Rarible Review: What To Know About The Pros, Cons, & Features
Our Take On Rarible
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Rarible is a solid marketplace for users who are either just getting involved with the world of NFTs or don’t want to bother with laborious technical aspects. Also, there are no upfront gas fees and credit card payments are available. However, the 1% service fee and few supported cryptocurrencies may play a part in how experienced crypto users judge the platform.
Pros
- Ideal for crypto novices
- Cost-friendly
- Credit card payment is available
Cons
- Service fees
- An ETH wallet is a requirement
- Faces intense competition
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are buzzwords that entered the mainstream consciousness over the past couple of years. The overall market size for NFTs in 2022 is valued at around $20 billion, and it’s expected to increase 33.9% by 2030. It’s quite likely that the transition to web3 applications in the near future will heavily involve NFTs.
The crypto space may just be scratching the surface when it comes to the importance of these blockchain-based digital assets. Still, considering their importance and popularity, several significant NFT marketplaces have emerged in recent years.
What Is Rarible?
Established in 2019, Rarible is one of the pioneers of NFT marketplaces and quickly announced itself as one of the most important platforms of its kind. In its first 18 months, it raised over $150 million in revenue.
Since then, it has become a viable alternative to sites like OpenSea and is favored by users who prefer straightforwardness and simplicity. Here are some of the ways in which Rarible caters to creators, crypto investors, and collectors.
At the height of NFT trading, Rarible was reported to have $263 million of 30-day trading volume, but has since fallen to around $385,000, according to dApp Radar data accessed July 27, 2022. However, Rarible remains one of the top NFT marketplaces to buy and sell collectibles, and here’s why:
Rarible Pros
Ideal For Crypto Novices
NFTs captured the general public’s imagination. However, many people who wish to get involved have little prior knowledge of the crypto space, let alone coding. For people just getting involved with non-fungible tokens, this could prove difficult.
Rarible’s goal is to simplify matters. The platform is optimized for beginner use, it contains highly popular collections and single items, and it allows creators to earn royalties on future sales of their work. Best of all, buying or selling NFTs doesn’t require any coding knowledge.
Cost-Friendly
Creators wishing to mint and sell their NFTs would have been disappointed by the hefty costs associated with these actions a couple of years ago. However, Rarible charges no upfront fees to create an NFT — the gas fee can instead be passed to the buyer. The gas fee is charged by either one of the three blockchains available on the platform (Tezos, Flow, and Ethereum). The minting itself is a relatively simple process guided by the site’s instructions.
Card Payment Is Available
While many NFT marketplaces require Ether or other cryptocurrencies to complete transactions, Rarible allows card payments to purchase fixed-priced NFTs. As long as the NFT is not in an auction, users can instead use their credit cards to buy their favorite artists’ NFTs. During this, the payment gets converted into ETH as the current price so the seller can still get paid in crypto.
Rarible Cons
Rarible does many things right which accounts for its popularity. However, there are some points that could use improvement. For example:
Service Fees
Rarible charges a 1% fee for transactions for both seller and buyer. This was 2.5% until recently. OpenSea, for example, charges the same fee, but only from the buyer. However, numerous other NFT marketplaces have much higher fees.
An ETH Wallet Is A Requirement
There is no getting around the fact that you will require a crypto wallet to utilize Rarible’s features. Since this is the case, you’re required to have MetaMask, or a different crypto wallet, connected to the platform.
Faces Intense Competition
The NFT market has grown tremendously over the past two years. This is why numerous NFT marketplaces have appeared. Marketplaces like OpenSea, LooksRare, MagicEden, and X2Y2 have much higher current 30-day trading volume and active traders, making them much more popular than Rarible.
Who Rarible Is Best For
Rarible is an easy on-ramp for beginners without crypto in their wallets to get started trading NFTs. The following features make it best for beginners and artists alike:
- Its design is highly intuitive and provides beginner guides on the homepage
- It includes a variety of NFT categories for users to browse based on popular trends
- Users can make purchases with a credit card (but NFTs must be sent to a wallet)
- The Rarible-Adobe partnership produces content credentials that verify the artist’s work and prevents fraud
Key Features Of Rarible
Yes, Rarible faces considerable competition since the public’s interest in web 3-based technology is growing. Rarible differentiates itself from the rest of the pack to a number of unique features:
- RARI token: Users can use RARI, the platform’s native token in the governance process of the platform. Furthermore, RARI is traded on several high-profile exchanges.
- Artists can easily present their work: Artists are able to bring their work to the attention of an audience of potentially millions of users. It is not just visual art that is represented. Furthermore, the process of minting NFTs on the platform is straightforward and Rarible’s partnership with Adobe provides metadata verification of artist’s work.
- Royalty payments: NFT creators can set up an NFT royalty payment of up to 50%, and receive compensation each time that their work is sold. Rarible has also been whitelisted by the developers of ERC721-C NFTs, which gives creators even more control over their royalties. This means that Rarible can choose to support this in the future, making it an even better option for NFT creators.
Fees For Using Rarible
The NFT market may be growing, but it’s only natural that users are concerned with the fees to create, trade, or purchase these digital assets. Rarible’s fees may be some of the lowest among NFT marketplaces, but they are still worth considering.
| Action | Rarible Fee |
|---|---|
| Buy/Sell | 1% |
Network fees, sometimes known as gas fees, are charged by the network and not by Rarible itself.
Alternatives To Consider
It should come as no surprise that several important NFT marketplaces have been established over recent years. These are, no doubt, rivals to Rarible. However, they also tend to specialize in particular elements within the crypto space. For example:
OpenSea: Good For Largest NFT Selection
OpenSea continues to be the most popular NFT marketplace in the world, with a 30-day trading volume of $518.12 million in July 2022. As a consequence, it also caters to many different tastes and needs. Besides the numerous categories of digital assets, the platform offers over 150 cryptocurrencies that can be used as payment.
SuperRare: Good For Big-Name Creators
SuperRare is another marketplace that was established just as the NFT market boom was occurring. The platform focuses particularly on art created by well-known names and includes strategies favored by social media platforms within its strategies for promotion.
Nifty Gateway: Good For Users Looking For Well-Curated NFTs
Nifty Gateway’s goal is to create an NFT marketplace that resembles a high-end auction house. Because of this, the platform has favored curating the art pieces that are hosted by the platform. Nifty Gateway is owned by Gemini, the CeFi crypto exchange.
Looking For More?
Check out our curated list of best NFT marketplaces to find the best one for you.
Is Rarible Right For You?
It is true that NFTs have gained a significant amount of attention from the general public over the past couple of years. Rarible’s marketplace makes it easy to enter this world whether you are an artist, or simply looking to invest in NFTs.
At the heart of their operations stands the belief that entering the crypto world should become a seamless process. This is, after all, the only way to guarantee the mass adoption of blockchain-based applications.
In short, if you are looking to cut out the middlemen from your NFT trading, and you aim to avoid the difficult technical jargon of cryptocurrency, Rarible might just be the platform for you and one that is built with the future of the internet in mind.
Final Thoughts On Rarible
Rarible is an NFT marketplace that makes it easy to create and trade NFTs. Whether you are a buyer or a seller, the platform is designed to be easy to use. Furthermore, Rarible’s NFTs are displayed to an audience of millions who have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on work displayed here. For convenience and seamless design, few NFT marketplaces do a better job than Rarible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since its inception, one major security flaw was identified and fixed in April 2022, in which users were prompted to select an NFT and approve hackers to control their wallets. Other than this, there have been no major attacks on Rarible’s site or its users, deeming it safe. Users should always practice caution when accepting transactions or clicking links when their wallets are connected to the internet. It’s important to practice smart security habits when interacting with digital currency.
Currently, Rarible only charges a 1% service fee from both buyer and seller. Network gas fees may also be required, however, these are not charged by Rarible, but rather by the blockchain network.
Many crypto users have reported earning a profit from Rarible. The most popular strategy involves purchasing undervalued NFTs and selling them for a higher price. Creators of NFTs can also earn not only when they sell their creations, but also once the NFT is sold again through the use of royalties.
No, Rarible hasn’t formally acknowledged if it reports transaction data to the IRS. But, NFTs are considered assets, and any profit you make trading them is taxable. You should self-report profits or losses from your NFT trades to the IRS.
