Interview with two of the co-founders of Top 10 NFT Marketplace especially for artists, SuperRare
It’s been an interesting time for NFTs in the arts and collectibles space.
On May 3, Wall Street Journal tech journalist Christopher Mims published an article provocatively titled “NFTs Sales are Flatlining.” Mims caused outrage among Twitter-native NFT supporters by using data from market tracker, Nonfungible.com, which shows a precipitous drop of 92% in the number of NFT sales from a high of nearly 225,000 sales/day in September 2021 to under 22,000 sales at the start of April 2022. The site also showed a steep drop in active wallets buying NFTs, hitting 14,000 in early April 2022 vs. 119,000 in November 2021.
NFT stalwarts were quick to challenge the article’s assertions and claim Mims is citing secondary, off-chain data. Chainalysis responded with a report that showed 2022 is well on track to beat 2021 sales and that “NFT growth hasn’t been consistent” but is leveling off.
While it’s true Nonfungible.com’s interface is a little wonky and the actual sales amount data is not as problematic, making the data used in the article seem “cherry-picked.” However, if we are being honest, this is not an entirely unexpected pie. NFT sales were definitely at a fevered pitch in September 2022 and since that much hype cannot be maintained forever, the NFT market is softening nearly across the board, with a few exceptions.
Of course, the actual market movements have done little to quell the enthusiasm of those entering the NFT space…and those who would like to run the NFT marketplaces and earn commissions on all those sales.
It’s hard to find a definitive list of NFT marketplaces, but there seems to be conservatively over 200 at the time of writing. The incentive is clear, the market is still making significant sales and there remain some success stories, both in the bluechip category and among new projects. However, differentiating an exchange is becoming increasingly hard in a crowded space.
Coinbase (NYSE: COIN), a very popular crypto exchange with a strong U.S. brand, would seem ideally positioned to launch a successful NFT Marketplace, but more than two weeks after its April 20 launch, they seem stalled at just over 1,200 accounts and roughly 50 to 150 transactions/day according to Dune Analytics.
In order to appeal to micro-niches in the NFT community, most new marketplaces launch with a definite identity – from BlockBar which deals in collectible spirits to platforms like OneOf, KickFlip, and Curio which offer NFTs from famous personalities and performing artists.
SuperRare is one of the OG’s in the NFT space. Launched in 2018, they were onto the NFT phenomenon well before most average buyers. Four years is an epoch in blockchain, after all. But since apparently no one is going to challenge OpenSea’s dominance (except perhaps incentivized marketplaces like LooksRare), what is the path for a comparatively large exchange like SuperRare?
SuperRare has addressed the issue with “Spaces,” independent galleries which showcase specific themes in NFTs. The SuperRare DAO had more than 28.4 million votes cast by $RARE token holders to choose the Spaces they would support. There are 20 Spaces launched so far and each has its own URL and brand separate from SuperRare but connected by the backend. In other words, SuperRare has manufactured competition to meet the needs and wishes of its micro-niche audiences.
We spoke with John Crain, co-founder and CEO @SuperRareJohn, and Jonathan Perkins, co-founder and CPO @SuperRarePerks, about their new spaces and the secret to their …
Full story available on Benzinga.com