All

How to Create an NFT Marketplace in 2025: Step-by-Step Guide

An NFT (non-fungible token) is a unique digital asset that allows you to own and trade digital objects with a certain value and uniqueness. For example, digital paintings, videos, audio tracks, and virtual real estate objects in the game universe can be traded as NFTs.

NFT is based on blockchain technology, guaranteeing digital transactions security, transparency, immutability, and data distribution. At the same time, the main difference between NFT and cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, is its uniqueness and unrepeatability.

Another Bitcoin can replace one Bitcoin. When you use these coins to buy something, they have the same value. NFT is a unique copy that cannot be replaced, like the world's largest diamond or the Sistine Chapel.

If you are interested in how to create your own NFT, here is a helpful video.

NFTs are traded on a special platform — the NFT trading platform. On the NFT marketplace website, authors can place NFTs, and users can buy them and trade them. If compared with e-commerce, the NFT marketplace is something like Amazon.

One of the first NFT marketplaces is considered to be CryptoKitties, which appeared in 2017. It is based on the online game of the same name, in which users can create, breed, and sell unique virtual cats. CryptoKitties runs on the Ethereum blockchain. The game has become so popular that Ethereum has scaling issues due to high user activity.

CryptoPunks is another iconic NFT marketplace that was also launched in 2017. The marketplace offered unique digital characters that could be bought and sold on the Ethereum blockchain. CryptoPunks was one of the first successful NFT projects. The recognizable pixel art style inspired others to create similar platforms and helped NFT become a form of digital collecting.

Today, NFT marketplaces are pretty much the same as they were in their nascent stage. But there are two important differences:

• The first difference is that there are now hundreds of such marketplaces. Some are for luxury NFTs, others for collectible alcohol, pictures, virtual real estate, etc. NFT marketplaces handle a variety of NFTs, from digital art and collectible cards to virtual land and virtual real estate. These assets are created by artists, musicians, game developers, and ordinary users.
• The second difference is the linking of NFT to real objects. NFT becomes a way to tokenize assets from the real world (Real World Assets Tokenization). With the help of NFT, offline businesses can attract money from the crypto market. One of the most prominent examples is the digitization of real estate. In 2021, California-based startup Propy sold a penthouse in Kyiv for NFT, i.e., it essentially sold the right to own real estate in the form of NFT. Following Propy, large real estate developers in the US and Dubai started using NFT.

Within NFT technology, rights to anything from memes to apartments can be transferred. Each NFT marketplace offers users different opportunities and differs in the range of NFTs offered, target audience, and degree of involvement in a particular niche. However, globally, all these marketplaces are platforms where users can buy and sell digital assets based on NFT technology.

Here are 5 main types of NFT marketplaces:

• Digital art NFT marketplace. The most popular marketplaces are OpenSea, Rarible, and Foundation. These marketplaces specialize in trading images, animations, music, and other media types. On Rarible, you can buy and sell photos, games, music, and memes for WETH coins. Bidding on Foundation is based on the auction model.
• Gaming assets NFT marketplace. Examples of NFT marketplaces for gaming assets are Axie Infinity Marketplace and NBA Top Shot. These marketplaces trade game assets and virtual game collectibles. Here, users sell, buy, and trade unique NFT items used within a game or have collectible value. 
• Virtual real estate NFT marketplace. The most popular marketplaces for digital real estate transactions are Decentraland and The Sandbox Marketplace. These marketplaces allow you to buy and sell NFT pieces of virtual real estate. For example, you can purchase pieces of virtual space and create your own virtual worlds, items, and content. Decentraland features more than 90,000 land plots from the virtual metaverse.
• Collectibles NFT marketplace. Items for virtual collections are most often purchased on NBA Top Shot and CryptoPunks. Here, users collect sports highlights, virtual characters, historical artifacts, and anything else that can be collected.
• Domain name NFT marketplace. These marketplaces focus on buying and selling blockchain-based domain names as NFTs, often with unique extensions unavailable through traditional domain registrars. Unstoppable Domains sells blockchain-based domain names that can be used for websites or as cryptocurrency wallet addresses. Ethereum Name Service (ENS) allows users to purchase .eth domain names that can serve as human-readable addresses for Ethereum wallets.

Thinking about what solution to develop: Bitcoin NFT marketplace or ETH NFT marketplace? The DappRadar website will help you understand which marketplaces are trending today. You can always access up-to-date statistics on the most visited crypto NFT marketplaces there.

With NFT marketplaces, sellers monetize their digital works, buyers become part of a subculture and collect digital art, and businesses use the technology to sell real assets in the digital environment. Here are the key features of NFT marketplaces:

• Easy and secure way to create NFTs. Any NFT art marketplace offers intuitive interfaces where sellers can easily upload their digital works, set a price, and choose different selling mechanisms, such as fixed price or auction.
• Anti-counterfeiting protection and guarantee of uniqueness. NFT marketplaces operate on blockchain technology. Each NFT has a unique footprint on the blockchain that guarantees its authenticity and ownership history. This assures buyers that they are purchasing an original and unique digital work. On the other hand, sellers are automatically rewarded for each subsequent asset sale. 
• Earnings from the sale of digital assets. Sellers gain access to a global marketplace that connects buyers and collectors worldwide. With the global visibility and accessibility of NFT marketplaces, sellers can reach a wide audience and increase their chances of successfully selling their NFTs. 
• Access to a huge variety of digital assets. Users can access digital assets, including digital art, collectibles, music, videos, games, and more. This opens up new opportunities to build digital collections and express individuality.
• Participation in the creation of digital art. NFT selling platforms allow buyers to interact with NFT creators and even participate in the creation of art through various features such as voting and auctions. The buyer becomes not only the owner of a unique asset but also part of a specific culture. 
• Investing from the crypto world to the real world. NFT marketplaces became popular due to digital art because NFT is the most convenient way to transfer rights in digital transactions.

Now, NFT is not just an attribute of the crypto world. Traditional non-crypto businesses can launch NFT projects. This is a way to attract investors from the crypto world who are now having trouble investing in crypto assets in the real sector, as crypto assets and traditional assets are hard to convert into each other.

For example, real estate. A real estate developer can peg every room and even every square meter to NFT and then sell the property to many small investors. NFT technology makes investments accessible to everyone and allows construction to begin more quickly. Cryptocurrencies allow you to conveniently attract many investors willing to invest ten thousand dollars instead of looking for a dozen investors, each with a million dollars. 

We have another example. Let's say you have a leasing company. You buy cars and lease them out. You can tie an NFT to each car or split each car into several tokens, making it cheaper for digital investors to buy that car. This will allow you to upgrade your fleet of cars faster and scale your business with crypto investors.

Here is the list of technologies you can choose from for NFT platform development.

Planning & Research (4-8 Weeks):

• Define Niche & Audience. Determine your marketplace's focus (art, music, collectibles, etc.) and target audience (collectors, artists, gamers).
• Competitor Analysis. Study existing NFT marketplaces (OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare) to identify gaps and opportunities for differentiation.
• Blockchain Selection. Choose a blockchain platform (Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Solana) based on transaction fees, speed, and ecosystem support.
• Business Model. Decide on your revenue model (listing fees, commission on sales, gas fees) and long-term monetization strategies.
• Legal & Compliance. Understand legal obligations such as KYC/AML, intellectual property rights, and token regulations.

Architecture Design (2-4 Weeks):

• Smart Contract Structure. Design smart contracts for minting NFTs, managing sales, and handling royalties. Consider using existing standards like ERC-721, ERC-1155.
• Back-End Architecture. Plan how the back-end will handle user accounts, transactions, and data storage. Design API architecture for blockchain interaction.
• Front-End Design. Draft wireframes and workflows for the marketplace's UI/UX, focusing on ease of use for NFT minting, trading, and browsing.

Development (3-6 Months):

• Smart Contract Development. Write and test smart contracts for NFT creation, auctions, royalties, and marketplace logic.
• Back-End Development. Build the server-side infrastructure to handle API calls, process transactions, manage databases, and interface with blockchain.
• Front-End Development. Develop a user-friendly front-end using frameworks like React.js or Vue.js. Integrate wallet functionalities (MetaMask, WalletConnect) and ensure smooth navigation.
• API & Blockchain Integration. Integrate blockchain APIs (Infura, Alchemy) for real-time data access and transaction handling.
• NFT Storage Setup. Implement decentralized storage solutions (IPFS, Arweave) for NFT metadata and media files.

Testing & Security (1-2 Months):

• Smart Contract Audit. Conduct a thorough audit of smart contracts with a third-party firm (e.g., CertiK, OpenZeppelin) to eliminate vulnerabilities.
• Performance Testing. Test the marketplace for scalability, speed, and user load capacity. Ensure the platform can handle high traffic and complex transactions.
• User Testing. Run usability tests to identify UX issues and improve user experience. Gather feedback from early adopters.
• Security Testing. Perform penetration testing and vulnerability assessments to protect user data and assets.

Launch & Deployment (2-4 Weeks):

• Deploy Smart Contracts. Launch smart contracts on the mainnet of the chosen blockchain.
• Set Up Hosting & Infrastructure. Deploy the marketplace on cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud), ensuring proper load balancing and backups.
• Marketing & PR Campaign. Start marketing campaigns via social media, influencer partnerships, and content creation to generate buzz pre-launch.
• Beta Launch. Conduct a soft launch for beta testers to identify any last-minute bugs or issues.

If you want to develop your own NFT marketplace, ask SapienPro for help. Our experts can develop any Web3 projects, including high-quality NFT marketplaces that will precisely fit the specific needs of the market.

NFT marketplace development involves many costs that can vary widely based on various factors, including the platform's complexity, the technology stack, and the features you want to include. Here’s a breakdown of the potential costs.

If you think about NFT exchange platform development, you must:

• Conduct a preliminary market analysis;
• Competently design a development strategy;
• Meet users' demands;
• Offer good trading conditions;
• Promote your NFT marketplace solution. 

Contact our SapientPro team for an NFT marketplace development service. As a reliable NFT marketplace developer, we will implement the necessary functionality, prepare a unique design, and audit all the security. You will get ready-to-work NFT marketplace software with a clear interface and modern, memorable visuals. Call or message us to get a consultation and specify the cost of NFT marketplace development service.