Gm,
It’s pretty clear that we have been a little too heads-down and haven’t done enough sharing along the way.
Starting with this blog and going forward, I hope to change that.
Today, I will be covering the current status of LooksRare’s V2 Protocol and some of the happenings along the way, some general updates on bits and pieces like LooksRare’s Aggregator, and a few other things I think you will enjoy.
V2
Let’s start with what matters:
Current Status = Audit Ready
LooksRare’s V2 protocol smart contracts are complete (with 100% test coverage) and are currently pending audits from two separate providers.
The audits are scheduled to begin on the 2nd and 9th of January.
Including a potential fix period, the final date that both audits are likely to be complete will be around the middle of February.
Launch Date - TBC
As much as I would like to provide a solid date for this, I'm going to instead err on the side of caution.
There is no set date for now. I know it was previously communicated by members of our team that it would be by EOY 2022. While that was the original goal, it is no longer achievable. Especially if we want to ensure we have both the best and safest possible experience possible.
But what I can tell you is that we have already started working on integrations in preparation for the launch.
In addition to the above, we will be opting for a two-stage rollout, which will consist firstly of replacing the core components that make up LooksRare’s marketplace, then following up with all the shiny new offerings that the V2 protocol enables, but we’re keeping the latter under wraps for now.
The Journey
We first mentioned LooksRare’s V2 protocol back in June, and yes, six months is a long time.
Since then, a LOT has changed, in the general NFT market, and the ecosystem as a whole. Even saying “a lot” is a massive understatement in itself.
Especially as of late, the pace of change has been moving at breakneck speed — and various social contracts that previously could never even be questioned are now the topic of hot debate
To cut through the dramatics, LooksRare’s V2 Protocol has gone through numerous iterations and shifts at this point. In fact, more than once, it was more beneficial for us to stop active production on certain aspects to wait and watch how things unfolded.
So as a result, the V2 Protocol we will be delivering is not the same as the one we started working on.
Is that a bad thing? Definitely not. If anything, I am glad we were able to take the time needed to get here to make the best decisions, and I am sure the end result will be reminiscent of that.
What’s Changed?
There is not much I can share here without giving too much away.
Even in the current landscape with various new protocols/marketplaces, we’re bringing some fresh goodies to the table in terms of functionality, composability, and what’s possible on the order type side.
While things like Seaport are awesome, we went the extra mile to differentiate ourselves at our protocol level, and, in keeping with our roots, champion innovation with a product that can be tailored to the needs of LooksRare users.
On the Utility of LOOKS
We haven’t forgotten about the lifeblood that powers LooksRare. We know you want to be able to buy, mint, earn, vote, and more with your tokens, and these are all things that we have planned for release progressively after V2 is deployed.
We’ve been focused on big-ticket items from a product perspective, and LOOKS needs a little lovin’. So rest assured, we hear you loud and clear — we’re on it.
Giving back to the community and rewarding users of the marketplace have always been our ultimate goals.
LOOKS: Access and Emissions
Global Access
We like LOOKS. You like LOOKS. Fittingly, we want to make it as widely available to buy as possible. Not only with crypto, but also with fiat. Lots of different fiat currencies. Hundreds, even.
And not just with a credit card, but with tons of different options. Even stuff like Cash App. Google Pay. And Apple Pay.
The recent addition of LOOKS to Transak is a great first example of increasing the accessibility to LOOKS globally. And it won’t be the last.
Emission Reduction
We will put out a separate, more detailed blog on this sometime next week, but for now, just FYI that LOOKS is approaching its final rewards reduction, at block #16317012 (currently January 2nd, 2023), where it will sit for a period of 12 months.
Once block #16317012 is hit, the daily LOOKS emissions will reach their lowest point ever.
Not V2
I realize this is starting to become a novel now, but I also want to quickly touch on a couple of Non-V2 items, just to provide some basic updates and share a little of what's going on.
Aggregator
LooksRare’s aggregator contract has already successfully gone through a community audit (Code4rena) with no major issues found and is ready to rock on the smart contract side.
We’ve been working hard to buff up the performance of our indexer on ingesting new events from other marketplaces (starting with Seaport), which will then enable efficient bulk-buying, fresh data feeds, and more.
Once this is polished a little more, we’ll be ready to ship!
App
We’ve dropped a few hints previously, but yes, we’ve been working on a mobile app and LooksRare will be coming to both Android and iOS. We know what features you want and will be building to deliver the best mobile experience out there. Let’s just say you won’t be able to live without the LooksRare app to keep track of your NFTs going forward.
More details to come.
Notifications
Traders, collectors, degens: we never want you to miss a beat when it comes to the fast-paced world of NFTs.
To ensure this, we’ve been crafting our own customizable notification system that we’re going to start rolling out to you soon.
Going Local
We’ve mentioned this before, but I’m doing so again — just because I feel it's really important for people to be able to use LooksRare in their native language.
As of today we have full looksrare.org support for 11 languages with plans to keep adding more.
We’re also welcoming local language communities in the LooksRare Discord.
So if you speak English, 简体中文, Español, Français, Русский, 日本語, Türkçe, Tiếng Việt, 한국어, ภาษาไทย, or Português and want to chat with other people that love jpegs in your own language, then join us!
Looks Dope
Sharing a sneak peek into some non-dev stuff we’ve been working on to get your eyes popping.
Edition Zero Merch
- It’s sick
- It’s sick.
- It’s… You get it, right?
Web3 wardrobes will be looking rare as fuck after this drop.
And oh yeah, LOOKS only.
Looks 3D
We want you to be able to view any NFT you own in its full glory, both on the LooksRare site, and in the metaverse.
Not going to go into much detail atm, but it's pretty dope, and it LOOKS like you may even get to mint one for yourself.
Shhhh 🤫🤫🤫
As always, there is much more going on than I’m willing to share, and a lot of things I am genuinely hyped af about. Some are in active dev, some are just starting, and others only exist on digital paper.
So, keep an eye out.
Team
Update
Including this because I feel like most projects have been downsizing in the current market.
LooksRare’s team is now at 40 and growing (though a few are not yet on the team page).
Hiring
Yes, we’re still hiring for jpeg-loving degenerates that excel at what they do.
All roles are; full-time, remote, well-paid in crypto, and anon-friendly.
If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, check out the open roles here.
Build
Without constant communication, it can be hard to see things moving in the background, so while we may have been a little quiet, the team has been on fire.
Watch 3 months of build in 50 seconds 👀
— LooksRare (@LooksRare) December 8, 2022
It's a dope visualization of Github commits to #LooksRare from Sep 1st - Nov 30th.
🔉 Sound on pic.twitter.com/dQYIjX67FG
Going to make this a little bit longer, by apologizing for how much I wrote.
Also, if you’re reading this, and made it all the way to the end, I appreciate you, and know that the rest of the LooksRare team does too.
Until next time (soon).
Zodd 👀💎
