Millions of Shopify merchants can now directly mint and sell NFTs on their storefronts through a merchant app, Venly, which has a partnership with layer-1 blockchain protocol Avalanche.
Earlier, merchants had to point customers to a dedicated NFT marketplace like OpenSea or LooksRare for their NFT offerings. This integration will make it easier for both merchants and customers to complete NFT transactions with just a few clicks.
Buyers won’t be required to have an existing crypto wallet. They can purchase an NFT with fiat currency through a credit card, and then they will receive a link to a new Avalanche wallet with a fresh NFT, which can be transferred elsewhere.
Billed as a cheaper and faster alternative to Ethereum, Avalanche promises to settle transactions almost instantly.
“The integration makes it easy to navigate Avalanche NFT sales from initial design all the way through final distribution. The app powered by Avalanche marks a step forward for Web3 UX — and NFT enjoyers all over the world,” said John Nahas, VP of Business Development at Ava Labs, the developer of Avalanche blockchain.
Shopify, a major eCommerce platform with over $4 billion annual revenue, offers its customers multiple blockchain-based app integrations. Its CEO Tobi Lütke is a known web3 proponent and even serves as one of the board of directors at Coinbase.
“Our growing blockchain ecosystem demonstrates our commitment to supporting merchants as they sell NFTs directly through their storefronts, helping to further grow participation in Web3 and expand what’s possible in commerce,” said Christina Lomazzo, Blockchain Ecosystem Lead, Shopify.
For Venly, this would be the second Shopify integration. The tech start-up, founded in 2018, launched its first Shopify NFT minting tool on Polygon in late 2021. It has plans to add support for more blockchain protocols like Hedera and Immutable X in the near future.
