Since non-fungible tokens (NFTs) came into the limelight, the number of NFT collections has grown tremendously. But it’s not just the collections that are popping up like mushrooms, the NFT marketplaces are also popping up everywhere. After all, the growing amount of NFTs must be able to be traded somewhere, and that is possible on a dedicated marketplace.
Previously, NFTs were traded mainly through decentralized applications (dApps). There are a lot of different blockchains on the crypto market, such as Ethereum, Solana and Fantom. Several marketplaces were built on each blockchain, intended for the NFTs on the respective blockchain.
Today, more and more centralized platforms are also facilitating token trading. Coinbase is one of the crypto exchanges that has established its own NFT marketplace. With millions of users worldwide, Coinbase is the perfect exchange to offer this service, and if possible accelerate adoption.
However, Coinbase is not the first centralized exchange to have its own NFT marketplace. Other major exchanges, such as Binance and FTX, also have their own NFT platform. These marketplaces are already fully operational, while the Coinbase NFT marketplace is currently (July 2022) still in beta.
What is Coinbase? #
Coinbase is an American crypto exchange, which was found very early in the crypto market. In 2011, the company was conceived and in 2012 the official establishment took place. In the early years, Coinbase mainly focused on buying and selling cryptocurrencies. The platform offered a handful of cryptocurrencies, including, of course, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. This is a stark contrast to today, where Coinbase’s range consists of more than 100 different coins and NFTs have also been added.
Ultimately, Coinbase has grown into one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, serving more than 70 million verified users today (July 2022). These 70 million users come from over 100 different countries! In short, the platform is a great springboard for the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Not only is the amount of users growing, but Coinbase’s platform is also growing. In addition to trading cryptocurrencies and NFTs, you can now take advantage of many more services on Coinbase. For example, the platform offers staking for a number of altcoins, you can borrow via the platform and you can also do your daily shopping with the Coinbase Card.
Is it possible to buy NFTs through Coinbase? #
Today it is certainly possible to buy NFTs through Coinbase! Although the marketplace was launched quite recently and is still in beta, you can already use the platform. You can easily buy and sell NFTs on the marketplace. The advantage of Coinbase is that the marketplace is very similar to that of OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace in recent years. The payment method on the Coinbase marketplace is also the same as with OpenSea; you can trade NFTs by trading with ETH, the token of Ethereum.
If you want to buy an NFT on Coinbase’s NFT marketplace, you will first need to connect a crypto wallet to the marketplace. In addition, wallet alone is of no use, after all, you will also need crypto to be able to buy an NFT. That is why ETH in your crypto wallet is also very important. At the moment you can’t pay with Wrapped ETH (wETH), but Coinbase has indicated that this will be possible in the future. In addition, Coinbase has announced that more cryptocurrencies and blockchains will be supported in the future.
Coinbase NFT Marketplace Overview #
Coinbase’s NFT marketplace is very well-arranged, which is very useful for users. Especially when you first enter the marketplace, it can be nice if you can see at a glance where you need to go. On the homepage of the NFT marketplace you can discover the different buttons at the top. When you click on the Discover, Shop, Trending or Drops button, you will be taken to another page, which is of course related to the title in question. What can you discover in these sections of the marketplace? We’ll walk you through it below!
Discover #
You can discover all kinds of things in the Discover section of the marketplace. The name says it all, of course, and nothing could be further from the truth. Not only do you find different NFTs and NFT collections here, but you can also discover other accounts here. You can scroll this page and discover different NFTs, or click on the menus to the right.
For example, here you can click on ‘Accounts to follow’, where you can find a huge list of accounts that are followed by many people. You can also search for specific people in the search bar. For example, are you curious about what Coinbase CEO Ben Armstrong has in his wallet? The Discover section is a perfect place to see what other NFT investors have in their wallets!
Shop #
In addition, you can go to the Shop section for what it’s all about. After all, an NFT marketplace is intended to trade NFTs. You can bid on NFTs via the Shop. On the left side of the Shop you have the option to use different filters. For example, you can choose the minimum and maximum amount you want to spend, and also view the prices in dollars or in ETH.
Trending #
In the Trending section you can see which NFT collections are popular with investors and traders. Here you can find various data such as trading volume, number of owners and amount of NFTs within the collection. The first two data may differ, so you can search this section by 1 day, 7 days, 30 days or the complete timeline of collections. An ideal tool if you want to quickly see which NFTs are in demand!
Drops #
In this section of the marketplace you can discover upcoming NFT collections. Hereby the name, price and date of the mint is mentioned and by clicking on the image of a collection you can find more information. Other accounts can also leave comments, which entails a social aspect. Drops allow you to view both upcoming and recently released NFT
collections.
How do you invest in NFTs on Coinbase? #
To get started investing in NFTs on Coinbase, you will first have to go through a number of steps. To be well prepared, it is important that you have a suitable crypto wallet, with which you can connect to the Coinbase marketplace. For example, the MetaMask wallet is often used, a software wallet that is suitable for Coinbase and the NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.
In addition to the right wallet, it is also important that the wallet contains coins. After all, without coins it will be difficult to invest in NFTs. That is why it is important that you first buy ETH and send it to your wallet. Do not only take into account the price of the NFT, but also the gas fees. In order to be able to perform a transaction on the blockchain, transaction costs are charged. These costs are called gas fees, and are quite expensive on the Ethereum blockchain.
Trading NFTs on Coinbase can be summarized briefly with the following steps:
- Make sure you have a suitable wallet with enough ETH available
- Connect your wallet to the Coinbase NFT marketplace
- Bid, buy and sell NFTs
How do you buy an NFT on Coinbase? #
The steps described above give a rough idea of how to start trading NFTs, but to really discover how that marketplace works, let’s go into this in more detail. When you have found an interesting NFT and you have decided to buy it, you can click on the relevant NFT in the overview.
You will then be taken to the page where you can find more information about the NFT. If you are lucky there will be a button with ‘Buy Now’ on it. This is not self-evident, however, as this button is only visible for NFTs that are for sale. Is this button not present? Then the NFT is not for sale.
Can you store NFTs in your Coinbase wallet? #
When you get an NFT through Coinbase’s NFT marketplace, it goes straight to the wallet you’ve connected to the platform. So the NFT does not go to Coinbase first, but from the moment you buy the NFT you have full control over your property. The NFT is a token on the blockchain and the wallet and private keys are yours. We often warn that you should not leave cryptocurrencies on the exchange, and this also applies to NFTs. However, NFTs automatically go to your wallet, so this avoids this problem.
You can use the Coinbase wallet for Coinbase’s NFT marketplace. It would, of course, be most remarkable if this were not the case. The ERC-721 tokens are suitable for both the NFT marketplace and the Coinbase wallet. These tokens contain a digital file, to which the relevant token links. As you can discover in the Coinbase marketplace, this is often an image, but of course it can also be a video, certificate of ownership of a physical object or a domain name.
How do I see my NFT on Coinbase wallet? #
Have you just bought an NFT and want to admire it in your wallet? Usually you can admire the NFT very quickly in your wallet. This applies to the Coinbase wallet, but also to other wallets that are suitable. However, there are also cases where the NFT is not immediately visible in your wallet. So is this a reason to panic? The fact that an NFT is not yet visible in your wallet does not have to be a problem, or it can be an easily solvable problem.
There are three problems that often occur in this case, namely:
- The network of the NFT is not supported
- The format of the NFT is not supported
- The data has yet to be synchronized
If non-visible NFTs are not yet visible in your wallet, this may be because the data has not yet been synchronized. In this case, it is wise to wait a while and check again at a later time. There is a good chance that the data must be processed and that you can then see the NFT in your wallet. If the network or format of an NFT is not supported, you may have to import your Coinbase wallet into another crypto wallet that does support the NFT.
Conclusión #
Because Coinbase is one of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide, with tens of millions of users, the arrival of the Coinbase NFT marketplace is a big step. Many novice investors go to an exchange where they know the name or where acquaintances around them have an account.
Coinbase is such a platform, just like Binance, for example. Both platforms offer different services to their users. This makes these central exchanges multifunctional. That is why it is interesting to see what this means for OpenSea, for example.
The largest NFT marketplace of the moment does not have a large assortment of cryptocurrencies, or other services, so it may just be that the exchanges are taking some of the users away from OpenSea.
