Coinbase's NFT marketplace beta is now open to everyone

Just two weeks after its initial launch, crypto exchange Coinbase is opening up its NFT marketplace beta to all prospective users.

"[W]hat does it mean to be in open beta? It means we’re still working on adding more features to the product, but eager for you to help us build in public," the company tweeted Wednesday afternoon. 

The marketplace was open only to a select group of users from an October 2021 waitlist of 1.5 million users. For the past two weeks, those select users were able to buy or sell NFTs. Everybody else just had access to view it but not use it.

The marketplace also enabled communities to engage on the network. 

"We're building a marketplace where you can buy and sell NFTs, of course, but more importantly, you can engage," Saxena said at a press briefing attended and reported by The Block. "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."

Other crypto exchanges have also launched NFT marketplaces of their own, including Binance, Okcoin, and FTX. 

In a blog post two weeks ago, Coinbase outlined its plans for the marketplace going forward.

"In the coming weeks and months, we’ll add more features that will gradually bring our vision for a web3 social marketplace to life," the firm said. "We’re planning to add drops, minting, token-gated communities, and the option to buy NFTs with your Coinbase account or a credit card. We’ll also add support for NFTs on multiple chains. And over time, we intend to decentralize more features by moving them from Coinbase tech to decentralized solutions."

About Author

Anushree covers how U.S. businesses and corporations are moving into crypto. She has written about business and tech for Bloomberg, Newsweek, Insider, and others. Reach out on Twitter @anu__dave