Is Developing an NFT Marketplace Worth It?

Blockchain has unlocked a new avenue of creative content monetization, enabling artists to sell or trade digital art and assets in the form of NFTs. As of 2024, the NFT marketplace development industry is $2.378 billion. So, should you invest in NFT marketplace development in 2025?

NFT, blockchain, and cryptocurrency – these have gone way beyond the “buzzword” phase and now are technologies that multiple enterprises and SMBs are structuring their business strategies around. 

Users normally register on NFT marketplaces to buy, sell, and trade NFTs. However, have you ever wondered about the crazy amount of money these platforms make in the form of different fees and charges they deduct for every transaction?

The financial potential of building an NFT marketplace is massive. So, to answer this question, yes, building an NFT marketplace is definitely worth it, and in this blog, we’ll discuss why.

We’ll be answering the following questions:

• What is an NFT Marketplace?
• Why You Should Develop an NFT Marketplace?
• Is It Profitable to Build an NFT Marketplace in 2025?
• Which Industries Should Invest in NFT Marketplace Development?

So, without further ado, let’s begin!

What is an NFT Marketplace?

NFT stands for non-fungible token. This means it is a unique digital asset that represents ownership of something like art, music, videos, collectibles, and more. 

On the NFT marketplace, creators can “mint” their digital art or music into an NFT token. This creates a certificate of ownership that is tracked on a blockchain. Buyers can purchase these NFTs using cryptocurrency. 

Popular NFT marketplaces include OpenSea, Rarible, NBA Top Shot and Decentraland. They make trading digital assets possible by bringing artists, buyers and sellers together in one trusted destination online.

Read More: Developing an NFT Marketplace – The Ultimate Guide

Why You Should Develop an NFT Marketplace?

NFTs Take Off

Huge profits are now being made in the booming world of NFTs. 

For example, an NFT by artist Beeple sold for over $69 million in 2021. Brands like Nike, the NBA, Gucci, and others have also made millions from selling NFTs. By developing your own NFT marketplace, you can tap into this money-making trend and enjoy its benefits.

Generate Revenue Streams and Profits

One excellent reason to develop an NFT marketplace is the ability to create good revenue streams and receive fees from every transaction. The most basic income is by charging a small percentage as a transaction or listing fee whenever an NFT is sold on your platform. 

If you reach a large user base and trading volume, these fees add up to meaningful profits over time. You can also generate revenue through premium membership plans, advertising, custom NFT auctions, blockchain miners, and other value-added services. With a well-built NFT marketplace, you have multiple opportunities for earning and income growth.

Gain Brand Exposure

Operating your own NFT marketplace lets you advertise your own brand name to the world. By attracting artists, crypto-enthusiasts, collectors, and businesses to your platform, you can gain exposure to a highly targeted audience. Their interactions with your marketplace and each other will further increase your brand visibility. 

You can also partner with celebrities and influencers to promote exclusive NFTs to utilize their followers for more exposure. Over time, this has led to strong brand recognition and awareness in the profitable NFT domain.

Capitalize Early on Web3 Trends

The NFT marketplace represents an important pillar of the next evolution of web technology called web3. By building your own marketplace now, you position yourself in the forefront of a long-term wave. Creating NFTs requires blockchain-based cryptocurrency payments. 

Over the next decade, experts expect crypto, NFTs and decentralized apps to experience enormous growth as web3 fundamentally changes transactions. Leading this transition early helps attract the most users, capital, talent and attention from the start.

Read More: How to Build Your Own Blockchain Marketplace?

Is It Profitable to Build an NFT Marketplace in 2025?

The NFT Boom is Here

In November 2024, the sales volume of NFTs was $562 million. Moreover, in December 2024, the weekly sales volume was a whopping $187 million. This shows the epic potential of NFTs and digital blockchain-based assets. 

Individual NFTs are selling for millions of dollars as demand skyrockets. Top brands, celebrities, artists and investors are all trying to cash in on the NFT gold rush.

Great Market Growth Forecasted

Current market data and expert projections predict extremely strong future growth for NFTs. According to Statista, the expected market cap of NFT assets is expected to reach US$608.6m by 2025. 

Even though this is a tad bit lower than the market cap in 2024, as blockchain adoption eases worldwide, expect NFT marketplaces to skyrocket in the coming years.

Prime Conditions For New Platforms

Despite major NFT marketplaces already established, conditions remain ideal for new platforms to readily capture significant market share before 2025. Most activity is concentrated on just a handful of sites now, meaning the playing field is still wide open to compete. 

By targeting a specific niche (like art or gaming NFTs) or offering better features than opponents, freshly launched NFT marketplaces can thrive.

Gain First Mover Advantage

The earlier businesses build out an NFT marketplace, the better positioned they will be against later entrants. Leveraging first mover status lets you stake claims to domains, branding real estate, audience awareness and technical talents ahead of the pack. 

It also allows you to fine-tune platform operations long before rivals establish a presence. Moving rapidly gives you the ultimate competitive edge.

Revenue Sources Abound

NFT marketplaces enjoy numerous options for generating strong revenues. Transaction fees from NFT trading are an obvious starting point. Subscription plans for premium features are another. Advertising, sponsored NFT listings, custom branded marketplaces, and added services like ownership validation present further choices to monetize from users. 

Even the initial NFT minting process can earn fees. With so many integrated income streams, profitability looks highly achievable.

Read More: Are NFTs a Passing Craze or Long-term Assets?

Which Industries Should Invest in NFT Marketplace Development?

While the NFT concept originated around digital art, many industries stand to profit from NFT marketplace creation. 

Any sector dealing with intellectual property (IP), collectible items or digital engagement can explore positive use cases. NFT properties like transparency, authentication and asset scarcity apply perfectly to several verticals.

Gaming

Gaming pushes the limits of imagination, making it a natural fit for NFT integration. Users can purchase in-game assets like character skins or weapons as certified NFTs. Blockchain proofs provide confidence when trading gaming NFTs on marketplaces. The play-to-earn model also allows gamers to earn real income.

Read More: NFT Game Development Cost

Entertainment

The entertainment world revolves around the creation of audio, video and digital content like movies, music and books. NFTs can transform distribution by connecting creators directly with fans. Experts predict entertainment NFT trading will become mainstream as early as 2025.

Fashion

Major fashion brands have already released virtual clothing and accessories as NFTs. Luxury brands can utilize NFT marketplaces to confirm authenticity and trace item histories to combat counterfeiting. Even used as tickets, NFTs can reshape event access.

Art

As pioneers of NFT adoption, digital artists sell creations across all genres (images, GIFs, music) at exceptional prices via marketplaces. The arts sector will remain at the forefront as the shift to digital ownership accelerates.

Sports

Sports NFT trading is heating up quickly, with use cases around collectibles, memorabilia, tickets, merchandise and more. Moreover, the overall market cap of sports NFTs is expected to reach $8.3 billion by 2030.

Develop an NFT Marketplace with Cubix

While building an NFT marketplace is an excellent business initiative, you should also be aware of the potential tradeoffs. 

Not only do you need to invest significantly in creating an NFT marketplace that competes with the likes of OpenSea and Rarible, but you also need a specialized team of NFT marketplace developers.

If you have the investment but lack a team that has the capabilities required to turn your product vision into reality, you should partner with Cubix, the leading NFT marketplace development company.

Connect with our teams, and we’ll help you build your own NFT marketplace.