Coinbase NFT Officially Launches its Beta
The long-awaited Coinbase NFT platform is finally opening its doors to some users by launching its beta testing phase.
The long-anticipated Coinbase NFT platform is finally in Beta. This will allow for limited access to users after six months of creation. Users will be given access by the order that they signed up in. It may be taking them a while to put things together but it is better that they take their time and actually put out a good product. They would be directly competing with Geminis Nifty Gateway as well as OpenSea.
Currently, Coinbase NFT will only be supporting Ethereum NFTs to start; however, they are planning on adding support for other blockchains at some point. Solana and Cardano-based NFTs would be the likely next addition for Coinbase. OpenSea has just recently opened its beta testing phase for Solana-based NFTs. This goes to show the amount of attention SOL NFTs are actually getting. They will continue to gain in popularity as well if ETH can not fix its gas fee issues.
You will only be able to navigate the Coinbase NFT platform with the Coinbase wallet, Metamask, and any wallet that is compatible with the WalletConnect protocol. This also means that you will have self-custody over your wallet and any assets in the wallet. This is good and bad for some users as it will mean having to be extra careful with your assets as they are now fully responsible. We have seen so many people get hacked through self custody wallets so be sure to be as careful as possible when using your wallet to interact with any links. Coinbase has also stated they are working on making an NFT custody product.
There is currently no feature to allow you to mint NFTs but that is one of the cool functionalities they are working on. They are aiming at having a social platform where you can buy and sell NFTs as well as comment and interact with other NFT profiles. Coinbase has a lot planned for this and it is another stepping stone toward the adoption of NFTs. They are even working on a trilogy of short films featuring the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Last year the NFT market had $25 billion in trading volume and that was without a mainstream company like Coinbase behind it. Partners that have been announced include Azuki, World of Women, Gary Vee, and even Ozzy Osbourne. There is no telling if this will be what breaks NFTs out of their slump but it definitely puts them back on track for now.