The Ethereum network has been known for its extremely high fees. But, Coinbase stated that it will not charge any fee for a limited duration. Months after it confirmed its plans to launch a nonfungible token marketplace, American digital currency trading exchange, Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) has now released the Beta version of the platform for a chosen number of users.
When it made its announcement in October 2021, it also opened a waitlist for prospective users to register. Reports emerged that the marketplace recorded over 1.1 million sign-ups in the past year. The chosen users for the Beta platform are those on the waitlist, and the selection process will factor in the position of the waitlist applicants.
Notably, the Coinbase NFT marketplace will just support the Ethereum-based collections and as highlighted by the trading company. Some of the collections that are now hosted on the marketplace include Doodles, Cool Cats, the World of Women (WoW), Adam Bomb Squad, Azuki, and many others.
After some time, the exchange aims to add other blockchain protocols in addition to the Ethereum it now supports as confirmed by NFT product lead at Coinbase NFT, Alex Plutzer, in a press conference. He commented:
“We’ll cycle these [collections] out over time to help introduce people to awesome NFTs on the platform, especially for people who aren’t as familiar with NFTs.”
The Ethereum network is famous for its excessively high gas fees. But, Coinbase stated that it will not charge any fees for a specified time after launch. It stated that when the fees get introduced, they will be at a low one-digit rate. Moreover, the publicly-traded company stated that it has already partnered with the 0x Protocol to mitigate any arising gas fees.
In its bid to make the new NFT marketplace an attractive hub for everyone, Coinbase stated that it will also integrate more means of making payments like the fiat-on-ramp strategy according to the exchange’s VP of Product, Sanchan Saxena.
Coinbase NFT Marketplace And The Current Competition
This latest move by Coinbase to unveil its NFT marketplace is a direct effort to compete with other digital currency trading firms with related offerings and also with the prominent players in this space including LookRare, Rarible, and OpenSea.
Coinbase insisted that it plans to include a community-building feature in its NFT marketplace as a different product from what its competitors currently advertise. Saxena said at the press briefing:
“We’re building a marketplace where you can buy and sell NFTs, of course, but more importantly, you can engage. You can engage with the creator. You can engage with the collector. And you can engage with fellow collectors from a community around that NFT. This is an important piece of our strategy.”
The NFT trading space is somehow a complex area and Coinbase aims to introduce simplicity into it as its way of integrating all classes of users including the ones that are barely familiar with the wider crypto industry terrain.
