The popularity of Non-Fungible Tokens has skyrocketed recently, but do you know how to buy them and the best marketplace to get NFTs?

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are undoubtedly the most discussed crypto asset at the moment. NFTs are non-fungible assets that cannot be reproduced or changed. They can be associated with almost anything really, from video games, animations, memes, virtual fashion, digital photos, artworks, videos, songs, and more. NFTs have become significantly popular because they are one of a kind, so they're considered scarce and highly valuable. Some people compare it to purchasing an autographed item.

You can buy your Non-Fungible Tokens on these top 10 marketplaces:

  1. OpenSea
  2. Mintable
  3. Rarible
  4. SuperRare
  5. Foundation
  6. NBA Top Shot
  7. Axie Infinity Marketplace
  8. Makersplace
  9. Nifty Gateway
  10. Sorare

For further explanations about each marketplace, please read the following article.

NFT Marketplace

In order to make NFT purchases, you just need a crypto wallet to store your crypto coins. Some of the widely popular wallets are Binance, Coinbase, Metamast, etc. You can connect them to the marketplace where you plan to buy the NFTs, which we will get into in a bit. In most cases, NFTs are sold through an auction system where you bid for the item, but some marketplaces now also offer fixed prices for NFTs.

 

Best Marketplaces to Buy NFTs

You need to marketplaces to purchase or sell NFTs carefully because there have been multiple reports of scams and frauds surrounding NFT transactions. Not only that, other factors need to be considered, such as fees and what type of NFTs that you're interested in. To help you get started, here we have compiled 10 of the best marketplaces to buy NFTs.

 

1. OpenSea

As a place to buy NFT, OpenSea is definitely a great way to start. OpenSea was founded by software developers Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah in 2017. It is currently the largest place to get NFT in existence. At the time of writing, OpenSea has a total trading volume of more than $4 billion and has no less than 300,000 users. It has all sorts of digital assets available on the platform and it's completely free to sign up. In order to sign up, you just need to connect your crypto wallet. Some of the supporting wallets are MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Bitski, and Formatic.

Once your wallet is connected, you can browse through the collections and find the one you fancy, before making an offer and see if it's accepted. The offer will be stored on your profile. To filter your search, you can use the stats tab that ranks sellers by volume, average sale prices, and the number of assets sold. The platform supports more than 150 payment tokens, so you can directly buy fixed-price NFTs from sellers or bid on an auction.

OpenSea also makes it super easy for artists and creators to upload their own NFTs on the platform. Simply click the "Create" tab, connect your wallet as a creator, and you are ready to upload your NFT.

 

2. Mintable

Mintable is a widely known NFT marketplace that is backed by Marc Benioff-owned Time Ventures and billionaire investor Mark Cuban. The platform is built on Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchains and is integrated with the crypto wallet provider MetaMask. Similar to OpenSea, in order to make a purchase, set up your profile and connect your wallet to the Mintable before either putting a bid or directly buying an NFT.

Mintable

In Mintable, the winners of the auctions will be notified by email. Apart from buying, you can also easily create your own NFTs (also known as "minting") and sell them in this marketplace.

 

3. Rarible

Rarible is a Wilmington-based NFT marketplace where users can mint, buy and sell digital collectibles including digital art, photography, GIFs, animations, and so on. At first glance, the interface might look similar to Spotify since there are stacks of columns showing top sellers, hot collections, featured items, and live auctions.

Interestingly, Rarible has a mission to become a decentralized organization, so it will now use the RARI token on the Ethereum blockchain as a form of governance. The token allows most active buyers and sellers to participate and vote on platform changes, upgrades, and decisions.

 

4. SuperRare

SuperRare is another peer-to-peer marketplace for digital creators. You can either buy or sell NFTs on this platform by using the Ethereum network. The layout is somewhat similar to Instagram's square photos, except the "photos" here showcase the art, list prices, sale prices, and timed auctions. You can also find many interesting features such as an active social feed, a calendar of upcoming exhibitions, and a sophisticated editorial page that would make you feel like reading an online magazine.

In SuperRare, all transactions are made using Ether, but recently, it released a token of the same name based on the Ethereum blockchain. The token will be used to find and curate new talent for the marketplace.

 

5. Foundation

Foundation is a popular NFT marketplace that was launched in February 2021. Although it is still quite new, Foundation has successfully hosted some of the most iconic NFT sales, such as the viral internet meme, Nyan Cat, and several other popular works by Aphex Twin and Edward Snowden.

In this app, you'll find that the design is pretty simple. The NFTs are arranged in a grid of cards, with trending auctions located at the top of the page followed by featured artists. To start making purchases, you can simply set up and connect your crypto wallet to the marketplace and make sure it's funded with Ethereum.

 

6. NBA Top Shot

NBA Top Shot is an NBA-licensed game launched by Dapper Labs as a beta back in early 2020. When it comes to NFT, NBA Top Shot offers collectible moments such as video clips and play highlights as well as the art of the world's premier basketball leagues. The collectibles are limited-edition with prices ranging from $9-230. To make it more interesting, users can display their collections, follow their favorite teams, and trade assets with other collectors on the company's own blockchain called Flow.

NBA Top Shot

What makes NBA Top Shot so popular is that the game creators have made it really simple for mainstream users to get started. You can sign up simply by linking your Google account to Dapper, then you will be asked to enter your phone number for SMS authentication.

 

7. Axie Infinity Marketplace

Axie marketplace is the online shop for an NFT-powered video game called Axie Infinity. Unlike other NFTs that only serve as collectibles, the NFT in Axie Infinity actually has a purpose in the game. In a nutshell, the game is similar to Pokemon, where players collect virtual pets (Axies) and train them to battle with other players. The characters and land plots are encrypted as NFTs, so you can buy, trade, or sell these items on the marketplace.

Before starting the game, you should purchase at least three Axies from the marketplace, which cost around several hundred dollars. But in order to buy the items, you need to use the game's tokens called Axie Shards, which are built on the Ethereum blockchain. This in-game token can be bought on various other marketplaces and some crypto exchanges such as Coinbase Global.

 

8. MakersPlace

MakersPlace is another NFT marketplace that offers numerous exclusive collections of digital artwork from many notable talented creators. In February 2021, the site went down because the iconic artist Beeple offered a collection of NFTs for $1 a pop. MakersPlace also hosted many NFT created by musicians, namely T-Pain, Shakira, and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello.

As a buyer, signing up in MakersPlace is very easy; you only need to use your Google or Facebook account. In the beginning, you will be required to five artists to follow and you can start buying either through digital auctions or fixed price sales, using Ether or credit card. As a creator, you will have to request an invitation to join the platform by filling out an online registration form.

 

9. Nifty Gateway

Nifty Gateway is an NFT marketplace that's backed up by a popular crypto exchange Gemini. The platform has hosted many popular works from notable artists, celebrities, and brands like Beeple, Grimes, Eminem, Forbes, Cam Hicks, and more. The NFTs or Nifties are built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Nifty Gateway offers a heavily curated ion of NFTs, which are structured around "drops". It means that the collections are made available only for a limited time (usually three-week increments). Once the drop ends or the artwork sells out, the NFT can be resold through the site's peer-to-peer marketplace.

 

10. Sorare

Similar to NBA Top Shot, Sorare is focused on sports collectibles. It is basically a crypto-based soccer league where users can collect player cards as NFTs and use them in online championships. Sorare is located in Paris and built on the Ethereum blockchain, so all transactions can only be done on the Ethereum network. The site has at least 180 licensed clubs, including the teams from Major League Soccer. Having these exclusive NFT cards will increase the probability of winning the competition.

 

The Bottom Line

NFT marketplaces are where you should begin if you're planning to invest in digital assets and collectibles. But as you can see, there are so many options out there and all seem to offer similar features with only slight differences here and there. For this reason, you can simply pick based on the types of NFT you're after and the crypto you're familiar with for transactions. The NBA Top Shot, for example, is suitable for those interested in sports, whereas MakersPlace is perhaps more attractive to digital art enthusiasts.

One thing to note is that before you buy any NFTs, make sure to understand that the industry is still relatively new and highly speculative. So if you want to use NFT as a long-term investment, it's actually very risky, at least for now. The truth is that some NFTs might rocket higher in value in the future, but it is not 100% guaranteed. The value of digital arts and collectibles is determined by factors such as uniqueness and the creator's reputation, so it's unpredictable and can change over time. That is why, before you make a purchase, always do research and weigh in the potential benefits and risks wisely.

 

Did you know? The term "token" is often used interchangeably with "coin" in cryptocurrency, but they don't always mean the same. How so? Find out in Crypto Coin vs Token: Which One is Better?