April 21, 2020
By Sharan Kaur Phillora
Coinbase announced on Wednesday that its NFT marketplace is now in beta powered by 0x. and accessible to “a small set of beta testers who’ll be invited based on their position” on its waitlist. The company is looking to take on established players in the space by adding social features, like a comment system (with upvotes and downvotes) and an algorithmic feed.
Here’s what we know:
Six months ago, Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S. by volume, announced that it was launching an NFT marketplace, but provided few details as to when it would actually arrive. Fast-forward to today: “Coinbase NFT” launched its beta mode with collections of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.
During the beta launch, Coinbase is curating and showcasing a number of NFT collections like Doodles, World of Women and Azuki. Any Ethereum-based collection will be accessible on Coinbase NFT, with “more [blockchains] available soon,” Alex Plutzer, NFT product lead at Coinbase NFT, said during 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.”
There will also be no transaction fees on NFTs on its marketplace “for a limited time.” Over time, the fee will increase, but will be a “low single-digit fee,” Sanchan Saxena, vice president of product at Coinbase, said during the meeting. Users can either use a Coinbase wallet or any self-custody wallet they own to trade NFTs on the platform.
Additionally, with 0x Protocol v4 being up to 54% more gas efficient, Coinbase marketplace users will enjoy low trading costs. Beyond just letting users buy and sell NFTs, Coinbase also wants its marketplace to be a place where communities can engage with one another.
0x Protocol is the backbone for decentralized exchange and the trusted open-source standard for swapping NFTs across many blockchains. Building on 0x significantly reduces the effort required by Web3 developers and NFT marketplaces to deliver a seamless multi-chain experience to their users, giving them more time to focus on their products.
Currently, the marketplace only supports the Ethereum blockchain, and beta users log in using a wallet like the one Coinbase offers or MetaMask. While the company has said that Coinbase NFT will support Mastercard in the future, prices are currently only listed in ETH.
About the author
Sharan Kaur Phillora’s thirst for knowledge has led her to study many different subjects, including NFTs and Blockchain technology – two emerging technologies that will change how we interact with each other in the future. When she isn’t exploring a new idea or concept, she enjoys reading literary masterpieces.
