Building a decentralized exchange (DEX) for NFTs is trickier than creating one for regular tokens. While platforms like Uniswap use automated systems to trade ERC-20 tokens, NFTs’ uniqueness forces developers to rethink their approach. Here’s a simplified guide to creating a basic NFT trading platform using smart contracts and a user-friendly interface.
NFTs can’t be traded like coins. Each ERC-721 token represents a one-of-a-kind digital item, meaning traditional pricing models don’t work. Most NFT platforms rely on an order book system instead. Sellers list items at fixed prices, buyers make offers, and deals happen when both sides agree. Our basic DEX will let users list NFTs for sale, buy listed items, and remove listings—all managed by smart contracts.
The smart contract needs four key functions. The listNFT method checks if you own the NFT and saves your asking price. When someone uses purchaseNFT, the contract automatically transfers the NFT to the buyer, sends payment to the seller, and takes a small fee (like 2.5%). Sellers can cancel listings using cancelListing, while platform admins can collect fees via withdrawFees.
For the frontend, developers can use tools like Ant Design for wallet connections and Wagmi for handling crypto transactions. A demo marketplace might have three pages: one for creating test NFTs, another for managing your collection, and a main trading page showing active listings. Deploying on testnets like Sepolia helps avoid real-money risks during testing.
This basic setup has limitations. Storing all listings on-chain gets expensive, and there’s no support for bids or advanced searches. To improve it, developers could move order books off-chain while keeping payments on-chain, add multiple payment options, or build auction features. While not production-ready, this foundation helps newcomers understand NFT DEX mechanics.
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