Crypto Twitter Reacts to Coinbase NFT Announcement

Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, plans to enable users to sell, trade, and mint NFTs. In an announcement, the firm unveiled “Coinbase NFT,” an NFT marketplace that enables users to access the booming NFT market. 

Crypto Twitter is largely bullish on the news, arguing this will further help bring NFTs to the mainstream.

Coinbase: The Third Largest Exchange to Support NFTs

One day after the release of an NFT marketplace from rival exchange FTX.US, the US arm of major crypto exchange FTX, Coinbase has announced its own NFT marketplace. Considering Binance already launched an NFT marketplace back in June, three of the top five crypto exchanges now support NFTs.

In the announcement, Coinbase said:

“Today, we’re announcing Coinbase NFT, a peer-to-peer marketplace that will make minting, purchasing, showcasing, and discovering NFTs easier than ever. Just as Coinbase helped millions of people access Bitcoin for the first time in an easy and trusted way — we want to do the same for the NFTs.”

The company has already opened a waitlist, asking users to join for early access, with the exchange launching before the end of the year.

Notably, Coinbase aims to be creative with its yet-to-be-launched NFT marketplace. The firm claimed that rolling out an NFT should be “as simple as tapping a few buttons,” but it takes time to build user-friendly interfaces. “With an intuitive design built on top of a decentralized marketplace, Coinbase NFT puts the art and artist’s experience at the forefront,” the firm said.

In an interview with Decrypt, a Coinbase spokesperson has reportedly used the term “OpenSea killer” while describing the firm’s plans. This suggests that Coinbase aims to take a run at the NFT market leader, OpenSea, which has processed over $10 billion in volume in the third quarter of 2021 alone.

Nevertheless, Coinbase’s big idea that might give the company an edge over competitors seems to be social engagement. In the announcement, the company pointed out an aspect of Coinbase NFT as a “personal feed,” which will showcase all of a user’s NFTs in one place and help connect like-minded collectors and artists. The company added:

“We’re designing for social engagement. By fostering connections, Coinbase NFT will help creators, collectors, and fans build community. Based on your interests we’ll curate your personal feed. Your profile will showcase all your NFTs in one place, helping you connect with like-minded fans or artists.”

Moreover, Coinbase plans to initially support Ethereum based ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens, and all NFTs will be on-chain. However, the firm has plans for multi-chain support. “We’re excited about layer 2 solutions and other ways to reduce fees and make NFTs more accessible. We plan to incorporate other blockchains in early 2022,” a Coinbase spokesperson said. 

Coinbase Features Works by Prominent NFT Artists

On its NFT waitlist page, Coinbase features a number of NFTs by some prominent artists. One of the featured NFTs is a work by the digital artist Pplpleasr, who had previously sold an animated Uniswap ad for $525k back in March. 

Coinbase also features a work by the electronic dance music artist Justin Blau, a.k.a 3LAU, who has made over $11 million from NFT sales. Other featured artists include Ghxsts, a former animator who left his job to become an NFT artist, Forgottenrunes, and Ponderware.

There was also this reaction from artist @madebymetsa, who claims to have been keeping quiet over the last three months while the platform has been developed by a “secret team”.

Coinbase is also looking for an NFT Partner Success Director. This suggests the company sees NFTs as a long-term component of its brand and is looking to further develop its NFT strategy team.

What Does Crypto Twitter Think?

Following the announcement, several crypto advocates took to Twitter to express their thoughts on the move. Pointing at the fact that Coinbase has over 8.8 million active users, @cointradernik said even if 10% of that user base “get involved with NFTs, that’s more than twice as many users as are currently on Opensea.”

Meanwhile, Twitter user @beaniemaxi, who has a CryptoPunk as his profile picture, said it would be “dumb” to call Coinbase NFT an “OpenSea Killer.” He argues that only a “crypto native” would become the NFT king.

@Rager pointed out that Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of Coinbase, actually owns a stake in OpenSea already. With this move, Coinbase is likely looking to capture more of the share of the market, especially with rivals like Binance creating marketplaces that they could fear will lead to a migration of its userbase to other platforms.

How successful Coinbase’s NFT platform will be is yet to be seen, but will rely on the continuation in popularity for the trend as the digital world becomes ever-more present in our lives.

Do you think Coinbase would be able to flip OpenSea and become the leading NFT marketplace? Let us know in the comments below.