🚀 Rarible Relaunches With Sustainable Token Buyback Model

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NFT marketplace Rarible has rolled out a redesigned trading platform with a new incentive system that channels all platform transaction fees directly into token buybacks — rewarding active traders and aiming to fix what previous reward schemes failed to do.

From Unsustainable Incentives to Buybacks

Rarible’s Head of Operations & Governance, Anna Riabokon, explained that earlier NFT marketplace reward systems were doomed from the start:

“They heavily incentivized traders with unsustainable redistribution, only to dry up when token allocations were exhausted.”

Blur (2023) famously drove volumes with points-based airdrops, but it fueled wash trading instead of genuine demand.

LooksRare took a similar approach, but volumes collapsed once token rewards lost value.

Rarible’s new approach: transaction fees are recycled into buybacks and redistributed to real traders, making the marketplace effectively “fee-free.”

Why Rarible Thinks It’s Different

Unlike competitors that depended solely on trading fees, Rarible also generates revenue by licensing its software to brands such as Mattel, McFarlane Toys, and 40+ partners.

This external revenue stream, Riabokon argues, makes the model more sustainable:

“By redirecting all revenue generated from trading into this incentive program, the system is inherently sustainable.”

Transparency Built-In

All fee payments are onchain and traceable to the treasury.

Leaderboards will track trader performance.

Regular transparency reports will be published by the RARI Foundation.

Big Picture

With NFT trading volumes still battling volatility, Rarible’s pivot could mark a turning point if it avoids the wash trading traps of earlier schemes.

For active traders, this might be one of the first NFT marketplaces where transaction fees circle straight back into your wallet.