NFTs have recently grown in popularity. Here are the top ten NFT marketplaces to be aware of in 2022.
Tokenized assets and rare digital treasures are raking in billions of dollars across NFT platforms, and everyone is seeking for ways to get in on the action, including celebrities and top-tier musicians.
Many platforms based on various blockchains allow you to buy and trade non-fungible tokens. But, before we get into the top ten best NFT marketplaces, let’s take a quick look at what NFT is and why so many NFT trading platforms are needed today.
Let’s go ahead and delve into the top 10 NFT marketplacesyou can pick from to buy and sell NFTs.
Top 10 NFT Marketplaces to Watch in 2022
While the majority of the industry’s NFT marketplaces are built on the Ethereum blockchain, the platforms discussed in this section are developed on other Layer-1 blockchains.
However, here is our ranking of the top ten best NFT markets in 2022.
1. OpenSea
By far the largest NFT marketplace in the world in terms of trade volume is OpenSea. Users can utilize the platform to mint, buy, and sell a variety of non-fungible tokens such as collectibles, digital art, virtual worlds, trading cards, and more.
It is based on Ethereum, however it incorporates Polygon for lower gas fees. Users can utilize OpenSea to access over 700 NFT projects, with over 80 million NFTs available for trade.
The NFT marketplace provides free minting and seller profile setup through its infrastructure. It does, however, collect a 2.5% fee on each sale made on its marketplace.
According to Dune Analytics, OpenSea currently has over 600,000 users and will generate $4.1 billion in revenues in 2022 alone.
At the time of writing, the most popular NFTs on OpenSea in terms of trade volume are the Bored Apes, CryptoPunks, and Doodles.
2. SuperRare
SuperRare is an Ethereum-based NFT marketplace that works with a small number of respected NFT artists. It is a forerunner in unique digital art, with the goal of preserving the digital art collection culture.
Before digital artwork is published for sale on the marketplace, it must go through a rigorous verification and approval process. To ensure that digital art collectors get the most out of their collection, SuperRare encourages creativity among the few established creators on its site.
While SuperRare is not as exciting as OpenSea, it does have some pretty unique digital art pieces. The marketplace charges artists a 15% commission on primary sales.
3. Rarible
Rarible is a community-owned decentralized NFT marketplace where users can buy and trade a wide range of NFTs. The platform includes an easy-to-use interface that allows users to mint and trade NFTs.
Rarible is compatible with three blockchain networks: Ethereum, Flow, and Tezos. This multi-chain functionality means that users on Rarible can make, purchase, and sell NFTs from any of the three blockchain networks.
Rarible, like OpenSea, levies a 2.5% transaction fee. However, it takes decentralization a step further by adding a governance structure that offers community members voting power through its in-house token, RARI.
With over 1.6 million users, the marketplace has executed NFT transactions worth more than $270 million.
4. Axie Infinity Marketplace
Yes, the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity also has one of the most popular gaming-focused NFT marketplaces. The Axie marketplace, on the other hand, is dedicated to its play-to-earn video game, which allows users to make, buy, and sell Axies and other in-game digital treasures.
The Axie Infinity NFT marketplace is based on Ronin, a Layer 2 blockchain that operates as a sidechain on the Ethereum network.
The network boasts a big fan base of gaming and cryptocurrency lovers, with over two million daily active users. The innovative and user-friendly interface of Axie Infinity has laid the groundwork for the gaming industry.
A virtual land was sold for a stunning $2.3 million, making it one of the most expensive Axie Infinity NFTs ever sold.
5. Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is frequently referred to as the elite NFT marketplace. The Ethereum-based platform, managed by Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, allows users to buy, sell, and mint rare crypto artworks.
The marketplace is well-known for selling the works of some of the world’s most well-known artists, such as Grimes and Beeple. Beeple’s Crossroads NFT sold for $6.6 million on this marketplace last year, making it one of the most costly NFT sales.
Nifty Gateway has a strict policy about inventiveness and authenticity, prompting it to impose some of the most stringent verification processes on artists.
Only verified creators are permitted to mint and list NFTs on the marketplace, decreasing the possibility of fraud. On NFT sales, the platform charges a 15% commission.
6. Solanart
Solanart is a fully functional NFT marketplace based on the Solana network. It enables users to develop, buy, and sell a variety of Solana-based NFTs.
The site includes NFT collections from a variety of NFT projects, including Degenerate Ape Academy, Solpunks, and many others. Every NFT sale is subject to a 3% transaction fee.
Solanart also supports a number of digital wallets, including Solflare, Phantom, Clover, Sollet, Slope, Ledger, and others.
Despite being a relatively young NFT platform, the marketplace has a total trading volume of more than $500 million, according to DappRader data.
7. Binance NFT Marketplace
The Binance NFT marketplace is an NFT platform that allows users to buy and trade various types of digital artwork and collectibles. It is built on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network.
As you might expect, the site, which was created by prominent crypto exchange Binance, intends to connect artists, creators, crypto fans, and avid collectors to make and trade NFTs.
Binance NFT Marketplace now has over 2.5 million NFTs available for trading on its platform. Interestingly, the marketplace offers the industry’s lowest transaction costs, with 1 percent payable on all NFT sales, which is one of the benefits of being owned by the world’s largest crypto exchanger.
Furthermore, the marketplace provides various premium and exclusive NFTs developed by famous artists and significant businesses, as well as surprise box offerings including rare NFTs.
8. NBA Top Shot
NBA Top Shot is an NFT marketplace that allows gamers and NBA fans all around the world to collect, retain, and exchange digital cards representing major short video basketball highlights known as “moments.”
These limited-edition tokens include movies and statistics portraying a rare moment, and users can obtain extremely rare tokens by completing specific sets of tokens depicting related moments.
The marketplace is based on the Flow blockchain and has seen some incredible sales since its start earlier this year. Some NBA Top Shot tokens have sold for several hundred thousand dollars. The platform charges a 5% transaction fee for each NFT highlight sold.
Lebron James highlights are the top three NBA Top Shot tokens on the site, selling for $230,023, $210,000, and $208,000, respectively.
9. Decentraland
Decentraland, which made its debut in 2020, is an NFT platform for the play-to-earn virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain. It grants NFT artists and creators full ownership of their works.
On Decentraland, users can purchase a variety of digital treasures such as land parcels, in-game clothing, and estates. All of these assets are purchased using MANA, the platform’s native token.
Several major NFT sales have occurred on the platform, including a single virtual land on Decentraland that was sold for $2.4 million earlier in November 2021.
10. Stashh
If you value privacy, you’ll appreciate our NFT marketplace. Stashh takes pride in being the first marketplace for Secret NFTs. This means that you can mint, purchase, and sell private NFTs on the platform.
Stashh enables NFT artists to earn and protect their intellectual property while offering collectors and consumers complete freedom over how they buy, sell, use, and display their digital treasures.
This is feasible because Stashh is powered by Secret Network, a layer1 blockchain network focused on privacy built with the Cosmos SDK.
The marketplace covers a variety of Secret NFT categories, including gaming, art, sports, and NSFW. Annons, MetaRats, and Redacted Club were among the most popular collections by trade volume on the platform at the time of authoring.
Stashh levies a 2.75% fee on the sale price, which is withdrawn automatically when the transaction is finished.
Noteworthy Mention
It’s also worth noting that LooksRare, a new platform with its own governance token that was airdropped to OpenSea users, has recently surfaced (LOOKS). It was a full-fledged vampire attack on OpenSea, similar to how SushiSwap targeted Uniswap customers in 2020.
While being one of the more popular platforms, it is also crucial to remember that many reports have surfaced indicating that most of the volume is the product of wash-trading in order to boost the incentives that users receive for staking LOOKS.
Conclusion
You cannot invest in non-fungible tokens unless you use an NFT trading platform. The NFT markets featured in this book are among the best in the market, but we expect additional platforms to emerge in the future as the industry expands.
