If you think of the most popular collections, most of them belong to the Ethereum blockchain. But how many great NFTs do you know outside of Opensea? Probably not as many, unless you’re looking at the best NFT marketplaces.
Let’s say an artist creates the same collection on two marketplaces. One is a BSC marketplace, and the other is on Ethereum. What would you choose if you wanted to buy this NFT, ideally at the best price?
The Binance Smart Chain is literally 1,000 times cheaper than Ethereum. And the “good” news is, the best BSC NFT marketplaces are still little-known compared to Opensea. There are lots of opportunities to find the next CryptoPunks of BSC before anyone else, and we’re going to show you where to look.
What Is Binance Smart Chain (BSC)?
The BSC is a blockchain built in parallel to the Binance Chain. It supports staking, Ethereum compatibility, and smart contracts. Hence the name.
For new investors, Binance Smart Chain may sound somewhat abstract and confusing. Why is it better when Ethereum, which has been around for years, should have the advantage? And why is it more successful than other smaller (and likely better) blockchains?
The battle for smart contracts has been around for years, but here’s a quick timeline:
On November 28th, 2017, the first dApp Cryptokitties launched on Ethereum. Thousands of developers followed. Competitors like Binance started designing their own blockchains to outperform Ethereum.
- EOS implements smart contracts by February 2019
- BSC launches in August 2020, a year after Binance Chain
- Ethereum 2.0 launches in December 2020
Following competitors include Avalanche (2020), Solana (2020), and Cardano (2021).
Then what makes BSC so relevant? Consider the following:
- It’s EVM compatible, meaning that ETH developers can easily migrate apps to BSC
- It’s faster, as it has 21 validators compared to Ethereum’s 200,000+
- It has low fees, which appeals to the majority of small investors
- It leverages a large community, as Binance is a world-class crypto platform
- It’s interoperable, so you can easily bridge tokens from any blockchain to BSC
All of which benefit NFT marketplaces.
Can a BSC Wallet Receive ETH?
BSC wallets can hold ETH tokens, as it’s compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). And since BNB was originally an ERC-20 token, it should also work the other way around. Some swap platforms (like Uniswap) don’t show BNB on the token list, so you’ll have to find it on EthScan and add it yourself.
When adding custom addresses, always make sure the token matches the price. Many scammers create fake BNB tokens to confuse traders. To verify, preview the conversion with a stablecoin like USDT:
To send ETH to your BSC wallet, you convert it on a BSC swap like PancakeSwap. You can also convert it on your WEB3 wallet directly by adding the BSC contract address. You’ll find it on CoinMarketcap:
Who Should Use BSC?
While BSC has limitations, most people will be happy with the benefits:
- If you want to swap tokens at low fees, use BSC
- If you’re building on Ethereum, you can save costs (and gain users) on BSC
- If you’re buying NFTs, you can save $100s on fees on BSC
- If you’re creating NFTs, you will sell more for the same reasons
But who is it NOT for?
- If you want to become a network validator, you’ll need 10,000 BNB to get a chance
- If security matters to you, Binance isn’t the best example of decentralization
- If ~$0.15 on fees is still too much for you, you can get <$0.01 on the Solana blockchain
- And if you care more about the investment opportunity, Ethereum is still king. It has the most dApps and largest NFT marketplaces so far.
With that in mind, here are the best BSC NFT marketplaces:
5 Best BSC NFT Marketplaces
BSC launched in mid-2020, and most NFT marketplaces did around 2021. So what can you expect after barely a year of development? Exactly.
The 5 best BSC NFT marketplaces today may have nothing to do with the best ones in 2-5 years. It’s why at Singlegrain we update our content regularly. So if you want to be the first one to know these marketplaces, you can check this page every now and then to see what changed.
With that said, there’s one marketplace that will probably be in the Top 5 for years. And that is…
Binance NFTs: Largest Marketplace
Binance is one of the largest crypto platforms worldwide. While the main service is the crypto exchange, they offer myriad others, from DeFi to NFTs. Not only is it broadly used, but well-known for its low prices.
As the brand behind Binance Smart Chain, it’s no surprise they own the largest NFT marketplace (launched in June 2021). From 2022, users can find at least 2.5 million NFTs from 1,000+ creators on Binance. And while the daily volume is unclear, some collections are trading over $1M per week.
But why so much money into Binance NFTs?
- Binance makes it easy for millions of people to get started in all things crypto. From buying Bitcoin to owning crypto cards, staking, P2P trading, and NFTs.
- Binance is an all-in-platform. You can sell NFTs, convert them to dollars, and send them to your bank account directly.
- Binance fees are low (1% flat fee on NFT transactions vs 2.5% on Opensea)
- You can trade NFTs from your phone, which is still unsupported by most marketplaces
As you can see, Binance isn’t opportunistic. They offer strong selling points you won’t find on other BSC marketplaces.
Featured collections on Binance NFT: Cyball, DeRace, BigTime Studios.
PancakeSwap NFT: Best BSC dApp
No matter how awesome Binance can be, it’s still a regulated platform. Even BSC is somewhat centralized. If you instead look for decentralized applications, you’ll find better fees, speed, and security.
Introducing PancakeSwap, one of the largest BSC dApps. There are about 4 million monthly users, 12B+ dollars staked, and a daily volume ranging from $500M to $2B. With so many features, it’s almost like a second Binance:
- Swapping 1000s of BEP-20 tokens on the exchange
- Locked on liquidity pools and farms for yield farming
- Used on trading competitions and lotteries
- Traded on the BSC NFT marketplace (2% transaction fees)
- Staked for passive income
PancakeSwap NFTs launched in late 2021, and they already have over 75,000 traders (largest recorded on DappRadar so far) and over $50M of lifetime volume. Featured NFT collections on PancakeSwap: PancakeSquad, Gamester Apes, and The Bull Society.
As a selling point, PancakeSwap uses gamification to engage users. For example, you can win a PancakeBunny NFT for completing tasks. Depending on your luck (and rarity), it may sell for 0.01BNB… or 100!
If you don’t like it, you can convert it for its value in CAKE tokens. Which gives you privileges for other PancakeSwap features.
BakerySwap NFT: PancakeSwap, But Better
Unlike Binance, PancakeSwap makes NFTs fun with gamification. Either way, you’re just trading expensive artwork. On BakerySwap, your NFTs earn passive income.
Which means if you hold for long enough (and the collection does well), you’ll make more than what you spent. You make money, the collection has a higher floor price, the demand increases. Everybody wins.
BakerySwap launched NFTs a few months after PancakeSwap. And while it’s not as popular (yet), they’re working hard to become the next big NFT hub. Here’s what makes the $BAKE platform different:
- On BakerySwap Gallery, you find collections from handpicked NFT artists based on talent. They help new creators promote their work, thus attracting potential “Beeples.”
- On BakerySwap Launchpad, you’ll be the first to know about the most anticipated collections.
- On BakerySwap Gamification, you’ll find the most innovative collections. NFT Games, VR land, in-game items, mystery boxes.
The marketplace isn’t transparent about fees, but they’re likely between 1 and 3% per transaction. There’s a 0.01BNB fee when minting NFTs and 0.30% for all swap trades.
BakerySwap originally had an NFT combo for those who staked $BAKE. Users were able to claim these NFTs and earn passive income. They still do, but the only way to get one now is to buy it from previous owners.
Instead of using collections, NFTs are independent in the marketplace. Here are some featured NFTs on BakerySwap.
BiSwap Marketplace: Lowest Fees
If you’re looking for the cheapest BSC NFT marketplace, it’s BiSwap. Here, you get 0.1% fees on countless services: exchange, liquidity, farms, staking, IDOs, GameFi, NFT yield, and competitions. Since it launched in April 2021, there are 10,000+ NFTs and almost 400k users.
Most of the fees go back to the community in the form of BSW rewards. For example, BiSwap refunds up to 90% of fees when using their exchange. Based on their stats, it looks like there’s a lot of interest on the platform.
Other than low prices, there’s not much to say about the NFT marketplace:
- Most of them sell for BSW (a BSC-supported token) but also accept USDT, BUSD, and WBNB
- Most NFTs belong to eight featured collections
- New collections should appear on the Launchpad Tab, but it’s still in development
- Most NFTs sell below $50, which means more people can buy them
- You can stake any NFTs owned in BiSwap for passive income in Robi tokens (RB)
When it comes to fees, BiSwap beats every other platform. However, it seems that’s the only good thing about it, as the marketplace isn’t developed enough yet. Most NFTs are collections created by BiSwap, so if you exclude those, the market looks half-empty.
Still not bad for a 2021 launched marketplace. By the next NFT boom, things may be different.
Altura NFT: In-Game Smart NFTs
Altura launched in late 2021. Now, this BSC marketplace has around 10K users, $3M+ of trading volume, and over 800 collections. It’s a smart contract platform created to improve gaming with smart NFTs.
If the idea is new to you, think of these as dynamic, codable NFTs. While mostly on development, here’s what they may look like:
- NFTs displaying a certain picture for a limited time (e.g., event ticket NFTs)
- Upgradeable traits. You own a game NFT character. This picture may update with different colors and accessories depending on your achievements and gear owned in the game.
- A picture that changes based on your location time. E.g., Altura Penguins
Rather than a static picture, smart NFTs can be worth more over time. You play the NFT game to get better traits, which get higher rarity scores on the marketplace. Knowing how many play-to-earn studios are there, it’s easy to understand the hype behind Altura NFTs.
Especially in 2022. According to the roadmap, Altura wants to help indie and major game developers use NFTs by Q3. Smart NFTs should be developed by Q1, and from there you can expect more activity on the marketplace.
Featured Altura NFT Collections: Meta Arcade, DeFly Ball SuperDogs, and World Of Defish Lands.
Conclusion
BSC marketplaces have more to offer than Ethereum. At least, when it comes to cost efficiency and smart NFTs. But if you only think of Binance or Ethereum, you’re missing the picture. Binance isn’t the only competitor solving the fee problem:
- Solana has network fees under $0.01 and huge marketplaces like Magic Eden
- Avalanche is building a cross-chain feature to make AVAX marketplaces supported on all blockchains
- Cardano added smart contracts in 2021 and already trades NFTs on marketplaces like CNFT
- Many ETH developers are moving instead to L2 marketplaces from Polygon and Immutable X. Specifically, Mintable, PlayDapp, and VulcanForged.
- Not to forget multi-chain marketplaces like NFTrade, TofuNFT, and AtomicMarket
The Binance Smart Chain may outperform Ethereum, but what about the others? So far, the best BSC NFT marketplaces are Binance, PancakeSwap, BakerySwap, BiSwap, and Altura (ALU). Most of them have only been around 1-2 years, so if you think you missed the NFT boom, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
While we don’t know if BSC will flip Ethereum, Binance has a lot of room to grow. So many homerun collections that haven’t even launched yet. And when they do, you’ll be ready, because you know the 5 best BSC NFT marketplaces where to look.