In early April, NFT marketplace OpenSea announced the integration of credit card payments to allow individuals without a crypto wallet to purchase NFTs. Individuals also seeking to invest in NFT assets do not need to create a crypto wallet, saving time and money.
On its MoonPay platform for buying and selling NFT assets, OpenSea began accepting credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. The platform takes digital wallet payments from Apple and Google Pay also.
MoonPay processes the entire NFT buyer’s journey without forcing users to leave the platform to complete purchases, and its credit card integration aims to boost the accessibility of NFTs.
Credit card users can buy, sell, and mint NFTs on MoonPay, and the recent integration will cover initial NFTs drops and secondary trading, storing all acquired NFTs into a platform-exclusive e-wallet.
The best kept secret in web3🤣 pic.twitter.com/xuZn64cZ4U
— OpenSea (@opensea) March 29, 2022
The news comes after OpenSea announced support for Solana blockchain-based NFTs, which is currently the fourth blockchain to debut on OpenSea after Ethereum, Polygon, and Klaytn.
Visa also introduced NFT support this week for meta-ready businesses through its NFT Creator Programme, again lowering the barrier to entry for NFT content creators and companies.
Investing in Web 3.0
The Metaverse and Web3 provide great new monetisation routes for individuals and businesses. According to industry estimates, revenues from virtual reality (VR) immersive worlds could reach approximately $400 billion by 2025.
Additionally, many groups are investing in digital real-estate on Metaverse platforms such as The Sandbox, Upworlds, and Decentraland. In November last year, digital real estate transactions reached a record high of $5 million USD in just seven days.
Digital real estate enables groups or individuals to use virtual properties for live events, brand campaigns, networking socials, and product showcases in a privately-owned and operated shared space.
Notably, hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg is very open about his interest in the Metaverse. In December last year, Snoop auctioned roughly 122 regular and 67 premium plots of digital real estate on The Sandbox.
The star also debuted a music video in The Sandbox, sharing the immersive platform to over two million Youtube viewers.
FinaMaze, a digital wealth management firm based on the Abu Dhabi global market, also recognised the value in the Metaverse this February after creating an investment portfolio of 30 immersive technology firms and cryptocurrency opportunities totalling over $500,000.
