OpenSea launches 'immersive minting experience' for NFT drops

On Monday, leading NFT marketplace OpenSea announced that it had upgraded the minting process on its platform with a new immersive drop experience.

According to an official blog post, NFT creators can now launch their artworks within exclusive drop pages that will provide greater discoverability. Collectors will also be able to mint directly from an OpenSea page in the new system.

The drop pages will carry all information relating to the drop and the minting schedule, as well as include a countdown clock and an NFT gallery.

As part of the upgrade, a new service called Seadrop is being introduced. Seadrop is basically an open-source contract that allows those launching NFTs to go about their business without the need to create custom smart contracts. OpenSea wrote in the statement:

With our new drops experience, we are providing creators with the technical foundation to mint their projects without compromising creativity [..] Also, collectors can come to one trusted destination for both minting and future sales and purchases.

Although OpenSea has remained a leading NFT marketplace, several competitors like LooksRare and Magic Eden are beginning to threaten its supremacy. Some other marketplaces have even rolled out options that allow collectors to bypass artist royalties while offering multi-chain options.

The move by OpenSea is definitely a response to the changing times in the NFT scene as marketplaces and service providers look to innovate their offerings. Notably, there has been a some division within the NFT market as companies are beginning to offer bespoke NFT minting services. Moonpay promised to offer the said service on its HyperMint platform, which it launched in June. The service will be offered via a machine the platform created for creators and brands to mint millions of utility NFTs at once.

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