FTX US Launch Its Marketplace for Solana Based NFT Collections
FTX US, crypto derivative exchange announced the launched its NFT marketplace, which initially will support trading for a range of Solana-based NFTs.
Previously, FTX.US’s NFT marketplace was limited to buying and selling NFTs that have been minted directly on its website. Majority of Solana-based NFT collections, including Solana Monkey Business, Degenerate Ape Academy and Aurory, have been traded elsewhere, on emerging marketplaces such as Solanart and Digital Eyes.
Users can transfer their existing Metaplex-compatible Solana NFTs onto the FTX NFTs platform to sell them, and owners can transfer them away as well. Furthermore, users can mint and create their own NFTs on the platform, which are subject to approval before listing.
The president of FTX US Brett Harrison commented in a statement:
“With the launch of this platform, we hope to provide both US and global users with a regulated marketplace that is intuitive and responsive to their needs.”
According to Harrison, FTX US will start with 75 NFT projects. The marketplace intends to add support for all NFTs that are based on Solana’s Metaplex standard, but with a few exceptions. FTX US is not listing projects that regulators might consider securities offerings, such as projects that offer royalties.
FTX US will work with NFT creators to ensure that it verifies the authenticity of the NFTs available for sale, to protect customers from buying fake NFTs.
FTX US’s marketplace will let customers buy and sell NFTs at fixed prices and will also have an auction system — similar to how OpenSea operates. Customers can fund their accounts for buying NFTs with bank transfers, credit card payments or crypto transactions. NFTs can be purchased in US dollars, solana (SOL) or ether (ETH).
The new marketplace will also let customers withdraw NFTs from the platform to external wallets. Currently, it’s limited to Solana-based NFTs (the FTX brand is closely linked with the Solana ecosystem) but it intends to add support for Ethereum-based NFTs. Harrison said this feature will be “coming soon.”
Solana’s rapid rise in recent weeks has generated millions of dollars’ worth of fees for NFT marketplaces like Solanart and DigitalEyes—platforms with small teams and rapidly rising activity. Over the last week alone, Solana NFT collections have generated more than $139 million worth of total trading volume, per data from Solanalysis.
With a sizable user base and reach, plus lower fees, auction capabilities, and the addition of USD payments, FTX US is muscling into the nascent Solana NFT space with an eye to suck up a big chunk of the market share.
