Yet another first-of-its-kind innovation has gone live on the Ethereum network: off-chain English auctions where users bid for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with either ERC20-compliant tokens or ERC721-compliant assets.

The solution – devised by 0x-powered peer-to-peer marketplace Emoon – was unveiled in an announcement published earlier on Monday. It is considered a rather significant breakthrough for the budding NFT space, mainly because the running of any auctions has – up until now – been of the Dutch variety (i.e., the asking price is reduced until a buyer is found).

By figuring out a way to enable the running of an English auction – whereby bidders can view one another’s bids (i.e., making bidding wars possible) – or a sealed auction, Emoon has empowered NFT sellers with the ability to take the highest offer.

Not only are these auction formats “much more familiar to users,” Emoon’s announcement explains, they also “adhere to philosophical approaches to auctions that enable healthy markets.”

What’s more, this auction process is conducted off-chain, meaning that bidders are not required to pay gas fees on a bid that may not even be accepted. It is only when the seller accepts a bid (i.e., ending the auction), that an order is sent to a 0x smart contract, which then brokers the transaction and perform the asset swap.

So, what does this all mean for Emoon users looking to buy or sell crypto assets? Plenty, in fact. By being able to bid with either an ERC20- or ERC721-compliant token, users could theoretically purchase, for instance, a Gods Unchained Card (GODS) with a payment denominated in anything from CryptoKitties (CK), to Dai (DAI) stablecoins, to Decentraland-native MANA tokens.

The announcement signals yet more progress made by the Emoon team, who, last November, announced that its Emoon Market peer-to-peer marketplace would henceforth use the 0x protocol for all on-chain transactions. One of the main drivers behind the migration by Emoon was the ability for them to tap into 0x’s shared liquidity pool; financially benefitting those using the Emoon marketplace to buy virtual assets.