Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced plans to launch its own NFT marketplace in June of this year. NFTs, non-fungible tokens, are a type of digital asset that represent ownership of rare virtual items. In the first quarter of 2021, NFT sales reached more than $2 billion, not including the $69 million sale of the NFT by digital artist Mike Winkelmann.
Two Venues
Binance plans to operate 2 venues within the marketplace: a Premium Event venue for exclusive items and a Trading Market for standard transactions that will allow users to mint their own NFTs, deposit, and trade.
The Premium venue will charge a 10% fee from major auctions and artists will receive 90% of the profits. The Trading Market will charge a 1% processing fee and pay continuous royalties to creators and depositors. Anyone with a Binance account will have access to the NFT marketplace.
Most NFTs are based on the Ethereum blockchain, but Binance’s own Smart Chain network is beginning to gain traction. CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, said,
“Binance serves millions of users around the world, many of whom will now be able to access the booming NFT space. In line with our commitment to the freedom of money globally and building an inclusive ecosystem, the Binance NFT marketplace will also support small value creators by providing the highest liquidity and cheapest fees for users.”
The new marketplace will present a challenge to Gemini, the crypto exchange of the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron that already has its own NFT marketplace.