Scarce City

What Scarce City does

Scarce City, Inc. is a private New York-based marketplace founded in 2020 that operates scarce.city, an auction and fixed-price platform for Bitcoin-themed artworks and collectibles settled exclusively in Bitcoin. The platform serves two primary user groups: Bitcoin artists and creators who list physical and digital goods, and Bitcoin enthusiasts and collectors who bid on or purchase them. Goods span physical items (prints, apparel, whisky, trading cards) and digital collectibles minted as NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain via protocols compatible with the Ordinals/inscriptions ecosystem.

Scarce City's technology stack centers on Bitcoin-native primitives. Transactions are processed through a self-hosted BTCPay Server instance, with the Lightning Network used for low-fee, instant deposits. The platform's signature mechanism is Bitcoin-collateralized auctions: bidding participants deposit approximately 1% of their bid in Bitcoin as refundable collateral, eliminating counterparty risk for sellers and removing the need for KYC or custodial custody of goods. Additional product surfaces include fixed-price listings, a raffle system that uses a future Bitcoin block's hash as the randomness source for winner selection, and the "Satoshi Mode" registered-account feature that allows unlimited bidding against a single deposit.

The business model is pure marketplace take-rate. Scarce City charges sellers a 15% commission on the final sale price for physical goods not loaded with BTC, 15% on the premium over loaded BTC value for BTC-loaded physical collectibles, and 10% for digital-only goods; buyers pay no platform fees. The company deducts 5% of marketplace fees into a Freedom Fund that supports open-source Bitcoin development and human rights organizations, with total donations transparently tracked on-chain (30.97855 BTC to date). Customer segments are horizontal across the Bitcoin community: collectors, creators, and high-value bidders, with participation oriented by Satoshi Mode thresholds (0.05 BTC hold) and social-proof (Twitter 5,000+ follower verification). The company was founded by Chris Tramount with honorary founder Chiefmonkey (HodlrDotRocks), and has raised approximately $690,420 across disclosed rounds led by Lightning Ventures, Fulgur Ventures, and Plan B Ventures, supporting team and platform expansion.

Name

Scarce City

Legal name

Scarce City, Inc.

Website

https://scarce.city

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Scarce City operates a Bitcoin-native marketplace for auctioning and selling Bitcoin-themed artworks and collectibles, using BTC-collateralized auctions, Lightning payments, and a 15%/10% seller take-rate. It serves Bitcoin artists, collectors, and high-value bidders, with 5% of fees routed to its Freedom Fund for open-source Bitcoin development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bitcoin Collectibles & NFT Marketplace

NAICS

Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (53311)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Trading Cards & Collectibles NFT Marketplaces (FSADANAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

NFT Commerce, Ticketing & Utility Enablement (token-gated access, memberships, passes, ticketing rails) (FSAPAFAJ)

Keywords

• Bitcoin collectibles marketplace
• NFT auction platform
• Lightning Network payments
• Bitcoin collateralized auctions
• Physical digital collectibles

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees - Physical Goods: Scarce City charges a 15% transaction fee on the final sale price for physical art and collectibles that are not loaded with BTC. Fees are collected at the time of sale.
2. Transaction Fees - BTC Loaded Physical Collectibles: For physical collectibles loaded with BTC, Scarce City charges 15% on the premium over the loaded BTC value.
3. Transaction Fees - Digital Goods: For all Digital Only goods, Scarce City charges a 10% transaction fee on the final sale price.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Scarce City operates a peer-to-peer online marketplace for buying and selling Bitcoin-related physical artworks and digital collectibles (NFTs minted on the Bitcoin blockchain). The platform supports collateralized Bitcoin auctions, fixed-price sales, and raffles settled in Bitcoin via the Lightning Network and BTCPay Server, with no KYC required and refundable BTC collateral deposits enforcing accountability on both sides of each transaction.

Product overview

Scarce City is a unified marketplace platform for Bitcoin-related artworks and collectibles, combining three primary offerings: Bitcoin-based Auctions (using Lightning and Bitcoin mainchain collateralized deposits), Fixed Price Sales (permanent marketplace listings), and Raffles (random selection via Bitcoin block hash). The platform also includes a Freedom Fund that contributes 5% of marketplace fees to open-source Bitcoin development. Goods sold include both physical items (art, merchandise) and digital collectible NFTs minted on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scarce City Marketplace A digital marketplace platform for buying, selling, and trading physical goods and digital goods as NFTs, focused on Bitcoin-related artworks and collectibles. Listed goods include apparel, prints, trading cards, whisky, and other physical collectibles, all settled in Bitcoin with NFTs minted on the Bitcoin blockchain.
• Bitcoin-based Auctions Auction platform that holds bidders accountable via refundable Bitcoin collateral deposits made over the Lightning Network and Bitcoin mainchain. Features no-reserve auctions, hot-zone rules where bids in the final minutes reset the countdown, a 4-hour payment window for winners, and Lightning QR refunds to non-winning bidders.
• Fixed Price Sales Permanent marketplace listings where sellers can list physical or digital goods at a fixed price. Sellers are kept accountable through small refundable bitcoin deposits instead of intrusive personal information or goods custody.

Quantifiable outcome

• Total donated to Freedom Fund: 30.97855 BTC

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• SatStash.iocoreTechnology or IntegrationSatStash.io is integrated as a self-serve platform for sellers to create starting reserve price auctions with instant, zero-deposit listings by connecting a Twitter account. Zero fees for sellers during initial period.
• BTCPay ServercoreTechnology or IntegrationScarce City operates its own BTCPay Server instance - a self-hosted, open-source cryptocurrency payment processor - to process payment-related information including bitcoin transactions.
• Chiefmonkey (HodlrDotRocks)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerHonorary founder who seeded the artist community and had the original idea for Bitcoin-based auctions. Co-developed the platform's core auction mechanics.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Magic Eden: Magic Eden is a leading multi-chain NFT marketplace that has aggressively expanded into Bitcoin Ordinals/Inscriptions, offering direct competition in the same buyer/seller pool of Bitcoin-native collectors that Scarce City targets. Both operate auction-style and fixed-price primary sales for Bitcoin-themed digital collectibles.
• Gamma.io: Gamma.io is a Bitcoin-native Ordinals marketplace that launched specifically for Bitcoin Inscriptions and rare sat auctions, directly competing with Scarce City for the same Bitcoin-maximalist collector base and on-chain collectible listings.

Broad incumbents

• OpenSea: OpenSea is the largest general-purpose NFT marketplace and added support for Bitcoin Ordinals in 2023, competing for the same collectible buyers as Scarce City while operating at vastly greater scale and serving multiple chains.
• Rarible: Rarible is a multi-chain NFT marketplace offering auctions and fixed-price listings across Ethereum, Polygon, Tezos and others, overlapping with Scarce City's marketplace model for digital collectibles at a broader portfolio level.
• OKX NFT Marketplace: OKX Web3 Marketplace is a multi-chain NFT aggregator operated by crypto exchange OKX, which supports Bitcoin Ordinals alongside other chains and competes with Scarce City for Bitcoin collectible liquidity and listing supply.
• Binance NFT: Binance NFT is the marketplace operated by Binance, one of the largest global crypto exchanges, competing with Scarce City for Bitcoin Ordinals and other collectible listings while leveraging the broader Binance user base.
• Crypto.com NFT: Crypto.com NFT is the marketplace attached to the Crypto.com exchange app, offering curated drops and auctions for digital collectibles with a similar mainstream crypto-collector target as Scarce City's Bitcoin-native audience.

Emerging players

• Foundation: Foundation is a curated NFT marketplace focused on digital art and creator drops with auction mechanics, overlapping with Scarce City's auction-plus-curation model for high-value collectibles, although it operates primarily on Ethereum.
• LooksRare: LooksRare is an Ethereum-based NFT marketplace competing on secondary trading volume and collector rewards, with auction and fixed-price mechanics similar to Scarce City but operating in a much broader collectible category.

Others

• OrdinalsBot: OrdinalsBot is a Bitcoin Ordinals minting and tooling provider that enables creators and marketplaces to issue Inscriptions; it is adjacent rather than directly competing, serving as ecosystem infrastructure that overlaps with Scarce City's collector-facing flow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scarcedotcity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCM41_kuVNdh1qzlPttVGaaQ
• Instagraminstagram.com/scarcedotcity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scarce City