First things first—what exactly is Solana? More importantly, why is Solana important?
Put simply, Solana is an open-source blockchain network founded in 2017 that hosts smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). Developed by Anatoly Yakovenko, a former Qualcomm executive, Solana uses a unique consensus model called proof-of-history (PoH), an improved version of the proof-of-stake (PoS) model. Its native and utility token is the Solana (SOL) token.
In 2021, when NFTs started becoming mainstream, almost all of the biggest projects chose Ethereum. However, soon enough, a bunch of problems emerged. Ethereum’s proof-of-work model was energy-intensive, transactions were expensive, and had low transaction speeds. This is when people started looking for Ethereum alternatives.
This provided the perfect opportunity for Solana to rise to the occasion, especially since other non-Ethereum chains were yet to become popular. Solana resolved all the above issues with Ethereum NFTs—it offers high transaction speed, low transaction fees, and has comparatively low energy consumption. Although Ethereum NFTs still dominate in terms of market cap and user base, Solana has come up as its biggest competitor.
Here’s your ultimate guide to Solana NFT marketplaces. Credit: Unsplash
As with all NFTs, you can buy Solana NFTs from NFT marketplaces. Lucky for you, there are several marketplaces that focus on creating, buying, selling, and trading Solana NFTs. This includes Magic Eden, Solanart, and Solsea, among others. Alternatively, some Ethereum NFT marketplaces like OpenSea have also added support for Solana NFTs.
Wherever you buy your Solana NFTs from, you must have a Solana wallet and some SOL to make your purchase. You can buy SOL from crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, and Uphold. Once purchased, you can send the crypto to your wallet address.
While there are numerous Solana NFT marketplaces, we have listed the seven best marketplaces. As the Solana market grows, we can expect more marketplaces to come up on the scene. And if and when new promising players emerge, we’ll continue to add to this list.
Magic Eden is currently the biggest Solana NFT marketplace. Credit: Magic Eden
According to DappRadar data, Magic Eden currently takes the crown as the biggest Solana marketplace by all-time trading volume. As of now, its all-time trading volume has crossed $2 billion (at the time of writing). In comparison, however, SolSea, which takes the second spot, has reached only around $32.54 million in all-time trading volume. Solanart follows at the third spot with around $152,000.
Now that we have covered the basics, let’s take a look at the best Solana NFT marketplaces:
Furthermore, to maintain the quality of its collections, Solanart first requires artists to submit an application before they can list their collections. It is also one of the few marketplaces that offer a live chat option and an “instant loans” feature. The latter lets users borrow SOL from Solanart’s liquidity pool to make investments.
Solanart is best-suited for art aficionados. Credit: Solanart
A decentralized Solana NFT marketplace, Artz allows anyone to mint and sell their NFTs. As the name suggests, Artz focuses on art NFTs. Typically, marketplaces hold the NFTs you sell in a separate auction account. In contrast, with Artz, the NFTs on sale will remain in your wallet till they are sold. This way, you don’t have to pay any listing fees to the platform. While Artz doesn’t have any listing fees, it charges a 2% transaction fee. Additionally, it currently only supports the Phantom wallet.
It supports a range of crypto wallets, including Phantom, Solflare, Torus, and Ledger, among others. Finally, it also has some added features such as the ability to make an offer on any NFT, even if it is not listed for sale. If the owner accepts the offer, then it’s a quick, hassle-free sale. Furthermore, Exchange.art supports live auctions as well.
Love fine art? Then check out Exchange.art. Credit: Exchange.art
As you can see, when it comes to Solana NFT marketplaces, you are spoilt for choice. That said, the above list is in no way exhaustive. In addition to these, there are several other Solana NFT marketplaces that you can check out, including Alpha.art, Hyperspace, and LIQNFT.
At the end of the day, the right marketplace for you depends entirely on your personal preferences and what you are looking for. For example, if you are looking to buy or sell NFT art, then Solanart, Exchange.art, or Artz might be the right choice for you. Conversely, if you want to go for the biggest marketplace with the highest trading volumes, then you should go for Magic Eden. And as always, whichever marketplace you opt for, make sure to do your own due diligence.
