LooksRare (LOOKS)

Marketplace Use

LooksRare is a decentralized NFT marketplace where users can buy and sell NFTs. It supports all Ethereum-based NFT collections, including some not available on other platforms. The marketplace offers lower fees (around 2%) compared to competitors, making trading more cost-effective.

Rewards and Incentives

Users earn LOOKS tokens as rewards for buying, selling, and listing NFTs. These tokens can be staked to earn a share of the platform’s trading fees, paid in LOOKS and wrapped Ethereum (WETH). This system encourages active participation and loyalty by sharing revenue with the community.

Governance and Community

LOOKS tokens serve as governance tokens, allowing holders to participate in decision-making for the platform’s future. The platform aims to be community-driven, giving users ownership and influence over its development.

Features

LooksRare offers features like collection-wide offers, multi-cancellation of NFT listings, and plans for more advanced trading options. It also supports staking and liquidity provision, rewarding users who contribute to the platform’s ecosystem.

Competitive Edge

LooksRare positions itself as a user-first alternative to centralized marketplaces by distributing 100% of trading fees to token stakers and offering incentives to attract and retain users.

Pros

• Lower transaction fees (0.5% to 2%) compared to competitors like OpenSea (2.5%), which can save money on high-cost NFT purchases.
• Decentralized and community-owned platform where LOOKS token holders can participate in decision-making.
• Users earn rewards in LOOKS tokens for buying, selling, and staking, sharing platform fees among stakers.
• Strong focus on user incentives and community engagement, including staking rewards with high APRs.
• Modular smart contract design allows for continuous feature updates and improvements.
• Supports popular Ethereum wallets like MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and WalletConnect.
• Offers features like trait offers, bulk buying, and multi-cancellation to improve user experience.
• Security and strong developer community due to exclusive focus on Ethereum blockchain.
• Competitive with OpenSea in terms of NFT availability and trading volume.

Cons

• Wash trading (users selling NFTs to themselves to earn rewards) inflates trading volume and may affect token value.
• Volatility in the LOOKS token price, which has dropped significantly from its launch price.
• Limited to Ethereum blockchain, which may restrict NFT variety for some users.
• Creator royalties are set to 0% by default, which may be a downside for creators relying on royalties.
• Smaller user base compared to OpenSea, meaning less liquidity and fewer buyers/sellers.
• Some features like NFT creation are not yet available but planned for the future.
• The platform and its founders remain somewhat anonymous, which may concern some users.

Founders

LooksRare was founded by two anonymous individuals known by the pseudonyms Guts and Zodd. They have kept their real identities hidden and operate under these nicknames.

Background and Identity

Both founders are known for their commitment to privacy and decentralization in the Web3 space. Their genders and personal backgrounds remain undisclosed.

Team and Leadership

Besides Guts and Zodd as co-founders, LooksRare has a small executive team, but the founders remain the key figures behind the project.

Founding Date

LooksRare was launched in January 2022 as a community-first NFT marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain.

Investors in LooksRare

LooksRare has attracted a variety of investors including venture capital firms and angel investors. Some of the known investors are Assembly Partners, Deeptech Ventures, Fisher 8 Capital, LifeBoat Ventures, Metasense DAO, Placeholder Capital, and Salesforce Ventures, which led a $4 million seed funding round. Angel investors include Pranksy, Pudgy Penguins co-creator ColeThereum, and NFT collector DeeZe. The project was co-founded by an anonymous duo known as Zodd and Guts, who have successfully raised funds despite their anonymity.

Halal Status of LooksRare

• Halal or Not: No definitive information is available in the provided sources to confirm that LooksRare is halal.
• Reason: Halal status typically depends on certification and adherence to Islamic law, which is mainly discussed in the context of food, cosmetics, and physical products. There is no mention of halal certification or Islamic compliance related to crypto tokens like LooksRare in the provided data.