Today I logged onto NFT Twitter and saw this and had a good laugh:
Translation for those not fluent in internet meme-speak: “In my humble opinion, we’re all going to make it. To be honest, let’s fucking go! Good morning! All time highs, hold Ethereum, Bitcoin, NFTs, et cetera. If you know, you know. Web 3.01 is for everyone!”
Bitcoin reaches new all time high, and Ethereum pushes past the $4,000 mark
Crypto Twitter is intoxicated with happiness as Bitcoin blasts to an all time high of nearly $67,000. It’s easy to get caught up in this excitement, but this is a great opportunity to remind readers that cryptocurrencies, and NFTs are incredibly volatile.
The most recent price increase likely is the result of the first Bitcoin ETF being approved for trading in the United States. While increased adoption of crypto is generally great news, it also means the already cost-prohibitive expenses to mint NFTs (or do any transaction) on the Ethereum network are now even worse.
Today I’m going to give an overview about other ways to publish and collect NFTs without paying enormous Ethereum fees. While Ethereum remains the “gold standard” for publishing NFTs, I’ll also show you some of the pros and cons of other NFT blockchain platforms.
Most of the NFT alternatives are Ethereum-based projects and side chains, however some are on different blockchains entirely.
Using Ethereum but avoiding the fees
It is possible to publish on the Ethereum network for either low or even zero fees! One link you’ll refer to repeatedly is the current gas fees on Ethereum: https://etherscan.io/gastracker
Seriously, bookmark that link now.
If you must publish or buy an NFT on Ethereum, unless it’s an anticipated NFT drop, it’s best to wait until the gas on the network is at a reasonable level and budget accordingly.
If you’re an artist looking to mint your own NFTs, Rarible recently added a new feature called “Lazy Minting.” This feature allows an artist to create a marketplace listing for their NFT, but instead of the artist minting and paying the gas fee, the NFT is minted by the buyer. This is an excellent way for an NFT artist to get started without needing to own any Ethereum. Read more about this in the Rarible blog.
Keep in mind if you do use the “Lazy Minting” feature, your NFT will not be available on the Ethereum blockchain or on other NFT marketplaces other than Rarible until it is minted.
Polygon Network
Formerly the Matic Network, Polygon offers one of the most accessible platforms for creating and collecting NFTs and is the choice for over 3,000 Dapps (Distributed Applications) and NFT projects. The Polygon Network’s blockchain is based on Ethereum and you can bridge any of your Ethereum assets over to Polygon. Transaction fees are usually below one cent in USD, far cheaper than Ethereum fees frequently costing over $100 for an NFT drop.
The easiest way to publish an NFT on the Polygon Network is on OpenSea. In their NFT Create interface, all you need to do is to scroll down and select Polygon from the Blockchain dropdown menu.
OpenSea has an excellent tutorial that will walk you through everything you need to know to publish on their platform using the Polygon Network. OpenSea also is very beginner friendly in that you can purchase NFTs and cryptocurrencies with a credit card, and not worry about immediately setting up and verifying a crypto account with an exchange like Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini.
While I love the Polygon Network, one of the cons is that it limits the interoperability of your NFT. No big deal if you’re a beginner or an individual artist, but still worth mentioning.
There are a number of games on Polygon, and it is a perfect solution for keeping the costs down for their players. Examples include Zed.Run, Neon District, Gala Games, Decentraland, and MegaCryptopolis.
Flow
NFT pioneer Dapper Labs continues to innovate, and are committed to making blockchain transactions cheap and also easy enough for anybody to use without technical knowledge. A side chain of Ethereum, Flow, was rolled out with Dapper’s licensed NBATopShot project.
Dapper Labs announced an OpenSea-like site that uses Flow as its currency, called BloctoBay. It appears you can only buy and sell Flow NFTs from the curated collection on their site at this time.
If you’re an artist and want to publish NFTs on Flow, then VIV3 may be what you’re looking for. However, you have to submit an artist portfolio for consideration. And yes, it’s pronounced “Vive” and not “Viv-three.”
OpenSea recently announced Flow NFTs will be coming to their platform. I haven’t seen a timeframe, but they implemented Polygon quickly, and I’m excited to see this new network supported.
Tezos
The last blockchain I’m going to touch on today is Tezos. Hic et nunc, or HEN as it’s referred to in the NFT community, is a great place to explore and find original NFTs from a variety of talented artists. Other Tezos marketplaces include Kalamint, and Bazaar.
However, you do need a Tezos wallet and some Tezos to purchase or publish art. The Tezos website has a great guide to getting your wallet set up and getting started with NFTs on the Tezos network. Tezos cryptocurrency can be purchased on exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and others.
Some Tezos Wallets
Temple extension (similar to MetaMask): https://templewallet.com
Galleon Wallet (standalone app): https://cryptonomic.tech/galleon.html
An end note - remember to have fun!
Above all, I hope you’re inspired on your NFT journey to try new things and different platforms and generally enjoy the ride. A unique quality about the NFT community is the love and support you’ll find from NFT buyers and creators alike. Twitter is a great place to find folks talking about NFTs and even get together to speak on Twitter Voices. Reach out to others, and find some some new friends!
It’s a place where young and old and folks of every part of the world come together to say “gm”2 and share their latest art creations or purchases, and of course, witty humor.
Web 3.0 is the decentralized web, which NFTs, decentralized finance, and cryptocurrencies belong to as there are no centralized servers as the http (World Wide Web) protocol uses.
Any time of the day is a good time to say gm (good morning) to your NFT family. You can also say ga, ge, or gn.