A review of the top 10 NFT marketplaces

If you’re keen to get your brand involved with the latest (scorching hot) digital trend that is NFTs – including buying, selling and minting – you’ll need to pick a marketplace to get the job done.

But which one do you go with? More seem to be popping up every week, don’t they? In this article, we’ll give you the information you need to select which of the best marketplaces out there right now match your requirements.

But first… 

What’s an NFT again?

If you found yourself somewhat (read:very) lost in the very first sentence of this article, you’re definitely not alone! To bring you up to speed, here’s what you need to know:

NFTs

Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs are unique digital tokens that can either represent themselves as digital art, music, memes or another digital file, or represent the ownership of a tangible product like a car or real estate.

They’re stored on blockchain technology in a similar (but not identical) way to cryptocurrency, with the preferred network being Ethereum (ETH) currently.

Minting

In addition to buying, selling and swapping NFTs, it comes as no surprise that people can create their own as well. This is otherwise known as ‘minting’ and anyone can do it with really any kind of digital file they want – provided the marketplace they mint on supports the file type and they have an account on said marketplace.

So that would make an NFT marketplace…

Yep, you guessed it. An NFT marketplace is a platform that facilitates the buying, selling and minting of your own NFTs between people all over the world.

Each marketplace offers certain kinds of digital assets, so it’s important that you know what kinds of NFTs you’re planning on working with in order to choose the right marketplace to suit your needs.

And, like all other types of marketplaces, not all are built the same. You might find that some come across as looking and feeling a little bit dodgy, while others have been clearly built from the ground up with both UX and premium quality as the major focal points.

Like, for example, the 10 NFT marketplaces we’re going to explore in this article. 

A rundown of the 10 most popular NFT marketplaces

When you’ve decided on the type(s) of NFTs you’re interested in, it’s time to consider which marketplace would work best for you, and we reckon the following 10 are stand-out options in the market right now.

Mintable

As the name suggests, Mintable provides users with the ability not only to buy, trade and sell but also mint NFTs on their platform. Founded in 2018, it runs on the ETH blockchain and offers a selection of different NFTs like:

• Digital art
• Collectibles
• In-game items
• Music
• Domain names
• Templates
• Videos

Rarible

Another buy/sell/mint platform which runs as an integrated multi-chain NFT marketplace on ETH, Flow and Tezos, Rarible was created in 2020 and has since hit the ground running, currently boasting 1.6 million users and a massive 405,000 NFTs created so far. 

Rarible offers a long list of NFTs available, including:

• Digital art
• Memes
• Photography
• In-game items
• Music
• Domain names
• Metaverses
• DeFi

KnownOrigin

If there was a ‘Louvre of the NFT marketplaces’, it would most definitely be KnownOrigin. One of the first built on the ETH blockchain, it provides artists with the ability to sell their digital works via a smart contract platform whereby the artists receive instant remuneration.

You won’t find things like memes or avatars on here; KnownOrigin is only for the highest-quality digital artwork and vets its creators extensively to keep it that way.

OpenSea

Arguably the biggest, most popular platform for buying, selling and minting NFTs out there right now is OpenSea, which was launched in early 2018. It runs on an integrated multi-chain blockchain network across ETH, Polygon and Klaytn and is commonly referred to as the ‘eBay for NFTs’ – easy to understand with over 120 million monthly visitors.

You’re pretty much able to buy, sell and mint any and all kind of NFT on OpenSea (currently offering about 200 different categories), including:

• Digital art
• Music
• Virtual worlds
• Domain names
• Collectibles
• Trading cards
• Photography
• Utility
• Sport

Nifty Gateway

Like KnownOrigin, Nifty Gateway is an NFT marketplace on the ETH blockchain that specialises in high-end digital art and allows users to buy, sell and mint. Interestingly, in 2021 it actually went into a partnership with prestigious auction house Sotheby’s. 

It was first founded in 2018 and has since sold NFTs by some of the biggest names in the digital art world such as Pak and Beeple.

SuperRare

Another platform dealing with xclusive crypto artworks, SuperRare is on the ETH blockchain and promotes itself as the ‘future of art collecting’. It provides the ability for buying, selling and minting, though keep in mind that as a result of its focus on quality and exclusivity, prospective artists may find the application process rather tedious in comparison to other platforms. 

Foundation

Founded in 2020, Foundation describes themselves as aiming to ‘build a new creative economy’, allowing for buying, selling and minting. Built on the ETH blockchain, the platform offers digital art in the form of images, 3D and video and the site itself is nice and user friendly.

NBA Top Shot

Although NBA Top Shop doesn’t enable users to mint their own NFTs, it’s a goldmine for any true blue NBA fan out there who’s interested in getting into NFTs. It runs on the Flow blockchain and is super-easy to use.

You’ll find officially licensed unique NBA collectibles on there in the form of video clip highlights. Think game-winning threes, epic dunks and the like.  

Larva Labs

The Larva Labs crew were the ones behind the very famous CryptoPunks NFTs launched back in 2017 on the ETH blockchain. Initially given away for free, they’re now going for at minimum about 95 ETH which equates to just under $390k.

This platform is solely focused on the buying and selling of CryptoPunks, so you’re unable to mint your own original NFTs.

Axie Infinity

We thought it’d be worth including this as it’s really something else. Unlike the other NFT marketplaces that provide services to buy/sell/mint digital assets, Axie Infinity is a game that utilises blockchain technology, in which players are actually rewarded for playing. 

Similar to Pokemon, Axie Infinity is role-playing game (RPG) which involves collecting and breeding Axies (cute little creatures) and battling with them against other players. 

The Axies themselves are all unique and represent an NFT and can be upgraded with various body parts to improve their stats. They’re then able to be sold to other players in the game.

Can’t decide where to go from here? We’ll help.

At Mooning, we’ve got plenty of experience working with businesses to mint, buy and sell NFTs. Plus, we have an expert social media crew who are ready to take your social presence to the next level, delivering nothing but the very best results and highest possible ROI. 

Ready to engage with the best in the business? Give our friendly team a call now on 1300 818 435 or pop some details into our online contact form and you’ll hear from us soon.