In October of 2021, popular crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of a peer-to-peer marketplace for minting, buying and discovering NFTs along with an invite to join a waitlist that reached 2.5M.
On April 20, 2022, Coinbase launched the marketplace in beta. It was originally only open to users that registered on the waitlist, but as of May 2022, anyone can now buy and sell NFTs on the platform.
Coinbase cofounder Brian Armstrong told the media that he expects Coinbase NFT to rival its current cryptocurrency business. With more than 50 million users already trading more than $300 billion each quarter on Coinbase’s existing ecosystem, the NFT marketplace is likely to gain traction.
Our take on the Coinbase NFT marketplace
The Coinbase NFT marketplace was highly anticipated. There were millions of users on the waitlist, and at first, only a few beta testers selected from the waitlist were able to use the platform. Now, anyone can use the marketplace as of May 2022.
We appreciate the slow release and advertisement of 0% trading fees, and the lack of gas fees during this soft launch.
You read that right — for a limited time, the platform has no gas or marketplace fees. When fees are implemented, Coinbase states it wants to keep fees in the single digits. A Coinbase blog post from April states, “We’ll eventually add fees, which will be in-line with Web3 industry standards, and we’ll provide notice before anything changes.”
There’s also a curated feed. On the main page of the marketplace, you can select Discover your feed, which functions much like other social media sites, displaying NFT listings and collections based on interests and purchase history.
It’s a neat feature, but we’ll see if it catches on — many crypto applications rely on social media platforms like Discord and Twitter. But users may not want to follow another feed.
About Coinbase NFT
You don’t need to create a Coinbase account to use the NFT marketplace; simply connect a Web3 wallet and you’re all set.
Other features on the Coinbase NFT marketplace include:
- Social features. Create a profile and curate it with NFTs, follow other users, have conversations, post comments directly on NFTs and even upvote or downvote comments. Some famous NFT influencers and creators to follow on the platform include Gary Vaynerchuk, Dillon Francis, Brian Armstrong and Paris Hilton.
- Creator control. Coinbase promises creative control to creators through decentralized contracts, with a more simple minting process than competitors.
Since this is still a soft launch, only preapproved creators are able to mint on the platform.
Coinbase NFT is supported by the Coinbase exchange — a veteran and a behemoth of an exchange. The exchange launched in 2012 and currently lists well over 100 different cryptocurrencies. Coinbase’s exchange is also the first crypto exchange to go public and publicly traded via NASDAQ under ticker COIN.
Coinbase NFT blockchain and currency
Coinbase NFT is currently supporting NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, and accepting ETH payments. Coinbase plans to add support for other blockchains in the future.
Right now, ETH payments and any self-custody wallets are supported. Coinbase NFT currently supports the crypto wallets: Coinbase Wallet, MetaMask and WalletConnect.
How to buy NFTs on Coinbase NFT
On Coinbase’s marketplace, follow these steps to buy an NFT:
- Get an ETH wallet. To buy NFTs on the marketplace, you need an ETH-compatible crypto wallet. Coinbase supports ETH wallets such as MetaMask.
- Buy or deposit ETH. Coinbase’s marketplace requires ETH payments, so you’ll need to either buy or deposit ETH into your wallet. Buy ETH on multiple exchanges, including Coinbase’s exchange, Gemini and Crypto.com.
- Browse listings. With a readied wallet, browse the NFT listings. If you find something you like, choose it.
- Buy the NFT. If you’re ok with the price of the NFT, select Buy Now. If you haven’t already, you’ll need to connect your ETH wallet at this point to move forward with the purchase. There are no auctions during the beta launch.
For now, there are no gas fees or marketplace fees when buying NFTs on Coinbase NFT — however this isn’t permanent. When trading and gas fees are implemented, Coinbase wants to keep them small.
Creators and collections on the marketplace
Some notable creators and collections available on the marketplace include:
- Azuki.
- Bored Ape Yacht Club.
- Crypto Coven.
- CryptoPunks.
- DeadFellaz.
- Lofi Originals.
- NotOkayBears.
- Otherdeed.
- Pixelmon.
- World of Women.
- Women and Weapons.
Coinbase’s marketplace is mixed — but you can only filter search results by collection, not by category.
How to sell NFTs on Coinbase NFT
Currently, there are no listing fees on Coinbase NFT. During the soft launch, you can only list NFTs for a fixed price and auctions will be released in the future, according to Coinbase.
Here’s how to sell an NFT on Coinbase NFT:
- Go to your profile. With your wallet connected and the NFT in your profile, find the NFT you want to list for sale and select it.
- List for sale. With the NFT selected, hit List for sale and enter the amount you want to sell the NFT, in ETH. Fill out the other fields required, such as description or title if necessary.
- Confirm. With the price and right NFT selected, confirm the listing. At this time, there’s no listing fees during the beta launch.
List an NFT that you already own or one that you’ve purchased at another NFT marketplace.
Coinbase NFT fees
As mentioned, there are no marketplace fees or gas fees at the time of writing. However, this is temporary during the beta launch.
Coinbase NFT drops
We couldn’t find a landing page outlining upcoming or past drops, but seeing as Coinbase NFT is still in beta, this isn’t surprising. And there isn’t an auction sale method yet, either, which is how NFT drops are often sold in an attempt to reach a “true” market value.
We may see exclusive Coinbase NFT drops in the future once the marketplace is out of beta and auctions are fleshed out.
How the Coinbase NFT app works
Coinbase has a mobile app for both Android and Apple devices. On Google Play, the app has nearly 700,000 reviews and sports a 4-star rating. On Apple, the Coinbase app has an even more impressive review history, with over 1.6 million reviews and a 4.7 star-rating — many crypto applications are fraught with negative reviews and poor customer service, but Coinbase’s app is known for user-ease and education materials.
However, as impressive as all that is, you can’t buy or sell NFTs on the Coinbase app quite yet. Using the Coinbase wallet app, though, lets you display and store your digital assets.
Coinbase NFT marketplace’s unique features
Aside from the lack of marketplace and gas fees, which are temporary, the feature that sets Coinbase’s marketplace apart is the social aspect.
Follow crypto influencers, NFT artists and other users on the NFT marketplace, further curating your personal feed.
Final Thought
Coinbase NFT is still very new — it’s not even fully launched yet.
Some features aren’t up and running, such as selling NFTs through auctions. And there are no marketplace or gas fees during this soft launch, so that’s nice.
Additionally, not needing to set up another account to use the marketplace is great — we all have so many individual accounts to keep track of already. The social features look promising, but only time will tell if this feature is something users actually want.
