You are probably reading this article because you are launching an exciting NFT project soon, or you are probably curious about what the subject means. Regardless of your intentions, I’m happy to say you are on the right page.
When creating a new NFT collection on OpenSea, you get to choose a blockchain where it will be launched. These blockchains are either Polygon or Ethereum.
Choosing one of these blockchains is a big decision and, if not made properly, could ruin your NFT project even before it goes public.
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A Quick Recap
Ethereum is a blockchain where NFTs are launched. NFTs are minted on a blockchain. When these NFTs are minted or purchased, the transaction must be approved.
The approval of a transaction needs energy, and using an Ethereum blockchain means you have to pay for the energy through a mechanism called Gas Fee.
There exists a linear relationship between gas fee and demand; hence the higher the demand, the higher the gas fee, and vice versa. Moreover, these Fees are higher during busy times; hence it’s advisable to mint during the slower times of the day to get to the NFT at a lower price.
Over time, there have been complaints of congestion due to multiple transactions submitted simultaneously on the ethereum blockchain. Hence making the gas fee expensive!
This is where Polygon comes in to save the day, providing solutions to Ethereum’s biggest problem.
Polygon is a side chain or Layer 2 solution to ETH, which allows you to deploy Ethereum Smart Contracts, although instead of deploying to ETH, you deploy to a polygon network.
We can easily conclude that ethereum is the main chain and Polygon is the side chain.
There exist somewhat of a bridge that connects these two chains. This bridge converts assets from one chain to another by locking the asset on one side and unlocking it on the other side.
To better understand this comparison, we need to discuss the biggest difference between these blockchains.
Polygon VS Ethereum: Gas Fees
One unique value proposition of Polygon is that you don’t need to pay insane gas fees to mint an NFT.
There are no gas fees directly associated with using Polygon on OpenSea. However, to buy an NFT on Polygon, you still need to pay gas fees indirectly because NFTs on Polygon blockchain can only be purchased via Polygon ETH.
However, to get Polygon ETH, you need to bridge ETH over to Polygon, and to bridge, you need to pay a gas fee. So technically, there is a gas fee associated with Polygon, but this is less costly.
On the other hand, there are a lot of gas fees associated with ETH, hence making it impossible for people with small portfolios to do any swaps.
These gas fees can be categorized as one-time fees and recurring fees.
The one-time fees are subdivided into Initialization fee and Auction Approval Fee.
You need to pay a one-time initialization fee when you decide to sell NFT on ethereum via OpenSea. This fee is not fixed, as it depends on the current gas fee.
One amazing feature on OpenSea is that you can choose to auction an NFT instead of putting it out at a fixed price. However, to auction an NFT, you will need to approve the use of a special token called WETH ( Wrapped ETH ).
On the ethereum-blockchain, there are a lot of recurring fees. These fees occur every time you accept an auction offer, transfer an NFT, buy an NFT, cancel a listed NFT, cancel a bid and convert WETH to ETH.
On average, these fees cost between $50 to $200.
Polygon MATIC: Tradeoffs
It’s practically impossible to have a perfect product. Below are some of the tradeoffs associated with Polygon:
- No Auctions
On OpenSea, you can auction your NFTs instead of listing them out for a fixed price.
You can auction it off to the highest bidder, hence increasing your chances of selling for a better offer.
However, this is only available on the ETH blockchain. Polygon is currently working on having this on their blockchain.
2. Less Secure
This doesn’t mean the polygon blockchain isn’t secure at all. It just means that it is less secure when compared to ethereum.
3. Less Familiar
70% of NFTs lovers have heard of ETH, less than 30% have heard of Polygon. However, Polygon has been receiving some acceptance recently, and it’s only a matter of time before it will gain more popularity.
Using Polygon for the first time might be difficult for novice and non-technical people because not everyone knows how to bridge ETH to Polygon.
Hence it’s advisable that if you are launching your NFT on Polygon blockchain, endeavor to provide a step-by-step guide on how to go about the bridging.
Final Takeaway
Polygon is the best blockchain to launch an NFT project with high-frequency and low-value transactions. On the other hand, ETH is the best blockchain NFT project with low frequency and high-value transactions.
Hence if you are launching between 7,000 to 10,000 NFT arts, I’ll suggest you consider launching on Polygon.
Furthermore, if you are confident your NFTs will sell out even if they are expensive, you may choose Ethereum. However, If you are looking forward to saving money, you should consider Polygon.
I’ve observed that serious projects choose ETH blockchain because these gas fees create a barrier to entry, hence keeping out new and unserious investors. Besides, since you have to pay a gas fee to sell your NFTs, it is an incentive to hold on to your NFTs.
Polygon has already proven that low costs paired with faster transactions on the Ethereum blockchain are possible.
The future is bright, and I’m confident Polygon is here to stay. I’m eagerly looking forward to more developments and milestones achieved in this space.
However, we would probably be doing an Ethereum 2.0 Vs. Polygon in the coming years. Ethereum is currently working to make its network more scalable, safer, and sustainable.
Note: None of this should be taken as financial advice. It would be best if you always did your research before making a decision.
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