The Ethereum network is known for its very high gas fees, however, Coinbase said it will not charge any fees for a limited amount of time.
Months after it unveiled its plans to launch a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) place, American digital currency trading platform, Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) has released the Beta version of the marketplace for its select users. When it made the announcement back in October, it opened a waitlist for prospective users to register, recording more than 1.1 million sign-ups last year. The selected users for the Beta platform will be those on the waitlist, and the selection criteria will factor in the position of these waitlist applicants.
The Coinbase NFT marketplace will only support Ethereum-based collections and as unveiled by the trading firm. Some of the collections that are currently hosted on the marketplace include the World of Women (WoW), Azuki, Doodles, Cool Cats, and Adam Bomb Squad amongst others.
Over time, the exchange plans to add other blockchains protocols in addition to the Ethereum it currently supports as affirmed by Alex Plutzer, NFT product lead at Coinbase NFT in a press conference. “We’ll cycle these [collections] out over time to help introduce people to awesome NFTs on the platform, especially for people who aren’t as familiar with NFTs,” he added.
The Ethereum network is known for its very high gas fees, however, Coinbase said it will not charge any fees for a limited amount of time. It said when fees will be introduced, they will be at a low single-digit rate. Additionally, the publicly traded firm said it has partnered with the 0x Protocol to reduce any associated gas fees.
In its bid to make the new NFT marketplace a hub for all, Coinbase said it will also integrate additional means of making payments including fiat-on-ramp according to Sanchan Saxena, the exchange’s VP of Product.
Coinbase NFT Marketplace and the Existing Competition
The move by Coinbase to launch its own NFT marketplace is a direct attempt not just to compete with other digital currency trading platforms with related offerings, but also with prominent players including OpenSea and LookRare amongst others.
As a major selling point, Coinbase said it wants to integrate a community-building feature into its NFT marketplace as a different offering from what its peers currently brandish.
“We’re building a marketplace where you can buy and sell NFTs, of course, but more importantly, you can engage,” Saxena said at the press briefing. “You can engage with the creator. You can engage with the collector. And you can engage with fellow collectors from a community around that NFT. This is an important piece of our strategy.”
The NFT trading world is somewhat a complicated zone and Coinbase plans to introduce simplicity into it as its own way of onboarding all classes of users including those that are not so familiar with the broader crypto terrain.
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