Korbit Research Center: "As NFTs Diversify, Exchanges Will Also Differentiate and Evolve"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] It is forecasted that non-fungible token (NFT) exchanges will diversify and develop into various forms in the future.

On the 26th, the Kobit Research Center, under the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Kobit, announced the publication of a report titled "NFT Exchanges: Trends and Prospects," which analyzes the trends and outlook of NFT exchanges.

This report includes the expansion of NFT utility, differentiation by types of NFT exchanges, and business models. According to the Research Center, while existing NFTs mainly consist of collectible NFTs such as profile images, their usage is gradually expanding to utility NFTs linked to tickets, memberships, music, games, and real-world assets.

Accordingly, the NFT exchange market is expected to diversify and develop into four major types: comprehensive platforms, vertical platforms, application-specific independent markets, and market aggregators.

A comprehensive platform refers to an open NFT platform that handles various categories of NFTs such as OpenSea, LooksRare, and Magic Eden, matching sellers and buyers. It is similar to a C2C (consumer-to-consumer) open marketplace. Vertical platforms are NFT platforms specialized in individual categories such as games, digital fashion, sports, and music. Experts predict that comprehensive platforms and vertical platforms will grow together. Application-specific independent markets refer to platforms that operate their own in-app marketplaces for each application, such as Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, and STEPN. Additionally, market aggregators collect market information from third-party markets like Naver Shopping and Skyscanner, allowing users to view and trade across multiple exchanges’ chains, prices, and fees at once.

The Research Center analyzed that based on the first-mover advantage of comprehensive platforms like OpenSea, marketplaces focusing on specific categories that satisfy niche market demands will increase.

The Research Center also introduced considerations for establishing or investing in NFT exchanges in the future. Researcher Jung Jun-young of the Kobit Research Center explained, "Focusing on specialized fields, securing a user pool and community, and addressing unmet buyer demands are important for NFT exchanges." He added, "As the types of ownership represented by NFTs become more diverse, NFT exchanges will also differentiate and develop according to the types of NFTs and target user groups. Clearly understanding the target user base and their characteristics can enhance competitiveness."