Starting with Bitcoin, blockchain has given birth to some revolutionary projects along the way. The most talked-about among them are NFTs i.e Non Fungible Token. NFTs have turned into valuable digital assets that are rare, unique and can be owned by users without compromising security and ownership.
Since NFTs are digital assets, it needed a platform to trade. This gave birth to OpenSea, the leading NFT marketplace that allows users, artists and creators to buy & sell digital art on its platform. The problem is centralization. Blockchain means decentralization and here we have a marketplace operating against the principles of this technology.
This gave birth to LooksRare, a completely decentralized NFT marketplace fueled by LOOKS coin. It is the project every blockchain and NFT enthusiast was waiting for. Though the project seems promising, we have to dig in and decode its actual potential –
What is LooksRare?
LooksRare is decentralized, community-first NFT marketplace that rewards creators, collectors, stakers and traders for participating on the platform. Unlike OpenSea, LooksRare is a completely decentralized entity, honouring the foundation principle of blockchain technology.
🆕 You can finally sort by rarity on #LooksRare!
— LooksRare.eth (@LooksRare) August 18, 2022
👀💎https://t.co/geMkE1zRsN pic.twitter.com/OiSYFWfy8Q
The project was launched in January 2022 by two unidentified founders pseudonym “Zodd” and “Guts”. The launch team has 11 members looking after the project’s development with an aim to dethrone the dominance of OpenSea in the NFT marketplace. Checkout Enjin coin to understand the concept of NFT.
Investors & Backers:
Pranksy (co-founder of NFTboxes), Pudgy Penguins (Creator of ColeThereum) and DeeZe (NFT Collector) are some of the known investors. The launch comes at the time when OpenSea hinted for IPO which irated platform users who were waiting for the launch of OpenSea token to reward them for their active participation on the platform.
In its initial launch, LooksRare generated over $100 million in Ethereum NFT trading volume
What is LOOKS Coin?
LOOKS coin is the native token of LooksRare marketplace. The total supply is 1 billion and it serves the following purpose –
Staking:
Users can stake LOOKS on the platform to receive over 40% APY in LOOKS and wETH (wrapped ETH). With more user onboarding and an increase in stakers, the APY will decrease over time.
Rewards:
The token is a medium to give back to the active participants i.e users and creators in the following manner –
- Users who buy and sell NFT from selected collections will earn LOOKS token.
- LOOKS stakers are rewarded with 100% trading fees.
The details of the platform rewards will be discussed next in the post.
LooksRare guarantees instant royalty payments to the creators
LooksRare Rewards:
Platform Fees:
wETH is used to pay for the trading fees on the platform. At the time of writing, LooksRare charges 2% trading fee per transaction on the platform,100% will be distributed to the stakers.
Trading Rewards:
Users have to trade eligible NFTs to earn LOOKS tokens as a trading reward. When an NFT trade is made on the eligible collection, both buyer and seller will earn rewards for their trading volume (excluding private sale).
Trading rewards are calculated each day and distributed to the eligible participants 2 hours after the closing day. The math behind reward calculation is shared below –
Only trading volume on eligible collections will count towards trading rewards. Here are further details on eligible collections.
Collection that hit 1000 ETH trading volume qualifies for trading rewards
Staking Rewards:
Stakers will receive additional LOOKS apart from the trading fee reward in wETH. The rewards are auto compounded (automatically re-staked into the pool) for the users who leave their tokens staked on the platform.
The staking rewards are earned in 4 phases, each with different reward rate. The amount of staking rewards received is explained below –
Liquidity Provider Rewards:
Users are rewarded with LOOKS tokens who stake LOOKS-ETH UniV2 LP tokens. The initial phase will continue for 500,000 blocks (77days), rewarding 10 LOOKS per block for LP stakers.
The complete details of adding liquidity can be read here and the math behind it is shared below –
LOOKS Airdrop:
LooksRare lured users to its platform by launching a “Vampire attack” on OpenSea.
Vampire Attack:
Vampire attack is a common term used in the crypto industry when one project tries to steal the userbase of a similar project by offering them better rewards, mostly by airdropping native tokens. In 2020, SushiSwap launched the same attack on Uniswap exchange by airdropping SUSHI tokens to the Uniswap users.
Airdrop Eligibility:
Any user with a combined trading volume of 3 ETH for the period from 16th June 2021 to 16th Dec 2021 is eligible to claim LOOKS once he/she lists ERC-721 or ERC-1155 NFT for sale on its platform.
The claim duration is 7-10 days, with exact dates to be announced. Unclaimed LOOKS will go to the treasury for ecosystem development. The airdrop is further divided into 9 tiers, shared below –
Claiming LOOKS:
Users need to connect their wallet to LooksRare to check their eligibility. Eligible users will see a message inviting them to list an NFT. Once the user lists ERC-721 or ERC-1155 NFT, LOOKS can be claimed via the banner on the homepage.
Pro Tip: Eligible users should stake LOOKS to earn more LOOKS + wETH
LOOKS Tokenomics:
The airdrop makes just 12% of the total supply, majority goes to volume and staking rewards. Complete breakup is shared below –
Release Schedule – Stakable LOOKS:
Release Schedule – Tradable LOOKS:
LooksRare Vs OpenSea:
In terms of decentralization and rewards, LooksRare is superior to OpenSea. Here’s a tweet from its Twitter handle comparing the purchase of BAYC NFT
LooksRare vs Opensea – @BoredApeYC
— LooksRare.eth (@LooksRare) January 15, 2022
The buyer got $3.5k in trading rewards. On Opensea, they would have gotten none.
The seller saved $1.5k in fees and got $3.5k in trading rewards. That's $5k+ more than they would have gotten on OpenSea.
👀💎https://t.co/66hbVzLSXv#BAYC pic.twitter.com/x07xWPwPno
| Parameter | OpenSea | LooksRare |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | Centralized | Decentralized |
| Native Token | NA | LOOKS |
| Trading Fee (TF) | 2.5% | 2% |
| TF Distribution | Keeps it | 100% to Stakers |
| Platform Rewards | NA | Multiple Reward System |
LooksRare Benefits:
Community First Marketplace:
LooksRare is decentralized and community-first NFT marketplace that makes it superior to OpenSea in the eyes of blockchain community. The jump in trading volume adds to the support.
Checkout Treasure (MAGIC Token) NFT marketplace challenging LooksRare
Platform Rewards:
From staking to trading, LooksRare has well thought of platform rewards to attract users on its platform. The staking rewards go beyond 40% APY, rewarding users with wETH and LOOKS tokens simultaneously.
100% Trading Fee Distribution:
The platform pledges to give away 100% trading fee as a reward to LOOKS stakers which is a brilliant move.
Instant Payments:
Creators will receive instant royalty payments when the sale is made, cutting off the delay in settlement.
LooksRare Drawbacks:
Unknown Team:
A strong project is known by the team who created it. Unfortunately, there’s not much info about the team members and the co-founders of this project. All of them are known by their pseudonyms.
Under Development:
Running an NFT marketplace is no joke and LooksRare is fairly new to the arena, the marketplace needs strong backing from engineers and the marketing team. There’s a lot to be done to make LooksRare a successful venture.
LOOKS Coin Price:
Check the latest LOOKS coin price, shared below –
LOOKS Coin Price Prediction:
LOOKS coin has made an impressive debut in the crypto market, hitting over $4 in the initial days after the launch. Needless to say, LOOKS filled the gap created by OpenSea i.e rewarding the active and loyal userbase. The token strength is multiplied when it launched Vampire attack on OpenSea, stealing its users by enticing them with airdrops.
Although the project is new and there’s a lot to be done before it stands firm against the competition. From the price point, LOOKS look very bullish and has the potential to surpass $10 within the next 6 months if there’s no suspicious news around the project or the project founders like Sushiswap when it airdropped SUSHI tokens and one of the founders (0xMaki) ran away with the liquidity. Let’s wait and watch.
Where to buy LOOKS coin?
LOOKS coin is available on top exchanges like FTX, HUOBI and Gate.io. It can also be purchased from decentralized exchange i.e Uniswap (V2).
Is LOOKS coin worth Investing?
If NFT is your thing then LooksRare is definitely the project worth keeping your eyes on. Debuted to be the community’s first NFT marketplace, it has a solid rewarding system that benefits everyone from traders to stakers on its platform.
It’s an NFT marketplace that works on the principle of blockchain technology and aims to be the leading decentralized marketplace for all your NFT needs. The project surpassed over $100 million Ethereum NFT trading volume within 2 days after the launch.
Though everything about LooksRare is fascinating, it has a long way to go in order to match the level of OpenSea, especially in terms of platform development and services offered. Overall, things look positive for LOOKS, till the craze for NFTs trends in the market.
Watch the complete video review of LooksRare:
This completes my review of LooksRare (LOOKS Coin). In the next post, I will talk about AMP Coin and Pavia Metaverse. If you’re a fan of blockchain technology then please do share this post on your social handles and educate everyone around you. Do remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more informative content, released every week.
DISCLAIMER:
Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile market. All the information shared in the post is for knowledge purpose only. By no means, it’s financial or investment advice. Readers are responsible for their own investment decisions and should only invest in cryptocurrency after proper research.
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Paras is a blockchain writer & video creator at Katoch Tubes. In his free time, he loves watching space exploration documentaries & Hollywood movies.