Abstract
Hic et nunc was launched in March 2021 as an open source project and is already one of the biggest and most popular NFT marketplaces out there. The platform offers a clean look with a unique minimalistic design. While some of the features other marketplaces offer are missing or still in development, the simplicity also adds to a smooth user experience without a lot of frills.
Hic et nunc is based on the Tezos blockchain using proof of stake protocols to provide its users with low gas fees for minting and trading NFTs.
NFT categories include pictures, videos, gifs and music.
User experience
Site navigation
While many marketplaces chose features over user experience, hic et nunc takes a different approach. Due to its simple website design the site navigation is straightforward. In the top bar the user can connect their wallet over the sync button and access the menu.
NFTs can be found either through the “explore” or the “galleries” page. On the explore page the user finds all listed NFTs and can search by object id, artists or tag. Furthermore it is possible to sort by the categories random, glb, music, interactive, gif, 1D, 1W.
After clicking on an artwork the user is taken to the sales page. On hic et nunc all sales are direct, which means there is no bidding option (yet). Next to general information about the artwork like title and description, it is also possible to see past listings and historical prices of the piece. This feature can prevent users from getting potentially ripped of by resellers that arbitrarily drive the price up.
Minting
Minting is the process of uploading your artwork and writing the token to the blockchain. Next to the actual artwork minting includes a title, description, tags, number of editions and royalties.
On hic et nunc the number of editions you want to mint can be chosen anywhere from 1 - 10,000 pieces, while royalty payments can be set between 10 - 25%.
Minting on hic et nunc costs 0.08~ tez which converts to around $0.36.
Hic et nunc supports the following file types: GIF, JPEG, PNG, SVG, MP4, WEBM, GLB, MP3, WAV, FLAC, PDF, HTML (ZIP ARCHIVE) and MD
In general the minting process is very user friendly, all you need is a connected wallet with at least the required amount of XTZ for minting. Minted artworks are stored on the decentralized file storage platform IPFS.
Wallets & Payment methods
If you want to buy or sell any NFT you need a wallet to mint and store the token. Some marketplaces offer their users an included wallet on sign up, but most platforms rely on third party wallets.
Hic et nunc right now supports the wallets Spire, Temple Wallet, Galleon, Kukai Wallet, Umami and AirGap Wallet. All wallets are based on the Beacon SDK so more compatible wallets will probably follow soon. The supported wallets cover multiple platforms:
Spire and Temple Wallet are browser extensions.
Galleon, Kukai Wallet and Umami are web based/ desktop wallets.
AirGap Wallet is a mobile wallet.
Most marketplaces only offer crypto payments through the users wallets, because card payments require additional security measurements to avoid fraud. Hic et nunc is no exception to this, offering just one payment option which is the Tezos cryptocurrency tez (XTZ).
Fees & Commission
If you buy or sell an NFT on any marketplace you are commonly charged a percentage of the selling price as commision. This commission is used to maintain and expand the platform and typically the main source of income for the site.
The commision on hic et nunc right now is 2.50%. The fee is paid by the buyer and deducted from the selling price. For example, if the selling price of an NFT is 10 tez, and royalties are set to 10%, then the platform receives 0.25 tez, the creator 1 tez and the seller 8.75 tez.
Because of the PoS mechanism, gas fees are relatively low and around 0.01 tez or $0.04 per transaction.
Comparison
If we compare hic et nunc to the average marketplace we can see some of the advantages and disadvantages of the platform.
* based on this list including 30+ marketplaces in a similar segment.
**based on this list by dappradar
As you can see Hic et nunc has a significantly lower commision rate then most other marketplaces. The popularity is growing fast, being the 5th in rank by user count. The rather low volume traded could be explained by the fact that most hic et nunc artworks are sold in many editions for a lower price than on other marketplaces.
If you are interested in hic et nunc you can check out their marketplace here.