Top 8 Blockchains for Developing NFTs
Companies, creators, and developers use a variety of blockchains to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs), programmable units of unique data that can’t be changed once they’ve been recorded in a distributed ledger.
However, since each blockchain has its own unique benefits and drawbacks, it’s important that these organizations, creators, and developers understand the differences before selecting the blockchains that are best for their NFT campaigns.
In this article, we review the top 8 blockchains for developing NFTs.
8 Best Blockchains for Developing NFTs
Ethereum
The most widely used blockchain for NFTs is Ethereum. Because it is highly decentralized, it offers the necessary legal and financial services for transactions without the need for intermediaries.
Since Ethereum is well-established and has a large user base, it’s great for launching new projects. It also houses some of the most popular NFT projects, including Doodles and Bored Ape Yacht Club; NFT artists, including Beeple and Pak; and NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea and Axie Infinity.
However, because of Ethereum’s scalability issues, it’s difficult to use for large-scale apps.
Solana
The second largest NFT blockchain, Solana has a growing NFT ecosystem. It deals with the transaction speed limitations and scalability issues of certain blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Solana’s low fees and faster transaction speeds make it a good fit for any type of NFT.
However, the blockchain is not as popular as Ethereum and has received criticism from individuals who say it’s not decentralized enough. In 2022, Solana suffered a number of slowdowns and halts, causing the blockchain to restructure how it handles inbound traffic.
Top NFT collections on Solana include Bored Ape Solana Club, Degenerate Ape, and Smyths. Users can trade these NFTs on Solana-based NFT marketplaces, including Yawww, Hyperspace, and Solsea.
Cardano
A complex, decentralized proof-of-stake blockchain, Cardano is a popular blockchain for NFTs because of its sustainability, security, and scalability. Cardano, which enables transactions in its native cryptocurrency, ADA, aims to create a strong ecosystem for constructing decentralized apps and marketplaces for artists and collectors.
All transactions on Cardano, including minting, purchasing, and selling NFTs, require fees that are established by how large the files are that are being transacted. As such, larger files will incur higher fees than smaller files.
Popular Cardano NFT marketplaces include CNFT.io, which hosts such Cardano NFTs as Clumsy Ghosts, Clay Nation, and SpaceBudz.
Tezos
An open-source, decentralized blockchain, Tezos enables peer-to-peer transactions seamlessly. Thanks to its low fees, it is suited for NFT artists who want to successfully mint NFTs. Building their projects on the blockchain enables people to connect to the large Tezos ecosystem of developers, collectors, artists, and marketplaces. And the cost of minting NFTs – as well as related charges – are lower on Tezos than on most other NFT markets, including the Ethereum ecosystem.
Users can mint single and multi-token smart contracts with the Tezos FA2 standard. Tezos utilizes the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which means it uses less energy than proof-of-work systems.
BNB Smart Chain (BSC)
The BNB Smart Chain is made up of two blockchains, the BNB Smart Chain (formerly the Binance Smart Chain) that powers NFT projects and the BNB Beacon Chain (formerly the Binance Smart Chain) that supports staking, voting, and other governance projects. Individuals who build NFTs on the BSC do so taking their compatibility with other blockchains into consideration.
Additionally, NFT developers select the BNB Smart Chain platform for their projects because it’s cheaper and faster than other blockchains as well as but also because of its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and cross-chain compatibility.
Flow
A high-performance blockchain, Flow is created specifically to enable users to create apps, NFTs, and massive crypto games. Flow is built for speed and scaling. It is also developer-friendly, which is critical to enabling the blockchain to become the top platform for gaming apps, decentralized autonomous organizations, and NFT creators.
Flow is most well-known for NBA Top Shot, the NFT marketplace where basketball fans can buy, sell, and trade National Basketball Association video clips and digital art.
Polygon
A Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, Polygon deals with Ethereum’s scalability issues by offering a framework for creating and connecting numerous sidechains that run in parallel with the Ethereum mainnet. This facilitates cheaper and faster transactions but still maintains Ethereum’s decentralization and security.
Polygon is a popular choice for NFT projects that aim to boost the user experience and reduce high gas fees. Creators can mint and sell Polygon NFTs on marketplaces such as PlayDapp, Refinable, NFTrade, and OpenSea.
Worldwide Asset eXchange (WAX)
A blockchain platform designed especially for gaming and NFTs, WAX aims to provide an ecosystem for creators and collectors that’s user-friendly and accessible. It uses a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to ensure high scalability and fast block confirmation times. WAX has teamed up with major companies and individuals, including Capcom, Topps, and even William Shatner.
The WAX platform hosts numerous NFT marketplaces, including the WAX Marketplace and AtomicHub, where users can buy, sell, and trade digital assets.
The Bottom Line
A huge part of the blockchain ecosystem, NFTs have been adopted by businesses, developers, and artists to help generate new revenue opportunities and community interest. However, it’s critical that these individuals and organizations take the time to determine which blockchains best meet the needs of their NFT campaigns.
For example, while Ethereum provides a popular, decentralized, and secure platform, other blockchains, such as BNB SmartSolana and BNB Smart Chain, offer low gas fees and fast transaction speeds.
