The Art Markets on Tezos

When people think of NFTs on Tezos, the first name that comes up depends on the context. If we are talking about the early days, of course, we hear about hic et nunc (HEN), but for current events, it is usually Objkt at the center of the conversation. Today, it is the most commonly used marketplace, largely because it offers a broad set of features for artists and collectors. However, spending time within the Tezos communities reveals many other options for creators and collectors. The Tezos ecosystem is vast, diverse, and decentralized, offering room for marketplaces that reflect different priorities and needs. This article takes a closer look at the active NFT marketplaces on Tezos Layer 1 today and the unique roles each of them plays, starting with a bit more about Objkt. I’ve probably missed some great projects out there, but hopefully this gives a good overview to build upon.

Objkt.com: One of the Leading NFT Marketplaces in Web3 #

For many lovers of Tezos art, Objkt serves as the main hub for creating, collecting, minting art of all kinds, and for secondary trading. Objkt champions a unique ability to integrate most NFTs minted on the Tezos blockchain regardless of origin. It supports fixed-price sales, auctions, offers, and many other features for nearly all NFTs you own or mint on Tezos.

Artists can mint on their own contracts, open edition contracts, or the newly introduced Open Objkt shared contract system for fast onboarding. Its steady development, artist outreach, and effective marketing make it the platform where most collectors go. Third-party projects with integrated discovery tools, like Rejkt.xyz, further expand their reach.

Objkt continues to evolve with features that support both everyday artists and established names. At the time of writing, the Objkt team announced ObjktLabs and launched their first experimental open-source marketplace for generative art. You can find a more in-depth article about Objkt here and follow the latest updates on X here.

Bootloader.art: The Newest Generative Art Platform on Tezos #

Bootloader, the first experiment from ObjktLabs, is an open-source generative art sandbox and marketplace. It allows artists to build projects, mint fully on-chain, and sell generative art through a single platform. Bootloader functions as both a technical playground and a distribution channel, encouraging deeper exploration of generative systems on Tezos.

Its uniqueness lies in the fully visible open-source code and fully on-chain storage for art. This project is experimental, with higher platform fees and on-chain minting costs to consider.

I had a blast on opening day minting the initial releases on the platform, and was even inspired to begin my own little vibe-coded WIP for a potential future generative art experiment of my own. See the initial announcement details and follow for updates from ObjktLabs here.

Teia.art: The Spirit of HEN Lives On #

Teia is the phoenix that rose from Hicetnunc’s ashes, carried forward by artists and developers who refused to let its creative energy fade. The community forked the open-source code, voted on a new name, and built Teia as a decentralized, community-led platform. Governed by the Teia DAO, officially registered in 2023 as a nonprofit DAO LLC, the marketplace is volunteer-powered and community-owned. It continues the inclusive and experimental spirit of HEN, now with stronger foundations, low upkeep costs, and functioning DAO-based governance.

Beyond minting and trading, Teia emphasizes onboarding. The Teia Fountain provides new artists with small starter funds to begin minting, with a simple application process designed for fairness. This initiative, combined with grassroots governance, reinforces Teia’s commitment to artists first.

The community is also developing on-chain copyright systems and expanding opportunities for music NFTs. A companion site, teia.cafe, created by Ryan Tanaka, offers a music player for Teia-minted works, as well as resources on DAO activity.

Skurpy: Combining Social Media and NFT Marketplace in One #

Skurpy combines social media and marketplace features on a single platform. Users share posts called Skurps, connect through chats, and trade NFTs. Profile pages are divided into Skurps, Created, and Collected, making it easy to move between social content and art.

The discovery feed highlights trending collections and new artists, giving emerging voices visibility. On-chain royalties are supported for collections and individual editions to prioritize artist compensation. It’s a great experience with a lot of talented artists on the platform, and I hope to see it continue to develop further.

There is also a point system and leaderboard rewarding engagement, incentivizing minting, collecting, inviting friends, and completing achievements. Newly added features include Collab Editions and Collab Open Editions for shared artist drops, with NFT gifting by username, and AI-powered discovery tools planned for the future.

EditArt: Grassroots Interactive Generative Art Minting #

EditArt is a platform where collectors actively shape the outcome of the generative art they mint. Each mint involves five sliders, letting the collector adjust parameters before finalizing the piece. The result is a co-creation stored on-chain, combining the artist’s code with the collector’s input.

The platform emphasizes minimalism with a clean interface and straightforward experience. Every project has a custom smart contract, with metadata fully on-chain. While this increases minting costs compared with IPFS-based platforms, it is becoming more and more popular for generative art especially for its provenance.

One unique thing about EditArt is that collectors share in royalties when minted pieces are resold, recognizing their creative contribution. Artists can submit generative projects directly, with templates and documentation provided. EditArt’s focus on quality, transparency, and community makes it a trusted space for deeper interaction between artist and audience.

For me, collecting on EditArt combines my love for creating with my love for owning works by artists who inspire me. It enables a closer connection between artist and collector.

Zero Unbound: Fully On-Chain NFT Marketplace #

Earlier this year, I wrote about ZeroContract and its fully on-chain minting capabilities. You can find that article here. Since then, the marketplace has upgraded significantly including the complete removal of file size limitations, beyond the tez you can spend on on-chain storage fees.

With the new and improved Zero Unbound marketplace, users can mint NFTs fully on-chain with zero marketplace fees, while maintaining complete control of their works. Creators can even edit metadata if they own all editions. Mistakes during minting no longer require burning the NFT and starting over.

With a team of developer-artists passionate about the future of fully on- chain Tezos NFTs, it’s a feel good experience to learn more by following Zero Unbound on X.

InfiniteInk: Marketplace for Self-Custodial Minting #

InfiniteInk is another project by artists for artists that emphasizes independence in the NFT minting process. Instead of shared contracts, it allows artists to deploy self-custodial contracts while publishing IPFS-based works. The platform is invite-only, but its studio arm has supported notable releases like Getaway (Editions) by Agoria. Follow InfiniteInk here as the project opens to more artists.

Fxhash: The Original Generative Art Platform, Now Multi-Chain #

Fxhash has been a core generative art platform on Tezos for years. Each mint creates a unique work from the artist’s code, making collectors part of the creative process. Home of the first generative artists on Tezos, Fxhash is where you can find some of the most influential generative art in all of web3. Its recent $FXH launch and multi-chain expansion signal continued growth and aspirations.

Despite some uncertainty about its path on Tezos, Fxhash houses historic generative works that are worth exploring.

akaSwap: Asia-First NFT Marketplace With Unique Features #

AkaSwap is the Asia-first open NFT marketplace on Tezos. It also offers many unique features like bundled sales, raffles, and 3D exhibitions in the akaVerse. Artists can build fan-driven communities through the Artist Club, and collectors benefit from integrated fiat payments. With multilingual support, akaSwap has opened Tezos art to a wider audience.

My personal experience with akaSwap has been through using the gacha machine system to redeem prizes for TZ Apex missions. Shout out to TZ APAC! A one of a kind collaboration teaching Tezos users about projects in the ecosystem and rewarding them through akaSwap mechanics.

ArtDex.io: NFTs With DeFi Utility #

ArtDex.io applies DeFi principles to NFTs. It enables fractional ownership, NFT-backed liquidity pools, and tokenized markets. This approach treats art as both cultural and financial. While development has slowed, the platform explores innovative use cases for Tezos NFTs and reminds us how early we are in revealing the significance of blockchain and smart contract technology.

Many Markets, One Vast Decentralized Ecosystem #

The Tezos NFT landscape continues to evolve, with experiments scattered across a vast and decentralized ecosystem. When you take a deeper look at the markets available today, each serves a distinct role. Objkt may act as a central hub, but Teia, Fxhash, EditArt, Bootloader, Zero Unbound, InfiniteInk, Skurpy, akaSwap, and ArtDex all offer their own vision for NFTs on Tezos. There are probably even more not yet on my radar. Feel free to tell me about other Tezos-based marketplaces so I can incorporate them in future articles.

This diversity of the community gives Tezos its character and keeps it vibrant, adaptable, and forward-looking. Explore, research, and discover the projects that suit your workflow or taste. The more I allow myself to play, the more reasons I find to love art on Tezos. Let’s keep building, creating and playing with all these amazing developments for the arts.