Overview of SuperRare

SuperRare is a peer-to-peer NFT marketplace built on ERC-721 NFTs. As a rising star in digital art, it provides an innovative trading platform for artists and collectors, powered by its decentralized nature and blockchain technology.

With the introduction of SuperRare 2.0, the platform has added new features like SuperRare Spaces and sovereign smart contracts, enhancing how artworks can be curated and promoted. This gives community members and artists more control and allows for personalized displays. The creation of the SuperRare DAO signifies the decentralization of the platform’s governance, enabling $RARE token holders to collectively manage and drive the future growth of the art market, community organization, and artist empowerment.

How to Get Involved

For Artists

SuperRare offers artists a platform to showcase and sell their digital art, providing them with greater autonomy and flexibility. Each artwork on SuperRare is an ERC-721 NFT with a unique digital identity that cannot be replicated.

Artists can auction their NFT artworks, attracting global NFT collectors to bid or sell their works at a fixed price, offering clear price expectations for collectors. Once sold, these NFTs can be traded freely in other markets, ensuring the works’ scarcity and authenticity while providing a new avenue for artists to display and monetize their creativity.

The platform’s artist-friendly nature and artwork protection mechanisms have attracted early pioneers and leaders in crypto art. Artists not only have personal accounts on the platform, but their works also hold significant positions in the crypto art market. For instance, Xcopy is known for his unique digital art style, often addressing deep societal and cultural issues; Videodrome is famous for his dynamic visual works, blending traditional art with modern technology to create captivating visuals.

SuperRare has high entry requirements for artists, known for its strict artist selection standards and high-quality works. Artists need to apply to join the platform, and SuperRare conducts detailed weekly reviews, analyzing the originality, artistic value, and market potential of applicants’ works, ensuring that only the most talented and creative artists can showcase their works on this platform.

As of now, SuperRare has collected 38,000 artworks, and artists on SuperRare have earned over a hundred million in revenue.

Source: Superrare

For Collectors

SuperRare is not only a treasure trove for discovering and purchasing digital artworks but also a safe and transparent trading platform. Through smart contracts, each transaction is publicly verifiable, protecting the interests of both buyers and sellers.

SuperRare offers rich features for NFT collectors and traders, facilitating the discovery, purchase, sale, and investment of artworks. Key features for NFT traders on SuperRare include:

• Artwork Categories: Artworks are categorized into animation, surrealism, abstract, illustration, etc., helping traders find pieces based on their interests.
• Artwork Status: The platform shows different statuses such as “Buy Now,” “Live Auction,” “Open for Bids,” “Owned by Creator,” “Upcoming Auction,” “Reserve Price,” “No Bids,” “Primary Market Sale,” and “Secondary Market Sale,” providing current trading statuses.
• Price Range: Price range indicators, including “Lowest” and “Highest” prices, help traders assess the value and budget for artworks.
• Currency Units: Traders can purchase artworks with ETH or RARE tokens.
• Media Formats: The platform supports various media formats, including images, GIFs, interactive content, 3D, and videos, offering diverse visual experiences.
• Artist Discovery: Traders can discover new artists and those who haven’t sold yet, providing opportunities to invest in early works.
• Transparency and Traceability: Detailed descriptions, ownership history, and artist creation histories enhance transaction transparency and traceability.

These features create a comprehensive, secure, and user-friendly environment for NFT traders, promoting the circulation and investment of digital artworks.

Fees

In the primary market sales (first sale of an artwork, or mint sales) on SuperRare, artists receive 85% of the sales amount, highlighting SuperRare’s respect for the artists’ work. The SuperRare DAO community treasury receives 15%, supporting ongoing platform development and enhancing community participation and influence.

In secondary market sales (any sale after the primary sale), sellers receive 90% of the sales amount, encouraging long-term holding and investment in artworks. Original artists receive a 10% royalty from each resale, ensuring they continue to benefit economically from their works and recognizing their ongoing contributions to art creation.

Additionally, a 3% market fee is added to the sales price paid by buyers, going into the SuperRare DAO community treasury. This financial base supports the sustainable and healthy operation of the DAO and offers economic incentives for community members to engage in platform governance and development.

SuperRare’s Modules and Features

SuperRare offers three main modules for artists and collectors: Spaces, Features, and Insights.

SuperRare Spaces

SuperRare Spaces is an innovative feature introduced in SuperRare 2.0 to decentralize the curation and promotion of artworks. Unlike traditional curation methods, SuperRare Spaces allows community members to be involved in the artist review and invitation process, promoting more sustainable and diverse platform growth.

SuperRare Spaces are essentially independently operated galleries on SuperRare. Spaces can curate and promote artworks and artists, organize auctions, and earn commissions. Each Space can launch its own ERC-721 compatible minting smart contract and invite artists to collaborate in minting NFTs, whether for one-time events or ongoing projects.

New Spaces proposals can be submitted to the DAO, and RARE token holders vote to approve them. Once approved, the new gallery space will be managed by its team, which could be a traditional art gallery, a DAO, an artist collective, or any group capable of curating and promoting art.

Space operators control their commission structures to provide the level of support and promotion they find appropriate. Primarily, a Space acts as a curated primary market: the team can select artists, coordinate and promote artwork releases, and build a following and collector base. For artists, the main benefit of selling through a Space is the added promotion and sales support.

Like traditional art galleries, SuperRare Spaces offers more than just artwork displays. They can serve as networking tools, PR agents, and promoters—allowing different communities to provide these value-added services for artists and their art within the space.

Once live, a Space becomes a sovereign crypto art gallery, with its gallery page as the main interface, though the NFTs created will also appear on the aggregated SuperRare market. Spaces and their artists must adhere to SuperRare’s community guidelines and terms of service to maintain standards.

To encourage thoughtful curation and active participation, Space operators can earn significant commissions from sales. The default commission for each Space is 10%, and operators can choose to increase this if their added services warrant higher compensation. A 5% commission from all Space sales goes to the SuperRare DAO. For example, if Space’s commission is set at 10%, combined with SuperRare’s 5% commission, the total sales commission would be 15%, meaning artists would receive 85% of the proceeds from a primary sale.

Source: Superrare

SuperRare Features

The SuperRare Features module showcases selected exhibitions, projects, and special releases, including curated exhibitions on SuperRare.

SuperRare Features also regularly updates artwork recommendations. For example, the “10 Artworks to Collect This Week” column lists ten recommended artworks for the week, featuring artists like Diane Lindo, Kristopher Shinn, and Ciberdelia, helping collectors and art enthusiasts discover and collect high-quality digital artworks.

Source: Superrare

Curated Insights

SuperRare Insights is designed to explore creativity and viewpoints for artists and users. This includes the Academy and Discovery columns, which reveal the steps involved in digital art creation and explore artists’ ideas through text and dialogue, fostering innovative viewpoints and user education.

The Academy column educates beginners in crypto collectibles and artists, explaining different SuperRare features to help users fully utilize the platform and understand SuperRare Spaces. SuperRare also provides case studies to help users learn from professionals on how to create successful Spaces.

The Discovery column involves in-depth interviews and conversations, revealing artists’ creative processes, inspirations, and ideas. The Curated Conversations column showcases dialogues and discussions with artists, offering in-depth exploration and introduction to specific artworks or artists, vividly presenting artists’ creative concepts, stories behind the works, and discussions of sources of inspiration. Curated Conversations also explores unique styles, such as Hossein Goshtasbi using self-portraits to create surreal and contemplative images, showcasing “Poetic Conceptualism.”

Source: Superrare

Introduction to SuperRare’s Features

SuperRare offers three main features for users: Explore, Feed, and Releases.

Explore

The “Explore” feature on SuperRare provides users with a comprehensive browsing experience, allowing them to discover and search for NFTs, artists, categories, and genres. This feature includes a dynamic search interface, enabling users to filter and find specific artworks based on their interests and preferences.

On the “Explore” page, users can use the “HIDE FILTERS” option to simplify the view, quickly browse recently active artworks, or view pieces in different statuses such as “Live auction” and “Upcoming auction.” The “Explore” feature also provides detailed information about the artworks, including the “List price,” “Last sale price,” “STATUS,” and whether it is a “Primary sale” or “Secondary sale.”

Users can check the “RESERVE” price, which is the minimum selling price of the artwork, and use the “Buy now” option to purchase the artwork immediately. The artworks displayed usually include information about the “Artist” and “Owner,” giving users a deeper understanding of the work’s origin and background.

Additionally, the “Explore” feature can be integrated with other features like “Curation” and “Releases,” offering users an interactive platform to explore, collect, and trade artworks. This way, SuperRare aims to provide art lovers and collectors with a seamless, intuitive, and informative exploration experience.

Feed

The “Feed” feature on SuperRare is a dynamic social media stream that provides users with a real-time overview of platform activities, including Activity and Discovery.

Activity offers a snapshot of market dynamics, showing which artworks are being bought and sold and current price trends. It also includes user interaction features, allowing users to see actions taken by other users, such as who purchased which artwork and the transaction prices. Users can comment on or share transactions, fostering social interaction among community members and increasing platform engagement.

Discovery displays the latest developments in SuperRare artworks in a feed format. Trading activities often highlight newly listed or popular artworks, enabling users to discover new artworks and artists in real time. For example, Discovery might show that a user (e.g., @gingerpotter_21) listed an artwork titled “Crossing Paths” priced at 40,000.00 RARE (equivalent to $3.9k).

Source: Superrare

Releases

On SuperRare, the “Release” feature refers to the process of releasing and listing artworks. The “Release Schedule” shows the timeline for artwork listings.

Artists can use the “Release” feature to publish their digital artworks on the SuperRare platform for collectors to browse and purchase. The “Release Schedule” displays artworks that are currently “Minting Now,” indicating they are newly released or about to be released. Additionally, Releases highlight the names of the artists releasing the artworks, such as “morbeck” and “xmvfx,” increasing the artists’ visibility.

For users, the “Release” feature provides a real-time view of market dynamics by displaying listing information for artworks. This helps users understand which artworks are newly listed and discover new artworks and emerging artists. “FLOOR” shows the minimum trading price of the artworks in the platform’s native token, RARE, such as “3000 RARE” or “2500 RARE,” providing an intuitive view of the pricing and sales status of the artworks.

SuperRare Components

Sovereign Smart Contracts

With SuperRare 2.0, artists now have a new option to mint their NFTs using sovereign smart contracts. This concept allows artists to deploy custom smart contracts and import artworks minted elsewhere, giving them greater control and personalization over their display.

By deploying their smart contracts, artists can uniquely label their works (e.g., using custom token symbols like ROSES) and further their goal of becoming their creative platforms.

The introduction of sovereign smart contracts reinforces SuperRare’s commitment to a non-custodial, peer-to-peer platform. It allows artists to fully control their creative and economic destiny without relying on centralized platforms or teams, giving them more freedom and enabling direct interaction with collectors and the community. For example, independent artists on SuperRare can mint NFTs under their own artist or project brands.

This approach allows artists to customize the display and sale of their artworks according to their needs and creativity. It helps artists build their brand and market positioning and offers collectors and community members more diverse choices and experiences.

SuperRare DAO

SuperRare DAO is a multi-signature smart contract on Ethereum, representing a decentralized governance structure that tightly connects the future of the art market, community organization, and artist empowerment. SuperRare DAO is governed collectively by $RARE token holders. DAO members oversee key platform parameters, allocate community funds, and implement proposals for improvements through community governance, deciding on key platform parameters and fund distribution.

The structure and use cases of the $RARE governance token in SuperRare DAO are as follows:

• Governance Structure: SuperRare DAO is managed by a 7-member governance council, controlling the community treasury through a multi-signature wallet requiring the agreement of 4 members. The council includes the CEO and co-founder of SuperRare Labs, investors, independent community members, and artists.
• Governance Mechanism: Community members can submit SuperRare Improvement Proposals (SIPs) for upgrades and distribution plans. These proposals must be discussed on the community forum and receive soft consensus and formal support from council members before entering the formal $RARE token voting stage. To be accepted, a proposal needs at least 5 million $RARE votes (or 0.5% of the total supply) to reach the quorum, and it must pass with a 51% majority.
• Incentive Mechanism: Although not implemented immediately at launch, $RARE tokens will be used to incentivize participation and curation within the network. Governance can vote on how to distribute these incentives, possibly including future liquidity and staking programs.
• Curation Incentives: $RARE tokens will support SuperRare’s curation activities. Users can stake tokens to show support for different galleries, delegate voting rights, and access exclusive benefits for stakers, such as fee sharing, artwork access, and governance rights for galleries.
• Future Outlook: While the curation feature will not be available at launch, SuperRare plans to allow token holders to participate in curation activities to earn incentives and commissions in future platform iterations.

Overall, SuperRare DAO’s core is decentralized and community-driven governance. Through its structure and mechanisms, it provides a platform for artists, collectors, and community members to collectively participate in and shape the future of the art market. Over time, this organization will evolve through transparent self-governance, becoming an integral part of the art and creative community.

Source: Snapshot

$RARE Token Distribution and Use Cases

The $RARE token, as the governance token within the SuperRare network, has several key use cases:

• Network Governance Rights: $RARE token holders can participate in SuperRare governance, voting on and deciding parameters such as transaction fees and artist registration standards. Tokens give holders governance rights on the SuperRare community platform, including choosing which artworks to display in specific spaces (Spaces) and managing galleries.
• Incentive Mechanism: SuperRare Labs will encourage community members to actively participate in curation activities through incentives, which may include token rewards or other forms of compensation.
• Transaction Fees and Commissions: $RARE tokens may be related to the commission and share of art transactions on the platform, with token holders possibly receiving a certain percentage of the proceeds. Tokens can also be used to decide on the distribution of funds within the SuperRare community, including funding artists and supporting projects.
• Community Identity: In the SuperRare community, the amount of $RARE tokens held may be associated with a user’s identity and reputation, representing their contribution and influence in the community. This allows holders to participate in delegated voting and other community governance, directly influencing the platform’s direction and policy changes.

The total supply of $RARE tokens is 1 billion, with the following distribution:

• Community Treasury - 40% (400 million $RARE):
• Owned and operated by $RARE holders.
• Initially managed by the DAO governance council.
• 25% (100 million $RARE) effective immediately upon launch on August 17, 2021, with the remaining portion released linearly over 4 years.
• SuperRare Labs - 25.5% (255 million $RARE):
• Allocated to core contributors of SuperRare Labs.
• Tokens ensure alignment of incentives between the core team and the broader community.
• Tokens have a 3-year vesting period, with no release in the first 12 months.
• $RARE Airdrop - 15% (150 million $RARE):
• Allocated to core community artists and collectors who helped build the SuperRare platform.
• Airdrop tokens can be claimed within 90 days after launch, with unclaimed tokens redistributed to the community treasury.
• Distribution is based on total market value (GMV) and the number of artworks bought/sold.
• Investors - 14.5% (145 million $RARE):
• Allocated to investors from previous SuperRare funding rounds.
• Investor tokens release schedule: 25% after 12 months, with the remaining portion released linearly over the next 2 years.
• Strategic Partners and Future Contributors - 5% (50 million $RARE):
• Reserved for strategic partners and future contributors to the SuperRare network.
• Tokens will be allocated after a minimum 6-month vesting period, according to their service agreements.

Source: Superrare

In summary, by introducing the $RARE token, SuperRare aims to achieve progressive decentralization of the network, gradually transferring ownership and curation rights to the community, enabling users to truly become masters of the platform and share in the value brought by its development.

Conclusion

Summary

SuperRare has built a unique digital art trading platform through its decentralized structure and innovative features. It protects the interests of artists while offering collectors a transparent and secure trading experience. The launch of SuperRare 2.0, with features like SuperRare Spaces and sovereign smart contracts, has expanded how artworks can be displayed and promoted, making significant strides in curation and artist autonomy.

The establishment of the SuperRare DAO, governed by $RARE token holders, has driven the future development of the art market, community organization, and artist empowerment. SuperRare not only provides an innovative platform for artists to showcase and sell their works but also offers more possibilities for the platform’s future development through community-driven governance. Over time, SuperRare DAO will become an integral part of the art and creative community through transparent and decentralized governance.

Future Outlook

Looking to the future, SuperRare 2.0 will further embrace openness, decentralization, and community-driven development, promoting the display and co-creation of diverse artworks. By decentralizing curation powers, the platform aims to attract more diverse aesthetics and voices, building a more vibrant art ecosystem.

SuperRare will also strengthen community building, encouraging more members to participate and contribute. By holding $RARE tokens, members can engage in platform decision-making and help shape its future. The platform will continue to invite more NFT artists, collectors, and curators to join, bringing more creative works and emphasizing the values of co-creation and sharing.

Combining art, technology, and social values, SuperRare offers a more open, diverse, and dynamic platform for the global creative community. In the future, SuperRare is expected to become a benchmark for online art expression and peer-to-peer NFT markets, continuing to drive the development of digital art and blockchain technology.