- Coinbase NFT launched in beta mode yesterday, but its ‘community’ idea has not started well
- Discussions underneath specific NFTs were riddled with insults and arguments
- Coinbase NFT has pushed the idea of “social engagement” around its platform
The much anticipated (from Coinbase, anyway) Coinbase NFT marketplace has launched its beta version, and its “social engagement” efforts have fared as well as had been anticipated. Coinbase NFT was announced last year with the aim to “provide the best user experience” and increase “social engagement” around NFTs by curating a personal feed according to user interests and connecting like-minded collectors. However, the initial reviews aren’t too promising, with arguments and insults erupting underneath individual NFTs as Coinbase aims to create a community around the new asset class.
📡ATTN: INTERNET📡
Our beta is officially live!
Today we kick things off with a full-access experience for some of our waitlist frens. As we ramp up, everyone can explore the vast collection of NFTs on the first version of Coinbase NFT.
Check it out → https://t.co/gJxOOi8P15 pic.twitter.com/wYx3z3d14x
— Coinbase NFT (@Coinbase_NFT) April 20, 2022
Coinbase NFT – Create, Collect, and Connect…and Insult
In a blog post accompanying the launch, Coinbase says that it had received “amazing feedback” on its design and functionality, which only usually means one thing, before outlining the functionality of the site:
Beta testers will be able to create a Coinbase NFT profile to buy and sell NFTs using any self-custody wallet, whether that’s Coinbase Wallet or something else. For a limited time, there’ll be no Coinbase transaction fees. We’ll eventually add fees, which will be in-line with Web3 industry standards, and we’ll provide notice before anything changes.
The concept of ‘Coinbase’ and ‘no fees’ is something that the cryptocurrency community is certainly not used to, and it seems like it won’t be long until the natural order is restored.
As for how Coinbase’s feedback has impacted its research, Coinbase added the following:
We learned that people don’t just want better tools to buy and sell NFTs: they want better ways to discover them, better ways to find the right communities, and better spaces in which they can feel connected with each other. That’s why we’re building a product that’s much more than a transaction. We’re looking to empower people to create, collect, and connect.
However, early reviews of the platform suggested that what people really wanted was more ways to tell each other to f**k off:
quick thoughts on @Coinbase_NFT:
👎 major missing/half-baked features (no trait filtering, no timed listings, no activity/sales, profile curation sucks)
👍 0% fees, clean design, comments, non-custodial/non-KYC, Discover has potential
👍👍👍 90 million registered Coinbase users— tropoFarmer ∞ (@tropoFarmer) April 20, 2022
Coinbase NFT. Clicked on a random item. Closing the site. Have already seen enough. pic.twitter.com/tJ1ROt8RXz
— Narkheel.eth 🍌 (@narkheel) April 20, 2022
This has been my Coinbase NFT experience so far… pic.twitter.com/Fx5tVeZzPA
— cr0ss.eth (@cr0ssETH) April 20, 2022
Others weren’t too happy with the level of originality show in the design:
Coinbase didn’t launch an NFT platform… they launched Web3 Instagram pic.twitter.com/pb9CBJKTMP
— Yano 🟪 (@JasonYanowitz) April 20, 2022
The concept of Coinbase NFT creating a ‘community’ around NFTs was always going to be a precarious one, and it seems that, in its early iteration at least, it hasn’t started too well.
