RARI

About RARI (RARI)

RARI is the governance token of the Rarible ecosystem: holders vote in the RARI DAO, which controls the RARI Foundation treasury, governs the open-source Rarible Protocol for NFTs, and governs RARI Chain, an Arbitrum-powered layer 3 network that enforces creator royalties at the node level. It was issued in 2020 with a maximum supply of 25 million RARI. It matters because it is one of the older NFT-sector governance tokens with a working on-chain DAO, staking and delegation system.

What Is RARI?

RARI is an ERC-20 token originally deployed on Ethereum at 0xfca59cd816ab1ead66534d82bc21e7515ce441cf, with additional deployments on Base and Energi. The RARI Foundation describes the ecosystem as "infrastructure for onchain commerce" connecting creators, brands and their communities.

The token governs three things:

• Rarible Protocol: an open-source, community-governed toolset (API and SDK) that developers use to build NFT marketplaces and apps.
• RARI Chain: an NFT-focused Ethereum layer 3 built with Arbitrum technology.
• The DAO treasury: funds, grants and operating budgets approved by token-holder votes.

Who Founded RARI? (History)

RARI was created by the team behind the Rarible NFT marketplace; the knowledge base does not name individual founders. According to the RARI DAO knowledge base, the token was issued in 2020 with an initial distribution of:

• 10% airdropped to NFT holders in the crypto community
• 60% set aside to reward users of apps built on Rarible Protocol
• 30% to investors and the Rarible team

The Foundation's website now presents the same 25 million supply as 10% airdrop, 30% investors and team, 20% token incentives and 40% DAO treasury. The 20% and 40% buckets together equal the original 60% user-reward share, which suggests a later reclassification, although the Foundation does not publish a reconciliation.

Governance moved to a formal on-chain structure with RRC-0, which introduced the RARI Foundation and fully on-chain governance, and RRC-1, which introduced veRARI voting. RARI Chain launched in January 2024. A second DAO deployment ("v2 DAO") now runs on RARI Chain alongside the original Ethereum mainnet DAO.

How RARI Works

Governance follows a five-phase process documented in the knowledge base:

1. Ideation (7 days) Authors share an idea on the RARI forum and gather informal feedback.

2. Proposal draft (minimum 7 days) A formal draft (abstract, motivation, specification, timeline, cost) is posted on the forum.

3. Submission and voting (5 days) Publishing a proposal on Tally requires 5,000 veRARI or a supporting delegate with 5,000+ votes. Quorum is 15% of total veRARI supply.

4. Cooldown (2 days) The Foundation Board, and a Security Council, can block implementation of a passed proposal that is illegal, harmful or malicious.

5. Implementation Approved proposals self-execute on chain; for example, grant budgets transfer automatically.

veRARI (vote-escrowed RARI) is non-transferable voting power earned by locking RARI for a chosen period (the docs give 100 RARI locked for 2 years as 100 veRARI, and for 1 month as 20 veRARI). The knowledge base marks this model as being deprecated in favour of staking and delegation on the v2 DAO.

Key Ecosystem Components

1. Rarible.com The consumer marketplace for creators and collectors.

2. Rarible Protocol (API and SDK) A multichain indexer and SDK that exposes NFT ownership, metadata, orders, bids and auctions to developers. The knowledge base states that NFTs worth over $300 million have been traded across apps built on the protocol.

3. RARI Chain An Arbitrum-powered L3 that embeds royalties at the node level, supports payment in ETH, USDC or card, and integrates with Rarible's marketplace.

4. RARI Foundation A Cayman Islands legal entity that represents the DAO off chain, signs contracts, and is funded by DAO-approved operating budgets with quarterly spending reports.

5. Grants and staking programs DAO-funded grants and a staking program for holders who delegate to active delegates.

RARI Token Utility

• Governance: voting on protocol upgrades, treasury allocations, grants and Foundation board appointments.
• Staking: the DAO funded staking rewards for holders who stake and delegate to an active delegate (one who has voted in the past 90 days). Rewards are dynamic and streamed without manual claiming.
• Delegation: holders can delegate voting power to community delegates on Tally.
• RARI Prime: locking 100 RARI or more grants "RARI Prime" status in the older lock system.

The documentation presents RARI as a governance and incentive token rather than a payment token for marketplace purchases.

What Makes RARI Unique?

• Node-level royalties: RARI Chain is designed so creator royalties are guaranteed by the chain itself rather than depending on marketplace policy, an issue that became contentious as many marketplaces made royalties optional.
• Mature on-chain governance: documented phases, quorum rules, a legal foundation and a Security Council.
• Open protocol plus consumer app: the same token governs both developer infrastructure and a chain, not only a single marketplace.

How RARI Differs from Similar Chains

• Compared with Blur, whose token is closely tied to trader incentives on one marketplace, RARI focuses on protocol and chain governance with a creator-royalty stance.
• Compared with SuperRare, which curates high-end single-edition art, Rarible is an open marketplace and developer protocol.
• Compared with MAGIC, which anchors the Treasure gaming ecosystem, RARI Chain targets general NFT creation and trading with enforced royalties.

Use Cases of RARI

• Voting on DAO proposals and delegating voting power.
• Earning staking rewards by staking and delegating.
• Applying for or allocating ecosystem grants.
• Influencing how Rarible Protocol and RARI Chain evolve.

How RARI Is Secured

The RARI token inherits security from Ethereum (and from Base and Energi for the bridged deployments). RARI Chain is an Arbitrum-based L3 that settles to a parent chain, so its security depends on the Arbitrum stack and its operators; the knowledge base links to Caldera documentation for the chain. Governance security relies on quorum rules, the two-day cooldown and a Security Council veto for malicious proposals.

Risks and Considerations

• Governance-only value: RARI does not entitle holders to protocol revenue by default; any fee sharing depends on DAO decisions.
• NFT market cyclicality: Rarible's activity depends on NFT demand, which has been highly cyclical.
• Multiple deployments: RARI exists on Ethereum, Base and Energi; confirm the contract address before trading or bridging.
• Centralized checks: the Foundation Board and Security Council can block proposals, which adds safety but also a trust assumption.

Why RARI Matters

RARI gives token holders real, documented control over an NFT protocol, a treasury and a dedicated chain. Its focus on enforced creator royalties sets it apart in an NFT sector where royalty enforcement has weakened.

Where Can You Buy RARI?

RARI trades on centralized exchanges and on decentralized exchanges on Ethereum and Base. Check that the contract matches the official addresses listed by the RARI Foundation before buying.

Storage Options After Purchase

RARI can be held in any EVM wallet such as MetaMask, Rabby or a Ledger hardware wallet. To vote or stake, connect the wallet to Tally and delegate or stake from there. Useful explorers: Etherscan and Basescan.

Related Coins

• Blur (BLUR)
• SuperRare (RARE)
• MAGIC (MAGIC)
• Arbitrum (ARB)
• Immutable (IMX)