Blockframe using sealed bid auctions for NFT price discovery

Blockframe will launch ‘Bulk Semaphore’, a program that enables anonymous bidding to establish fair NFT prices

article-image

Bushko Oleksandr/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

A new NFT marketplace that enables users to anonymously bid on NFTs has landed on zkSync Era, Polygon PoS and Ethereum. 

Blockframe is designing an NFT platform that innovates proprietary features and wants to ensure that creators are being prioritized. 

In an interview with Blockworks, Mohamed El Tahawy, the president and CEO of Blockframe, said that existing barriers to entry to crypto are insurmountable.

“It’s very difficult for people to figure out how to get a MetaMask wallet, then once you have a MetaMask wallet, what are all these currencies and how do I make swaps,” El Tahawy said.

To resolve this, El Tahawy explains that Blockframe, backed by Matter Labs, will simplify this process for its users. 

“At Blockframe, we’ve implemented a single sign-on, which means users can sign in with Google, Discord, Twitter, and we would automatically create a wallet for them,” he said.

Once a wallet is created, users can use the same interface to on-ramp, send and swap cryptocurrencies. User private keys will not be stored or accessible by Blockframe, El Tahawy notes.

Honest price discovery

To ensure NFT prices on Blockframe remain reliable, the team is introducing sealed bid auctions.

Rather than relying on oracles to determine NFT pricing, multiple bidders will be able to place collateralized bids anonymously to establish the value of a given digital collectible. It’s made possible by zero knowledge (ZK) technology. 

Using zkTrees designed by Polymer Labs, the team has created “Bulk Semaphore,” a protocol designed to form market consensus for the price of an NFT through mass unidentified membership and signaling. 

Loading Tweet..

Using this protocol, an unlimited number of participants will be able to bid on auctions at a consistent cost. El Tahawy said the tool can also be used for anonymous voting in DAOs

“Our partnership with Matter Labs was very strategic for their mission of scale and their contributions in creating the Block Semaphore protocol,” El Tahawy said.

Simplifying NFTs for creators

Creators looking to launch their own NFT collections can do so directly on the Blockframe user interface (UI).

“The idea is that creators can come here and claim royalties for their collection, thereby tokenizing it,” El Tahawy said. 

Creators can create royalty contracts for their own NFT collections, which will later represent all future cash flows. Once a royalty token is created, they can set parameters for royalty revenue. 

Source: Blockframe

At launch, NFTs without claimed royalties will have a 0% royalty rate. The exception: the top 200 collections, which impose automatic royalty contracts. 

Once pricing for NFTs is standardized, Blockframe plans to ensure royalties on new collections created are applied across different marketplaces —  a problem that has yet to be resolved.

Updated Aug. 31, 2023 at 10:13 am ET: Clarified context throughout.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Flashnote Template Presentation (2).jpg

Research

With the recent election, it’s clear that there will be a meaningful shift in crypto regulations and legislation. Trump is likely as pro-crypto as a president can be. He launched (multiple) of his own NFT collections and is launching an Aave wrapper called World Liberty Fi. He has also spoken out and mentioned that he wants to make the United States "the crypto capital of the planet" and transform it into the "Bitcoin superpower of the world". He proposed creating a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile alongside support from Senator Cynthia Lummis, promising to retain 100% of all Bitcoin held by the U.S. government. More importantly, we’re likely to see deregulation across the board in a lot of industries, with crypto being one of them - as Trump has committed to keeping the crypto market largely unregulated. Crypto, DeFi in particular, has historically been knee-capped by overreaching and hostile governmental agencies and regulation by enforcement, as evidenced by the plethora of Wells notices and lawsuits over the past few years. With Donald Trump winning the presidency, Republicans taking control of the Senate, and being on the verge of securing the House, we think it’s likely that crypto realizes positive regulatory clarity. Below, you can find our analysts’ takes:

article-image

Solana is the crowd favorite to potentially flip Ethereum somewhere down the line, and it tends to feel realistic at times

article-image

Of course, a lot has happened since the 600+ survey respondents shared their thoughts between Aug. 15 and Oct. 1

article-image

AI’s future shouldn’t be decided by a handful of tech giants

article-image

A look at software wallet Exodus may show how an SEC shakeup could have a real impact on industry companies

article-image

Co-chairing Trump’s transition team to help fill administration positions is Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick

article-image

Reflect is a delta-neutral currency protocol that lets tokens accrue yield without touching the banking system