Fractional NFT Marketplace Development: What It Is and How to Build One

You’ve probably heard of the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, where the price of a single NFT can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. But what if you could own just a fraction of such a token, investing not $200,000 but, say, $200? This is exactly what fractional NFTs offer — the opportunity to buy a “piece” of an expensive digital asset, divided into multiple shares, and earn alongside other investors if its value increases.

What Are Fractional NFTs and Why Are They Becoming Popular

An NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a unique digital asset on the blockchain that verifies ownership of a specific item, such as an image, music video, in-game item, or virtual piece of land. The challenge is that the rarest and most valuable NFTs can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, making them unaffordable for most people.

The problem is solved by fractional NFTs. The technology allows an NFT to be fractionalized into many smaller tokens, representing a share of that asset. An investor can buy only a part of a token and enjoy its price growth in proportion to their share. It works just like shares in a business: you don’t own the whole business; however, you have rights to some of its value and potential profits.

The Role of Fractional Ownership in the Growth of the NFT Market

Fractional ownership — where multiple people share ownership of an NFT — is already helping to grow the NFT market — it’s opening up digital assets to people who could not previously invest in high-value NFTs and also growing trading activity within the space, as fractional shares are more practical to buy and sell.

In addition, fractional ownership allows for the development of separate platforms to trade fractional NFTs, giving investors user-friendly tools to discover, trade, and manage their ownership of each asset. It also stimulates technological innovation that helps fractionalization and collective investment strategies expand.

As the prices of premium NFTs continue to increase, fractional ownership will grow in popularity, and these platforms will become a huge part of the NFT ecosystem.

How Fractional NFTs Work

When we talk about fractional NFTs, we mean a technology that allows a single digital asset to be divided among multiple owners. The principle works much like buying shares of a company or co-owning real estate.

Instead of one investor paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an exclusive NFT, its value can be split into many parts, each confirming ownership of a share of the asset.

Principles of Fractional Ownership

Here’s how the process works: the NFT owner decides to split their token and deploys a special smart contract on the blockchain. This contract locks the original NFT and issues a specific number of new tokens, for example, 1,000 units. Each of these tokens represents a fraction of the underlying asset and can be freely bought or sold on NFT marketplaces.

When an investor purchases one or more of these fractions, they become a co-owner of the NFT. If the price of the original token increases, the value of each fraction also grows.

Sometimes, fractional holders gain voting rights to participate in decisions regarding the asset — for instance, whether to sell the entire NFT or continue holding it. When the NFT is eventually sold, profits are distributed among all fractional owners in proportion to their shares.

This model significantly simplifies participation in high-value deals, increases market liquidity, and opens new investment opportunities. Instead of waiting for a single wealthy buyer, an NFT owner can quickly sell the asset in parts, while investors get the chance to access premium digital assets with minimal investments.

NFT fractionalization essentially transforms rare tokens into more accessible and easily tradable digital assets, broadening market participation and fueling industry growth.

Key Advantages and Benefits of Fractional NFTs

The benefits of fractional NFTs impact three key groups: investors, creators and collectors, and the NFT marketplaces themselves.

The table below summarizes the key benefits of fractional ownership and makes the market accessible, liquid, and appealing for all participants.

Advantages of fractional ownership of NFTs

NFT Market Overview and Growth of the Fractional NFT Market

According to a leading source, The Business Research Company, the global NFT market was valued at $43.08 billion in 2024 and will be worth $247.41 billion by 2029, or grow at a CAGR of approximately 41.9%.

This rapid expansion is fueled by the changeover from the market being primarily speculative trading to more utilitarian and functional use cases. In-game assets, metaverse properties, collectibles, branded tokens, etc. This puts NFTs firmly in the digital economy.

Why More and More People Want to Invest in Fractional NFTs

An increasing number of investors are turning to fractional NFTs because this type of ownership opens up high-value digital assets that could not be afforded before, and makes investments more flexible and easier to manage. These are the main reasons why fractional NFTs are becoming an attractive investment instrument for the masses:

• Accessibility: Instead of buying an NFT worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, investors can purchase a fraction for just hundreds or even tens of dollars.
• Liquidity and flexibility: Selling part of an asset is quicker and easier than selling the whole NFT at once.
• Having a voice in big decisions: Shareholders can have a say in important decisions, such as whether to sell an NFT or keep an asset.
• More ways to invest: Fractionalization allows for building a collection of NFT shares instead of putting all funds into a single token.

What Is a Fractional NFT Marketplace?

A fractional NFT marketplace is a digital trading platform specifically designed for operations with fractional ownership of NFTs.

On such a platform, the owner of a high-value token can “split” it using a smart contract into hundreds or even thousands of parts, issued as fungible tokens (commonly ERC-20). Investors can then freely buy and sell these fractions, gaining partial ownership of the original NFT.

Unlike a standard NFT marketplace, where the transaction model is “one token — one buyer,” a fractional marketplace allows dozens or even hundreds of people to co-own a single NFT, participate in its potential value growth, and have a say in decisions regarding its management.

The Role of the Platform in Simplifying Fractional NFT Ownership and Trading Operations

Without a specialized marketplace, the process of fractionalizing an NFT would be complicated and insecure, requiring manual token issuance, ownership tracking, and buyer searches. A fractional NFT marketplace automates these processes by providing:

• Smart contract deployment: The owner uploads an NFT to the platform, chooses how many fractions to create, and the contract issues the corresponding number of tokens.
• Secure storage: The original NFT is locked in a smart contract while its fractions are in circulation.
• Transparent trading: Investors can buy and sell fractions at any time, just like regular cryptocurrency tokens.
• Collective decision-making: Fraction holders can vote on what to do with the NFT — sell it entirely, rent it out, or use it in the metaverse.
• Access to premium assets: Even high-priced NFTs become affordable to a wider audience thanks to lower entry costs enabled by fractionalization.

Choosing a Fractional NFT Marketplace Development Company

When selecting a team to build your NFT platform, it’s important to look at their experience.

Look for developers with a strong background in creating decentralized apps and trading platforms — NFT development goes far beyond simply writing code. It requires a deep understanding of smart contracts, tokenomics, fractional ownership, and the ability to work seamlessly across multiple blockchains.

A company that has successfully delivered NFT and DeFi projects before is far more likely to provide a secure, dependable solution tailored to your vision.

It’s also crucial to partner with professionals who know the ins and outs of NFT development. Errors in smart contract design or weak security practices can cost investors their funds and seriously damage your platform’s reputation. Skilled teams help you avoid these risks, offering smarter ways to scale, add functionality, and deliver a smooth user experience.

Before committing to a partnership, take time to discuss the essentials. Ask what tech stack they’ll use and whether it works with your preferred blockchain. Clarify what security measures and contract audits they perform, and how they plan to protect user data and transactions.

Go over timelines, costs, post-launch support, and future feature upgrades. A reliable sign you’re talking to the right people is a strong portfolio with real examples of successful NFT projects they’ve already built.

Fractional NFT Marketplace Development: Step-by-Step Process

Building a fractional NFT marketplace isn’t just about writing code — it’s about turning a vision into a platform people actually want to use. The process takes planning, teamwork, and a clear idea of what collectors, investors, and creators need. Here’s how it usually unfolds:

1. Researching and Defining the Vision

Everything starts with understanding the market and your audience. Who will use the platform? What problems will it solve? Which blockchain will provide the best balance between speed, fees, and ecosystem support? These early decisions shape everything that follows.

2. Planning the User Experience

The next step is designing how the marketplace will work. From issuing fractional NFTs to running auctions, every detail matters. Early mockups focus on simplicity — so even someone completely new to NFTs can figure things out in minutes.

3. Building the Core Mechanics

This is where smart contracts come in. Developers create the logic for fractionalizing tokens, handling trades, and managing auctions. The goal? A secure, transparent, and automated process that works flawlessly.

4. Giving Users the Right Tools

People need an easy way to upload NFTs, split them into shares, trade fractions, and track their investments. The interface is designed to feel natural and intuitive, removing any unnecessary complexity.

5. Wallet Integration and Security

A good marketplace easily connects with crypto wallets like MetaMask or WalletConnect. Security is a top priority — contracts must be audited, contain no risks, and protect both funds and data.

6. Launching and Evolving the Platform

After thorough testing, the platform goes live. But that’s just the beginning. Continuous updates, new features, and reliable support keep the marketplace competitive as it grows.

Why Partner with SCAND for Fractional NFT Marketplace Development

Choosing an experienced development team is a key factor in building a reliable and in-demand platform for fractional NFT trading. SCAND has been operating in the global IT market for over 25 years, providing clients with innovative and technologically robust solutions.

Our team includes more than 250 highly skilled professionals, and over the years, we have successfully delivered 900+ projects worldwide, including blockchain- and NFT-based solutions.

SCAND’s expertise in NFT marketplace development covers the entire project lifecycle — from architecture design and smart contract development to integration with various blockchains and cryptocurrency wallets. We have in-depth knowledge of fractional NFT development and understand how to organize collective ownership of digital assets safely and transparently.

Every project undergoes thorough auditing to ensure reliability, strong security measures, and user trust in your platform.

We create fractional NFT marketplaces that are scalable, useful, and easy to use in order to broaden your audience, boost asset liquidity, and draw in new investors. Your platform can adapt to changing market trends thanks to our adaptable architecture, which makes it possible to integrate extra features like auctions, DAO-based voting systems, fractional ownership management tools, and DeFi interactions.

You get more than simply a technical service provider when you work with SCAND; you get a strategic partner with decades of experience and worldwide knowledge. We will assist you in developing a multipurpose fractional NFT marketplace that will make your business stand out from the competition and enable you to fully utilize fractional NFT technology.

Technology Stack for Fractionalized NFT Marketplace Development

At SCAND, we choose a technological stack based on the unique requirements of each client to create dependable, secure, and scalable NFT marketplaces. We are able to design adaptable and fully functional platforms for NFT trading and management because our solutions are based on established blockchain platforms and contemporary development tools.

• Blockchain networks: We work with Ethereum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, Solana, and other networks, selecting the optimal infrastructure based on transaction speed, gas fees, and future scalability requirements.
• Smart contracts: Our experts design and audit smart contracts to ensure secure NFT fractionalization, proper management of fractional ownership, automated profit distribution, and transparent transaction processing.
• APIs and integrations: We integrate cryptocurrency wallets (MetaMask, WalletConnect, and others), payment gateways, analytics tools, and external NFT marketplaces to expand your platform’s capabilities.
• Security and support: We implement advanced data protection and transaction security protocols, design a modular architecture for seamless scalability, and provide comprehensive technical support at every stage of your project.

Cost and Timeline of Fractional NFT Marketplace Development

The cost and timeline for developing a fractional NFT marketplace depend on several key factors that directly influence the complexity of implementation and project delivery speed:

• Feature complexity: Basic platforms with simple fractionalization and trading functions take significantly less time to develop than advanced solutions with DAO mechanisms, auctions, DeFi integrations, and cross-chain operations.
• Blockchain selection: Different blockchains vary in transaction speed, gas fees, and technical capabilities, which can affect both development costs and long-term maintenance expenses.
• Third-party integrations: Connecting external payment gateways, NFT marketplaces, analytics tools, and APIs adds development time and increases the overall budget.
• Client-specific requirements: Custom UI/UX design, branded features, and unique ownership and profit distribution mechanics require additional resources and tailored development efforts.

At SCAND, we carefully analyze each of these factors during the project’s discovery phase to provide accurate cost estimates and realistic delivery timelines. This approach allows us to optimize expenses, select the most suitable technologies, and ensure a fast, secure, and scalable launch for your fractional NFT marketplace.

Future of Fractionalized NFTs and NFT Marketplaces

Fractionalized NFT technology has already begun to change the digital asset industry, but there is still so much more potential to uncover. In the future, we can expect this model to develop quickly throughout various sectors. In art and collectibles, fractionalization will diversify ownership of rare and valuable digital assets among more and more people. Fractionalization will lead to more collecting, less greed.

In metaverses and gaming projects, co-ownership of virtual land plots and unique in-game items will enable players and investors to pool their resources for larger-scale initiatives.

In the financial sector and the realm of real-world assets, fractional NFTs could serve as a bridge between traditional investments and the blockchain economy, enabling the tokenization of real estate, profit rights, or even company shares.

Fractional NFT platforms will play a crucial role in the mass adoption of NFTs as they eliminate the main barrier to entry — the high cost of premium assets. With these platforms, investors will be able to purchase fractions of top-tier NFTs as easily as they buy cryptocurrency or stocks today.

Their functionality will continue to expand, offering features such as lending against NFT shares, automated management of investment pools, and integration with DeFi tools. This will open up new earning opportunities and enhance the overall liquidity of the NFT market.

Fractional NFT ownership is gradually becoming a full-fledged investment instrument. Instead of risking large sums of money on a single expensive NFT, investors will be able to build diversified portfolios consisting of fractions from various collections and projects, reducing risks while increasing potential returns. This model paves the way for the emergence of new financial products and services at the intersection of NFTs and traditional investment markets.

Conclusion

If you are planning to launch your own platform for trading fractional NFT shares or want to integrate fractional ownership technology into an existing product, we are open to collaboration and can provide end-to-end development services — from idea analysis and architecture design to platform launch and ongoing support.

Partner with SCAND to turn your concept into an efficient and profitable digital product capable of securing a strong position in the NFT market.