sell their digital goods directly to purchasers without the need for intermediaries.

Moreover, OpenSea supports several blockchains, such as Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), and Polygon (MATIC).

Pros and cons of OpenSea

One of OpenSea’s main advantages has been its size and diversity, which can provide customers with a wide range of NFTs to choose from. Moreover, OpenSea provides a user-friendly user interface, making it simple for buyers and creators to utilize the site. Moreover, OpenSea has a competitive commission rate, which appeals to both customers and makers.

Nevertheless, OpenSea has been chastised for lack of curation and quality control, which makes it difficult for purchasers to traverse the marketplace and acquire high-quality NFTs. OpenSea has also seen problems with gas fees, which could also make transactions expensive during periods of immense network congestion.

Unique features of OpenSea

As compared to other NFT marketplaces, OpenSea stands out because of a number of unique characteristics. Among its most important features is the support for ERC 1155 tokens, allowing creators to build several NFTs within a single contract, enabling more streamlined creation and management of digital asset collections.

Moreover, OpenSea provides customers with a robust search and discovery engine that enables them to filter and rank NFTs according to different factors, including rarity, cost, and inventor. Moreover, OpenSea offers a function called “bundling,” which enables producers to sell several NFTs as a single package, simplifying the process of monetizing their collections.

Also, learn how to hide an NFT on OpenSea.

2. Rarible

Overview of Rarible

Rarible is another notable NFT marketplace that was founded in 2020. Rarible’s user-friendly design and community-driven philosophy have helped it rapidly grow in popularity. Rarible, which is based on the Ethereum blockchain like OpenSea, enables producers to sell their digital products to consumers directly.

Pros and cons of Rarible

One of Rarible’s key advantages is its emphasis on community-driven curation, which allows users to select and promote their favorite NFTs. This strategy makes sure that buyers have access to the finest choices and assists in promoting high-quality NFTs. Moreover, Rarible has affordable rates, luring both consumers and producers.

Rarible has drawn criticism for its high gas fees, which make transactions more expensive when the network is congested. Moreover, Rarible has had certain scaling problems, which have prolonged transaction processing times.

Unique features of Rarible

Rarible distinguishes itself from other NFT markets with distinctive features, including community-driven curation, which enables users to find high-quality NFTs that are difficult to find using conventional search.

Its “minting” function makes the production and selling of NFTs more accessible by allowing producers to market their products without any specialized training.

Also, the platform’s built-in governance token, $RARI, encourages community ownership and growth contributions.

3. SuperRare

Overview of SuperRare

SuperRare is a curated NFT marketplace devoted to the promotion and sale of high-quality digital art. SuperRare, in contrast to other NFT markets, carefully chooses its artists and works of art to guarantee that only the greatest are posted on the platform.

The curating approach used by SuperRare helps to keep the platform’s reputation for featuring high-caliber artwork and attracts value-conscious collectors.

Pros and cons of SuperRare

SuperRare’s curating approach, which guarantees that customers have access to top-notch digital art, is one of its primary advantages. This emphasis on quality has aided in luring sophisticated collectors, raising the selling prices for artists. SuperRare furthermore provides a simplified purchasing procedure and affordable transaction costs, making it a desirable choice for both the buyer and the seller.

The curating procedure used by SuperRare may also be viewed as a drawback because it might be challenging for emerging or undiscovered artists to be approved for the site. Also, SuperRare might not be the optimal site for those who make different kinds of NFTs because of its emphasis on digital art.

Unique features of SuperRare

SuperRare distinguishes itself by focusing on high-quality digital art, attracting serious collectors, and providing a feature known as “unlockable content,” which encourages customers to bid higher.

Moreover, the platform provides a social token called $RARE that enables users to take part in governance and receive incentives. This fosters a feeling of community ownership and encourages growth.

4. Nifty Gateway

Overview of Nifty Gateway

Nifty Gateway is a well-known NFT marketplace that sells a wide range of digital artifacts such as art, music, and sports memorabilia.

The platform was established in 2018 by Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster and has since developed a reputation for its user-friendly design and high-profile collaborations.

Pros and cons of Nifty Gateway

Nifty Gateway features advantages such as an emphasis on popular culture and an easy-to-use interface, which attracts a broad spectrum of collectors and provides chances for artists.

The site has drawn criticism for its costly transaction fees, which make it difficult for artists to make a living, and for the fierce rivalry for slots in its drops, which makes it tough for emerging or undiscovered artists to obtain exposure.

Unique features of Nifty Gateway

Nifty Gateway offers features that set it apart from other NFT markets. While “Nifty Drops” allows artists to release collections of NFTs over a longer length of time, its “drops” mechanism gives customers a sense of exclusivity and urgency.

Nifty Gateway’s dedication to music and partnerships with well-known artists like Grimes and Deadmau5 have also aided in bringing in new collectors and opening doors for musicians.

Nifty Gateway’s strong focus on music and partnerships with high-profile musicians like Grimes and Deadmau5 have also helped to attract a new audience of collectors and create opportunities for artists in the music industry.

5. Foundation

Overview of Foundation:

Foundation is an NFT marketplace that promotes creativity and gives artists the opportunity to present their work to a worldwide audience. The portal offers a carefully chosen collection of blockchain-verified and verified digital works of art, music, and video NFTs.

Foundation was introduced in February 2021 and rapidly became well-liked by both collectors and artists.

Pros and cons of Foundation

The Foundation NFT Marketplace has several pros, including its unique digital art collection that continues to attract world-class artists. The auction approach for selling NFTs allows for a potential profit with time-bound bidding. Additionally, artists can earn solid royalties of up to 10% when they sell their work, providing a great way to achieve a residual income.

One of the cons of the Foundation NFT marketplace is the higher secondary market fee compared to other NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible, which charge a transaction fee of up to 2.5%. On the Foundation platform, the transaction fee can be up to 5%.

Another downside is the limited support for cryptocurrency payments, as the platform primarily offers payment options through debit and credit cards, with only a few crypto-related payment alternatives available.

Unique features of Foundation

Foundation distinguishes itself from other NFT markets with some distinctive features. Its emphasis on encouraging creativity and invention, which has led to a variety of high-quality NFTs, is one of its most important characteristics.

Foundation also provides a feature called “Creator Drops” that enables artists to release collections of NFTs over a longer period, allowing customers to collect various works from a single artist.

Another distinguishing quality of Foundation is its “Flexibility” feature, which enables customers to acquire NFTs using a range of payment options, including wire transfers, cryptocurrencies, and credit cards. This feature facilitates the buying of NFTs and may assist in attracting a larger audience of collectors.

6. KnownOrigin

Overview of KnownOrigin

KnownOrigin is an artist-driven NFT platform that allows creators to easily verify, promote, and sell their digital artwork.

KnownOrigin is one of the world’s first and largest NFT Marketplaces, established on the Ethereum Blockchain. Enabling anybody to explore, collect, buy, and exchange Digital Art NFTs.

Pros and cons of KnownOrigin

The curated NFT marketplace KnownOrigin has both advantages and disadvantages. It provides a range of premium, exclusive digital art as well as high royalties of 10% to artists on future purchases.

However, it has a high commission charge of 15%, which is typical for markets that resemble galleries and may force artists to raise the price of their creations. It also restricts buyer options by only accepting ether (ETH) as payment.

Unique features of KnownOrigin

KnownOrigin distinguishes itself from other NFT markets with unique characteristics. One of them assures the authenticity and originality of the artwork sold on the site is the “Proof of Provenance” function.

The “Mystery Boxes,” which provide customers with a reduced, randomly selected variety of NFTs, create an exciting feeling of surprise and discovery, are another distinctive feature.

In addition, KnownOrigin places a high priority on environmental issues, allocating a part of transaction fees to fund reforestation programs.

7. AtomicMarket

Overview of AtomicMarket

AtomicMarket is a decentralized NFT marketplace that allows users to create, buy, and sell digital assets on the blockchain. The technology, which is based on the EOS blockchain, aims to give NFT producers and collectors an intuitive user experience.

Pros and cons of AtomicMarket

On the positive side, AtomicMarket offers buyers the freedom to bid on products that appeal to them by enabling bidding on a variety of various collectibles. The framework also permits contract flexibility for AtomicMarket-shared agreements. This implies that there are more possibilities for buyers and sellers to tailor the buying and selling process. The ability to establish blockchains without any prior understanding of smart contracts or computer languages is another advantage of AtomicMarket.

On the downside, AtomicMarket only takes WAX tokens, which may limit purchasers who want to utilize other cryptocurrencies or payment methods.

Unique features of AtomicMarket

One of AtomicMarket’s distinguishing characteristics is its interaction with the WAX blockchain, which allows users to seamlessly trade NFTs across numerous markets. 

The platform also includes a function known as “Atomic Drops,” which allows NFT makers to distribute a certain quantity of NFTs to customers on a first-come, first-served basis. Furthermore, AtomicMarket has a heavy focus on gaming NFTs, with a section dedicated to game-related assets.

8. Binance NFT

Overview of Binance NFT

The Binance NFT marketplace provides a wide range of digital artworks and collectibles. The Binance NFT marketplace gives users a high liquidity platform for launching and trading NFTs powered by the Binance blockchain technology and community.

Pros and cons of Binance NFT

Binance NFT marketplace offers various benefits that set it apart from its competitors. Firstly, Binance is a reputable exchange with a strong reputation for offering its users high levels of security, including encrypted data transmission and two-factor authentication.

Moreover, Binance NFT has cheap fees: minting NFTs costs just 0.000001 BNB, and there is a 1% transaction fee. Also, the site provides artists with minimal royalties, which is advantageous for collectors.

However, there are some drawbacks to Binance NFT that should be taken into account. These include the need for both parties to pay transaction fees, the low royalties for artists that may deter some from selling on the platform, the lack of liquidity, and the high risk involved with the mystery boxes.

Unique features of Binance NFT

Binance’s NFT marketplace is distinguished by features such as a broad range of NFT categories, mystery boxes, and support for over 300,000 digital assets. Users may acquire NFTs directly from pre-approved artists, take part in auctions, or buy mystery boxes. 

The platform supports Ethereum as well as Binance Smart Chain, the latter of which has cheaper gas prices. Payment choices include Binance Coin, Binance Dollar, and Ether. Wallets like WalletConnect, MetaMask, and Binance Chain Wallet are available.

9. BakerySwap

Overview of BakerySwap

BakerySwap is an NFT marketplace and trading system that is hosted in the cloud. Users may build and manage their stores on BakerySwap, track sales and inventory, manage sales and stock, issue digital assets backed by real-world items, accept cryptocurrency as payment, generate reports, and do a lot more.

Pros and cons of BakerySwap

One of its key advantages is that it has cheap costs, making it suitable for minor transactions. Furthermore, the platform offers a diverse spectrum of NFTs to suit various interests. It is also helpful to creators since it makes it simple for them to mint and sell their NFTs, giving them greater control over their output and income.

BakerySwap has some restrictions. For some users, the platform’s lack of fiat currency payment choices may be a deterrent. In addition, it has a smaller user base than NFT markets that have been around for a while because it is a more recent platform. Also, the NFT marketplace sector is quite competitive. Thus BakerySwap will need to keep coming up with new ideas to differentiate itself and draw in additional consumers.

Unique features of BakerySwap

The liquidity mining scheme, which enables users to earn incentives by supplying liquidity to certain pools, is one of its standout features. Also, the platform provides Initial Farm Offerings (IFOs), a special feature that enables users to take part in token sales with the chance to win prizes.

Moreover, BakerySwap has connected with several gaming platforms and has a significant focus on gaming NFTs, opening up possibilities for cross-platform NFT use. The platform is driven by the community, and members of the community participate in decision-making and development plans.

10. Mintable

Overview of Mintable

Mintable is an NFT marketplace that enables users to quickly create, buy, and sell NFTs without requiring any technical knowledge. The site has grown in popularity among artists seeking to market their distinctive NFTs because of its user-friendly layout.

Mintable was created on the Ethereum network. However, it has subsequently connected with other networks such as Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and others.

Pros and cons of Mintable

One of Mintable’s key benefits is how simple it is to use, making it possible for anyone without coding skills to design and market their NFTs. Also, the network has reasonable prices and accepts a variety of payment methods, including credit cards and fiat money. Moreover, Mintable offers a secondary market for NFTs, allowing users to effortlessly resale their purchased NFTs.

Unfortunately, Mintable has several limitations. The platform’s search functionality can be constrained, and its selection of NFT categories is quite small. In addition, a few customers have complained about problems with the platform’s customer service.

Unique features of Mintable

One of Mintable’s distinctive features is its “smart contract wizard,” which enables developers to quickly generate original smart contracts for their NFTs. 

Also, the platform provides “gasless minting,” which enables developers to mint NFTs without having to pay for gas. 

In addition, Mintable provides artists with several tools, such as a marketing toolbox and an analytics dashboard to monitor sales and interaction.

Bonus NFT marketplaces

While the marketplaces mentioned above are some of the top players in the market, there are many more. Let’s take a look:

  • Zora: This marketplace allows artists to capture more value from their work by dynamically pricing NFTs based on demand.
  • Decentraland marketplace: Decentraland is a virtual reality world. Its marketplace allows users to buy and sell virtual plots of land, clothing, and other assets as NFTs.
  • Wazir X: WazirX, acquired by Binance, launched an NFT marketplace on the Binance Smart Chain. It emphasizes regional and traditional Indian art. Known for hosting its first NFT exhibition and musical NFTs, it recorded around INR 2 trillion in trading by November 2021.
  • MakersPlace: MakersPlace is a digital art NFT marketplace where every piece is digitally signed and issued by the artist. This unique feature adds an extra layer of authenticity and provenance to the platform. This makes it a trusted space for both artists and collectors.
  • Axis marketplace: Axie Marketplace is the official trading platform for Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based play-to-earn game. It serves as the official marketplace for trading Axies, which are unique, fantasy creatures represented as NFTs.

Which NFT marketplace has no fees?

There are a few NFT marketplaces that have no fees, but it is important to note that these platforms may have other limitations or requirements. For example, some may only support certain blockchains or NFT collections, or they may have a smaller user base.

Here are a few examples of NFT marketplaces with no fees:

  • OpenSea Pro
  • Varsifle
  • Larva Labs

How to choose the right NFT marketplace

Factors to consider when choosing a marketplace

There are various things to take into account while picking an NFT marketplace.

For a smooth user experience, ensure that the marketplace has an integrated wallet that allows several payment modes, including crypto and fiat.

Moreover, security is essential, so pick a marketplace that provides two-factor authentication and cutting-edge encryption to guard against fraud and cyberattacks. Furthermore, a personalized storefront may assist in strengthening your brand and optimizing income potential.

Choose a marketplace that provides several selling options, such as set price sales and auctions, and has an optimized user experience that makes it simple to navigate between categories and collections.

Consider gas expenses as well, and select a marketplace that attempts to alleviate the annoyance of these taxes by offering lazy minting. 

Lastly, a useful feature might be an admin panel that enables you to manage tokens, track your client base, and obtain essential information for making strategic decisions.

Tips for successful transactions

-Set a fair price: Research similar NFTs on the marketplace to determine a fair price for your NFT.

-Provide clear descriptions and images: Ensure that your NFT is accurately represented with clear descriptions and high-quality images.

-Use secure payment methods: Choose secure payment methods to protect yourself and your NFT during transactions.

-Keep records: Keep records of your transactions for tax and accounting purposes.

-Engage with the community: Engage with the marketplace community to promote your NFTs and gain visibility.

We have also covered top 9 NFT Events you can attend in 2023, incase you want to further engage with the NFT community.

David Heredia

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