A Brief Intro to NFT Marketplaces

Hi! I’m Reart and I mentioned Blockchain Gaming & NFTs in my previous article. But today I am going to describe NFTs Marketplaces which exist on the blockchain.

What are NFT Marketplaces?

NFT Marketplaces are platforms designed to facilitate the trade of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). What does that mean? Well, an asset like property, shares in a company, or anything else is non-fungible if it's unique. That means you can't create two of them with the same value, or one with a different value. For example, I can't create two cars worth $50 each by merging my car into it - one would be worth $100 and the other would be worth $100. On the other hand, if I own a painting of my dog, each one I create is worth $50 - they can be of the same value.

This means that non-fungible assets can be traded on NFT marketplaces. For example, if you want to trade your painting of your dog, you'd list it for sale on an NFT marketplace. When someone does buy it, it cannot be traded again - the token representing the painting cannot be sold twice. In this way, their value is guaranteed against copying and duplication.

This is in contrast to global marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, where multiple copies can be sold.

NFTs On Different Blockchains

NFT's are generally built or minted on the Ethereum blockchain. But since a few months ago, NFTs have been being minted on different blockchains. Like you can mint NFTs on Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, JumpNet (Enjin) & many more to come. Sometimes the NFTs are also called assets and sometimes Sub-assets.

Sub-assets are created by merging (or 'transmuting') an existing NFT into a new one. For example, if you wanted to create a new piece of artwork with the same characteristics as your old painting, you'd merge 'the origin' of your old painting into the new one, creating a new painting token which represents the second one (which can't be traded again!). The terminology around this generation varies - for example some use the word "mint" to refer to creating something out of nothing - but all are referring to the same principles.

Since NFT tokens are unique, they can be used as digital assets in the same way as physical artifacts. For example, a video game could have a token for a character that exists within the game and can be bought with real money to use within it. They're then stored on the blockchain just like any other asset.

Here are some marketplaces lyou can check out if you are a big fan of NFTs & Collectibles:

• Featured.Market By Binance
• OpenSea.io
• Dappradar
• BakerySwap
• Mintable
• Ephimera
• Rarible & Many more you can find on the Internet.

So which NFT Marketplace should I choose?

When it comes to NFT marketplaces, there's no one-size-fits-all. Perhaps there's a platform with a novel approach that you appreciate or you're working with an underrepresented medium with a thriving community on a specific marketplace.

If you only plan on minting a few highly specialized pieces, it might benefit you to work with a smaller curated boutique agency. If you're planning to do high volume NFT drops, you might want to consider a large platform with lazy minting or Polygon (MATIC) support like OpenSea to save on gas.

And no, you don't have to pick just one marketplace. Mix and match, experiment. Again—these are new waters, so explore freely. 😊

DISCLAIMER: Nothing mentioned above constitutes professional investment advice. Please do your own research before you invest your hard earned money.

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