Blockchain technology has swept the world by introducing the ever-so-controversial tradable digital assets, NFTs. For any trade exists a market, and the NFT scene has PLENTY of marketplaces for you to choose from. That’s pretty nifty I would say. Do you know what else is nifty? The Gemini-owned exclusive NFT platform Nifty Gateway! Like any other NFT marketplace, Nifty Gateway has its advantages and disadvantages. However, the exclusive marketplace has unique features that made it surface into the top NFT marketplaces for curated, high-value digital art.
In this review, we’ll go over Nifty Gateway’s unique features, how to create/sell NFTs on the platform, and the benefits of using the marketplace.
What is Nifty Gateway?
Nifty Gateway is an Ethereum-based platform for selling, reselling, and trading Nifties aka NFTs. The marketplace was founded by the twin brothers Duncan and Griffin Foster under the parent company Gemini LLC. Gemini LLC is a crypto-exchange and custodian company that allows NFT transactions.
Nifty Gateway is famous for its exclusive high-end digital art and collectibles. The platform favors quantity over quality and thus offers limited editions that are verified and validated by the Nifty staff. These limited edition collections include works from well-known artists such as Beeple whose 5000 images collage sold for $69 million. Others include Trevor Jones, Daniel Ashram, Pak, and many more.
The Highs of the Platform
Nifty Gateway has a lot of unique features that differentiate it from other NFT trading platforms. The most notable feature is the NFT custodial system. Crypto custody is the process of securing assets from theft. How does it work? Third parties, ergo custodians, act as safeguards for your money. They typically guard users’ private crypto wallet information. You’ve probably heard of custodial and non-custodial wallets. Moreover, the best feature that Nifty Gateway offers is that it serves as a third-party custodian for your NFTs.
Advantages of Using the Marketplace
-
- Credit Card Payments: Nifty Gateway accepts FIAT currency, therefore, you can simply purchase NFTs using your credit card.
- No Gas Fees When Minting: The platform is responsible for all gas fees, thus users are not required to pay them. The marketplace also has cut its listing fees to 2.5% after it was 5%.
- Gift Giving: Nifty Gateway allows users to send NFTs as a gift by just using a credit card and an email account.
- Verified Drops: The marketplace employs a long process in order to authenticate an NFT collection. Meaning, it is almost impossible to find fake NFTs or phony collections.
- US Bank Withdrawals: If you live in the US, you can withdraw money from your bank.
The Lows of the Platform
Although it’s an exclusive NFT marketplace, Nifty Gateway has its own disadvantages. These disadvantages are what keep the platform from competing with other famous NFT marketplaces like Opensea and Rarible. Moreover, the exclusive NFT platform’s reputation wasn’t always top-tier. Back in March 2021, Nifty Gateway shared a statement informing that a group of its users were hacked. Users reported that their accounts got hacked and thousands of dollars worth of nifties were stolen. However, the users who experienced these “account takeovers” were not using 2FA which is recommended by the platform. Fortunately, the marketplace has launched Nifty Gateway 2.0 which increased user protection.
Disadvantages of Using the Marketplace
- Hacking Scare: The intrusion of March 2021 made the platform look like a non-safe marketplace.
- Long Verification Procedure: Even though the authentication of NFT collections is considered an advantage for collectors who are avoiding being scammed, it’s not very pleasing for actual creators. The procedure of posting nifties on the platform might take several months.
- Difficult Process of Minting: Nifty Gateway doesn’t allow a normal minting process. It is a tedious process that involves teamwork and a screening procedure.
- NFT Withdrawals Are Not Allowed: You can’t withdraw your NFTs after they have been posted to the marketplace. However, you can move the NFTs to another Ethereum-based exchange.
Making/Selling NFTs on Nifty Gateway
Minting and selling nifties on Nifty Gateway is a tedious process, but worth it if you want collectors to trust and view you as a legitimate NFT creator. To publish your NFT creations, first, you need to have two wallets: a Gemini wallet for coin payouts and a Metamask wallet for Ether.
Visit the page that lets you apply for a vetting Typeform and click Apply Now. The application needs the following information: Your name, social media links, NFT portfolio, video introduction of yourself, and answering questions about your NFT project. The application needs ten minutes to complete, however, the validation process might take several days to months. However, you can mint your NFT somewhere else and resell them on the platform.
Should You Use the Marketplace?
That depends on what you’re looking for. If you want high-end validated NFT collections, Nifty Gateway might be the marketplace for you. Nifty Gateway is a good custodial option for curated NFT collections. And considering the fact that the platform improved itself by making Nifty Gateway 2.0, there is still room for more improvements down the line.