Anyone who has been paying the slightest attention to the cryptocurrency world knows what non-fungible tokens (NFTs)are. Throughout 2020-2021, NFTs dominated the newspaper headlines, mainly as a result of several Ethereum (ETH)-blockchain hosted NFTs such as CryptoPunks selling out for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The later part of 2021 saw the rise of Solana ($SOL) powered NFTs such as the Degenerate Ape Academy making waves. Solana has been dubbed the Ethreum-killer and is poised to compete with the ETH blockchain, both within and outside the NFT space. However, ETH and SOL are not the only blockchains being used for creating NFT projects. While the clash of the titans has dominated the NFT world, it largely went unnoticed when the design house Dolce and Gabbana (D&G)'s Debut NFT Collection, powered by Polygon ($MATIC), sold for about $6 million in late 2021. Rather around 1885 ETH. It may surprise you but it is entirely possible to sell digital content via the Polygon blockchain in ETH values. This excellent post by Lost Books Crypto Publisher called, 'Mint a Polygon NFT on OpenSea' (https://medium.com/cryptogeum/mint-a-polygon-nft-on-opensea-71bb2857ff51) is an excellent guide that explains all of this.
Polygon's blockchain allows users to mint, buy and sell NFTs for almost free and this is hugely attractive especially when faced with ETH's high gas prices. Hence, it should not surprise anyone that the Polygon blockchain now hosts some brilliant NFT projects. These include:
1. Decentraland
Decentraland is a 3D virtual world platform that is open source. Users can use the MANA cryptocurrency to purchase virtual parcels of land on the platform in the form of NFTs. The virtual land is distinct in that each plot of land has its own address, owner, content description, and access limits. Every piece of content is monetized and sold in some way. MANA is an ERC-20 token, and LAND is an ERC-721 token for the land record, which can be obtained by burning MANA. This well-known NFT project is now also available on Polygon MATIC for those seeking a scalable experience.
2. MurAll
MurAll is named after a painting that was created on a wall. It's a collaborative NFT art endeavour based on the blockchain that allows anyone to sketch. It also represents openness and defiance against restriction. The need to draw - the PAINT token. By burning PAINT tokens and causing deflationary supply shock, the NFT painting becomes permanent and recorded on the blockchain. It can only be drawn over 21,000 times before PAINT runs out. MurAll is now accessible on Polygon, where it ranks third among the top five NFT projects on Polygon MATIC.
3. Cargo
Cargo.Build is an NFT creation and marketplace service that works with a variety of blockchains, including Polygon MATIC. This platform can be used for a wide range of services, including easy step-by-step minting of NFT arts, gaming objects, event tickets, and other types of access tokens and other products. Cargo opted to join the Polygon L2 solution after Ethereum fees became too high and priced certain players out.
4. OpenSea
Yes, you read that right. With an enormous NFT collection and feature set, OpenSea is the world's most renowned NFT trading platform that enables the minting and trade of NFTs. Because of its large trading volume, it is frequently the recipient of rare/limited availability NFTs. OpenSea has upgraded to the Polygon MATIC L2 solution due to its high importance and widespread usage among crypto users. On Polygon MATIC, it is ranked first among the top five NFT projects.
In addition to cheaper minting, selling/auctioning NFTs in Polygon for a limited time is also free. Once the listing is complete, the transaction charge/gas fee will be deducted. Unicly (UNIC), a protocol that combines, fractionalizes, and enables NFT trading (https://www.unic.ly/), has teamed with Polygon Studios, Polygon's gaming and development arm. The Unicly alliance aims to assist traders in generating cash from their digital art and collectables. Yield farming rewards on Ethereum-based NFT collections currently give nearly 50 per cent to 250 per cent APR. NFT projects developed on Polygon will be eligible for whitelisting through Unicly, as well as incentives through UNIC awards. However, it must be borne in mind that most NFT enthusiasts still gravitate towards ETH and SOL based projects. But the Polygon NFT space is worth keeping an eye on.
