What is MARA NFT?

MARA NFT is a NEAR-based NFT an ecosystem of collections composed of 1,000 Gen1 NFTs, ‘Mara Medals’, and ‘Mara Legends’.

Most non-fungible token (NFT) projects fail for a variety of reasons, but a common factor is when they treat their collectors and community as mere buyers, a ‘corporate’ mindset that has severely impeded projects with otherwise great potential. 

With this problem, a rising NFT project aims to do the opposite by cultivating a spirit of partnership, support, and camaraderie among all stakeholders by focusing on one important aspect: DAO. 

Background 

Mara NFT was created through the collaboration of ‘Mara,’ a street artist, ‘Azzip,’ a communications expert, ‘Syn,’ a software developer, and ‘Goudvis,’ a Dutch crypto specialist. 

They share the same belief that the concept of a ‘phy-gital’ world will soon play a major role in various industries, and their project is an attempt to tap the massive potential of this much-awaited future. 

What is MARA NFT? 

MARA NFT is a NEAR-based NFT collection composed of 1,000 Gen1 NFTs, which was launched last February 8, 2022. The collection aims to unite digital and physical art.

Different variations of the collection called ‘Mara Gen 1’, ‘Mara Medals’, and ‘Mara Legends’ can now be purchased at the Paras marketplace. 

The project, which currently has an 8,000+ strong community, is officially called “MARA.NFT DAO” and focuses on its “DAO” aspect to provide more voice and benefits to its stakeholders. 

The MARA team has created not just an NFT collection but also a sustainable ecosystem through multiple income streams to support the artists, collectors, and the entire platform. It has already established a well-planned business model to ensure that the platform can run in the long term and provide continuous benefits to all stakeholders. 

The team also prepared a robust legal framework when it launched the project to protect the platform and its artists from any law-related issues. It has also brought legal professionals that would strengthen artists’ and collectors’ intellectual property protection, to ensure that they won’t become victims (or perpetrators) of illegal activities. 

Who is Mara? 

Mara, the creative behind the NFT collection’s name, is a street artist from Montpellier, France, and has more than a decade of experience in the art world. 

He specializes in urban environment artworks and has launched various gallery installations and exhibitions, making him a recognized figure in France’s art scene. 

Humanity is one of the major themes of Mara’s artworks so that his creations can create a deep connection with people from all walks of life. 

Why MARA NFT Focuses on DAO? 

NFT projects having a DAO component is nothing new, but a collection that focuses on its DAO functionality, more than anything else, is something worth looking into. The DAO model counters the traditional corporate structure offered to most collectors, where their only choice is to be passive consumers. 

Through this limited role, both the collectors’ and artists’ opportunities of gaining bigger financial rewards are being restricted. 

DAO offers a completely opposite model where artists’ creations are given the opportunity to appreciate in value. 

And with this appreciation, both artists and collectors will directly benefit from increased prices, and no middle entity will get a huge cut from their earnings. 

Also, a DAO model closely links artists, collectors, and the community to create a continuous cycle of development where one’s positive progress can immediately affect the others. 

MARA DAO and Artist Incubator 

The MARA DAO has a major service called “Artist Incubator,” which was designed to function like a music label. 

In other words, it will handle critical operations such as production, distribution, and promotions to help NFT artists gain exposure in the highly-competitive world of NFTs. 

70% of the DAO’s funds will be used to provide financial support to the physical and digital arts of both seasoned and rising NFT artists. 

The 30% of the fund, meanwhile, will be used to provide liquidity to the MARA ecosystem and create profits for the DAO. 

Online and Offline Lobbying 

‘1artcollector’ 

‘1artcollector’ is MARA DAO’s online lobbying organization and was established to defend the interest and welfare of crypto artists and improve the quality of the NFT industry. 

It was also created to court large investors from the NEAR blockchain to bring more liquidity to the MARA’s ecosystem. 

Unnamed entity in France 

The still-unnamed entity in France functions as MARA DAO’s offline lobbying organization with the main purpose of promoting NFT artists, not only to the public but also to government institutions. 

Its initial aim is to integrate basic yet highly important NFT elements in France’s legislative department to test the blockchain’s potential in improving government-related operations. 

MARA NFTs 

GEN 0 Collection 

Gen 0 Collection is the OG project of the MARA.NFT DAO and is composed of 100 unique digital artworks hand-drawn by Mara himself. 

The 100 buyers of the Gen 0 collection, which served as the first batch of strong early supporters of the project, have been bestowed the title ‘The Council of Hundred’ 

Gen 0 has been an important aspect of the entire MARA ecosystem because it served as a starting point in cultivating the project’s vision, community, and investors. 

Gen 1 Collection 

Gen 1 Collection is composed of 1,000 algorithmically-generated artworks equipped with unique traits developed by Mara. 

Each and every character was personally reviewed by Mara and the team to ensure that all of the 1,000 characters have met their high standards of uniqueness. 

NFT Utilities 

GEN 0 Collection 

• Royalties from GEN1 collection sales 
• Artist Incubator support 
• Access to DAO services  
• Access to virtual and real-world VIP events 
• Entry to private investors groups 

GEN 1 Collection 

• Royalties from the Artist Incubator 
• DAO governance rights 
• Access to DAO activities 
• Access to standard events (Non-VIP) 
• Privilege to sell GEN 1 NFTs for mint price 

How Can Mara Stakeholders Benefit from NEAR? 

Quality Seal 

Attaining a Near Foundation Grant provides two benefits: Funds that can fast-track a project’s progress and a “quality seal” which ensures stakeholders and investors that it’s a legitimate project with high potential. 

The Foundation only awards a grant on projects with a highly-qualified team who has bold goals and has already established a progressive track record on their chosen venture. 

And with MARA.NFT DAO receiving this prestigious grant, stakeholders can rest assured that it has passed the high standards of the Foundation. 

No Congestion or High Fees 

One of the incredible things about  NEAR Protocol is that its increased users wouldn’t affect its speed and transaction costs, which is the complete opposite of other blockchain platforms, especially Ethereum. 

When NEAR’s users increase, it just creates more “shards,” which can be described as ‘smaller blockchains’ to accommodate the growing demand. 

MARA.NFT DAO highly benefits from this feature as its transaction speed and cost won’t be affected by the uptick of NEAR users, which ultimately benefits the users. 

Carbon Neutral 

MARA.NFT DAO’s community and NFT holders indirectly contribute to the environment’s welfare as NEAR blockchain uses Proof-of-Stake (PoS) to validate its transactions. 

The PoS is a mechanism that consumes significantly less energy compared to the traditional Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism, which is an energy-intensive process used by Ethereum. 

Conclusion 

We praise MARA.NFT DAO for its focus on DAO, but with its limited number of NFTs and a brief list of utilities, it’s still unclear if it can stay long in the NFT game. But since it’s still a young project and with NEAR Foundation Grant under its belt, it has a big potential to improve further and expand its current benefits and offerings. The community appears to be very supportive as well.