First NFT Marketplace launches on Public Mint

The pre-alpha version of NFTSmasher, a USD-based NFT marketplace entirely created by an independent developer, is running on the PM testnet.

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Public Mint

7 min readOct 4, 2021

Hero image Community buidling NFTSmasher

First there was Bitcoin and the unveiling of blockchain technology unto the world. Digital “coins” or tokens, magic internet money.

Then came altcoins, including Ethereum — which introduced the idea of smart contracts to the nascent cryptosphere. All of a sudden, decentralized applications were a thing.

Not long after, a host of degens built onto the idea of smart contracts to create what’s collectively known as DeFi — decentralized finance.

All of these innovations have fundamentally changed our relationship with not just the digital world, but also with the age-old concepts of private property, trust, exchanges, transparency, collaboration — all the way to justice and fairness.

And now, another bit of technology has evolved to the point where it hits the mainstream. And few people could claim they’d seen it coming even a couple of years ago.

Of course, I’m talking about Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs as they’ve become known in non-geek speak.

Why NFTs matter

NFTs have combined the idea of individual property of an asset with the concept of uniqueness in the digital realm. It may sound trivial, but think about what that means. No, really think about it.

Digital art and collectibles have kick-started it, and remain one of the biggest drivers of attention (and capital) to this new universe.

So far, you’d need to have enough knowledge of how to operate with cryptocurrencies, be exposed to the volatility of Ether or other native tokens, and spend a substantial amount of money on fees.

But all this is about to change, thanks to the magic and creativity of a vibrant community. This is the story of one particularly talented member.

Hello NFTSmasher

Behold NFTSmasher, fruit of the hard work of Han, a Public Mint community member who goes by the alias of “Hello World’. It’s Public Mint’s first-ever NFT marketplace, and the second dApp to run on the Public Mint blockchain.

“Hello World” is a staple of computer science — the first sentence you’ll ever come across when learning how to code. And now, it’s Hello World to NFTs on Public Mint.

NFT Smasher is a marketplace where people can trade NFTs on the Public Mint network using fiat. NFTs on NFT Smasher will only be generated by verified creators but can be bought and traded by anyone on the Public Mint network. All NFTs that are created on NFT Smasher are checked for quality, originality, and uniqueness.
— Han, “Hello World”

NFT provides a unique opportunity for people to claim ownership of digital assets that was not possible before. And “a simple NFT DApp that lets people trust and easily buy NFTs with fiat was missing,” he explains. “Most existing NFTs that are available on the market do not check for quality, originality or uniqueness. They also lack simplicity, has high gas fee or don’t support fiat”

This, he believes, is where the advantage of building on Public Mint lies.

BUIDLing plans

Initially, the focus of NFTSmasher will be “more on art and collectibles”. Why? Well, in his words,

I live in Rhode Island (also known as the creative capital), USA. It is home to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) that produces some of the best artists and designers in the country. Being physically present in Rhode Island gives me direct access to some of the most talented artists.

In the future, he intends to expand the dApp to other unique items such as digitized real world assets, financial instruments, etc.

The dApp is already running on the Public Mint testnet, being tested by the Public Mint community, and Han invites anyone to help him test drive his creation.

How to use NFTSmasher on the Public Mint testnet

Admittedly, NFTSmasher is currently a prototype, according to Han. And he wants as many people testing as possible before making the big move to the mainnet.

If you’d like to help, here’s what you need to do:

Configure Metamask for the Public Mint testnet as per these instructions.
If you don’t have any test USD, you can use this faucet, created by community member Clement, to get some.
Alternatively, you can ask Han or at the community for some test USD.
Head to NFTSmasher and connect your wallet.
Please direct any feedback to Han — you can find him on the Public Mint Telegram community as Hello World, under the username @nftsmasher (of course!)

Meet the one-man NFTeam

Han is a 35 year old software engineer who hails from Rhode Island, USA. He started tinkering with computers in his early teens.

Professionally he’s been working as a developer for the past 14 years, building complex and mission critical enterprise-level applications. And “complex” here is no exaggeration. Let’s hear it from Han:

Most of my work has been towards developing enterprise scale engineering softwares in varied industries from Aerospace to Nuclear power plants. A recent application that I built helps in generating a revenue stream close to 100 Million USD for a major Scientific company.

In the blockchain space, he started playing by developing coinbroom.com on the side to help people simulate how their crypto holdings can increase. And from this early effort, he certainly came a long way.

Building an NFT marketplace is no mean feat. It involves deep knowledge of smart contracts, web development, and the underlying blockchain. It takes copious amounts of work to make it look good and work well.

Moreover, one should be extremely careful with an application that involves people’s money.

It’s impressive enough when a team of developers manages to create a great experience for people to buy and sell their prized unique digital assets — let alone when it comes from a single person, working in their spare time.

And the results speak for themselves: a slick and seamless interface that works lightning fast, on fiat. Welcome, NFT whales! Whoops — maybe that’s been taken already.

Why Public Mint

Han has discovered Public Mint through a newsletter and it didn’t take long for him to discover the network’s benefits:

I was fascinated by the potential opportunities created through dApps and Public Mint felt as the platform to build because of its low gas fee, reputable team, regulatory compliance, EARN, interoperability and more importantly its fiat-native approach.

He also appreciates the effort that Public Mint places into ensuring simplicity, which he sees reflected both in the user interfaces and the developer documentation.

“For anyone who is planning to build on Public Mint, I would say Public Mint being fiat native, the potential dApps are so many. It’s an open playground to collaborate and build.” His words, not ours. :)

Looking ahead

Even though NFTs will (at least initially) be minted exclusively on the Public Mint network, in future users will be able to move their NFTs across other networks via a bridge. This would mean “one could potentially buy an NFT in the Public Mint and move it to the Ethereum network to list it on the Open Sea marketplace”, Han explains.

As for Public Mint, he sees the MINT token as key to bringing people closer to the network — and he’s doing his share to ensure that:

MINT tokens paves a way for everyone to become a stakeholder of the network. I would hope to see MINT tokens continue to be used for distributing rewards for the stakeholders. MINT token already being an integral part of EARN programme allows new solutions to reuse its reward capability.

And with Han by our side, it looks like blue skies ahead all the way.

Disclaimer

NFTSmasher has been created by the aforementioned independent developer who assume full responsibility for its operation.

Public Mint has not verified the code or contents of the application, and therefore takes no responsibility or liability for its use, or for any implications that may arise from using it. Please do your own research before using any application by third parties.

About Public Mint

Public Mint is an open and complete blockchain platform for fiat money, where funds are fully collateralized and held on deposit with regulated, FDIC-insured institutions. Public Mint offers an open, fiat-native blockchain and APIs, ready for anyone to build fiat-based applications and accept credit cards, ACH, wire transfers, stablecoins and more. On top of that, the Public Mint EARN platform offers users automated and diversified returns on USD assets, leveraging the power of blockchain and DeFi.