Kraken announces its upcoming NFT marketplace

US-based crypto exchange Kraken has opened the waitlist for its upcoming NFT marketplace. The exchange posted this bullish announcement on May 3, claiming that its marketplace would be the complete solution for exploring, curating, and securing NFT collections. Unlike available on other marketplaces, Kraken NFT promises to offer gasless trading. The Kraken NFT marketplace will support both crypto and fiat purchases.

According to the blog post, Kraken NFT will charge zero gas fees for all trades on all NFTs in its custody. The exchange pointed out that this feature will allow the marketplace’s users to build their dream collections at near-instant transfer speeds. Additionally, it will help prevent surges in network activity from affecting the cost of purchases and trades.

Apart from zero gas fees, Kraken NFT will also allow users to track the rarity scores of their NFTs. The platform features built-in tools to easily identify a combination of traits that help users make informed decisions while purchasing digital collectibles. Kraken also promises that its marketplace will boast high security.

Furthermore, the marketplace will support cash and crypto purchases and trades. The marketplace will allow users to purchase or list NFTs in USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, CHF, and AUD or the a120 cryptocurrencies Kraken supports.

Finally, Kraken NFT will have multi-chain support, allowing users to manage NFT collections on multiple blockchains through one intuitive interface. At launch, the platform will support two blockchain networks, with more to come afterward.

Kraken NFT will reward creators through Creator Earnings, which involves paying creators and innovators a portion of each secondary sale price of the NFTs they create.

Introducing gasless transactions might give Kraken NFT enough momentum to rival leading marketplaces. Still, the marketplace is set to meet stiff competition although OpenSea is yet to meet a worthy contender regarding market share.

According to CoinMarketCap, Kraken is the fourth-largest crypto marketplace, after Binance, Coinbase, and FTX. The company said it has more than 9 million clients, and recorded $601 billion in transactions in 2021 and about $112 billion so far this year.

OpenSea still accounts for 68% to 88% of the NFT marketplace activity. On the other hand, LooksRare, SuperRare, and Rarible are currently recording low traffic, with LooksRare controlling 11% to 32% of the market share, according to data from Dune Analytics.

In December, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell told Bloomberg that he wanted Kraken NFT users to be able to borrow funds against high-value NFTs as collateral, but that feature wasn’t mentioned in the latest announcement.