Zora is more than just an NFT marketplace. It’s now a whole ecosystem for creating and collecting onchain media with its own Layer-2 network, ERC-20 tokens, and more. In this blog post, we explore different layers of Zora and show what you can do with it.
Zora the NFT Protocol and Marketplace
Launched in 2020, Zora.co is, first and foremost, an NFT platform.
Yet, unlike OpenSea and other marketplaces, Zora caters to creators and collectors, not traders.
This is reflected in its content: most NFTs are digital art or media, not 10k PFPs like on most other platforms. Most mints are also unlimited in quantity but are only open for a limited time (30 days).
Besides art and media, Zora often features commemorative mints by leading projects, including of course, Zerion. You can find main Zerion Zora NFTs at onchain.zerion.eth and some more on stillhere.zerion.eth.
Zora NFTs also support a wide range of media. In addition to JPEGs, NFTs can be videos, PDFs, HTML, and more. You can even publish AR experiences as NFTs on Zora.
Zorbs
Zora also has its own NFTs, and Zorbs is the best-known and most sought-after collection.
Launched in January 2022 as a commemorative NFT, Zorbs were free to mint. A total of YY were minted over Z days. These Zorbs are now sought-after NFTs, in part perhaps due to the expectation of an eventual airdrop (it’s all rumors).
In addition to the original Zorbs, Zora also regularly launches commemorative Zorbs together with other web3 projects. Here is the Zerion Zorb or Zorbion.
Those commemorative Zorbs also generated a lot of rewards for projects that launched them.
Zora rewards
For creators, the best part of Zora is the ability to earn protocol rewards when someone collectors.
When someone mints a “free” NFT on Zora, they pay a platform fee of 0.000777 ETH. Of that, 0.000333 ETH goes as a reward to the NFT creator.
Meanwhile, collectors can also earn rewards in two ways:
- Be the first to mint an NFT and get 0.000111 ETH from each subsequent mint
- Share an NFT and get 0.000111 ETH from each mint via your link (your referral is added when you share from Zora while your wallet is connected)
Supported networks
Zora NFTs are available on several chains:
- Ethereum Mainnet
- Optimism
- Base
- Zora Network
Zora Network
In 2023, Zora launched its own L2 chain.
Zora Network is a Layer-2 network built on top of Ethereum using the OP Stack and is part of Optimism’s Superchain. Zora Chain is an optimistic rollup and is fully EVM-compatible.Importantly,
For collectors, a great thing about the Zora chain is that you can mint NFTs on it without having ETH for gas. Instead, you can pay for gas from another network. Connect on the chain where you have ETH, mint the NFT, and it will be sent to you on the Zora Chain.
Unlike other L2 chains, Zora is specifically focused on onchain media. There aren’t any DeFi dapps, and the total value locked (TVL) and bridged is relatively low — people mostly bridge to mint NFTs. Still, Zora is a very active chain and generates considerable transaction fees even though it’s cheap to use (minting an NFT costs <$0.50).
Zora ecosystem
Although there are no heavy-hitting DeFi protocols, the Zora ecosystem includes other major onchain media platforms.
- Mirror.xyz — a Web3 publishing platform with collectible articles
- Paragraph.xyz — a Web3 newsletter and blogging platform where posts can be collected
- Sound.xyz — onchain music platform with music NFTs
Through all these apps, you can create and collect onchain media, which is the main focus of Zora Network.
To use the Zora chain to its fullest, you bridge some ETH.
How to bridge ETH to Zora
You have several options for bridging to Zora:
- Native Zora bridge from mainnet Ethereum (can be expensive due to L1 gas fees)
- Third-party bridges such as Orbiter.finance lets you bridge from cheaper L2s, including Optimism, Base, and many others
Regardless of the bridge you use, the steps to bridge ETH to Zora are the same:
- Connect your wallet
- Select any L2 as ‘from’ network
- Select Zora as the destination network
Remember that it might take 15 minutes to an hour for ETH to show up on Zora. This depends on how busy both the L2s and the mainnet Ethereum are.
ERC-20 on Zora
Unlike other L2s, Zora has a limited number of ERC-20 tokens. For example, Zora currently has no stablecoins.
There are, however, two scenecoins (aka memecoins among the less sophisticated crowds):
- $ENJOY— incubated by Seed Club, it was airdropped to active Zora creators and collectors. Now, it can be used for tipping: all those comments with a number and $ENJOY are tips sent to creators.
- $IMAGINE — it used a series of Zora mints to build up a base of its tokenholders. This token can also be used for tips.
Zora DEX
It’s still the early days for Zora Chain, and there is no standalone decentralized exchange.
Instead, you can trade using Zora's own Uniswap fork. This DEX works like Uniswap v2: you can provide liquidity or swap. However, you need to manually add token addresses and it might be a bit unstable at times.
Wallet for Zora
You can add Zora Chain to any EVM wallet, it works best with a dedicated wallet for Zora like Zerion.
For example, Zerion Wallet automatically shows all your NFTs and stores a human-readable transaction history. Zerion is available as both a browser extension and a mobile app, through which you can mint NFTs on the go.
With Zerion, you can also browse any address and see what the mint is on Zora. You can even play video and sound NFTs right in your wallet.
With Zerion mobile app you can also add any wallet to your watchlist and set up notifications to get alerts when they mint something on Zora. In the ‘Mints for Your’ section, you can also find active mints that might be relevant to you.
Finally, you can also swap on Zora Chain directly in Zerion Wallet. The trades are routed only via the Uniswap fork, but swapping directly in Zerion saves you time.
What’s next
Zora is already one of the leading NFT platforms and is available on several chains. Its own Zora Chain aims to become the destination for onchain media. Finally, Zora doesn’t yet have a token and you can still be early. And in web3, it pays to be early and active — create, collect, and enjoy the new internet.
FAQ
How to add Zora network to MetaMask?
You can add Zora to MetaMask by setting the RPC. In Zerion Wallet, Zora Chain is supported automatically. Just bridge some ETH or mint NFTs, and it will all show up in your Zerion Wallet.
How to send ETH to Zora?
To send ETH to Zora you need to use a bridge. You can choose between Zora’s official bridge (only for mainnet Ethereum) or third-party bridges like Orbiter.finance.
Is there a Zora to Base bridge?
There is no official bridge from Base to Zora but you can use a third-party bridge.
Is there a Zora coin?
There is currently no official Zora coin or token. However, there there ERC-20 tokens on Zora, some of which are used for tipping on Zora NFTs.
