Propose a Trade
Understanding a Trade versus a Proposal
It's essential to differentiate between a trade and a proposal on Nefster:
Creating a Trade: When you create a trade, you're committing to a transaction that writes data to the blockchain. This action incurs a small gas fee due to the computational work involved in recording the transaction. Once the trade is executed, its details are immutable and can be verified not only on Nefster but also with a blockchain explorer, ensuring transparency and trustworthiness.
Creating a Proposal: A proposal is a communicating of interest to trade. Crucially, the acceptance of a proposal by a counterparty doesn't execute the trade - it only notifies you that they are on board with the proposed trade, and you can now create the actual trade for them to finalize. Also, creating a proposal doesn't involve writing to the blockchain, and therefore doesn't incur any gas fees. Basically, a proposal is a way to express interest in a potential trade without immediately committing to it.
Always be aware of the distinction to manage your trades and costs effectively.
How do I propose a trade?
Before you start, make sure both Propose NFT Swap and Direct Messages are in the Terminal.
To propose a trade to another user, that user must first be added to Direct Messages in the Terminal. This can be done by clicking on the plus sign at the top of the widget and entering the user's wallet address or ENS name (e.g., example.eth).
You can also add a user from Group Messages to Direct Messages by hovering the mouse pointer over their profile picture and clicking on the Direct Message button.
After adding the user to your Direct Messages, click on their username or profile picture. Then, in Propose NFT Swap, use the PROPOSE tab to specify the details of the proposed trade.
Converting accepted proposals to swap contracts
Trade proposals are executed off-chain, so there's no gas cost involved. Once the counterparty accepts the proposal, you'll receive notifications in both Direct Messages and Propose NFT Swap.
Accepted proposals can be converted into on-chain swap contracts with just a click: the MANAGE tab in Propose NFT Swap displays the proposals you've made. From here, you can click on the CREATE SWAP button if the counterparty has accepted the proposal. Click the CANCEL PROPOSAL button if the proposal has not yet been accepted by the counterparty and you want to rescind it.
Create contract flow
Upon clicking the CREATE SWAP button, your connected wallet will prompt you to:
Approve the Nefster smart contract, granting it permission to access your NFTs. If you're swapping multiple NFTs from different collections, you'll need to approve each collection separately.
Initiate the new swap contract on the blockchain. The swap details are relayed to the smart contract, and a new contract is established.
Both actions incur a small gas fee since they involve writing to the blockchain.
Swap flow
Once the contract is established on the blockchain, the counterparty is notified. They can then review the contract details both within Nefster and on the blockchain using the transaction hash.
The counterparty can finalize the swap, and the Nefster smart contract will execute the asset transfer between the parties.
Security and transparency
Every detail of the swap contract is publicly accessible on the blockchain. Nefster's approach to NFT swaps is entirely governed by decentralized smart contracts. This makes it significantly more secure and verifiable than hybrid approaches.