OpenSea sees itself as an industry-leading decentralised exchange (DEX) for peer to peer trading of Ethereum-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are tokens that are one of each kind thanks to specific features or signatures that differentiate them from those in related packages. As a result, many secondary markets have developed solely for the trading of unique assets, which became popular following the rise of NFT collectors.
What is OpenSea?
OpenSea is a global market for buying and selling digital items. Items include digital goods based on digital art, crypto-collectables, gaming items, digital art, and other digital assets built on the Ethereum ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards. On OpenSea, you can purchase, sell, and exchange all of these tokens with anyone in the world. At present, OpenSea is the largest decentralized marketplace for digital goods with over 700 different initiatives, including trading card games such as Gods Unchained and CryptoSpells, collectable games such as Axie Infinity and CryptoKitties.
These goods have multiple categories and are 100% tokenized and digital. As the proof of ownership and transactions are stored permanently on the blockchain, you get to become the valid owner once you pay for them. And unlike physical items, they cannot be “stolen” from you and sold elsewhere as the record of your ownership and any subsequent chain of ownership is permanently recorded on the blockchain.
Trading on this platform occurs through a smart contract, meaning that your NFTs are never held in custody by any central authority. It also means that parties can trust that the trade will occur as per their agreement without needing to rely on a middleman. NFTs can be stored in a software wallet such as Enjin wallet, Coinbase Wallet or Opera Touch, and even an in-browser chrome plugin like MetaMask.
Background
Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer laid the foundation of the OpenSea platform in January 2018. Both have expertise from their backgrounds in Palantir, UC Berkeley, Google, Stanford, Facebook, and Pinterest to form a strong team with experience.
Major OpenSea partners are Quantstamp, BlockStack, Blockchain Capital, Trust Wallet, Combinator, Coinbase, Founders Fund, and 1C. The platform has raised more than $4 million, with $2.1 million led by Animoca Brands, David Pazdan of MetaMask, and Stanford StartX.
OpenSea Marketplace guide and tutorial
How to use the OpenSea marketplace?
Initially, you need to install MetaMask on your computer. Furthermore, you must create an account with the necessary details. Learn how to install and use a MetaMask account.
Once your account is live, you can start using OpenSea by clicking on the person icon on the top right-hand corner of the page and connect your MetaMask. OpenSea can search your wallet automatically for any collectables you have and the money you need to purchase products on the market (like Ether).
You can also read posts or check for something unique on the platform, and even participate in an auction or design items for your own auction. Most items prices are valued at a set price, whilst auctions typically market rare or unsold goods at a higher cost.
The price of the goods varies widely based on the kind of item, what discounts are available, etc. You will be able to purchase or sell intangible properties on the platform, which ensures that after you have acquired the rights to their possession, you will be able to sell them again at a later day if you so wish.
How to purchase or bid on NFTs in OpenSea?
You can browse the various NFTs offered for sale on the platform. On the front page, the NFTs are organised by categories such as digital art, and virtual worlds and collectibles for various blockchain games etc. You can also see the sales history for the NFTs and see how much others have paid for the same item.
The platform uses Wrapped ETH (WTH) for bidding as it allows the user to bid on multiple items on the same Ether pool.
To start bidding, go to your bids section of your OpenSea account and follow the below steps :
- Select the item of your choice: Firstly, select the item you desire and hit “Make an offer” to initiate a bid. Then, enter the amount that you would be willing to pay for it.
- Wrap your ETH: Once you click on “Continue”, ETH will be upgraded to WETH via WETH station. In order to make more bids, the platform upgrades .05 WETH.
It is worth noting that you’ll need to make two transactions the first time you upgrade your ETH.
- Place a bid: Once both the transactions are confirmed, add the offer amount, and click “Confirm Offer”. Now your Bid is posted.
- Share your Email: Finally, you need to submit your email so you could get a notification once your bid is accepted.
To purchase an NFT, users have the option to enter a bid for the listed goods by using the “make offer feature”. Alternatively, some sellers have a fixed price for their items.
How to list NFTs for sale on OpenSea
To post a listing, first, find the item on your Account page located on the top right-hand corner. Then click on “My Items”, find the desired item and click “Sell”. Here, one can select the price and duration of the deal and form of bid.
Listing an item is free of charge, but note that OpenSea can charge a 2.5% fee on the final selling price if goods are sold successfully.
Conclusion
As NFTs are still relatively new, its use cases are still an area that is constantly being explored. However, if the crypto community steps into more innovation in the NFT ecosystem, they have a high chance of attracting vast audiences from gamers and collectors. OpenSea is the biggest global marketplace in the world for crypto-collectibles and NFTs, including assets such as ERC-721 and ERC-1155.
OpenSea has a good track record as a secure platform for specific blockchain-based assets. For many large games like My Crypto Heroes, Etheremon Adventure, CryptoVoxels, ChainBreakers, CryptoBeasties, Ether Kingdoms, etc., OpenSea has served as the key marketplace. In particular, one of the most popular NFT assets is Etheremon. Etheremon is another game based on Ethereum that is quite similar to Pokemon. The minimum cost for an Etheremon is 0.04 ETH and some can even go as high as 0.3 ETH for one of these NFTs.
Overall, the platform is playing a valuable role in the crypto sector by providing an easy-to-use marketplace that allows the NFT ecosystem to thrive.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
