FTX launches US marketplace for solana NFTs with plans to expand to ethereum-based tokens

• FTX.US is launching a marketplace that will allow users to mint, authenticate, and trade NFTs on the solana blockchain.
• The 29-year-old billionaire founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been a big supporter of the solana blockchain.
• FTX also has plans to roll out support for ethereum-based tokens, which account for the majority of NFTs that are trading.

FTX.US, an affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is launching an NFT marketplace that will allow users to mint, hold, authenticate, and trade digital collectibles on the solana blockchain, the company announced Monday.

This is a step up from FTX's prior offering of only allowing users to trade NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, minted on its website.

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FTX also has plans to roll out support for ethereum-based tokens, which account for the majority of NFTs that are trading.

The marketplace, which is available to US customers, supports all solana NFTs that conform to the Metaplex standard, a solana-powered protocol. It also allows users to transfer existing NFTs and will provide project creators with full control over the NFT's life cycle.

In addition, the new marketplace, dubbed FTX NFTs, will support bank transfers, wire transfers, or credit cards to purchase NFTs. Newly minted NFTs can be listed in either US dollar, solana, or ether.

Unlike OpenSea, the most prominent and biggest ethereum-based NFT marketplace, users who wish to trade in the FTX marketplace are required to open accounts that verify their identities, immediately disqualifying those who may want to transact anonymously.

While it is unclear why the firm prioritized solana for this marketplace, it is no secret that the 29-year-old billionaire founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been a big supporter of the blockchain. Solana is cheaper and faster than ethereum and is often dubbed as its rival.

"We decided to create an NFT marketplace on FTX US after becoming immersed ourselves in the NFT ecosystem," Brett Harrison, president of FTX.US, said in a statement. "The NFT ecosystem has started to infiltrate pop culture, but has been lacking a platform that provides easy access and exposure to the mainstream audience."

NFTs - digital representations of artwork, sports cards, or other collectibles tied to a blockchain - have surged in popularity this year.

When people buy NFTs, they gain the rights to the unique token on the blockchain, not the artworks themselves. But the fact that the information on a blockchain is next to impossible to alter makes NFTs appealing, especially to collectors and artists.