Coinbase’s nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace has entered beta testing, more than six months after the company revealed plans to establish a waitlist for the platform.
According to a blog post published on Wednesday, Coinbase NFT beta testers will be able to create online accounts as well as buy and sell NFTs.
NFT marketplace and social media platform in one
In a press conference on Tuesday, Coinbase vice president of product and ecosystem Sanchan Saxena revealed that the marketplace’s architecture would be a hybrid of a social media platform and other NFT markets such as OpeaSea.
“While it is true that buying and selling NFTs is a big part of the ecosystem today, what we have learned by talking to many customers and creators is that there is more to it than just buying and selling,” Saxena said. “There is the community aspect of it.”
According to Saxena, the platform would provide opportunities for users and creators to interact. Coinbase NFT will allow users to follow the profiles of creators and others, comment on artwork, and monitor a tailored feed to find new NFTs based on interaction and purchases, just like many other social networking sites.
In terms of comment moderation, Saxena stated that the platform will work on the principle that “the law of the land” will be decided by users and lawmakers. The Coinbase executive said the company’s staff is “not in the business of judging what’s right, what’s wrong, as long as it’s legal.”
Coinbase says no transaction fees for a limited time
While the marketplace is still in beta, Coinbase stated that there will be free transaction costs for a limited time, and the exchange hoped to minimise gas fees for Ether (ETH) transactions by working with 0x Labs. Users have the option of using their own self-custody wallets or the Coinbase Wallet.
According to Coinbase, the exchange planned to open access to the NFT marketplace based on users’ position on the waitlist, with the platform becoming available to everyone over the age of 18 “in the coming weeks.” Coinbase also stated that it planned to “decentralise more features” such as user comments in the future.