Rarible

Rarible is an Ethereum-based platform that facilitates the creation, sale, and purchase of ownership rights to digital works of art via non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are one-of-a-kind crypto assets that are used to represent unique items such as collectibles and works of art. Rarible makes use of two NFT token standards: ERC-721, which allows for the creation of one-off unique items, and ERC-1155, which allows for the creation of multiple editions of an item.

Though Rarible’s NFT platform launched as a centralized operation, its creators plan to gradually decentralize it over time, eventually ceding control to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that will be run by the Rarible community. Rarible plans to achieve this via its RARI governance token, which gives users the right to participate in the governance of the platform. In 2021, Rarible announced that it would launch a marketplace on Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain, which is designed to host applications and facilitate speedy transactions.

To utilize Rarible’s Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, you must first have an Ethereum wallet such as Metamask, Argent, or Coinbase wallet and some ether (ETH). You can purchase ETH via an exchange, or on the Rarible crypto platform with a credit card. Once you’ve linked your wallet, you can browse Rarible’s NFT marketplace for items to purchase. The platform displays top sellers and NFT art collections, and allows you to search for NFTs via categories such as photography, games, and memes. NFT sellers can choose whether to set a fixed sale price for their asset, or to conduct an auction.

Additionally, if you are an artist or creator, you can use Rarible to mint your own NFTs. If you mint NFTs, you are not required to sell them and can merely house them on the platform. You must pay two fees the first time you mint an NFT — one to give your wallet permission to interact with Rarible and one to “call the mint function,” which puts your file on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and the Ethereum blockchain.

Both fees are network fees — the price of interacting with the blockchain — and do not go to Rarible. For future minting, you will only be required to pay for transaction fees, though these vary depending upon network congestion. When you do decide to sell NFTs that you created, the Rarible art marketplace makes it possible for you to collect NFT royalties on sales, meaning that you can collect a percentage of the sale price not only when you first sell your NFT, but potentially also on subsequent third-party sales of your NFT (for example, when the person you sell to decides to sell the NFT to someone else). Finally, Rarible is integrated with OpenSea, another NFT marketplace, which means that you can view and manage your NFTs on OpenSea, in addition to selling them on OpenSea for ETH or RARI.

Created in 2021, RARI is an ERC-20 governance token that gives its holders the right to influence Rarible’s development. For example, RARI token holders can submit and vote on proposals to change trading fees or add new features; act as community moderators; and curate artwork on the platform.

RARI has a maximum supply of 25 million tokens, 60% of which has been reserved for rewarding platform users, and 10% of which was airdropped to NFT holders in the crypto community (not just those on Rarible). Investors and the Rarible team received the remaining 30% of the RARI token supply.