OCTO

Swap confirmation screen
NFT-specific discussion
NFT listed for swap
NFT & Collections ranked by the most discussed

TL;DR

OCTO is a next-generation social NFT marketplace with the most comprehensive functionality. Minting, trading, swapping, renting, collection / NFT -specific on-chain discussion boards, on-chain encrypted P2P chat, high customizability, Theta content DRM, various ERC smart contract standards.

Plans to integrate: chain-agnostic and cross-chain features, fiat bridge, NFT liquidity pools, no-code highly customizable launchpad, extensive analytics and trading tools and more. Also, looking into AI for recommendations section, battle of collections, etc.

Our slogan: More features. More chains. Less fees. One place.

Intrigued? Keep on reading, it is quite a treat!

Inspiration & addressable problems

A marketplace can be defined as a gathering point for buyers and sellers, thus a naturally formed central hub to execute such transactions. And just like any other infrastructural pillar that defines an industry, a marketplace should bring convenience to its users (among other things like safety, etc.), so that the very existence of the marketplace is well-justified. Our original idea was first formulated in April 2022, when we realized that a service to facilitate escrow-like swapping would benefit the Theta community. (This concept was implicitly proven to be successful later by Sudo Swap on ETH). However, upon further examination, we realized how imperfect the current state of marketplaces really is, which inadvertently expanded our vision further. Moreover, having launched two collections on Theta ourselves gave us a lot of necessary insight into the related problems, which we decided to tackle.

The first problem is the incredibly high fees, which can often amount to 50%. While one could draw an analogy to Amazon’s high fees, the internet giant only charges 8-15% of the sales revenue, where the remaining fees account for advertising, storage and logistics. Therefore, given the digital nature of NFTs, the high fees seemed to lack justification. Moreover, the NFT marketplace behemoths such as OpenSea or Blur charge single-digit fees. However, the problem that we faced appeared to be non-exclusive to Theta blockchain only, as further research revealed that blockchains outside of the top 5 list suffer the same abusive monopolistic behaviour.

The second problem stems directly from the lack of competition (which, if one believes economists and common sense, brings innovation), namely the lack of marketplace functionality and underlying convenience to the end users. There are so many features that would directly improve the quality of life for project creators and collectors that we couldn’t pass on the opportunity.

And that brings us to a more generalized pondering about the nature of NFT projects and why they became such a social phenomenon. Ability to communicate with the like-minded peers, have exclusive access to various forms of content and experiences, utilities and of course, ability to make profit. On the other hand, from a creator’s perspective, community engagement, announcements, exclusive NFT-gated content, challenges and contests - all contribute to the value of a project. However, most, if not all of these points have been previously addressed by the means of Web2 tools. Not only this is time consuming for the individuals on both ends of the spectrum, but also it often defies some of the principles which crypto and Web3 are build upon - anonymity, safety, self-custody and freedom of speech.

What it does

In the spirit of true Web3 experience that everyone talks about, we believe that digital assets should exhibit more options of interactivity. Users should be able not only to mint, buy/sell, but, in fact, do whatever comes to mind. Therefore, our immediate functionality is extended to escrow-like swapping and renting functionality. Clearly, we couldn’t go without the ability to exhibit the most prized NFT possessions (a.k.a. ‘bragging rights’) by the owners via their customizable personal pages.

In turn, the creators, are able to utilize Theta DRM technology for NFT-gating content, and, of course, personalize the project’s page and post announcements.

Moreover, everyone can participate in on-chain discussion boards specific to an NFT or the whole NFT collection, communicate with others via the use of a P2P chat, track the announcements of the projects they follow and get notified on the new content being published by the creators.

Needless to say, both the collectors and the creators have the power to customize their relative pages, with more customizability to come in the future too.

On the technical side, we have expanded the supported smart contract type from the familiar ERC-721 to also include ERC-2981 (automatic settlement of the built-in royalties) and ERC-4907 (NFT rental) to provide more options, while keeping the process secure for all the parties involved.

And a cherry on top - all that (with much more to come) available for the industry competitive fees, with the largest and most prominent NFT marketplaces being our reference point.

How we built it

Adrenaline, righteous fury and courage in the heart. Also, coffee, research, endless calls, interviews and questionnaires. But, jokes aside, we have gathered a small, yet highly competent team of business-developers, Web3 specialists, blockchain and full-stack developers, UX/UI designer with some occasional outsource help.

Technically speaking, there are 3 layers that OCTO platform utilizes: front-end, back-end and blockchain technologies.

Front-end: React, Angular, MUI libraries, Typescript

Back-end: Node.js, Firebase, Microsoft Azure

Blockchain: ERC-721, ERC-2981 and ERC-4907 smart contract standards - Solidity.

Also, we couldn’t forget to mention Vmux (the creator of ThetaRarity.io), who gratefully hooked us up with his APIs to track NFTs, which improved the loading speed of NFT metadata and saved us a lot of time. Great guy, great builder, thanks to him and check his website if you haven’t heard about it already.

Our smart contracts have been audited by odd sequence and the audit report is available here

Challenges we ran into

Given the ambitious nature of the project, one of the first hurdles that we faced was prioritizing the workload and the implementation schedule. Not only it was a matter of implementing more faster, but also delivering the more popular/requested features earlier, so the users are able to reap the benefits of the platform straight away.

Moreover, while planning the technical part of the project, we realized that it is crucial to be creating the infrastructure that would allow not only to support the immediate functionality, but have the capacity of bracing new features and standards in the future. For instance, the support of ERC-2981 smart contract standard was designed from the beginning, therefore our own smart contracts, as well as the back- and front-end components had to support this feature and automatically read it, if present. There are many more examples of such decisions that we had to make in advance for the ease of implementation of the future functionality.

Another important aspect of our platform is, of course, the UX/UI, especially accounting for the variety of features that have to complement each other on the page. After many sketches, comparisons, mockups and a couple of trial audience runs, we believe we managed to derive a comprehensive and easy-to-digest UI, with many intuitive navigational aspects.

Of course, we couldn’t have missed out the issue of funding, since every startup is highly sensitive to this. Such things as legal incorporation, backend servers, external audit, occasional outsourcing of additional manpower, among other things, have clearly taken their toll on our budget. Bootstrapping the development of the project ourselves was luckily supported by a couple of grants that we managed to secure, some in crypto currency (from a couple of blockchains), while some in credit for services like Azure, AWS, Firebase and Notion. Of course, the next stage for us would be raising capital with the use of VC funding, some of which we are already discussing the details.

Additionally, some of the functionality was somewhat hampered by the Theta RPC’s recent issues, yet, as of now, it seems to have been mitigated. Moreover, we have already prepared to migrate to a custom RPC from InfStones, as also recommended on Theta Network official Twitter.

Accomplishments that we're proud of and thankful for

We are greatly proud of what we have planned and built to this day. In fact, we can possibly say that the pride that we take in building OCTO is the main driving force that ensures innovation, community-focus and impeccable attention to details. Additionally, our personal experience of being both creators and collectors has greatly helped us to formulate many of the features, but of course that couldn’t have been achieved without the great support and input from the members of the Theta family either.

And that smoothly segues us to the first accomplishment - the numerous calls with the creators, whales and notable people from the Theta community. We are proud, humbled and honoured to have so many great minds dedicate their time to speak to us, give their honest opinion and, often, their input. Having spoken to over two dozen individuals, we were extremely happy to hear the support and complements towards OCTO’s concepts, as well as the comprehensive design choices.

While being on the topic of listening to the community and giving upfront value, one of our proudest moments is the Theta Million (Pixel board) revival. We say revival since the original Theta Million project has been abandoned immediately after selling out and additionally receiving a prize during the previous Theta Hackathon. We are therefore providing the exact copy of the Theta Million board as banner space on OCTO’s front page. However, the catch is that we are allowing the owners of the abandoned project to claim their sections on OCTO’s board for free (well, gas only). To sweeten the deal, our board comes with a readily available rental functionality (blockchain-based, of course, code is law!), so that the owner can now not only have their content be visible in a high-traffic area, but also have the ability to profit from renting their space to others. N.B. please claim your rightful pieces within a month, as all unclaimed sections will be auctioned, if any remain.

Low fees is another big step for Theta NFT community that we take pride in. Of course, the temptation to ride the ‘crypto-bro-stapled Lambos’ suggests having much higher fees, yet we vigorously took a different approach from day one. Our mindset is simple - to provide the most comprehensive service for Theta (and beyond), become one of the first stepping stones for the true chain-agnostic Web3 experience, and personal benefits would come later.

The social interaction feature is yet another huge achievement that we are happy to introduce to the users. Originally, the idea arose after an honorable member of both of our NFT projects, as well as a prominent Theta whale overall got scammed by the use of impersonation (we shall not name this great individual, but some might remember). That misfortune took place in October 2022, which prompted us to quickly publish a Medium article to warn and educate others. However, the idea of making communication verifiable, anonymous, and safe is drilled deep into our skulls. Later, we realized that it is not only the safety but also the actual socialization that brings people together.

Business incorporation. Perhaps a small thing, but it hopefully proves our serious intent, as well as covers the necessary requirement for many features, such as crypto-exchange partnership and fiat bridge.

Grants received from a few blockchains with many more being discussed. Building a platform of such scale, especially with many innovative infrastructural pieces, requires quite a lot of external resources, computing power and backend functionality, APIs, software for documentation and so on. Having been bootstrapping the development from our own pocket would not have been viable for a prolonged period of time, so the two grants that we have already received certainly helped us. Additionally, this proved to us again that a platform like this is truly deemed necessary and beneficial across the crypto space. Also, we received a few technological solution start-up grants from Google, Microsoft, and Notion

Finally, the UX/UI. We are really happy about how it turned out, especially given the number of various features we had to cautiously cram together, while keeping it intuitive, easy to digest, and, of course, convenient and technically sound. Of course, this is not the final version, as many other features will be added in the future, but we would always strive to balance the functionality and UI.

What we have learned

Creators are ready to work in this space. All they need is tools. Having talked to over 15 creators and some of the whales within Theta NFT space, we have received great feedback on the whole concept of OCTO platform, as well as universal compliments on the UX/UI. High fees and the lack of functionality seem to be the limiting factor for many projects, and now, hopefully we can at least make the first step in the right direction, if not completely solve the problems.

There are many standards of smart contracts and all these standards have their own use cases. As of yet, the NFT space on Theta almost exclusively used ERC-721 and ERC-1155. Inclusion and support of other standards can bring additional functionality to the users of the platform or even allow for more dApps and projects to be built around these standards, all while being secure and trustless.

On the social side, we have, perhaps, made the most important discoveries. Firstly, the creators on Theta, for the most part, strive to build more, yet are often frustrated by the limitations. Secondly, the creators’, as well as the collectors’ input, is crucial, as not only it helps to receive affirmation for some of the functions, but often contributes directly to the list of sought functions. Thirdly, as many creators (such a high percentage in fact!) are actively exploring other blockchains in order to expand their current projects, it is only logical to start the great cross-chain functionality from Theta. Finally, while skill collaboration is often the key to success for many projects, that is two or more separate creators contributing their distinct expertise, it would certainly make for a more productive space if the necessary tools were readily available. This is especially the case for smart contracts that include content-gating or challenges.

What's next for OCTO

In short, a lot.

Now to the long part. Not in any order of importance or the actual roadmap implementation, just a list.

1) P2P encrypted messenger. There is a technological stack that we have looked into which allows for L1 messaging encryption between the two parties. However, given possible misuse scenarios like threats or illegal content has provoked us to draft a few alterations so that a DAO-based moderation and review process can be involved. While we will not go into details, we shall mention that the P2P encryption will guarantee 100% privacy of data, while allowing for the DAO involvement only if initiated by one of the parties. OCTO team will not have access to the P2P chats.

2) NFT wars. This concept is not new, yet we found a relatively good use and motivation in relation to NFT projects. The idea can be described as having two projects battling out their success based on the engagement and voting of the users. Different weight categories, cross-chain battles, and seasonal leagues.

3) Low- or No-code launchpad. As simple as it sounds - build your own smart contract (you are the custodian of it, not us) without coding expertise. This way we can empower a lot of artists and content creators to make their dream projects come true. Challenges, airdrops, and contests? Sure, create, monitor, and manage them from your creator’s dashboard!

4) Extensive rental system. Currently, OCTO supports the NFT rental standard of ERC-4907, yet it is only applicable to the Theta Pixelboard. The use of DRM technology by the creators would certainly create a great market opportunity for the extensive rental system. Additionally, with more Web3 games appearing, a rental system would allow for NFT gaming items to be rented, therefore lowering the entry barrier for many and increasing the player base.

5) Extensive swapping functionality. This includes a few components in itself. Firstly, AMM liquidity pools of NFTs (like Sudo Swap), as they bring a number of benefits like immediate liquidity and earning potential. Secondly, non-linear complex swaps e.g. swapping 7 NFTs from Q collection on ETH for 2 NFTs from P collection on Theta and 1000 tfuel. That brings us to the next point.

6) Integrating many, many other blockchains. An increased community base will help great projects to sell more and spread their fame further. And that, in turn, propels us to the following point.

7) Going chain-agnostic. We believe that the future of blockchain technologies is going to be chain-agnostic, where the user might not even know what blockchain a certain technology is based on, yet uses it with convenience and ease. For instance, a project launched on Avalanche (AVAX) might utilize Theta DRM technology to a great extent, yet there will be no need to have a separate conversion, external bridge or other discomforts to go through for the collectors or the creator. ‘Plug-and-play’ is what we strive to deliver. That also extends to the user experience, as one should be able to purchase an NFT on Theta, even if they only hold Gnosis tokens in their wallet, as an example. This is achievable via DEX-like functionality.

8) Theta-based meta-chain with own token introduction (with partial allocation to early adopters, various mechanics and rewards within OCTO ecosystem).

9) Fiat bridge. So that the next 100 million Theta users can join easily.

10) Mobile app (both iOs and Android)

11) Support for various formats with dedicated sections (music, AR, etc.)

12) Effective DAO with real power (moderation, voting, etc.)

13) Localization in various languages

Going even beyond the immediate roadmap a.k.a. honorable mentions:

Cautiously looking into the AI technology (have a number of possible uses, but would need to consult with specialists)
SSL-like infrastructural solution for NFTs and projects websites (universal, free of use, standardization of this security protocol) to decrease social engineering hacks
infrastructure for AR-based content (looks like Theta nodes come in very handy!), a standardized protocol for businesses to use

What value does it bring to Theta?

Given the current blockchain-tribalism that everyone seems to be susceptible to, us included, we deem Theta blockchain to be our Alma mater and we would always seek the ways to bring additional value to its ecosystem and its users. With that being said, there are a few ways OCTO benefits Theta at large, these are:

1) Direct benefit to creators in having a low-fee, high-functionality marketplace. More readily available options allow for more creativity to run wild.

2) Direct benefit to collectors in having a low-fee, high-functionality marketplace with social features, that also protect against some types of social engineering scams.

3) Encouraging and simple use of Theta DRM technology for content.

4) Listing on protocol monitoring dApps like DeFiLlama (already) and others - indirect exposure, as many users closely monitor the new additions and rapidly growing protocols.

5) Theta-based NFT-tracking service, readily available for public use. It increases the loading speeds of metadata, image URLs and decreases the number of read requests directly from chain.

6) While not exactly completed, we have already started to compile a simple API for the discussion boards, so that any other NFT-related service would be able to use it, as well as retrieve all the related history from OCTO-based discussions.

7) Additional use of Theta DRM technology from the new creators and relative collectors that are to come from the multi-chain aspect of the platform (essentially providing Theta DRM to other blockchains’ users).

8) Additional exposure of Theta blockchain by means of Theta-based NFT collections and Blockchain-specific page alike projects’ pages. The page will open the ability to additionally publish announcements and updates (access can be delegated to a Theta Labs team member), essentially becoming another source of marketing and technological advancement news.

9) Theta Pass (will be integrated in the next few weeks) to link the Theta Drop account for a more seamless experience.

10) Creation and use of subchain on Theta Metachain (will come in Q3 2023).

11) Additional line of thought (to be confirmed in the future): the creation of zkRollup for Theta, which will be available for others to use too. (Lower fees, higher scalability, faster transaction speeds, decreased load on the main chain)