Zora, launched in 2020, initially operated as an NFT minting and trading platform similar to Opensea. However, as the NFT market evolved, Zora pivoted its focus. With years of development, Zora launched its own Layer 2 network based on the OP Stack and repositioned itself as an on-chain social network, incorporating the tokenization of posts as a key feature.

On Zora, every user can create a post, which is minted as a tradable ERC-20 token. The total supply of tokens for each post is capped at 1 billion, and upon creating a post, users automatically receive 10 million tokens associated with it. Creators earn a 1% fee from every transaction involving their post tokens, providing them with an ongoing revenue stream from secondary market activity.

Zora has raised over $52 million in total funding. The company’s seed round in October 2020 secured $2 million, led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Coinbase Ventures and others. In March 2021, Paradigm invested, though the amount was undisclosed. Zora’s most recent funding round in May 2022 raised $50 million, with a $600 million valuation, led by Haun Ventures and supported by Coinbase Ventures and Kindred Ventures.