Coinbase’s $COIN Continues to Slump Despite NFT Marketplace Launch
Despite launching its highly anticipated NFT marketplace recently, Coinbase stocks continue to plummet to new all-time lows.
Coinbase Stocks Hits Fresh Lows
Coinbase, the leading US-based crypto exchange headed by Brian Armstrong is having a rough patch in the stock markets as its $COIN stock continues to hit new lows. During Friday’s afternoon trading session, $COIN fell to a new all-time low.
Most recently, Coinbase announced the beta launch of its eagerly-awaited non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace that allows users to buy and sell NFTs. It would be recalled that the exchange initially announced plans to enter the NFT space in October 2021 and at the time more than 1.5 million people had signed up for the waitlist.
The beta launch of Coinbase’s NFT marketplace happened on April 20th, 2022.
At the time of the launch, Sanchan Saxena, vice president of products at Coinbase, said:
“We’ve been able to successfully bring the complexities of cryptocurrencies in an easy-to-use way to the masses. We believe we have a similar opportunity to do so for NFTs as well.”
Adding:
“You can expect Coinbase NFT to become the platform where the next Bored Ape Yacht Club or next artist or organization is doing their launches on the platform. This is just the beginning.”
NFT Marketplace Launch Fails to Lift $COIN
As mentioned earlier, despite the beta launch of its NFT marketplace, Coinbase’s stock trading with the $COIN ticker failed to find any positive momentum. In fact, since the beginning of April, $COIN has been consistently making new lows. On Friday, $COIN tumbled to a new all-time low of $131.25, only to close at $131.52.
It’s also worthy of note that while everyone can access Coinbase’s NFT marketplace, at the moment, it only allows a few select users to purchase and sell Ethereum-based NFTs with payments made in ether (ETH). That being said, the crypto exchange intends to integrate other blockchains in the future and introduce some new features to foster user engagement on the platform.
Most likely, blockchains with a flourishing NFT ecosystem such as Solana, Near, and Avalanche are likely going to be the next to be supported by the Coinbase NFT marketplace.
Speaking to The Block, John Todaro, a senior analyst at Needham & Company, noted the real question isn’t whether the NFT marketplace will succeed. In fact, it is the fact whether it will be able to scale as the demand for NFTs continues to make new highs.
Todaro said:
“Investors are now looking for ‘can you really scale it, can it do volume, can it really compete with Open Sea? Is this really going to add to revenue versus is this just going to launch and maybe fizzle out.”
Tough Competition for Coinbase
While the NFT market is still a novel phenomenon, it doesn’t mean there’s any lack of competition in the space.
As reported by crypto.news last year, FTX exchange launched its NFT marketplace amid strong hype. For those interested in learning how to securely mint NFTs on FTX, check out this guide by crypto.news.
