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OpenSea pros and cons
Pros
Mixed marketplace. OpenSea is known for its large variety of NFTs and multiple categories.
Never been hacked. To date, OpenSea has never experienced a sitewide hack.
$0 account minimum. Users aren't required to have a balance in their account or crypto wallet to use the platform.
Accepts multiple cryptocurrencies. OpenSea supports multiple cryptocurrency payments for digital assets.
No buyer fees. Sellers must pay a 2.5% fee, but buyers only need to pay gas fees for interacting with the blockchain.
Cons
Low royalties. OpenSea has a maximum of 10% royalty earned from secondary sales.
No fiat support. OpenSea doesn't have any support for noncrypto payments.
OpenSea is a decentralized marketplace that enables buying, selling and trading NFTs. Once proclaimed as the "eBay for CryptoKitties," OpenSea has expanded beyond collectibles to become a marketplace for most types of digital assets such as game items, music, domain names and more.
Our take on OpenSea
OpenSea is known as a premier NFT marketplace in the crypto industry. Founded in 2017 by programmers Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer, it's one of the first NFT marketplaces in existence, and is currently the largest in the world. It has over one million registered users and millions of NFTs for sale.
OpenSea has a clean and easy-to-use interface, making it simple for NFT beginners to enter the space, mint NFTs and trade.
The platform allows you to buy digital assets among millions of NFTs in multiple categories. However, the marketplace has a major problem with fraudulent NFTs. And in a decentralized market like crypto and NFTs, victims of fraudulent products are usually left out to dry.
OpenSea admitted that around 80% of their NFTs are fake, so collectors beware.
Image source: OpenSea
You can also list NFTs that you've created or bought from somewhere else, including blockchain games. Creators can earn up to 10% in royalties for each secondary sale.
While OpenSea has never experienced a platform hack, in May 2022, OpenSea's Discord was flooded with malicious links. A scammer was trying to promote a fake NFT with a link that redirects users to a phishing site, reported by Fortune.
Overall, OpenSea is a decent marketplace for creators and newbies. It's reputable, large and has a free mobile app for Android and Apple devices.
About OpenSea
OpenSea is built on the Ethereum blockchain. Within the marketplace, users own all assets rather than the platform itself. You can buy NFTs using ether (ETH) and many other supported cryptocurrencies.
As a decentralized marketplace, OpenSea's smart contracts allow users to interact with the platform without surrendering custody of their NFTs. Your digital assets don't leave your wallet until you make a transaction. You don't even need to create an account as long as you have a supported crypto wallet, such as MetaMask.
If you're after a specific NFT, you can use the search bar or filter your search by category, collection, blockchain network and status. You can sort your search results by listing date, price or viewers.
Image source: OpenSea
OpenSea blockchain and currency
Originally built on Ethereum, OpenSea also added support to the Klaytn chain in light of its goal to become a cross-chain marketplace. Furthermore, it has added Ethereum layer-2 protocol Polygon (MATIC) to enable fast and low-cost trading.
Users can now trade Solana NFTs, a function in beta at the time of writing.
OpenSea primarily accepts ETH or DAI for purchases. However, it also accepts over 150 other tokens such as UNI, MANA, REVV and WHALE.
Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange with a simple UI that's user-friendly and accommodating to newcomers and experienced traders.
Gemini's strongest point is its Gemini Earn program, which allows users to earn up to 7.4% interest on specified cryptocurrency balances.
Gemini has a wide selection of cryptos available for exchange on the platform. However, some notable entries from the top 20 by market cap are missing, such as Cardano and Solana.
Deposit Methods
Bank transfer (ACH) Cryptocurrency Debit card PayPal Apple Pay Google Pay SWIFT
Deposit Fees
Cryptocurrency: None Bank transfer (ACH): None, bank fees may apply Wire Transfer: Determined by your bank Debit Card: 3.49% + Trading Fees Paypal: 2.50% of total deposit amount + Trading Fees
Withdrawal Fees
Cryptocurrency: None (for 10 withdrawals and below per month) Others: None (for 10 withdrawals and below per month)
Trading Fees
Taker fee - 0.03-0.4% Maker fee - 0-0.2%
What types of NFTs are available on OpenSea marketplace?
OpenSea has multiple categories of NFTs to browse through. The primary categories include:
Art
Music
Domain Names
Virtual Worlds
Trading Cards
Collectibles
Sports
Utility
OpenSea supports ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens. Check out the Details page while browsing listings to find out what kind of token it is.
Image source: OpenSea
Token standards on OpenSea include:
ERC-721 and ERC-1155 supported on Ethereum and Polygon
KIP17 and KIP37 on the Klaytn blockchain
Solana NFTs use the SPL token standard, Master Editions and Editions
ERC-1155 tokens are semifungible tokens, and known as KIP37 on Klaytn. These tokens are primarily used in blockchain games for potions, characters, etc. On Solana, semifungible tokens are called Editions.
How to buy NFTs on OpenSea
Follow these steps to buy an NFT on OpenSea:
Get a crypto wallet. To purchase and store an NFT, you need a Web3 wallet, also known as a crypto wallet. Software wallets are almost always free to use and download to your browser.
Buy cryptocurrency. OpenSea only supports crypto payments. Buy the cryptocurrency you want to use and have it in your chosen wallet. Most purchases on OpenSea are done with ETH.
Log in to OpenSea. Select Sign In to connect your crypto wallet to OpenSea.
Browse the marketplace. Sort NFT listings by genre, views, creator and more.
Buy the NFT. If you find a worthy pick, select it, then hit Buy Now. The platform shows you the total amount required for payment, including the fees. Then hit Checkout. If you're in an auction, you're bidding.
Approve transaction. Your crypto wallet brings up a window, outlining gas fees for completing the transaction. If you're happy with the purchase, confirm the transaction.
Popular creators on OpenSea
A few notable creators and collections available on OpenSea include:
Azuki
Bored Ape Yacht Club
CryptoPunks
Doodles
Meebits
Okay Bears
Otherdeed for Otherside
Ragnarok Meta
VeeFriends
How to sell NFTs on OpenSea
To sell an NFT on OpenSea:
Connect your wallet and sign in. Like buying an NFT, you must sign in to OpenSea and connect your supported crypto wallet.
Profile page. Head to your profile where you can view your owned assets.
Select the NFT to sell. Once you've found the NFT you want to sell, select it. On the top-right corner, there's a blue button labeled Sell.
Fill out details. Fill in your desired price, sales method and other details. Once done, hit Post Your Listing. Note that OpenSea charges a one-time fee for first-time sellers.
View all the assets you have listed for sale by selecting on your profile page and then hitting the Activity tab.
OpenSea has multiple sale methods:
English Auction. A seller puts up an NFT for sale, sets a minimum price and waits for buyers to bid. OpenSea automatically accepts the transaction if the auction finishes above 1 ETH. If the auction finishes below 1 ETH, it's the seller's choice if they want to accept the highest bid. The seller is under no obligation to complete the transaction.
Dutch Auction. Similar to fixed-price listings but the price falls over time. A seller initially puts an asset up for sale at a high price which progressively lowers over time. Once the price drops to a valuation equal to a buyer's bid, the buyer can receive the item right away.
Fixed Price. A seller lists an NFT and the price never changes.
Bundles. The Bundle feature allows you to sell multiple NFTs under one transaction. You can list up to 30 items in a bundle.
OpenSea fees
Transactions on OpenSea are on-chain, so trading NFTs means paying gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain.
Buyer fee
None
Seller fee
2.5%
First-time fees
One-time gas fee for initializing account, shown as Register Proxy transaction.
Royalty percentage
Up to 10%
OpenSea NFT drops
OpenSea has a monthly newsletter called The Tide to help users stay up to date with the latest NFT drops, new site features, updates from the team, trends and news on upcoming decentralized applications.
To sign up for OpenSea's newsletter to stay current on NFT drops, go to opensea.io/blog/newsletter and enter in your email address to subscribe.
NFT drops can be sporadic, and how often they happen largely depend on NFT creators themselves. Following an NFT marketplace's social media accounts and subscribing to newsletters can keep you up with the latest NFT news. OpenSea also has a Twitter (1.7 million followers) and a Discord server (215k members).
About the OpenSea mobile app
OpenSea has a mobile app available for Android and Apple devices. It's free to download, and allows for NFT purchases on OpenSea, viewing your profile, searching for new NFTs, viewing collections and stats and more.
The App Store has 4.7 stars out of over 27K reviews, and the Google Play store has a four-star rating with over 20K reviews.
These ratings are in line with other crypto exchanges and marketplaces — Coinbase's mobile app has an average star-rating of 4.5. The fact that OpenSea has a mobile NFT trading app is a big plus, considering that some NFT marketplaces — like Foundation — lack one.
Image source: App Store, OpenSea mobile app screenshots
Is OpenSea legit?
Yes, OpenSea is a legitimate NFT marketplace. However, not all of the NFT listings on OpenSea are legit.
OpenSea estimated that around 80% of NFTs for sale are fraudulent. The platform is working on resolving this major issue, but at the time of writing, you'll need to sort through listings, read through ownership history and verify authenticity.
OpenSea does have an authenticity signal (the blue check mark) on verified accounts, but we recommend using your best judgment.
OpenSea doesn't employ staking or any feature that requires depositing assets to smart contracts, which means there is no way hackers can steal user funds through bugs or other exploits. All NFT assets remain in user wallets unless they're bought.
Compare marketplaces to buy NFTs
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Bottom line
OpenSea is known as the first and largest NFT marketplace, so it's often the go-to place for trading and creating NFTs. However, new creators may risk being smothered by the millions of other listings and struggle to get exposure.
OpenSea has a low royalty percentage, but it's in line with many other NFT marketplaces at 10%. However, there are marketplaces that offer more freedom in choosing a royalty percentage, such as Rarible, which gives much more freedom in royalties if they become an approved creator.
However, OpenSea is a great place to dip your toes in the pool of NFTs and crypto. There are no account minimums, it accepts multiple cryptocurrencies, supports multiple file formats and ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens.
Additionally, many blockchain games rely on OpenSea to run their marketplaces. It's a trusted, reputable platform, but it's still crypto so keep your wits about you while browsing listings.
Whether products shown are available to you is subject to individual provider sole approval and discretion in accordance with the eligibility criteria and T&Cs on the provider website.
Bethany Hickey is a personal finance writer at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto.
Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt.
Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others.
Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine.
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Image source: OpenSea
Image source: OpenSea
Image source: OpenSea
Image source: App Store, OpenSea mobile app screenshots
