OpenSea vs SuperRare

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are becoming a massively popular and eminent way to invest in cryptocurrency on a nifty gateway like Binance and build your online portfolio. Despite the volatility involved, many NFT marketplaces offer platforms tailored for different types of collectors.

As with any other type of collectible, part of the fun is the process of building your crypto-collection. So your choice of which platform to use will greatly impact your experience and outcome with this form of digital investment.

OpenSea and SuperRare are two such platforms aimed at generally the same thing: selling and buying NFTs. But each art marketplace ecosystem has different pros and cons you should evaluate before choosing which is right for you.

What is OpenSea?

The first NFTs snuck onto the crypto scene around 2017. While people disagree about the first real NFT, mostly everyone can agree that the craze began around this time but really started to gain traction around 2020.

OpenSea is the first-ever NFT marketplace, started in 2018. The founders, Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer were inspired by one of the original instances of NFTs, the online game CryptoKitties, in which players could collect unique virtual cats within the game.

And just as NFTs have come a long way in DeFi since their inception, so has this particular NFT platform. OpenSea is branded as the largest online digital art marketplace. Lots of investors believe the hype is real, as the company recently raised around $21 million in next-round funding as of 2021.

What is SuperRare?

As its name suggests, SuperRare is the online destination for art aficionados who aren’t content with real-life collections. The platform considers itself to be the premier place for true artists and art lovers, and one of its aims is to support artists fairly and sustainably.

This platform was born in 2018 as the brainchild of John Crain, Charles Crain, and Jonathan Perkins. SuperRare maintains an exclusive atmosphere in which artists, such as Beeple (Everydays), must be invited to apply and then verified to mint their work for the marketplace.

SuperRare’s niche offerings have been increasingly popular, with earnings trending toward $30 million monthly as of 2021.

OpenSea vs SuperRare: Audience 

As a peer-to-peer marketplace, OpenSea attracts collectors of all kinds. It has a simple, easy-to-use platform and integrative partnerships with other platforms that help keep it accessible and exciting.

OpenSea is also an ideal crypto-art marketplace for beginners. There are step-by-step guides for making NFTs guideline-compliant as well as for successful uploading and minting. The OpenSea support team is also very accessible and communicative, making it easy to both buy and sell through the platform.

Since it hosts NFTs of all kinds, OpenSea also hosts a diverse community of collectors. While games are some of the most popular and well-known digital assets on the site, any kind of intellectual property can be digitally stored on the site and sold through the blockchain.

SuperRare has a much more specific audience. As mentioned before, it caters to people who might prefer the atmosphere of a high-end art auction house, like Christie’s. The founders see the platform as one focused on the social side of collecting, as collecting is largely social by nature.

This attracts serious collectors with discerning tastes in the fine digital art world who want to connect with like-minded collectors. As you can imagine, this makes for a much more niche audience.

On top of that, SuperRare deals in only one type of NFT: digital art. This can range from photographs, traditional-style art, or even anime art. As long as the art is in digital form and tokenized, a verified artist can sell it on the platform.

OpenSea vs SuperRare: Supported Currencies

The most popular way to buy and sell NFTs on most platforms is through the Ethereum blockchain network. Second only to Bitcoin, Ethereum offers highly secure and trustworthy blockchain technology that is optimal for buying and selling NFTs.

This is because the digital asset being bought or sold is represented by a token, the NFT art itself. It functions a bit like a deed of ownership because it holds no real objective value. However, as it serves as a representative for a particular asset, it symbolizes the value of the object itself.

NFTs are used within the Ethereum blockchain during transactions to keep data secure and make sure every detail of the transaction can be monitored and recorded during the process. As there is no third-party present, like a bank, the technology takes the guesswork out of commissions as well, using smart contract technology to pay artists.

Because both OpenSea and SuperRare operate on this blockchain, they use the corresponding cryptocurrency, ether (ETH). 

Both platforms also do not support the in-site purchase of cryptocurrency. Users must make their purchases, converting fiat currency to cryptocurrency, on a third-party crypto-exchange site, like CoinBase.

OpenSea vs SuperRare: Supported Wallets

In the same way that users must already have their crypto-funds ready and available, they also must link a third-party wallet to their account when getting started both for OpenSea and for SuperRare.

This is pretty common for many NFT art marketplaces. However, the number of supported wallets can vary between the different platforms.

OpenSea has a long list of supported wallets, such as MetaMask, WalletConnect, Fortmatic, and many others. All the third parties on this list support Ethereum, so they’re good to go and easy to link to an OpenSea account.

SuperRare’s supported wallet options are fewer. Currently, MetaMask, Fortmatic, and WalletConnect-compatible third parties are acceptable on the platform. WalletConnect is an open protocol that forges a connection between the platform and many compatible dapps, or digital apps, some of which function as wallets.

OpenSea vs SuperRare: Other Differences (exclusivity for NFTs, invite-only, etc)

Some of the biggest differences between these two platforms are only visible after a little bit of digging. So here are some of the most important aspects about both marketplaces that can help you make your decision.

NFT Exclusivity

Each platform has a slightly different take on NFT exclusivity. Within SuperRare, as the name would suggest, each digital artwork is totally unique. This means that it’s the only one of its kind, making each one more sought after and valuable within the crypto-world.

On OpenSea and several other marketplaces like it, crypto-art and digital assets are still rare and valuable. But while some of them are one-of-a-kind, there are two different token standards that artists can use when offering their work.

ERC-721 is the token standard that represents totally unique NFTs that are the only one of their kind, no copies. ERC-1155 token standards govern the sale of NFTs that are offered in small batch runs. This means that there may be a handful of duplicates, all of them still verified and valuable.

These two different approaches obviously will appeal to different kinds of collectors. While some people like the idea of owning a super-rare and unique digital asset, there is also value in having a still rare piece in your collection even if another version of it exists.

Integration

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two NFT marketplaces is their approach to cooperation and integration. Each one fits the audience, aims, and rationale of the respective platforms.

SuperRare is a standalone platform. All NFTs bought or sold within the community must be stored and then, if desired, sold again all within the platform. There are no linking or cooperating sites for which buyers and sellers can transfer their collections back and forth.

OpenSea, on the other hand, integrates with another similar NFT marketplace, Rarible, whose token is $RARI, creating an open and diverse art marketplace. This means that anything bought or sold on either platform can be stored, bought, and sold on the other. 

This creates a surge of accessibility and options for collectors. NFT enthusiasts who want, as the name suggests, to fish in a larger sea will be attracted to this integrative concept.

Accessibility

When it all comes down to it, accessibility might be one of the biggest deciding factors between these platforms. 

SuperRare, which is working to decentralize its governance using its token RARE, describes itself to be in a building stage that requires a limited access operation. In order to be a part of the community, would-be users must request to be considered, at which point SuperRare may reach out with an invitation.

They have a similar philosophy for artists. A stringent application process only lets in the best of the best. The rationale behind this is that SuperRare wants to maintain a balanced buyer-to-seller ratio that can support the community and the contributing artists well.

OpenSea, on the other hand, is open to anyone. All you have to do to get started is visit the site, create an account, link your wallet, and start browsing. For current Rarible users, the two platforms integrate well and make transferring from one to the other pretty easy.

OpenSea vs SuperRare: Conclusion 

So which NFT platform is best for you? If you’re new to NFTs and want to have access to a wide and diverse sampling while enjoying a simple and easy set-up process, then OpenSea is the best option. 

If you have some experience in the crypto world and you’re looking to broaden your horizons with more exclusive assets and a community with similar tastes, then SuperRare is right up your alley.