30 People To Watch In Web3: Alex Salnikov, Champion Of NFT Creator Rights, Digital Ownership

Alex Salnikov is best known as the head of product and co-founder of Rarible, a top-ranked community-centric NFT marketplace. Since 2012, Salnikov has been an active developer in the blockchain space, but since the founding of Rarible in 2020, he has been bullish on NFTs as the next phase of digital ownership.

In August, Salnikov and Rarible gained attention for their decision to only feature NFT listings from marketplaces that offer royalties to creators, reinforcing their commitment to the artists they serve. That decision excludes the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea and the new, low-fee platform, Blur.

On Aug. 17, 2023, Salnikov tweeted: “Not your marketplace, not your royalties,” referring to the unfair way marketplaces like OpenSea and Blur have pushed down fees by cutting out creator royalties. He will be among the industry's top thought leaders speaking at Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets on Nov. 14.

The NFT creator community has responded with approval. According to DappRadar: “Following Rarible's decision to maintain creator royalties and remove both OpenSea and Blur from their aggregation data, Rarible's trading volume is up 637% in the past 24 hours.”

In an interview on Benzinga’s Crypto Unlocked show, Salnikov revealed that he's received an outpouring of support from creators and individuals in the NFT community.

Also Read: 30 People To Watch In Web3: Cody Carbone - Leading The Charge On US Crypto Policy

In an exclusive interview, Salnikov said, "Being part of the Web3 space is incredibly exciting. We're not just thinking about the future; we're building it. For me, it's about empowering creators, brands, and artists with new channels of monetization and expanding the boundaries of the metaverse with novel digital goods."

Though choosing to support creators’ royalties is a business decision for Rarible and may not mean a lot of income on secondary sales for most creators, it makes Rarible the ‘company of the hour’ because so many people in the community believe in supporting creators.

Why Alex Is Someone To Watch In Web3

Salnikov is a trailblazer in the space. Too often, Web3 projects are led by people who don’t 'walk the walk' by living a digital ownership lifestyle.

In a 2022 interview, Salnikov shared that he doesn’t just believe in a world of digital ownership - he lives the next-generation reality every day. “The digital native world is what excites me most. I almost don't own any physical things. My laptop is my most expensive physical thing. But in the digital world, I have a warehouse with all sorts of things,” Salnikov said.

Salnikov works for a world where Web3 and digital ownership will improve lives. Rarible’s distributed approach to aggregating listings from other platforms, offering tools to build custom communities and marketplaces, and open API for marketplace builders seem in step with the spirit of growth in the community and the ethos of Web3.

Salnikov and Rarible are playing a long game, with a steady belief in the transformative power of the technology and a focus on onboarding the new generation of users into the space.

"At Rarible, we are laser-focused on onboarding more retail users by partnering with household brands and facilitating more community-led marketplaces to come to market. Cross-chain solutions are not a 'nice-to-have' but a necessity for mass adoption," he said, "Our ambition is to build a more inclusive, accessible, and interconnected Web3 experience for all."

In a space filled with self-proclaimed visionary leaders and projects, Salnikov is a true visionary, and he is helping to build out the NFT space that he loves. His vision and dedication make Salnikov someone to watch in Web3 in 2023.

Join Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets in NYC on Nov. 14, 2023, to stay updated on trends like AI, regulations, SEC actions & institutional adoption in the crypto space. Secure early bird discounted tickets now!

Now Read: 30 People To Watch In Web3: Caitlin Long, Ride-or-Die For Crypto's Future At A Regulatory Level

Image source: Rarible