Crypto Sapiens - Rarible | Empowering NFT creators with no-code tools w/ Alex Salnikov, Co-founder of Rarible
Primer: Rarible is not just a platform for creators to mint their own NFT collections, but a protocol for users to create their own marketplaces. In this episode of Crypto Sapiens, host Humpty Calderon speaks with Alex Salnikov, the Co-Founder of Rarible.
Background
Has an engineering background
Was trying to earn money online
Learned about crypto in 2012 and it appealed to him
Getting Involved In Crypto
Early on, crypto was heavily disconnected from the real world
Started building a bridge and on/off-ramp solution. Ran into regulatory issues
Decided to create an exchange for crypto trading
The inspiration for Rarible came about during the last crypto winter
Back then, you need to either be a developer or be onboarded to an art platform to create NFTs
Rarible enables anyone to mint their own NFTs
The Evolution Of Rarible
At first, it was an NFT minting tool
They created a governance token to decentralize the project
Rewards were given out to users who traded on the platform
Minters can now upload videos, have unlockable content, and issue editions using the ERC-1155 standard
Generated $300 million worth of sales in 2021
Realized that there are different segments of the NFT market (e.g. crypto art segment, PFP segment)
Created Rarible Protocol, an infrastructure layer that caters to the different segments that require a different UX
At the end of 2022, they created a UI offering for users to generate their own marketplaces
Rarible Protocol became an aggregator where users can access the listings on LooksRare, OpenSea, etc.
The Value Of An Aggregated Marketplace
Users need to go to multiple venues to check the prices of NFTs
With an aggregated marketplace, this information is served in one big feed from across marketplaces
Thoughts On Royalty
Is a supporter of royalties
It’s a game theory problem. The largest royalties cannot be enforced on-chain
OpenSea has created a tool for creators where marketplaces that do not support royalties are unable to trade those NFTs
After OpenSea’s announcements, marketplaces do not support royalties started to support partial royalties
How Does The Rarible Protocol Work?
It is a protocol, similar to how HTTP is a protocol
When someone visits a website, there are rules for conversation between the user and the website. These rules are hidden behind the UI
Web3 protocols not only exchange information, but hold value as well
A good example of a protocol is Uniswap:
Their app at uniswap.org is only the frontend
What powers the protocol is at the backend, where massive amounts of tokens are sitting ready for users to exchange them
Users are able to build their own marketplaces on top of Rarible Protocol
Most Influential Text He Has Read
The Bitcoin white paper and the Ethereum white paper
The Defiant newsletter
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