In a bid to provide a better user experience, LooksRare has released version 2 of its NFT marketplace, which includes several new features and improvements. One of the most significant changes is the reduction of trading fees from 2% to 0.5%, which is a 75% reduction. Additionally, version 2 includes gas-efficient contracts that enable users to save approximately 30% on gas fees compared to the previous version.
Another important feature of LooksRare version 2 is that sellers will now receive Ether (ETH) instead of Wrapped Ether (WETH) for most sales. Furthermore, the smart contracts now support bulk buying and selling orders, which is useful for users who want to place multiple trades simultaneously. Additionally, custom recipient aggregators have been introduced, allowing users to purchase NFTs with one wallet and send them to another.
Sellers can now list their NFTs for sale in token prices, which means that prices can be set in US dollars or equivalent ETH. This is a useful feature for sellers who want to provide clarity on pricing and reduce the risks associated with market volatility.
Despite the positive reception to the new features, some users are skeptical that LooksRare version 2 will be enough to attract users from other platforms. Some users have expressed concerns that there are still not enough incentives for good token collections to be listed. However, most LooksRare users have responded positively to the changes, and the platform is expected to become more competitive with other NFT marketplaces, such as OpenSea and Blur.
LooksRare faced some controversy in October when it decided to eliminate creator royalties, but it has also benefited from the recent surge in NFT prices. With the release of version 2, LooksRare is poised to continue its growth and establish itself as a leading NFT marketplace.
Looking ahead, the team has announced that LooksRare version 1 will be discontinued. Users will no longer be able to post version 1 auctions through the public API after April 12, and all current v1 auctions will be removed from the website on April 13. Finally, the smart contracts themselves will be disabled through an admin function at 11:00 am UTC on April 13. By sunsetting version 1, LooksRare is ensuring that its users are fully supported on the upgraded platform and can take advantage of the new features and improvements.