On March 14, the official Coinbase NFT account on Twitter announced that the Coinbase platform will release an NFT marketplace “soon”. According to the account, its crew had met with more than 100 content providers to prepare for the launch of the platform.
“Wen Coinbase NFT? Soon.
We recently met with 100+ creators and we’re continuing to build the product based on community feedback. We appreciate your patience and can’t wait to show you what we’re cooking up.”
Nobody knows what else they’re planning to do except that this platform might become the next big competition to OpenSea – currently the most sought-after NFT marketplace. According to Coinbase, the new “social function” will distinguish it from competition. The firm plans to boost interaction between artists and consumers through this new feature, allowing them to form a community of creators that will grow rapidly.
According to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, the NFT market may eventually surpass that of cryptocurrencies, so they are in the process of building a marketplace with a more immersive experience, such as that offered by social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook.
Just 5 months after it was announced, Coinbase NFT has already seen more than 2.5 million signups from people on the waiting list to use the platform.
A New Challenger for OpenSea
Based on the latest DappRadar statistics, OpenSea’s on-chain activity of tracked smart contracts reduced to more than 15%. Within that reduction are the following: number of active users, transactions, and overall volume.
The recent decline of the NFT hype also paved the cause for OpenSea’s lesser activity. According to Google, the terms “nfts” and “metaverse” saw a massive downtrend as an interest.
There are many theories as to why the internet has been caring less about NFTs such as the remaining supplies of NFTs from popular places like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks becoming more expensive, the consecutive negative feedbacks in the gaming community and the overall confusion as to how the technology works.
Even so, the select few who own NFTs still cherish their prized assets despite the backlash from the masses.
Coinbase as an NFT Marketplace
The launch of the Coinbase NFT marketplace on October 12, 2021 generated tremendous excitement in the community as the company’s support by the top exchange in the United States put it in direct rivalry with other giants such as OpenSea, Rarable, NBA Top Shot Marketplace, Binance NFT, and Crypto.com.
Another point to consider is that Coinbase has been positioning itself as a market leader in the cryptocurrency industry for years by complying with the US government regarding all legal obligations giving it a distinct competitive advantage.
While Coinbase did not release a specific date yet, this could attract a new batch of buyers and artists on top of the existing digital creators and potential business collaborators.
Additionally, Coinbase is already a household name for cryptocurrency. With this much trust from its users, the NFT marketplace may find a new home for those interested in these tokens.
Despite the negative feedback from the internet regarding NFTs, the marketplaces are selling these digital artists like pancakes for huge profits.
Difference Between Cryptocurrencies and NFTs
There are a few key differences between cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens.
Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual tokens that use cryptography to secure their transactions and to control the creation of new units. NFTs, on the other hand, are tokens that represent unique assets. Each one is different from all others, making them perfect for things like digital art, collectibles, and gaming items.
One of the key advantages of NFTs is that they can be used to represent real-world assets. For example, an NFT could represent a deed to a piece of land. This would allow for fractional ownership and make it easier to transfer ownership of the asset.
NFTs could also be used to represent ownership of a physical object, like a piece of art. This would allow the owner to sell or lease the item without having to physically transfer it.
Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are primarily used as a medium of exchange. They can be used to purchase goods and services, but they are not as well suited for representing ownership of assets. This is because cryptocurrencies are not unique.
There are often many different units of a given cryptocurrency, and they all have the same properties. NFTs, on the other hand, are always unique, which makes them better suited for representing ownership of assets.
Overall, cryptocurrencies and NFTs are two very different types of assets. Cryptocurrencies are primarily used as a medium of exchange, while NFTs are used to represent ownership of unique assets. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to choose the right type of asset for your needs.
