The Rare Protocol on Ethereum mainnet officially launched on August 29, introducing a set of groundbreaking smart contracts that could define the future of curation in the evolving Web3 ecosystem. While this new project originated at SuperRare Labs, it’s an open protocol that anyone can utilize, not exclusively for SuperRare users.
In a recent Mirror post, Rare Protocol Rare Protocol detailed tits rationale behind the Protocol’s launch, its potential effect on the community, and more. Below are the main highlights.
The Problem and Solution
With the promise of “art for all,” Web3 has been navigating treacherous waters. Recent declines in NFT sales and the changing allegiance of financial players have not just been reactions to bear market dynamics; there’s an existential crisis brewing beneath. Since the inception of NFTs the biggest challenge is facilitating genuine discovery and authenticity in a sea of countless options.
Rare Protocol aims to resolve this by serving as an open curation protocol for NFTs, fortifying the Web3 creator economy with an on-chain data layer dedicated to curation, reputation, and discovery.
Integral to this is Curation Staking, a system where participants can vouch for the authenticity of another by staking their native RARE tokens. This not only forms a reliable social graph, but also simplifies the discovery of creators and the deepening of ecosystem relationships.
Community Pools and Curated Lists
The process involves two central components: Community Pools and Curated Lists. Utilizing the native $RARE token, individuals can stake on any artist, thus gaining entry into the artist’s Community Pool — a collaborative circle advocating for the artist’s success. As artists register sales on platforms like SuperRare, both their community pool and the stakers receive rewards. This mechanism promotes talent discovery and attempts to level the creative playing field.
Curated Lists also serve as an on-chain snapshot of all endorsed artists by a staker. These lists interconnect with others, crafting a comprehensible web and revolutionizing how art and preferences are discovered. The overarching goal of this is to construct a shared curation layer that amplifies the NFT ecosystem.
As the network of Community Pools and Curated Lists expands, so does the blockchain-based social graph, offering a treasure trove of data for developers to craft superior applications.
“Improving curation and discovery in the NFT space will be a big unlock for all of Web3. I’m super excited to see the energy around Rare Protocol – the community is really coming together to tackle this problem collectively.”
Jonathan Perkins, SuperRare Labs Co-founder
Rare Protocol is not merely a tool but a transformative force for artists, collectors, and curators. By offering a peer-to-peer token incentive system, it amplifies NFT market dynamics through heightened discoverability, security, and enhanced seller reputation. Drawing parallels to the universal utility of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Rare Protocol offers a similar platform-agnostic qualitative data layer.
Moreover, Curation Staking allows creators to foster a tight-knit community of artists on-chain, bestowing rewards to their most ardent supporters. Collectors also benefit by obtaining rewards for early identification and support of creative talent.
Future impact
Rare Protocol’s potential is in its ability to streamline the flow of capital in the Web3 creator economy, directing it towards a smaller group of artists, collectors, and curators.
This decentralized art map will harness insights from art enthusiasts globally, creating a blockchain-based social graph: an open-source map that simplifies art discovery and community formation. Through this, barriers diminish, and new capital pathways emerge, heralding a new era for the Web3 ecosystem.
