John Crains

John Crain is a creative technologist and entrepreneur who is on a mission to build the future of art collecting. With Jonathan Perkins, he co-founded SuperRare Labs, where he takes the role of CEO and is in charge of overseeing their mission to revolutionise the art market through blockchain and NFTs. Through this platform, they are building Web3's art market. 

The SuperRare DAO is a multisig smart contract deployed on Ethereum. $RARE token holders collectively govern the SuperRare DAO, transparent self-governance arrangement. SuperRare Labs has helped artists and collectors around the world sell more than $280M USD worth of single edition NFT art so far.

Prior to SuperRare, John led products for the ConsenSys spoke BlockApps, working with Fortune 500 companies exploring use cases for smart contracts and leveraging open data. He was also the Creative Technologist at MRY where he was involved in design & engineering of MRY Coffee App.
John is also a mentor at Tachyon Accelerator that supports early-stage startups utilising blockchain and Web 3.0 technologies.

John co-founded SuperRare Labs in 2018 with the mission to bring web3 to the art market. SuperRare has been a pioneer since day one, innovating smart contracts that guarantee artists’ royalties in perpetuity.
In 2021 John helped launch the SuperRare DAO which sits at the center of this new digital art market with more than $260M in cryptoart sales. Prior to SuperRare, 
John led products for Blockapps at ConsenSys, working with fortune 500s exploring use cases for smart contracts and leveraging open data. Before falling down the crypto rabbit hole, John worked in advertising as a creative technologist for Digitas North America. John is an avid surfer.

John Crain Career

Founder at Super Rare 
Nov 2017 - Present · 6 yrs 1 mo

Mentor at Tachyon Accelerator 
Aug 2020 - Present · 3 yrs 4 mos

Founding Member at BlockApps 
Sep 2015 - Oct 2017 · 2 yrs 2 mos
Product Engineer at ConsenSys 
Aug 2015 - Apr 2016 · 9 mos

Creative Technologist at MRYMRY 
Jan 2013 - Aug 2014 · 1 yr 8 mos 
 

John Crain's vision, exemplified through his role as the co-founder and CEO of SuperRare, is centred on democratising the art market by leveraging blockchain and NFTs. His commitment to empowering artists is evident in SuperRare's open application process, providing a direct platform for digital and generative art. 
Embracing a community-centric approach, Crain introduces features like 'SuperRare Spaces' and the $RARE token, allowing users to actively participate in platform decisions. The establishment of physical spaces, such as a pop-up gallery in Manhattan, reflects his dedication to education and bridging the gap between traditional and digital art forms. 
Crain envisions DAOs as the future of human coordination, seeing them as potent tools to reshape inequitable systems, not only within the art market but across various domains. By advocating for transparency, equity, and the positive impact of NFTs.