The exchange also set up a paywall following the launch of the NFT marketplace to deal with spam incidents
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, announced in a rather interesting way that the crypto exchange had launched its own non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. He publicised the platform using a simple ‘Test’ piece of art that he created. The piece has since seen escalating bids and sold this morning for $270,000. The FTX CEO detailed in the Twitter post that the exchange’s new NFT platform would be available exclusively to US customers and allow them to buy, sell and even mint their own NFTs.
The new platform will allow cross-chain trading across Ethereum and Solana, to which Bankman-Fried added that soon enough, users would receive additional features. He listed some of the soon-to-be-introduced aspects, which include the ability to deposit and withdraw. There will also be a provision for users to bring NFTs from external sources onto FTX.
The announcement signified a change to the current FTX model that limits users to storing and viewing. With an improved operational model, users will be able to sell their NFTs via the exchange, leveraging the deposits and withdrawals functionality
The NFT marketplace was initially launched with free access for all, but it recorded several spam incidents a short while after its launch. This led the exchange to impose a $500 one-time fee for users who wanted to jump on.
“Due to the massive number of submissions, too many of which were just a picture of a fish, we are now charging a one-time $500 fee to submit NFTs,” Bankman-Fried tweeted.
However, as expected, users did not receive the changes very well. After persistent resistance from customers, FTX shelved the $500 fee that had been imposed and then put up a fairer flat rate of $10 for all users who sought to mint NFTs, with users who had paid up the initial $500 receiving a refund.
With the new offering, FTX intends to charge users on both sides of the sale. The buyer will be set back 5%, with sellers also being charged another 5%. The exchange advised potential customers to join the trade only if they comprehended it, as all the NFT purchases will be non-refundable.
Many industry players have increasingly embraced and even provided their customers with the ability to play around with NFTs. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, announced its NFT platform in collaboration with artists, athletes and other creatives in June this year.