Rarible is a creator-first, multichain NFT marketplace built on its own open protocol. Its distinctive moves were lazy minting, a governance token for its community, and later a dedicated chain with royalties enforced at the infrastructure level. If you want a marketplace where creators mint and sell directly, those three ideas are the ones worth studying.
How Rarible differs from OpenSea
Both are open marketplaces, but they started from different ends. OpenSea started as a place to trade existing collections. Rarible started as a place for individual creators to mint their work without writing a contract. That led to a different set of features:
- Lazy minting. A creator signs the token's metadata and sale terms off-chain. Nothing is written to the chain until a buyer purchases, at which point the buyer's transaction both mints and transfers. The creator pays no gas to list.
- Shared and custom collections. Creators could mint into a shared Rarible contract or deploy their own ERC-721 or ERC-1155 collection through the UI.
- A protocol, not just an app. The Rarible Protocol exposes indexing, order and minting APIs across several chains, so third parties can build "community marketplaces" on the same liquidity.
If you want the broader open-market picture, see our OpenSea teardown; this page focuses on the creator-side mechanics.
The RARI token and governance
Rarible launched the RARI token in 2020 and distributed it to active buyers and sellers, one of the earliest "trade-to-earn" token schemes. It was meant to give the community a say over platform decisions and, later, over the protocol through a DAO.
The honest assessment: incentive tokens brought short-term volume, including wash trading by users farming rewards, and did not create durable loyalty. Governance participation in most NFT DAOs has been low. If you add a token, be clear about what it governs, and do not use it as a volume subsidy. Our guide to an NFT marketplace with governance covers voting design in more depth.
RARI Chain and enforced royalties
When royalty payments became optional across major marketplaces, Rarible's response was structural. It launched RARI Chain, an Arbitrum Orbit–based Layer 2, designed so that creator royalties are enforced at the chain level rather than by individual marketplace policies. Whatever you think of the adoption so far, it identifies the real problem correctly: EIP-2981 only reports a royalty, so enforcement has to come from the token contract (for example, ERC-721C-style transfer restrictions) or from the chain.
Core components of a Rarible-style marketplace
| Component | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy-mint contract | Mints on first purchase from a creator's signed voucher | Needs replay protection and signer checks; audit it |
| Collection factory | Lets creators deploy their own ERC-721/1155 contract | Use minimal proxy clones to keep deployment cheap |
| Exchange | Fixed price, offers, auctions | Reuse an established order protocol where possible |
| Royalty handling | Reads EIP-2981, pays splits | Decide your enforcement stance before launch |
| Storage | Media and metadata on IPFS or Arweave | Pin content yourself; do not rely on one gateway |
| Moderation | Copyright takedowns, impersonation checks | Open minting attracts copied art fast |
What to copy
- Gasless creation. Lazy minting removes the biggest barrier for new creators. Pair it with a clear way to verify the creator signed the voucher.
- An open API. Letting others build storefronts on your order book turns competitors into distribution.
- Creator-owned contracts. Creators increasingly want their own contract address for provenance and portability.
What to rethink
- Open minting with no friction. It fills the site with stolen art. Require some verification before items are promoted in search.
- Token rewards for trading. They attract wash trades and distort your metrics.
- Too many chains too early. Rarible's multichain footprint is backed by a dedicated protocol team. A startup should start with one chain, then expand; see cross-chain NFT marketplace development for the trade-offs.
Effort and scope
A focused creator marketplace with lazy minting, a collection factory, fixed-price and auction sales on one EVM chain is a smaller build than a full OpenSea-style index of every collection, because you only index what was minted through your platform. As a rough guide, a small team (two to three engineers, a designer, part-time QA) can reach an audited launch in three to five months. A white-label base may cut that, at the cost of control over the minting contracts.
Frequently asked questions
Is lazy minting safe for buyers?
It is when the contract verifies the creator's signature on the voucher and marks each voucher as used. The risks are bugs in that verification and creators signing vouchers for art they do not own, which is a moderation issue rather than a contract one.
Do I need a governance token like RARI?
No. Most marketplaces work fine without one. Add a token only if there is a real decision set for holders to govern and you have a plan for the regulatory questions a token raises.
Can I build on the Rarible Protocol instead of from scratch?
Yes. Rarible has offered SDKs and APIs for building marketplaces on its protocol. Check the current documentation for supported chains and terms, and weigh the dependency against building your own stack.
How do I make royalties stick?
Enforce them where trades are settled: in the token contract through operator restrictions, or by launching on a chain or protocol that enforces them. A marketplace policy alone will not hold if buyers can trade elsewhere.