For one to access and make purchases on a marketplace, you need;

• A Cryptocurrency Wallet

A cryptocurrency wallet holds your virtual currencies. You must choose a wallet that’s compatible with the chain hosting the NFT you intend to buy/sell. Chains like Ethereum use wallets, such as MetaMask, while Solana prefers Sollet. You must set up your wallet, and that includes filling in all the required details.

• The Cryptocurrency Itself

After setting up your wallet, you must pre-fund it before you can purchase or list your NFT. Once again, you need to investigate the crypto being used by the marketplace before forging ahead. In UnicusOne, the asset used is the UnicusOne token, which you have to purchase directly from the site.

• A User Profile

Now, you’ll need to create an account on the marketplace you intend to make your purchases. Signing up on a marketplace differs from one website to another, but the initial processes are all the same – setting up an account and connecting your virtual wallet. 

Once completed, you can proceed to purchase the item. Most marketplaces allow the creators to fix the price of their items and then put them on auction. Prospective buyers can haggle with the dealer and thereafter, reach an agreement with the seller. 

As for the selling part, it’s a little more complicated than purchasing. However, UnicusOne marketplace tends to make things straightforward, so that even the less tech-savvy creators can access the site. Once you connect your wallet to UnicusOne, add your digital work, title for it, and add a description. Then set the price. 

The minting part is easy too. On the UnicusOne marketplace, you need to top up your wallet with a UnicusOne token. After that, proceed to the top-right corner of the site to start minting your NFT. Note that creating and listing an NFT for sale incurs some fees on the blockchain used. The fee varies from one chain to the other.

Challenges Facing Marketplaces

Marketplaces have the potential to drive the metaverse to a whole new level, but they still face a few hurdles, which are hampering the growth of the NFT sector as a whole. Simplifying the process of minting and selling alone isn’t enough, as users’ demand is increasing. For example, it’s impossible for users to move their NFTs from one blockchain to the other, neither can they purchase/sell their items outside the designated blockchain. Let’s look at some of these hurdles plaguing the metaverse.

Interoperability

Interoperability refers to transferring tokens or assets from one chain to another. While this has become a popular use case for some DeFi projects, it is still lacking in the world of NFTs. Traders can’t move their NFTs to chains outside the designated one. For instance, traders can’t transfer an NFT minted on Ethereum to Solana. 

Information transfer across chains is also not possible because oracles are incapable. This has limited NFTs to a single chain.

Unauthorized Minting

NFTs solve copyright infringement, and prevent an already uploaded artwork from being replicated. However, it doesn’t solve the copyright issue of actually minting an item. This is a big limitation, as it can lead to fraud. 

There have been some cases where an artist’s work was uploaded in the form of an NFT without the consent of the original creators. If this becomes a more prevalent issue, the NFT sector will be redundant in growth, and then we are back to square one. 

Lack of Loans

Taking loans in the DeFi sector is difficult. Many marketplaces focus on trading and minting NFTs, without exploring other use cases, such as offering token-backed loans to retail investors. 

What UnicusOne Brings to the Ecosystem

Providing a solution to the loopholes identified in the ecosystem defines UnicusOne. UnicusOne is an interoperable, all-in-one marketplace with a full-range of tools that can get you plugged into the NFT ecosystem. No more will users be confined to a single chain. 

UnicusOne allows traders to unleash their full potentials by minting and trading NFTs. With their fully audited smart contracts, uses can perform transactions efficiently and transparently. In detail, UnicusOne will do the following;

Move NFTs Across Chains

The restriction of NFTs to the host chain killed interoperability, but UnicusOne is here to solve the problem, already identified as a roadblock in the ecosystem. As an interoperable marketplace, users can transfer tokens to supported blockchains effortlessly and buy/sell tokens through integrated networks.

Allow Tokenization of Assets

UnicusOne smart contracts allow the tokenization of real-world assets, largely described as illiquid. When it comes to transfer of ownership involving assets, such as art, it’s cumbersome for buyers and sellers to deal with it. UnicusOne solves this issue by unlocking the value of these real-world assets through tokenization. 

Fractionalization of Ownership

Some assets have exorbitant costs, and buyers may not have deep pockets to purchase them fully. UnicusOne gives buyers the chance to own a NFT at a fraction of the cost. 

Facilitate the Carriage of Information Across Chains

While the transfer of information is possible in some DeFi projects, it’s unfeasible in the NFT space. UnicusOne supports cross-chain oracles that enable the transfer of information from the parent chain to others outside the ecosystem. 

Borrow Funds Against NFTs

A significant portion of available NFT marketplaces are basic – mint, buy and sell digital arts. UnicusOne has altered the game. The marketplace is the first to offer NFT-backed loans. This implies that users can borrow funds with the NFTs in their wallets as collaterals. 

Traders who are financially handicapped, but possess an NFT can collateralize the items and get funds for trading. Oracles will access the worth of the NFT and then, decide the right amount of funds you can access against that item.

Automate Trading

Thanks to UnicusOne’s cross-chain oracles, investors can automate trading through the help of NFT drones. Traders can set up trading preferences and conditions, and if the requirements are met, the drones will execute the task. 

Traders don’t need to be afraid of vulnerabilities, manipulations, or security breaches, thanks to UnicusOne’s audited smart contracts. With this, users can trade with peace of mind. 

Authenticate NFT Ownership

UnicusOne has a unique method of verifying the true owner of an NFT. It does this by examining their social profiles. With this social authentication, buyers have fewer concerns about authenticity, knowing fully well that they are buying the item from the original creator.

Lower Gas Costs

It’s common knowledge that trading NFTs requires the user to pay an enormous amount of gas fees because of network congestion. UnicusOne integrates with L2 solutions to ease up this congestion, resulting in lower gas fees. 

Features of the UnicusOne Marketplace

UnicusOne has some peculiar features that makes it standout in the NFT space, such as;

Vast Categorisation of Items

Several things are traded on an NFT marketplace – from art to sports equipment to game assets to apparels. Without categorizing these items properly, buyers can get lost when searching for an item.

UnicusOne has a broad categorisation of these items, so that it becomes easy for anyone looking forward to buying one. The marketplace is categorized into Digital art & Collectibles, Gaming & Sports, Social Tokens, Virtual World, Domain Names, Video Content, Audio Content, Utilities, etc. Investors can discover the item they want comfortably and decide on what to do next.

UnicusOne has filters to help users get around more comfortably. Filters organize the collectibles according to parameters, such as category, status, payment method, etc. Users can locate NFTs accurately with filters.

Multi-Wallet Support

UnicusOne aims to simplify trading as much as possible. That’s why it supports a multi-wallet system. To wallet developers, this provides a window of opportunity to integrate their wallets with the platform. It also provides trading avenues to users.

Users can sign-up with wallets, such as MetaMask, Coinbase, WalletConnect, etc., and connect it to UnicusOne. 

Simple User Interface and Rapid Listings

One of the key features of UnicusOne is its simple user interface. All the information is clearly presented on the website and users have easy access to them. Users can access details about owners, transaction history, price history, etc. 

Thanks to its simplified U.I. and advanced codebase, you can create listings in the categories you want. 

Ratings

Many buyers come to marketplaces without an idea of what to invest in. Ratings determine NFTs with potentials and high in demand for buyers to invest their money on. Ratings also verify the reliability of the sellers to protect buyers’ investments. 

UnicusOne also features Metadata to help buyers make better buying decisions.

How UnicusOne Works

UnicusOne is a one-stop marketplace that connects buyers and sellers to facilitate trading. Aside from connecting buyers and sellers, it allows content creators to mint NFTs and add the necessary information to achieve the desired goal. 

Since UnicusOne is interoperable, users can transfer their tokens from the parent blockchain to other chains effectively. With its categorization of NFTs, sellers can group their items under the right category, while buyers can find it less daunting to explore items. 

As a digital artist, the first step to selling an NFT is minting it. UnicusOne is one of the few marketplaces that facilitate the minting of NFTs. To mint an NFT on UnicusOne, follow the steps below;

1. Sign-up with UnicusOne.
2. Connect your wallet to UnicusOne. If you haven’t got a wallet yet, create one with Coinbase or MetaMask. 
3. Add your digital work. Give it a title and an engaging description.
4. Create a listing. You can auction it or use the fixed-price listing option on the platform. 

Before minting an NFT, digital artists are required to pay gas/transaction fees. Moving your token to another chain also requires payment of fees. UnicusOne also charges a fee for secondary sales, although the fee is slashed by the smart contract. The fee is paid in the marketplace’s native token U1. 

How to Buy UnicusOne Token (U1)

U1 is the native token of UnicusOne deployed on the Binance Smart Chain. The token can be purchased on supportive exchanges or on the marketplace. The total supply is 250 million tokens.

Aside from purchasing NFTs and transaction fees, U1 has other use cases, such as providing liquidity, staking, and DAO governance. Providing liquidity and staking are unique ways of maximizing the earning potential of users and growing the ecosystem. By providing liquidity to UnicusOne, you earn some U1 tokens. 

DAO governance is another unique use case of U1 token. It empowers users to participate in the running of the marketplace. Users can vote and implement changes that will lead to the development of the platform. 

Conclusion

NFTs are changing human’s perspective of art and providing ways to monetize digital artworks. However, the ecosystem faces roadblocks in terms of minting NFTs, borrowing collateralized funds, and transferring tokens across chains. These bottlenecks have been addressed comprehensively by UnicusOne.

UnicusOne is a one-stop shop for trading and minting NFTs, staking, and providing liquidity. With its advanced tools, users can transfer their tokens comfortably across chains, borrow funds against their NFTs, automate trading, fractionalize ownership, and do much more.