Coinbase NFT Marketplace Trading Gets off to a Slow Start

Coinbase’s much-hyped non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace has finally opened for all, but customers are proving elusive.

After announcing the marketplace last year, millions of users signed up for the project, which launched in beta last month.

What led to a slow start?

But the site recorded fewer than 110 transactions in its first five hours of trading on Wednesday, representing less than $60,000 in sales, according to tracker Dune Analytics. 

That compares with $124 million in transaction volume for the leading platform, OpenSea, over a similar timeframe.

Sasha Fleyshman, portfolio manager at digital-asset manager Arca, said: “I think the expectations were ratcheted higher by other people.”

“I’ve spoken with their team, they are very understanding that they are entering a new space, there are going to be iterations. But it’s going to be slow. OpenSea is going to be the leader for quite a long time.”

Coinbase’s aim is to support multiple chains

Despite the slow start, the beta status of the platform allows Coinbase to add more features to its social marketplace and add to its growth. The company has built the beta platform on the Ethereum blockchain

“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,” said a spokesman.

Meanwhile, Coinbase is also trying to support its growth prospects in 2022, at a time when it is struggling to maintain its strong price action from last year. 

Rival OpenSea has been going from strength to strength when it comes to the on-chain sales volume for Ethereum NFTs. The platform hit $550 million in sales at the start of the month, followed by LooksRare and CryptoPunks.

On other blockchains, Magic Eden is the most traded marketplace on Solana. Meanwhile, Mobox and PancakeSwap have been making strong sales on the BNB Chain.