Gate.io NFT MagicBox marketplace review

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U.S. residents are currently unable to use any products from the Gate.io ecosystem, as of April 2021. Gate.io is working on a U.S. specific platform, to be called Gate.us.

Pros and cons of NFT MagicBox:

Pros

• Simple sign up. Features a routine account creation, and your account doubles as a crypto wallet.
• Low fees. Gate.io charges a 1% marketplace fee, much lower than OpenSea's 2.5% and Foundation's 5%, and minting on GateChain has no gas fees right now.
• Mobile app. The Gate.io mobile app offers access to the exchange and NFT marketplace.
• Creator control. Creators have the ability to set the cryptocurrency they want buyers to use when purchasing their assets.

Cons

• Unavailable to U.S. residents. U.S. residents can't use any products or services of Gate.io, as of April 2022.
• Lacking big ETH collections. Being on GateChain, MagicBox NFT is missing major blue chip NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks.
• Has experienced a hack. The Gate.io exchange experienced a $2 million dollar hack in PAID tokens in 2021. The holders were reimbursed, but it is worth mentioning.

Gate.io has a massive cryptocurrency ecosystem, and now includes the NFT marketplace MagicBox. It's simple and easy to navigate, offers certifications for verified collections — and you can access the marketplace through Gate.io's app.

Our take on Gate.io's marketplace

Gate.io is a cryptocurrency exchange site with a blockchain ecosystem. Calling itself the "gateway to crypto," it attracts seven million users worldwide.

The NFT MagicBox is Gate.io's NFT marketplace. You can browse listings, mint digital files for free and see trending collections from its home page.

Image source: Gate.io NFT MagicBox

MagicBox is clean and easy to navigate, clearly displaying listings, prices and usernames. Gate.io makes it simple to sort and toggle between collections and customize search results on the marketplace, with filters you can use to find the NFT or collection you're looking for.

It also features official certification tags that can benefit those considering the purchase of high-value NFTs. These tags are designed to signal to buyers that the NFT has gone through a process of authenticity, providing confidence that what you're buying is genuine.

Though, with details sparse, it's not clear to us what it actually takes for a creator to become "certified" beyond verifying socials and email. Take it with a grain of salt.

About Gate.io's NFT marketplace

It's a mixed marketplace. You can also access the MagicBox NFT marketplace through Gate.io's mobile app, allowing you to buy and sell on the go.

To buy or sell NFTs on the marketplace, you must first create a Gate.io account:

1. Go to Gate.io's site and Select Sign Up at top right.
2. Confirm your residency in the pop-up, and create your account with a username and password.
3. Verify your account through a Gate.io email.

Once you've completed the signup process, your account becomes a Gate.io wallet that you can use for minting, buying or trading NFTs.

MagicBox NFT blockchain and currency

Gate.io and its marketplace NFT MagicBox run on the public blockchain Gatechain. GateToken (GT) is Gate.io's native coin on the public Gatechain.

Supported cryptocurrencies on the marketplace include:

Creators have the ability to set the currency they want buyers to use when purchasing their work. Many creators choose to list their art for USDT (Tether), a stable coin pegged to the US dollar.

How to buy NFTs on Gate.io's marketplace

Gate.io supports its own digital wallet that you get when you create a Gate.io account. You use this wallet to make trades, mint NFTs and buy or sell NFTs on the site. If your purchase or bid is successful, the cost of your NFT is deducted for your account balance.

You can buy an NFT on NFT MagicGate with a fixed price through your Gate.io account:

1. Select the NFT you want to buy on the marketplace.
2. Select Purchase.
3. Confirm your purchase and account balance in the pop-up.
4. Complete your purchase.

Buying an NFT at auction is a similar process through your Gate.io account. You select Bid for the NFT you're interested in, and when the auction closes you learn if your bid is successful. Bidding does not lock your funds, so Gate.io advises that you keep your bid amount in your account until the auction's end.

When you make your first bid on an auctioned NFT, you put down a margin fee — like an auction deposit — that's set by the seller. If the winning bidder can't pay the full price at the end of the auction, the seller receives the margin to compensate for any losses.

You can search for NFTs by creator, artwork name or a description of the NFT from a convenient search bar at the top of the marketplace. Use the Ranking List button to view the most popular NFTs, artists and collectors on the marketplace.

Image source: Gate.io NFT MagicBox

What types of NFTs are available on MagicBox NFT

The NFT genres on the marketplace are:

Gate.io features popular collections and creators such as:

How to sell NFTs on Gate.io's marketplace

To mint and sell NFTs, then follow these steps:

1. Select Create NFTs.
2. Select Click to create collection in the pop-up.
3. Complete information for your NFT that includes collections, category, a description and a logo. Then select Confirm & Create.
4. Upload the file to mint in the resulting Create Works page. Complete required fields and select Mint.

You can list an owned NFT by accessing My Assets. Select the NFT to sell, indicate whether you want to sell it at a fixed price or at auction and then confirm.

To sell items on the mobile app, tap the option NFT BOX, then tap the menu button (the three stacked lines, called a hamburger). Next, select My Assets, select the item you want to sell, choose sale method and confirm the listing.

With a fixed price, you choose the listing price and sale timeframe for your NFT. At auction, you indicate an opening price, a start and end time, a bidding margin and how much bidders are required to raise their price with each bid.

Gate.io's NFT marketplace fees

MagicBox NFT fees are in line with the majority of other NFT marketplaces. At the time of writing, gas fees are waived for the creation of NFTs on GateChain.

Marketplace fee	1%
Gas fee	Apply to buying and selling NFTs
Margin fee	Fee set by the seller that compensates for losses if the highest bidder in an auction backs out.

You may be able to pay less in fees by owning Gate.io's native coin GateToken (GT). It allows you to more quickly reach VIP status, which qualifies you for lower handling charges and bonus campaigns — limited-time competitions and trading contests that can save you money.

MagicBox NFT drops

Lacking a specific NFT drop landing page, Gate.io's marketplace doesn't feature exclusive NFT drops at the time of writing. The exchange, however, has various airdrop programs for crypto.

MagicBox NFT has a page called Featured NFTs, which lists Gate.io's official recommendations for high-qualfiy items.

Image source: Gate.io NFT MagicBox

How the Gate.io app works

Gate.io's mobile app is available on iOS and Android devices. The app allows:

• Access the NFT marketplace
• P2P trading
• Liquidity mining
• Copy trading
• View analytics

Whether you want to use the Gate.io exchange or marketplace, the app has it. It's worth noting that some NFT marketplaces completely lack a mobile app with access to the marketplace, such as Foundation and Nifty Gateway, so a big plus in our book.

The Apple app has a medicore rating of 2.8 stars, and the majority of ratings are 1-star. Disgruntled users mainly report know your consumer (KYC) issues, withdraw problems and poor customer support.

On the Google Play store, the app holds a solid 4.3-star rating, with the vast majority of ratings being 5-star. The poor reviews cite similar issues as Apple users.

Image source: Gate.io App Store

Is Gate.io's MagicBox NFT legit?

Gate.io is a legitimate crypto ecosystem. However, not everyone has access to its services — including U.S. residents.

For crypto enthusiasts that can access the ecosystem, Gate.io calls itself "one of the most secure exchanges in the world." To support that claim, it publishes a security plan on its site that details the ways in which it protects assets on its platform and within your account, as well as the measures it takes to expose vulnerabilities:

• System security — Gate.io relies on third-party enterprise hardware firewalls to detect and fight attacks. Transactions are encrypted, with multiple layers of security between steps.
• Account security — Gate.io uses a range of active and passive protections at login and when buying, selling or withdrawing with your account.
• Bug bounty program — Gate.io invites the help of ethical hackers and cybersecurity experts to report on vulnerabilities and further strengthen security across the site.

However, Gate.io had to reimburse some users due to a major hack last year — PAID Network token holders were affected. The platform was attacked by "an unknown hacker who minted about 59.4 million PAID tokens worth $166 million," as reported by BTC Manager. The hacker used a compromised private key and was able to burn and re-mint tokens.

Holders on Gate.io were reimbursed $2M. Gate.io's CMO said in an official statement, "...we take our core values of security, transparency, and integrity extremely seriously. This commitment to our users has compelled us to immediately implement a solution in the form of a compensation program."

Theft and security breaches can happen on exchange sites and NFT marketplaces. Phishing attempts are also common in the industry, so be sure to never give out your wallet's private key to anyone, for any reason.

Bottom line

Gate.io's NFT marketplace has some catching up to do — it launched in 2021. Older, more established marketplaces such as OpenSea have been around since 2017 and were around for the NFT goldrush.

Despite being a little late to the party, Gate.io's MagicBox has solid features, an easy-to-navigate interface and low fees. The mobile app is especially appreciated, and given it also gives you access to the exchange, it's a great one-stop app.

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