OpenSea is a top NFT marketplace built on Ethereum, known as the largest NFT marketplace to date, recently surpassing a trading volume of $10 billion. Founded in 2017, OpenSea is a veteran compared to other marketplaces.
Crypto.com, an exchange platform out of Singapore, and recently launched its own NFT marketplace on March 26th, 2021. Crypto.com’s NFT marketplace is a bit of an underdog since it recently hit its one-year anniversary at the time of writing.
We compare these major marketplaces by their accessibility, supported tokens, ease in creating and selling NFTs, royalty percentages and more.
Quick look: OpenSea’s marketplace
OpenSea is one of the first decentralized NFT marketplaces, built on the Ethereum blockchain. You can buy and sell ERC-721 and ERC-20 tokens — the latter being the most popular token issued to date. OpenSea is working on supporting Solana NFTs, but currently only supports Ethereum tokens.
Transactions happen on-chain with OpenSea, so you’ll pay gas fees when trading and minting NFTs.
Despite its limited token support, OpenSea is a whale of a mixed marketplace with multiple NFT categories on offer:
Art
Collectibles
Domain names
Music
Photography
Sports
Trading cards
Create, buy and sell NFTs on OpenSea’s platform, as its popularity makes it a premier spot for collectors and creators. It has multiple selling methods to choose from, giving sellers control on how their assets are sold.
Quick look: Crypto.com’s marketplace
Crypto.com’s marketplace is only a year old, but a worthy opponent nonetheless. Crypto.com, the exchange, is on the Chronos Chain, powered by the Crypto.com Coin (CRO). Transactions on the Crypto.com NFT marketplace are recorded on the Crypto.org Chain.
There are no gas fees when trading NFTs on the platform, as stated by Crypto.com — a major plus.
It supports Cronos NFTs, and whitelisted Ethereum and Solana NFT collections, another big advantage over OpenSea. And you can use fiat currency to buy an NFT on the market.
OpenSea has a slight edge on NFT genre variety, but Crypto.com is also a mixed marketplace with six hearty categories:
Art
Celebrities
Gaming
Sports
Music
Crypto
OpenSea vs. Crypto.com snapshot comparison
Quickly compare tokens supported, fees, royalty percentages and accepted currencies.
OpenSea
Crypto.com
Launch year
2017
2021
Gas fees on NFTs
Yes
No
Mobile app supported
Yes
Yes
NFTs supported
Ethereum
Chronos, Etheruem and Solana
Supports minting
Yes
Yes
Type of marketplace
Mixed
Mixed
Wallets supported
10+ wallets supported, including MetaMask, TrustWallet and WalletConnect
10+ wallets supported, requires CMO support
Accepted cryptocurrencies
150+ currencies including ETH, WETH and USDC. ETH required for gas fees.
Dozens of currencies supported including ETH, CRO, USDC, USDT and WETH.
Both marketplaces allow for fixed and auction NFT sales. OpenSea wins in terms of control over the method at which you sell your owned NFTs — Crypto.com has more flexibility on payment methods.
OpenSea
OpenSea has four NFT listing methods:
English auction. Timed, minimum price auction. If the auction ends with a bid of less than 1 ETH, the seller can choose the highest bid or cancel the auction.
Dutch auction. Seller puts NFT up for sale at a ceiling price that lowers a predetermined percentage over time. Buyers will bid on the NFT, and if the NFT’s price drops enough to match a bid, the buyer that made the bid wins the item.
Fixed price. Seller lists the NFT for a price that never changes.
Bundles. Sellers list up to 30 NFTs under one transaction.
OpenSea charges the seller a 2.5% platform fee for each successful sale of an NFT, primary and secondary sales included. The royalty percentage for secondary sales of NFTs minted on OpenSea can be up to 10%, set by the creator.
Buying an NFT on OpenSea requires a supported Web3 wallet and cryptocurrency. It has a few core currencies, including ETH, Wrapped ETH (WETH), USDC and DAI. OpenSea states that there are over 150 payment tokens to buy NFTs — but it doesn’t support fiat currencies.
Crypto.com
Compared to OpenSea’s four listing methods, Crypto.com only supports two:
Fixed price. Seller lists NFT for a price that never changes.
Auction. Seller lists items up for a timed auction. Bidders must beat the previous bid by 5% or $10, whichever is higher. Once the auction has timed out, the highest bidder wins.
Crypto.com charges a 15% primary listing fee if you’re the original creator of a successfully sold NFT, and this only applies to newly minted NFTs. There is no primary listing fee if it’s a secondary sale. If it’s a secondary sale of a Crypto.com NFT, a royalty fee applies.
Crypto.com supports fiat currencies for NFT purchases. Supported payment methods include:
Priorities security with a $750 million insurance fund
User-friendly user interface
Long list of features such as lending, borrowing, staking and crypto debit cards
Poorly rated customer service
Certain cryptocurrency support is geographically restricted
High withdrawal fees
Crypto.com supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies and features. Its user-friendly interface makes it a good choice for both inexperienced and experienced users.
Fees for trading are competitive, though can be high when withdrawing to an external wallet from the exchange.
There is a detailed knowledge base available on how features work, as well as Crypto.com university that teaches about various assets.
The company prioritizes security, marketing and design, but reviews suggest that customer service is lacking.
Deposit Methods
Bank transfer Credit card Cryptocurrency Debit card PayPal Wire transfer Apple Pay Google Pay SWIFT
Deposit Fees
None
Withdrawal Fees
Cryptocurrency: Fees vary
Trading Fees
Maker - 0-0.075% Taker - 0.05-0.075%
OpenSea vs. Crypto.com on creating NFTs
OpenSea and Crypto.com both support minting new NFTs. Gas fees apply on OpenSea when minting, buying and selling. There are no gas fees for minting on Crypto.com, only a primary listing fee of 15% collected after the NFT is sold.
OpenSea
There are millions of NFTs for sale on the OpenSea platform. To join in, you need an OpenSea account.
Select Profile on the main navigation bar, then connect your crypto wallet. You also need ETH to cover gas fees for minting. The gas fee varies, depending on the day, anywhere from $1 to $1,000, largely depending on the blockchain’s speed and complexity of the transaction.
Once your wallet is set up and connected to the platform, select My Collection then Create to begin, and upload your digital file(s) to officially mint.
Creators can set their own royalty percentage, up to 10%. OpenSea also takes 2.5% from each transaction, primary and secondary. Right now, there’s no limit on how many NFTs you can mint on OpenSea.
Crypto.com
There’s no fee for minting on Crypto.com NFT marketplace — but there’s a 15% primary listing fee when a newly minted NFT is sold for the first time.
To become a creator on Crypto.com’s NFT marketplace, there’s a creator application process. Start the process by selecting Create on the main navigation bar to be directed to the application page. Complete the form, submit, and if you’re accepted, you’ll be notified via email.
Crypto.com only responds to successful applicants, so if you don’t hear anything, you’ve been rejected. It doesn’t have an appeal process, at the time of writing.
Creators earn a fixed 10% for each secondary and subsequent sale of their minted NFTs. Creators can create up to 50 collectibles per week with 10 editions for each collectible.
Current supported formats include JPEG, JPG, PNG, GIF and WEBP with the maximum file size standing at 60MB per NFT. Crypto.com is working on support for MP4s.
Marketplace downsides
Nobody’s perfect — especially Web3 and crypto.
OpenSea
OpenSea, unfortunately, is notorious for counterfeit and fake NFTs. Since it’s so easy to create an account and mint, rug pulling scams, counterfeit or copycat NFTs run rampant on the site.
OpenSea revealed that 80% of NFTs created using its minting tool are fake — yes, 80% are fraudulent.
To combat this problem, OpenSea tried limiting the number of NFTs that could be minted per account, but after receiving heavy criticism and pushback, it removed the limit.
To all the creators in our community impacted by the 50 item limit we added to our free minting tool, we hear you and we're sorry.
Until this issue is resolved, be sure to look for signs of legitimacy while exploring OpenSea, such as NFTs listed by verified accounts or users with a long-standing history with the platform.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com was founded in 2016, and the NFT marketplace was launched in 2021, so there’s bound to be some issues as the marketplace fleshes out.
In January 2022, redditors on the subreddit r/Crypto.com pointed out issues with buying CMO, the site’s native currency and issues with depositing funds from credit and debit cards. Some redditors think the issue may be exclusive to those using the Crypto.com Andriod mobile app, since Apple users state they haven’t had problems with linked accounts. If you’re an Android user, it’s something to consider.
Image source: Reddit, r/Crypto.com
Additionally, Crypto.com experienced a massive hack in January 2022 — more than $30 million in cryptocurrency was taken from 483 users, as reported by Vice. Hackers reportedly stole 4,836.26 ETH, 443.93 BTC and the rest in other miscellaneous currencies. However, Crypto.com stated that all users were reimbursed for these losses.
OpenSea vs. Crypto.com: Pros and cons
Neither marketplace is perfect, but each has pros and cons to keep in mind.
OpenSea NFT market
Pros
Longevity. One of the oldest NFT marketplaces in existence.
Creator ease. Simple and easy to become a creator.
Built on Ethereum. Ethereum is known for fast transactions and security, remaining one the most-used blockchains to date.
Trusted by many. Supports many play-to-earn games and metaverses.
Many ways to sell. OpenSea supports four sale methods, giving creators and collectors more control in how they list their assets.
Cons
Fake NFTs. Around 80% of NFTs on the market are fraudulent.
Endless listings. If you’re a new creator, you may struggle to compete with the millions of NFTs listed on the site.
No fiat purchases. OpenSea doesn’t support fiat currencies in buying digital assets.
Crypto.com NFT market
Pros
Gasless. Most marketplaces require gas fees, but there are no gas fees for minting or trading NFTs on Crypto.com’s market.
Fiat supported. Use fiat currencies to buy digital assets.
More chain variety. Crypto.com supports NFTs from ETH, SOL and CMO collections.
Cons
Application process. Creators must pass the application process to create, and there’s no appeal process if you don’t make it.
Recent hack. Crypto.com experienced a $30 million cryptocurrency hack in January 2022.
Less NFT genres. OpenSea supports more NFT genres than Crypto.com.
Final verdict: Consider buying NFTs Crypto.com NFT marketplace, and selling NFTs on OpenSea.
Compare NFT marketplaces
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Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert 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. See full bio
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