Kraken NFT marketplace opens waitlist for beta

Crypto exchange Kraken has opened a waitlist for its nonfungible token, or NFT, marketplace in beta more than four months after CEO Jesse Powell announced the initiative.

In a Tuesday blog post, Kraken said it had opened the waitlist for its marketplace, which will allow users to buy and sell NFTs and reportedly, use tokens as collateral for loans. According to the exchange, users will not incur any gas fees for trading NFTs that are custodied with Kraken — gas fees are only incurred for transferring tokens and NFTs off the platform. In addition, Kraken’s marketplace will feature a “rarity score” based on the “traits and attributes that make every NFT unique” and reward creators with a portion of each secondary market sale price of their NFTs.

Kraken NFT is coming soon! Explore NFTs & curate your dream collection – with zero on platform gas fees. Read the announcement & join the waitlist: https://t.co/7SKxFgc1Cz pic.twitter.com/xb3fdV3gFK

A Kraken spokesperson told Cointelegraph security would be the focus of the NFT marketplace for users to have “peace of mind and assurance.” In addition, the exchange said it hoped to stand out with a “high quality offering” of NFTs, obtained by vetting collections and “creating sufficient liquidity in the marketplace.”

Related: Crypto exchange Kraken’s new NFT marketplace to issue loans

Kraken is one of a few crypto exchanges attempting to get in on the NFT market. Coinbase’s NFT marketplace — focused on social engagement — moved into beta in April with more than 8.4 million email addresses on its waitlist. FTX and its United States arm introduced a marketplace in September 2021, allowing users to trade NFTs cross-chain on the Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH) blockchains, while Binance also launched an NFT marketplace in June 2021.