Coinbase wants a piece of the non-fungible action. The crypto exchange announced plans to launch a marketplace which allows users to mint, collect, and trade NFTs. Coinbase’s move comes just one day after rival exchange FTX.US launched its Solana-based digital collectibles. 🔥
NFTs are digital assets linked to particular assets like digital art, videos, video games, and even physical assets like real estate. They aren’t fungible, meaning you can’t exchange one NFT for another like you can with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Unlike cryptocurrencies, NFTs are traded on marketplaces like OpenSea — not on crypto exchanges.
Coinbase’s NFT marketplace would allow its users to buy and sell Ethereum-based NFTs, the company said. The platform is expected to launch by the end of this year, according to media reports. 👏
Coinbase is modeling its offering after OpenSea (the largest NFT marketplace ), which has seen remarkable growth in past months, including a transaction volume of $3.4 billion in August alone. Will Coinbase NFT become the “OpenSea killer?” ⚔️
Coinbase’s entry into the NFT world could boost its business to a new level, although it’s somewhat late to the party. Rival crypto exchanges like Binance and FTX.US have been thriving in the NFT craze for months. With that being said, Coinbase’s plan tells us two things: that NFTs are far from dead and that the battle of the blockchain networks is heating up. 🌶️ 🔥