What Is Zora?

1. What Is Zora?

Zora is a decentralized protocol and marketplace for NFTs that lets creators mint, share, and trade digital assets directly on-chain. It focuses on open access and cultural preservation, giving creators transparent ownership, programmable royalties, and permissionless tools that work across the broader Web3 ecosystem.

2. Why Zora Was Created

Traditional NFT platforms are centralized, charge high fees, and can restrict how art is minted, sold, and reused. Creators often lose control and royalties on resales. Zora was built to solve these issues with an open, creator-first protocol that enforces royalties by code, reduces gatekeeping, and keeps digital culture accessible and remixable for communities.

3. How Zora Works

1. Mint: Creators use Zora’s tools to mint NFTs on-chain with metadata stored transparently.
2. List: Items can be listed on Zora or any compatible marketplace via the open protocol.
3. Buy/Bid: Collectors purchase or bid through trustless smart contracts that settle on-chain.
4. Royalties: Programmed royalties automatically route a share of resales to creators.
5. Compose/Remix: Assets remain interoperable, enabling reuse in apps, galleries, and on-chain experiences.

4. Key Features of Zora

• Open-source, permissionless NFT minting and marketplace protocol
• Automatic royalty enforcement on secondary sales
• Cross-platform interoperability beyond any single marketplace
• Gas-optimized minting and transaction flows
• Developer-friendly primitives and APIs for building NFT apps
• Community-driven governance and incentives for builders

5. Who Can Use Zora?

• Creators and artists: Mint and monetize work while retaining control and royalties.
• Collectors: Acquire NFTs with transparent provenance and on-chain settlement.
• Communities and DAOs: Coordinate cultural projects and shared ownership.
• Developers: Build galleries, minting UIs, indexers, or creative apps on the protocol.
• Brands and curators: Launch drops, exhibitions, and on-chain experiences.

6. What Is the $ZORA Token?

$ZORA is the native token of the Zora ecosystem. It underpins protocol governance, allowing holders to vote on upgrades, parameters, and community initiatives. The token can also be used to align incentives for creators, collectors, and builders, including potential fee mechanisms, access to advanced features, and staking or rewards programs that support network growth and stewardship.