OpenSea’s Competitor LooksRare continues to thrive as NFT market grows

With NFTs having a breakout year in 2021, its largest marketplace, OpenSea, is projected to continue its successes this year. Over the last ten days, the site has seen over $2 billion in NFT sales.

OpenSea’s popularity has risen with the popularity of NFTs as in 2020 the total trade volume was reported to be $21.7 million, while in 2021, it reached $14 billion.

However, the release of these numbers coincides with the news of LooksRare launching this year. LooksRare, otherwise known as LOOKS, saw NFT trade volumes skyrocket following its Jan 10th launch. It is assumed that NFT buyers, sellers, and creators are drawn to the site because of its attractive rewards program.

The program incentives traders by rewarding them with LOOKS tokens, and creators with royalty payments. These token holders can potentially earn up to 860.76% APR.

The site’s featured offering this week is Quinten Tarantino’s Secret (SCRT) NFTs. As the Pulp Fiction NFT collection titled Secret NFTs has drawn massive interest.

On the marketplace, Immortal Phoenix NFTs are the hottest commodity based on 24hr trade volume, at #2 is Art Blocks, and Rebel Rabbits at #3. However, when looking at total trade volume, Meebits is at the top of the rankings despite having a low 24-hour trade volume.

As the NFT market continues to thrive there are dangers that investors must take into account. One such action is Wash Trading, where investors can manipulate markets by placing buy or sell orders to inflate trade volumes. LooksRare would be vulnerable to this as these actions reward investors with LOOKS tokens, so it is up to the new site to prove its safety and legitimacy.

The LOOKS tokens themselves have performed well in crypto markets as they surged by 13.08% against the USDT after falling by 21.6% last Thursday and since its launch, the token is up 279%.

Source: Boardroom, FXEmpire.com