OpenSea vs Foundation

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become an exceptional investment opportunity, partially due to the efforts of platform creators like Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah. They created OpenSea, an NFT marketplace founded in 2017, right at the birth of the digital asset market.

Since that time, they’ve processed more than $3.4 billion in transactions. In addition, millions of NFTs have sold via the OpenSea marketplace, and this success is likely to continue. 

But OpenSea isn’t the only NFT marketplace, and it may not be the best. In this review, we’ll compare OpenSea against one of its newest competitors: the Foundation NFT marketplace. That way, we can find out which platform offers the best features and assets for your wallet!

What Is OpenSea?

OpenSea is a decentralised marketplace that functions using Ethereum blockchain technology. It’s designed to help NFT creators and investors connect and exchange digital assets. 

OpenSea is one of the oldest NFT marketplace platforms, and it’s also one of the most popular options for beginner-level NFT buyers. This NFT market even offers users a form of governance thanks to the Open Sea decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). 

This platform features an easy-to-use interface that’s simple enough for nearly anyone to operate. It also offers superior crypto wallet compatibility, offering support for more than a dozen unique wallets. 

Even better, the OpenSea market allows users to exchange multiple types of cryptocurrency, including Ether (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC). It is one of the only NFT marketplaces that offers this level of payment diversity.

But OpenSea is exactly what it sounds like: A vast ocean of NFTs that range from animated GIFs to domain names. 

Though it does cater to the metaverse crowd, its listings are far from niche. As such, some investors (art collectors, in particular) may struggle to find what they’re looking for on this marketplace. 

That said, OpenSea offers one of the lowest fixed NFT transaction fees of any platform: Only 2.5%. This low percentage attracts large numbers of beginner-level NFT creators, adding to the chaos and beauty of the platform.

What Is Foundation?

Foundation is an application-based NFT marketplace created in February of 2021. As such, it’s one of the newest digital asset marketplaces. However, it’s by no means a puny platform. 

After all, Foundation has a trading volume of over $100 million and that number rises a little more each day. In fact, this marketplace has continually seen explosive growth, making it an obvious contender against other major NFT marketplace platforms.

But unlike markets like OpenSea, the Foundation marketplace was explicitly designed to attract artists and art collectors. It doesn’t list domain names or music as part of its NFT collections. Instead, it provides a sharp focus and wide selection of digital artwork assets.

Additionally, Foundation isn’t open to everyone, at least not NFT creators. While anyone with a MetaMask wallet can buy assets via the Foundation marketplace, not everyone can list or mint NFTs on Foundation.

To do that, you’ll need an invitation from a Foundation creator. This exclusivity helps keep the marketplace more secure, but it also restricts creator access to the platform. Still, this limitation positively affects the niche-driven aspect of Foundation and ensures that NFTs listed on the app are attractive to collectors of all types.

OpenSea vs Foundation: Audience

Not all NFT marketplaces offer the same types of assets, and that’s a crucial distinction that all investors should remember when comparing platforms. For example, OpenSea offers a wide array of NFT categories, including:

• Art
• Music
• Domain Names
• Virtual Worlds
• Trading Cards
• Collectibles
• Sports 
• Utility

While browsing this site, you’ll likely see lots of artwork, some animated GIFs, and tons of unique characters. This includes highly popular NFTs like Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks. This variety attracts a wide audience and makes OpenSea one of the most varied NFT platforms. 

Foundation doesn’t offer access to a wide variety of digital items. Instead, it falls into an artwork niche like the Rarible, SuperRare, or Nifty Gateway markets. Digital artwork is the focal point of the Foundation platform. This decision makes the marketplace far simpler to browse and navigate, but it can be limiting for investors looking to invest in diverse types of NFTs.

That said, if your primary goal is to amass a crypto art collection, you may prefer the Foundation marketplace. It’s an NFT space that’s designed to attract artists and it’s overflowing with NFT art of almost every type.

OpenSea vs Foundation: Supported Currencies

Much like other NFT marketplaces, OpenSea operates transactions using ETH. Or, more precisely, wrapped ETH (WETH). However, this platform also accepts two other cryptocurrencies as forms of payment.

Overall, OpenSea supports:

• Ethereum (ETH)
• USD Coin (USDC)
• Dai (DAI)

Foundation only accepts and supports Ether (ETH). Consequently, it isn’t nearly as crypto-friendly as the OpenSea marketplace. Importantly, neither market accepts Bitcoin.

However, many NFT marketplaces utilize ETH transactions. As such, Foundation’s lack of supported currencies isn’t uncommon and it isn’t problematic for creators or investors.

OpenSea vs Foundation: Supported Wallets

OpenSea is compatible with more than a dozen unique crypto wallets, making it one of the best NFT marketplaces for those with less-well-known wallets like Bitski or Arkane. Naturally, creators and investors using Coinbase Wallet or MetaMask are also welcome on OpenSea.

We should also mention that some types of OpenSea-compatible wallets, including MetaMask and TrustWallet, allow users to purchase cryptocurrency using a credit account. This feature could be handy, especially when you consider the fact that OpenSea relies on crypto.

However, some digital wallets are only available when accessing OpenSea through the platform’s mobile app. Coinbase Wallet and OperaTouch are both mobile-only options.

Still, in total, OpenSea offers support for:

• MetaMask
• Coinbase Wallet
• TrustWallet
• Portis
• Fortmatic
• Arkane
• Authereum
• Bitski
• Dapper
• Kaikas
• MetaMask Mobile
• OperaTouch
• Torus
• WalletConnect
• WalletLink

In contrast, Foundation is compatible with only one type of crypto wallet: MetaMask. 

In fact, creating or connecting a MetaMask wallet is one of the first steps you’ll need to take when buying or selling NFTs on the Foundation marketplace. 

Now, this exclusivity has both positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, it makes absolute sense to use MetaMask as your primary digital wallet. After all, it’s one of the most popular and trustworthy ETH-based wallets, and it’s capable of storing and showing purchased NFTs.

However, investors that use other popular cryptocurrency wallets (like Coinbase Wallet, TrustWallet, or Portis) may feel disappointed by Foundation’s minimal wallet compatibility. This, again, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Foundation’s niche-driven market seems to have found an audience that doesn’t mind the MetaMask-only wallet compatibility. 

OpenSea vs Foundation: Other Differences

When comparing OpenSea against Foundation, one of the things that becomes immediately evident is that OpenSea is the better-established platform. It’s been around since the birth of the NFT market in 2017 and boasts outstanding NFT sales.

Foundation, on the other hand, emerged in 2021.

Now, age doesn’t necessarily correlate with the quality of the platform. But it’s challenging to argue against OpenSea’s billions of dollars worth of transactions and the marketplace’s high level of both trustworthiness and credibility.

And NFT diversity is far richer on OpenSea than on the Foundation marketplace.

Types of Available NFTS

Interested investors can find digital painting, GIFs, characters, and much more on OpenSea. This well-established NFT marketplace even lists domain names and music. 

We should also note that OpenSea is quite a friendly marketplace. It’s entirely open for anyone to use, supports multiple cryptocurrencies and digital wallets, and enforces a minimal 2.5% transaction fee. 

If you have a crypto wallet and a few minutes of free time, you can begin buying or selling NFTs on OpenSea. It’s an excellent option for first time creators.

Foundation is a little more exclusive. You’ll need an invite if you’d like to sell your digital artwork NFTs on the Foundation marketplace, and you’ll need a MetaMask wallet if you’re looking to buy assets. 

Creators who want to list their digital artwork on Foundation should also remember that the platform charges a fixed 15% transaction fee whenever an investor purchases an asset. This is one of the highest transaction fees of any NFT marketplace. 

So, if you sell a digital painting NFT on Foundation for $2,000, you’ll receive $1,700. Now, this discrepancy may not be a dealbreaker for some sellers. But those that are new to creating NFTs or digital artwork can struggle to earn a profit due to these punitive transaction fees.

For that reason, Foundation may not be the best choice for those just getting started in the NFT market.

OpenSea vs Foundation: Conclusion

Foundation is a niche-driven app-based marketplace. It’s curated to meet the needs of artwork collectors and semi-established NFT creators and artists. This aspect may restrict Foundation’s clientele, but it also increases desirability for target audiences. 

OpenSea is the better option for the everyday NFT investor or creator. It offers low transaction fees, superior crypto wallet compatibility, and a wide range of seller customisation options.

But those looking to break into the NFT digital art marketplace (specifically) may opt to lobby for an invite to Foundation. And creators searching for some of the best digital artworks are likely to find Foundation’s listings captivating.