A Launchpad That Offers A Unique NFT Experience: OP3N CEO Jaeson Ma On His 'Super App'

Jaeson Ma is poised to launch a "first-of-its-kind" platform that will offer users in the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) space all features they would need under one roof. His super app, OP3N, is a kind of Swiss knife that will offer everything from ideation to minting to community-building for anyone who has to do anything with NFTs.

OP3N, Ma says, takes pride in its "cross-industry expertize" to deliver a "new era of community-driven" initiatives in Web3. The app is currently in beta stage, but with so many NFT platforms and marketplaces jostling for attention, users are naturally curious to know what sets it apart from the crowd.

The California-based artist, serial entrepreneur and media executive talked to International Business Times in a freewheeling interview about OP3N, his vision of a launchpad that offers a meaningful experience to its users, the metaverse and the web3.

"We are a fully integrated platform that allows you to not just token gate but also to view media, gives on-chain rewards, and manages your community, all in one," Ma said over email. "Other apps in the space are providing only components of this overall experience for users."

And that is not all: OP3N will also allow users to livestream!

The 41-year-old media executive founded OP3N in January last year, along with Eric Tu.

The "super app," which is like TikTok, Discord and an NFT marketplace all rolled into one, is available for download on Apple's App Store and will soon launch on Google Play. It is in beta but Ma said users can still try it, access content and interact with other users and communities. "We have several more phases we are rolling out in the next six months that we’re really excited about that will change the user experience and deliver exciting new opportunities for both project creators and communities interested in NFT projects," he added.

Alongside the rising popularity of NFTs, crimes like their theft and copyright infringement have also risen. But Ma has thought about that. "We’re working on two solutions, custodial and self-custodial wallets, for our users," he said. "Both lanes would require different levels of security for our users, and we are working seriously on both. We’re also working on reimbursement systems and tracking systems to help users after a potential attack."

The OP3N app has an interesting development roadmap that includes multi-wallet per account, community portal, social marketplace, NFT-gated ticketing system and NFT-gated merchstore. "All these components make for a modular toolkit depending on what projects want, or need, for their communities," Ma said.

The multi-wallet feature would enable users to "plug into multiple protocols" to manage their digital assets safely. The community portal would offer a dashboard that allows creators to manage their projects in a simplified way.

The social marketplace would be an "integrated system" that helps users trade in their NFTs in an easy and "social way." The ticketing system would use non-fungible tokens, leveraging the full potential of the blockchain. The merchstore would allow creators to deliver their merchandize to users.

Ma sees OP3N as a launchpad that will deliver a unique experience to its users, and he is optimistic that the current indifference among video gamers toward NFT integration in gaming would slowly melt away. "We believe that this will also come to pass. It’s hard to say if it will be widespread, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see multiple major games utilizing tools like NFTs to augment what is possible for games."

The CEO pointed out that game models like free-to-play and play-to-earn "seemed alien at first, and even repulsive, but they have now become mainstream." He also said the NFT technology will be continuously experimented with because of its "flexibility and interoperability."

Like other tech visionaries, Ma believes in community-building and the need for the right tools to transform their ideas into creations. He noted that "community is currently being redefined every day in the web3 space," adding "instead of building for millions or billions of people, the focus of building for a small group of very interested, but distracted holders, forces project creators to be much more sensitive and creative to their fans.

In addition to OP3N, the team also plans to release the Op3n-World XR Verse, its version of the metaverse. Ma said the project is set to launch next year with a vision of "building a metaverse that connects to other metaverses easily."