This is a guest blog post from the Versus team
We’re here today to announce our new auction platform that will give both artists and NFT enthusiasts a brand new way to engage with cryptoart.
We are incredibly passionate about NFTs and believe our auction system solves a real problem today. Versus is a novel art marketplace that works to empower the artist and the collector.
One of the major differentiators we’ve implemented is making everything about Versus non-custodial, serverless, providing a true decentralized, immutable and transparent experience. We are proud of the on-chain centric design about Versus, and because of this aspect, we refer to the platform as a SODA (Serverless Onchain-data Distributed Application).
What’s different about a Versus Auction
Many drop formats have had difficulty scaling with the recent surge in NFT popularity for a few different reasons:
- Limited edition drops are difficult to acquire, and bots add to a negative experience for collectors.
- Open editions are great for accessibility but lack the scarcity of other drop formats.
- Traditional English auctions are a good way to find a work’s market value, but sadly price out the average collector.
A “Versus Auction” will address these issues.
In a “Versus Auction” there are two competing sides: the “unique” and the “editions.” Interested buyers can place bids on a single unique mint, or on one mint of an edition size, with varying edition sizes from drop to drop. If the bid on the single unique piece is larger than the sum of all the bids on the edition pieces, then the unique side will win.
One NFT (1/1) is then minted on the Flow Blockchain and subsequently sent to the person with the highest bid on the unique piece. If the sum of all the bids on the edition side is higher than the single bid on the unique side, the edition side will win. Multiple NFTs matching the edition size are then minted and sent to the winners. These buyers can bid on specific serial numbers, and will then receive the serial number(s) where they have the highest bid(s) (assuming the edition side wins).
What sets a SODA apart?
Versus is what we passionately refer to as a SODA, which stands for: Serverless Onchain-data Distributed Application.
The nature of this type of decentralized application allows for fully non-custodial on-chain NFTs. Since the entirety of an NFT is stored on the Flow Blockchain, its image will never be altered or disappear. Versus NFTs are immutable and entirely under the control of their owner. This system also means that the only way to interact with the Versus application and smart contracts is through the spending of Flow tokens from a third-party wallet provider. Versus is currently built to support the Blocto wallet, which is an intuitive and user-friendly wallet with options for both custodial and non-custodial use.
A SODA has numerous advantages that will contribute to the longevity of the Versus platform. Versus should not face the scaling issues that some traditional blockchain dApps have faced. If wallet providers and the Flow Blockchain are able to accommodate increasing demand, Versus will effortlessly scale.
In our opinion, having everything on-chain is the ideal way for NFTs to be built, and the Flow blockchain enabled this vision.
The first Versus Auction is coming
With all of this said, we’re thrilled to announce our very first Versus Auction will take place on Thursday April 29, 2021 with the extremely talented Ekaitza. Ekaitza has been creating beautiful 3D works of cryptoart for over a year on Ethereum, and we could not be happier to host his first ever drop on the Flow Blockchain.
In the beginning we will be hosting one auction every week, but this may increase to multiple drops per week depending on collector demand. Drops will last 24 hours and bids in the last ten minutes will reset the clock to ten minutes remaining.
Our drop schedule for the first month is as follows:
Ekaitza on April 29, 2021
Mankind on May 5, 2021
Han on May 12, 2021
Vincent Kamp on May 19, 2021
The Versus Team
Our founding members initially met during the Open World Builders bootcamp program in 2020. We went on to submit our idea, Versus, as our capstone project. Connecting with like-minded developers building in the Flow ecosystem helped mold what we wanted to create, and over time, our vision evolved into the product we are proud to launch very soon.
At Versus we are immensely flattered that so many great artists are willing to entrust us with their artwork as we endeavour to facilitate the fair distribution of on-chain art to collectors. We can’t wait to see how collectors and artists interact with the Versus Auction system, and appreciate everyone’s support as we launch our first auction this month.
Join our Discord and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all things Versus.
Thank you!
The Versus Team
