Exclusive: Former Gojek exec backs new Indonesian NFT marketplace

Artpedia, a new NFT marketplace based in Jakarta, has received funding from a host of angel investors, including Windy Natriavi, co-founder of AwanTunai and former Gojek executive, as well as Jim Geovedi, CTO of Koinworks.

The angel round, which closed at $100,000, also saw participation from Dendi Suhubdy, CEO of crypto exchange Bitwyre, and Indira Widjonarko, founder of community platform Sebangsa.

Artpedia website (beta version)

Founded in 2021, Artpedia is an NFT marketplace that runs on Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) solutions. It currently supports the Ethereum mainnet and Optimism but is eyeing other L2s like Polygon, Starknet, and Arbitrum.

Arjuna Sky Kok, the startup’s co-founder, told Tech in Asia that Artpedia looks to enable NFT transactions through its marketplace at more reasonable gas fees than what existing platforms such as Opensea charge.

The Artpedia product is currently under development, Kok says. He expects the beta app to be released by the end of June 2022 as most of the funds raised in the angel round will go toward hiring software engineers.

Once it launches, Artpedia will join a relatively young Web3 space already occupied by several local players. Existing NFT marketplaces in Indonesia include Paras, Kolektibel, Enevti, Tokomall and TokoNFT.

Kok acknowledges the competition but says Artpedia sets itself apart as it focuses on Ethereum L2 solutions while its peers run on different chains like Near, Binance Smart Chain, and Avalanche.

L2s are like cities, and Artpedia wants to be the bridge to transport assets between the different L2 solutions, Kok says.

“Suppose you have ETH (ethereum) or money on Arbitrum L2 but you want to purchase an NFT on Polygon L2, you will be able to do that on Artpedia. You can set the slippage, and we will bridge the flow of money between the different L2 layers,” he says.

Artpedia will initially focus on NFTs of pictures and art, but it will later expand to other utilities for use cases like video games and even certificates for workshops or education.

In terms of features, Kok says Artpedia will look to roll out a feature that enables the platform to act as a custodian for new users, given the lack of familiarity with cryptocurrency and crypto wallets in Indonesia. While having such a centralized structure goes against the spirit of Web3, Kok believes this may be a temporary necessity in the current condition of the market.

“Most people are not familiar with crypto wallets and that stops them from being NFT creators. We could be a custodian for them until the time when crypto wallets have become mainstream,” he says.