NFT Marketplace Consulting to Reduce Time to Market

Summary

A US startup wanted to launch an NFT marketplace and needed to move fast before competition emerged in the young market. INNERLUXES first validated the business idea with a business case, then delivered a complete blueprint of the marketplace — technology stack, feature map, architecture, infrastructure design, and full user journeys — backed by an interactive prototype, so the startup could move into development with a verified concept and a reduced time to market.

About the Client

The Client is a US startup business considering stepping into and capitalizing on NFT trading.

The Challenge

The Client had an idea to launch a marketplace for selling digital assets. The company wanted to use NFT technology to transfer the right of ownership to a buyer and thus justify an asset's uniqueness and value. The NFT market was relatively new, so the Client was hurrying to claim a niche before competition emerged, and was looking for a competent team to plan out the NFT marketplace.

The Solution

The Client commissioned INNERLUXES to prepare an elaborate concept of the NFT marketplace and to roadmap the development project.

INNERLUXES started by analyzing the original idea of the marketplace. As the Client's vision was still vague, the team built a business case to understand the marketability of the idea and uncover possible risks. Once the idea was verified, the project moved on.

The team prepared the technology stack, the feature map, the architecture, and the infrastructure design for the marketplace, and fully planned user journeys for both sellers and buyers with a detailed specification of the needed functionality. Along with standard marketplace features, the team proposed:

• Multiple login options — via email and password, social media, and digital wallets.
• Custom catalog widgets to aid navigation, such as new or most expensive items on sale.
• Flexible payment via a crypto wallet, credit cards, and mobile payment.
• NFT minting capabilities for non-technical users.
• Integration with numerous blockchains.
• Auction bidding for NFTs.
• Intuitive navigation and a Web3-compatible interface.

The team complemented the solution specifications with an interactive marketplace prototype to visualize a hands-on user experience.

The high-level architecture of the NFT marketplace comprised:

• A user-facing web application integrated with Web3 and multiple crypto wallets. The integration simplified the payment step for users, who could instantly convert fiat currency into crypto assets to pay for NFTs. The front end was planned in React.js and the back end in Golang.
• Data storage solutions. LevelDB was used to store the binary data of Ethereum nodes, while AWS S3 and IPFS were intended to store digital assets.
• Smart contracts to automate the verification of blockchain transactions. To speed up smart-contract development, the team suggested using the ready-made OpenZeppelin libraries.
• An Ethereum-based blockchain network built on the Polygon framework, employed to bypass the high transaction costs and slow processing of Ethereum.

The Results

• The Client received a third-party take on the feasibility of its business idea and a blueprint of the NFT marketplace.
• The company's stakeholders interacted with the marketplace prototype and confirmed its usability for both user roles — buyers and sellers.
• The Client moved on to planning the marketplace implementation stage with a verified concept and a reduced time to market.

Technologies and Tools

Golang, React.js, Web3, Solidity, OpenZeppelin, Polygon framework, LevelDB, AWS S3, IPFS.