Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) went to the moon in 2021, with the trading volume reaching an all-time high of $22 billion. Innovative NFT marketplaces like OpenSea (aka Brokensea) have made a significant contribution to this growth in NFT trading volume. In fact, 2022 started with a bang with Opensea recording $3.5 billion in monthly Ether trading volume. OpenSea has now reached a total valuation of $13.3 billion with a recent $300 million funding round.
But the NFT community has discovered some flaws with the OpenSea platform, thus jokingly calling it BrokenSea. But what are these problems that made NFT users so frustrated that they are now abandoning BrokenSea? There’s been a funny rebrand video circling around crypto twitter that shows users are unhappy with the bugs and security of the platform.
Freezing of NFTs
OpenSea tackles the problem of malicious or stolen NFTs by freezing them, raising questions about crypto’s sacred principle of decentralization. NFT enthusiasts are aggressively debating whether a third-party trading platform can freeze assets bypassing the project’s community-governed decision making. For example, OpenSea recently froze 16 Bored Ape and Mutant Ape NFTs that were stolen from an art gallery operator. Moreover, OpenSea does not notify users when they freeze a particular NFT. Oftentimes a user buys an NFT but when they try to sell it again, OpenSea has already frozen the asset.
Lag In Listing-Delisting
OpenSea is often quite slow in updating new NFT prices, creating serious trouble for buyers and sellers. Let us explain this with an example. Suppose Bob lists an NFT for sale at 0.1 ETH, delists it, and lists it again at 1 ETH. When Alice wants to buy this particular NFT, she still sees 0.1 ETH and proceeds to buy it. But when her Metamask wallet notification pops up, she sees OpenSea has deducted 1 ETH from her account balance. Thus, if users are not careful, they will end up paying much more than they originally intended to.
No User Rewards
OpenSea had a phenomenal run in 2021, reaching an all-time-high trading volume of $3.4 billion in August including $85 million in commission revenue. Yet, unlike most other successful NFT projects that are committed to rewarding their communities, OpenSea has not taken any such initiatives. The platform owners have not launched any retroactive tokens to share with their community, creating deep resentment among the users.
Slow Customer Support
OpenSea has a very weak customer assistance system with several users taking to social media to complain about the issue. NFT enthusiasts are frustrated that OpenSea rarely addresses consumers’ grievances with most complaints going unanswered. In today’s world of ‘consumer is king’, OpenSea stands as a rare exception.
Due to the aforementioned problems, NFT users are shifting base to look for alternative NFT marketplaces. Following is a list of some other NFT trading platforms.
Alternatives to OpenSea
1] LooksRare
LooksRare is one of the first new NFT marketplaces of 2022 that has already put up stiff competition against OpenSea. In its very first week of launch, LooksRare recorded an impressive $1 billion in total NFT sales. The protocol has its own $LOOKS token to reward the community for participating in the network. Users can stake their $LOOKS and earn as much as 600% APR apart from a share of daily trading fees.
2] Niftify
Niftify is a creator-centric NFT marketplace on the Layer-2 Polygon network that makes NFT minting cheaper due to low gas fees. This regulated and licensed exchange based in the US facilitates the easy buying and selling of rare, limited-edition NFTs. Niftify has adopted the EIP-2981 standards for royalty distribution, ensuring robust ownership rights and up to 25% of royalties. The $NIFT token powers the platform which NFT traders can use to pay for their transactions and avail 50% discount. Users can also stake their $NIFT for up to %1000 APYs as well as access airdrops and premium features on the protocol. “
3] Foundation
Foundation is an NFT trading platform on the Ethereum blockchain that has developed a unique creative economy since February 2021. It has seamlessly integrated neo art forms with crypto’s decentralized ethos, bringing together creators and collectors in a close-knit community. In October 2021, Foundation crossed $100K in trading volume, a testimony to its slow increase in popularity. To date, the creators on the platform have earned $121 million from its total NFT sales.
4] Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is a centralized, artist-oriented, premium NFT marketplace and part of the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. It has the vision to make top-grade NFTs accessible to everyone, and pledge to continue till they reach 1 billion users. Nifty Gateway has partnered with world-renowned artists like Micheal Kagan to host their NFTs on the platform. Each new NFT collection airdrops once in about 3 weeks and is open for transactions till they sell out. After that, the NFTs become available for secondary sales on the secondary marketplace.
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