Digital-fine art trading platform SuperRare has launched two dissimilar timed auction formats to complement its existing fixed-cost and open-offers sales.

Early access began on Monday, with a number of special auctions featuring works past well-known digital artists beingness run to celebrate SuperRare Auction Week.

Total public admission to the auction features volition become available on Dec. 14.

The two new formats are scheduled auctions and reserve auctions, which are carried out fully on-chain, meaning auctions are noncustodial, secure and tamper-proof.

Both the artwork, in the course of a nonfungible token, and the highest bid are held in a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain for the duration of the auction.

As the name implies, scheduled auctions are given a start and finish date and time and, optionally, a starting price.

In one case an auction is scheduled for a piece of artwork, information technology displays a timer counting down to when bidding will begin. SuperRare notifies the seller'due south followers.

When the auction starts, the countdown timer switches to display the time remaining. Bids made during the sale cannot be canceled, although if a bidder is outbid, and so their bid is returned from the smart contract.

Bids made in the last 15 minutes of the sale volition extend the auction time so that there are still fifteen minutes left to bid.

Once the sale is finished, either the seller or highest bidder can settle the sale, which releases the artwork and highest bid from the smart contract and transfers them betwixt heir-apparent and seller.

Reserve auctions piece of work in a similar way, but rather than a outset date, the seller chooses a reserve price, which is displayed on the artwork. In one case this reserve price is met, a 24-hr timed auction is triggered.

Bidding and settlement are the same equally in scheduled auctions, including bids in the final 15 minutes extending the time.

SuperRare CEO John Crain foresees the auction functionality opening up interesting possibilities for decentralized finance. A user could, peradventure, take out a loan on an NFT held in an auction smart contract based on the highest current bid.

Every bit Cointelegraph reported in August, SuperRare has seen explosive growth in both the number and values of NFT artworks sold through the platform this year.

The addition of these two timed auction formats should make the processes of buying and selling through the platform easier, more fun and more assisting.