You’re new to Cardano and you want to learn more about the Top Cardano NFT marketplace on this blockchain? You don’t know if you should use jpg store, cnft.io or another marketplace? Then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you will learn which are the best Cardano marketplaces with their specificities, advantages and shortcomings.
- A few reminders about Cardano (ADA)
- What are the top Cardano NFT Marketplace?
- Jpg Store, the most famous Cardano NFT marketplace
- Galaxy of Art, the most selective and centralized cNFT marketplace
- Tokhun, the best known and easiest to use NFT Cardano marketplace
- AdaNFT, the marketplace that works with third parties
- CardaHub, the most user-friendly Cardano NFT Marketplace
- Verlux, the outsider no one expects?
- Wafini, the marketplace with a lot of potential
- How to secure your Cardano NFT?
A few reminders about Cardano (ADA)
Today, we are not going to talk about Bitcoin, Ripple, Dogecoin, Litecoin, or another altcoin. No, today it’s about Cardano a fast transaction blockchain linked with the ADA cryptocurrency. Before we get to the heart of the matter, let’s remind ourselves of some important facts about Cardano. Remember, you don’t invest in something you don’t understand, especially in the crypto and digital asset world. A world full of speculation and insane volatility.
Cardano is a Proof of Stake (PoS) Blockchain, meaning that its consensus mechanism relies on staking to assure its peer to peer transactions. Its decentralization relies on several nodes a certain number of native tokens of the Blockchain, in this case ADA. The owners of the nodes are rewarded with a block reward (ADA coins), which can be staked to maximize profits or sold on an exchange platform such as Coinbase for Ether, Litecoins, USD or other fiat currencies…
Charles Hoskinson launched it in 2017 after 2 years of development. Indeed, as early as 2015, the former co-founder of Ethereum (editor’s note: and CEO for a short time) has the good idea to tangle with Vitalik Buterin, another founder of Ethereum.
After an umpteenth disagreement, he leaves Ethereum and decides to found his own open-source Blockchain : Cardano. The goal was simple : rekt the financial system as we know it today, and just like dreamed by Satoshi Nakamoto in Bitcoin Whitepaper, give financial freedom to everyone.
Today, Cardano is still there, and its ecosystem is developing, (very) slowly but surely and its capitalization is 14.8 B$, ranking it 9th in the cryptocurrency market. Without any surprises, Cardano has NFT and therefore, NFT marketplace.
What are the top Cardano NFT Marketplace?
Jpg Store, the most famous Cardano NFT marketplace
Jpg.store is one of the Cardano marketplaces you should know about. The site is easy to access, user-friendly and easy to navigate. It is the most used marketplace in the Cardano ecosystem. It also has the most collections and the best quality collections (more on that below).
In addition, this marketplace has a very community-driven approach. They take into account the opinion of the users (whether they are buyers or sellers) and make sure to get feedback to improve… hence the quality of the site, most certainly :p
🚀 Not to mention the lauchpad they are setting up! The best designers are chosen to be part of it. The platform actually chooses only the best profiles to ensure a successful collection launch. And… it seems to work. Once selected, designers can benefit from a kind of mentoring for their first NFT project. If it’s their first project, they also get marketing help.
But it doesn’t stop there! Yes, you don’t need KYC to use the platform. If you’re a fan of privacy, you’ll be well served. Indeed, as Jpg.store is a decentralized marketplace, you just need to use a decentralized wallet…
👛 … And that’s good because jpg.store supports tons of them! To make an exhaustive list: Typhoon, Eternl, Nami, Flint, Gero, Nufi. The list will surely grow. If you are lost with these wallets, don’t worry, we’ll come back to it in the rest of the article.
Galaxy of Art, the most selective and centralized cNFT marketplace
Galaxy of Art aims to be the most selective marketplace in the Cardano ecosystem. It is also the most recent (launched in January 2022), and this is reflected in its interface, which is more contemporary. This one is distinguished by the projects put forward, which are more artistic.
For newcomers, same sentence as on CNFT.io: you have to do a KYC to register on the platform. And yes, Galaxy of Art is selective about both its artists and its users.
⚠️ Important fact to note: you can’t connect your wallet to the platform. In practical terms, this means that it is the platform that holds your ADA (not your keys, not your coins). So this marketplace is very centralized for the moment (not to mention the KYC mentioned above).
Still, the founders are clearly identified:
- Christian Schmitt (CTO): Over 10 years in the field of new technologies, in Bitcoin since 2011.
- Dr. Maria Papadaki (CEO): More than 10 years of experience in Risk Management.
- Dr. Edward Logan (COO): also a great experience in the tech field.
- Dr Marwan Alzarouni (CSO): internationally recognized in the field of Blockchain.
The opinion is therefore quite mixed on this platform… On the one hand, it is very centralized, but on the other hand, the founders are clearly identified, which can reassure investors. I let you make your own opinion.
Tokhun, the best known and easiest to use NFT Cardano marketplace
Tokhun is an NFT marketplace developed on Cardano. The interface is quite nice and you can connect your Cardano wallet. The platform takes a 2.5% commission or a 2 ADA commission depending on the type of project.
The interface is a bit more “old-fashioned” than other platforms, but the choice of NFT is quite large. The platform’s fees are higher than average.
⚠️ One of the most interesting features of the platform is that it is possible to “serialize” the NFT mint. Thus, it is possible to mint (create) up to 20 NFTs at the same time with a single click. This is very convenient for creating collections because it will save you a lot of time.
The platform also includes a token: the THKN. Holders of this token will have exclusive access to some NFTs. But nothing is official yet.
Like Galaxy of Art, tokhun.io only has a wallet native to the platform, you can’t connect with your digital wallet (like Metamask or other). So the platform is centralized, which is contrary to the Web3 spirit… and makes the platform less secure. You also have to do a KYC to register.
AdaNFT, the marketplace that works with third parties
AdaNFT is an NFT marketplace of Adaswap, the decentralized exchange that works like UniSwap.
AdaNDT works with a third party system: this system allows each user, depending on the third party he belongs to, to buy this or that NFT. It’s the same as for a Launchpad. It is possible to upgrade your third party by paying with AdaSwap tokens.
The third party system works as follows:
- Silver Tier (minimum of AdaSwap tokens : 1000)
- Gold Tier (minimum number of AdaSwap tokens: 50,000)
- Platinum Tier (minimum AdaSwap tokens: 250,000)
Not everyone is allowed to list their NFTs on the platform, which aims to be selective about the projects offered. Users can vote and make purchases on new projects through the third party system.
However, there is not much choice on the platform yet, as it is new.
It should be noted that the platform integrates a “Mystery box” in some of its promotions, as Binance would do on its trading platform.
CardaHub, the most user-friendly Cardano NFT Marketplace
CardaHub‘s interface is probably one of the most polished in the Cardano ecosystem. It is intuitive and easy on the eye. You can easily navigate between the different collections. Each collection has its own “Story”.
The platform is developing tools to get accurate data on collections and upcoming drops. They are also developing tools for artists to easily create their NFT collection. They also offer a day/night mode, which can be handy.
Cardahub charges a 2.5% fee on all transactions in the NFT marketplace. The filter tool proves to be powerful and allows for efficient searches based on different elements (clothing, accessories, background, …).
Verlux, the outsider no one expects?
Verlux can be called an outsider because it is the first decentralized Cross-Chain marketplace. Its Cross Chain Swap protocol allows users to swap existing NFTs on other blockchains to the Cardano blockchain to utilize Cardano’s low transaction fees, as well as the security and speed of the network. So Velux’s strength lies in their protocol.
They released their $VLX token with the following tokenomics: 60% for public sale, 8% for team and advisors, 15% for marketing, 7% for partnerships and 10% for reserve. This token will be used to buy NFTs, for transaction fees, for governance as well, for NFT farming, and to receive exclusivities. The expected supply max is 1 billion tokens.
Velux’s vision is to create a decentralized marketplace where it will be possible to easily list your NFT project. All you have to do is connect your Cardano wallet (Nami or Gero for example), click on Mint an NFT and fill in a form. As simple as that. You don’t need to register with an email address, nor do you need to do a KYC.
Wafini, the marketplace with a lot of potential
Finally, the last Cardano marketplace that seems to be interesting and with a lot of potential: Wafini. The platform has the ambition to become the number 1 platform on Cardano. Just that. They intend to take advantage of the Vasil hard fork.
Genesis NFTs will be available only for the firstcomers of the platform. These NFTs will be able to give rise to a number of rights for platform users: participating and helping with governance, royalty commissions, voting, etc.
The platform’s token, the $WFI, will be used for staking. Holders will be able to earn rewards of up to 20% APY, participate in the governance but also be eligible to earn a percentage of the transaction fees on the NFT marketplace.
The Wafini private sale is scheduled for October 1st. To make sure you don’t rent anything, follow Cardano’s news and make sure you have at least 500 ADA in your digital wallet to participate in the private sale.
How to secure your Cardano NFT?
Well, now after picking one contract platform and using your public key to receive your Cardano NFT, it is important to know how to secure it!
- Which blockchain wallet should you use?
- Is it possible to use Metamask?
- Is it possible to use your Ledger?
- What are the best wallets using blockchain Cardano to protect your private key?
All these questions have an answer on Coinpri! Yeah, lucky you, we already covered these topics in our Guide to find the best blockchain wallet on Cardano! Please remember that unlike a centralized exchange, these kinds of wallet do not have a “I forgot my password” option.
Now you can say that you have mastered the subject of the best NFT marketplace in the Cardano ecosystem. You’ll be able to shine at a social dinner about it (yes, because it’s always useful!). By the way, we have created other guides dedicated to NFTs, such as how to get free NFTs or how to create your NFT easily.
Coming from a teaching background, I’ve become passionate about the world of Blockchain. I’m eager to learn more and share the fruit of my research through my articles.