Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a recent blockchain innovation that has taken the world by storm. While they have exploded in popularity, NFTs are still relatively new and complex for newcomers. One platform is trying to make it easier to sell and buy NFTs without needing to understand every technicality. Superrare is an online marketplace where users can trade digital collectibles without having to code.
What is Superrare?
Incredible amounts of money are involved in art collecting, so buyers must be sure they are getting the real deal. NFTs include digital art that connects to a blockchain like Ethereum so their authentic ownership can be tracked down.
Superrare is a decentralized marketplace and social network for NFT art. It uses the Ethereum network to allow creators to mint their artwork and link it with a token that is unique and indistinguishable. After the NFT is minted on Superrare, it can be sold, bought, traded, or HODLed by other users. As soon as a NFT is sold, it can then be resold on other NFT marketplaces at any price. Furthermore, the platform gives creators a way to earn royalty after their NFT artwork has been sold. This means that digital artists can now earn additional income when their work transacts on the secondary market.
Superrare also features some social network elements because it allows users to like, comment, follow, and interact with other NFT creators and collectors. Its homepage displays a personalized feed of recently transacted pieces and its marketplace can be filtered by artist or artwork.
Source: Superrare Market
A Brief History of Superrare
The origins of Superrare date back to 2017 when John Crain, Johnathan Perkins, and Charles Crain pondered the idea for an art marketplace tailored toward the growing digital space. They officially launched Superrare in 2018. The three are also the founders of Pixura, a platform that allows users to make, track, and trade crypto collectibles. Superrare is actually powered entirely by the Pixura tech stack.
Since its launch, Superrare has enjoyed massive adoption by digital art creators and collectors. In March 2021, the platform closed a funding round in which they raised $9 million from capital ventures like Velvet Sea, 1confirmation, Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures, Chamath Palihapitiya, and Mark Cuban.
How Does Superrare Work?
Like other decentralized applications, Superrare requires users to connect their wallet in order to operate on the platform. Metamask is the most commonly used digital wallet for this purpose. All Superrare transactions are performed in Ether, so NFT buyers will need ETH in their wallet.
Regarding platform fees, Superrare takes a 3% fee on every purchase which is paid by the buyer. On artist galleries, Superrare receives a 15% commission from the primary sale while the remaining 85% goes to the creator. Artists can also enjoy a fixed 10% royalty on every secondary sale, meaning creators can enjoy passive income if their work is continuously traded.
A Superrare curated gallery featuring multiple artists. Platform will take 15% commission on artwork sold in these galleries. (Source)
What’s Unique About Superrare?
Launched in early 2018, Superrare is an early adopter of the NFT ecosystem, providing an easy way for digital creators to tokenize their artwork on Ethereum. Now that the world has caught up with NFTs, the platform has a competitive edge over others as its massive community propels it into one of the most active marketplaces for digital collectibles, with over millions of dollars earned by artists to date.
Compared to other NFT trading platforms like OpenSea, Superrare is unique in that creators must apply for approval in order to mint their NFT art. Superrare evaluates artist applications using various metrics, such as the applicant’s social media, artstyle, and involvement in the platform’s community. In this regard, Superrare acts as a supply curator to ensure that low quality creators and works will not be featured on its platform.
Artworks on Superrare are 1 of 1 unique
Another major distinction for Superrare is that all the artwork sold on its platform is 1 of 1 unique. In keeping with its namesake, Superrare only features single edition pieces. This contrasts with most other NFT platforms such as OpenSea which allows creators to mint and sell the same artwork in multiple quantities.
All NFTs on Superrare are single edition, 1 of 1 unique (Source)
Moving Forward
NFTs are the latest mania in the crypto world. While some believe NFTs are currently largely driven by speculation, they embody the potential to grow the creator economy and build new revenue streams for digital artists and influencers.
Platforms like Superrare curate popular artists and art collections in an effort to democratize the art collection world. Collectors now have access to authenticated digital artwork while creators are given a new way to generate income. Ironically, in its mission to decentralize the creator economy, Superrare itself must act as a centralized middleman that filters out low quality art and takes a cut of all transactions. Superrare is at the forefront of the NFT revolution, but only time will tell how it will fare in this highly volatile space.
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