Coinbase and Kraken move forward with NFT market plans
Coinbase hopes to build social community while Kraken offers zero gas fees
As the sell-off in the cryptocurrency markets rages on, digital asset exchanges looking to diversify their income outside of trading fees are turning their attention to another part of the industry: NFTs.
US-based crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken each have their own NFT (non-fungible token) market in the works.
Coinbase’s venture, which it calls a “Web3 social marketplace,” moved into open beta testing on Wednesday, allowing users to create a profile and trade on the platform.
As part of the tests, Coinbase will offer zero transaction fees for a limited time, the exchange said in a blog post. A “web3 industry standard” fee should follow.
Both Coinbase and Kraken face fierce competition from incumbent NFT giant OpenSea, leading to such money-wasting promotions in an effort to gain market share as upstarts.
Kraken has opened a waiting list for its NFT Marketplace, which it hopes to launch later this year.
The exchange said that once an NFT is curated with Kraken, users won’t have to pay gas fees, which fuel transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Gas fees change with supply and demand and have been rising recently as investor interest in digital collectibles grew after a 2021 year-end sale.
The no-fee structure helps you create the collection of your dreams with near-instant transfer speeds and peace of mind that spikes in network activity won’t impact the cost of your purchases and your transactions,” Kraken wrote in a blog post.
The launches come as interest in the NFT space, which had waned, is starting to pick up again. Towards the end of April, weekly NFT trading volumes were up around 30% from March lows, according to data from crypto-analytics firm Nansen.
Leading NFT trading platform OpenSea recorded a new daily trading record this week with over $476 million in Ethereum NFT transactions on Sunday, according to data from Dune.
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Casey Wagner
blockages
Senior Reporter
Casey Wagner is a New York-based business journalist who covers regulation, legislation, digital asset investment firms, market structure, central banks and governments, and CBDCs. Prior to joining Blockworks, she reported on markets at Bloomberg News. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in media studies. Contact Casey via email at [email protected]
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