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Brittany Laughlin, executive director of the Stacks Foundation, which manages the protocol underlying a bitcoin NFT marketplace. More firms, including Coinbase, are getting into the market for these digital assets. Photo: Stacks Foundation
Crypto Global
Crypto Startups

Coinbase Threatens OpenSea’s Hold on NFTs; Stripe Searches For Crypto Talent

By
Hannah Miller
 |  Oct. 12, 2021 4:43 PM PDT
Photo: Brittany Laughlin, executive director of the Stacks Foundation, which manages the protocol underlying a bitcoin NFT marketplace. More firms, including Coinbase, are getting into the market for these digital assets. Photo: Stacks Foundation

The market for digital, blockchain-based assets known as NFTs just got a little more crowded. Crypto exchange Coinbase said Tuesday that it is planning to roll out a marketplace for non-fungible tokens this year. The company is following in the footsteps of rival exchange FTX.US, which opened its own NFT marketplace on Monday. 

These entrants could be a threat to OpenSea, the marketplace dominating NFT sales. Since Coinbase and FTX.US offer trading and other services, adding an NFT marketplace could make them more like one-stop shops for all things crypto than a specialist like OpenSea. The new entrants could also pressure OpenSea and other marketplaces to lower their cut of sales, now at 2.5% for OpenSea and 2% for FTX.US. 

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