Binance X, a Binance-backed developer platform, announced on Thursday the official launch of its non-fungible token (NFT) platform, Featured by Binance. According to the announcement, the system would be a non-custodial and on-chain one built on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network that will connect creators, brands and their fans.

The brand-new platform aims to support the entire cycle of a unique NFT, starting from minting and passing through marketing, distribution, secondary trading and redemption. “We want to apply our deep experience in launching tokens and creating markets to the NFT space. At launch, the platform will focus on helping our brand partners launch NFT assets with strong unique narratives, a marketplace to trade those assets and creator tools to mint, sell and showcase their NFT creations,” Teck Chia, Featured by Binance’s CEO, commented.

Per the blog post published by the CEO, the pandemic was one of the drivers behind making Featured by Binance a reality, together with the NFT hype witnessed since 2020 amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“We believe that the next evolution of digital goods will be on the blockchain and NFTs are the first step towards that transformation. What we are seeing are early market dynamics pushing digital goods towards a better platform. Just as ‘money’ and financial markets (DeFi) have, slowly but surely, migrated to the blockchain, digital goods will do the same,” he added.

Binance CEO Reaction

Among the features offered, it included the immutability of assets stored on the blockchain. Talking about the launching of Featured by Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance’s CEO, said: “We believe Featured by Binance will unlock a lot of exciting innovation in digital goods. We want to apply our deep experience in launching tokens and creating markets to the NFT space to help brands and creators unlock these benefits.”

Recently, data from NonFungible.com showed that the week-long period surrounding the NFT market peak at the beginning of May saw $170 million in transactions. However, that figure has collapsed to just $19.4 million in NFT sales, which is a decrease of roughly 90%.