All You Need To Know About Solana’s Rising NFT Ecosystem
Crypto Basics

All You Need To Know About Solana’s Rising NFT Ecosystem

A look at the Solana NFT ecosystem, the second largest blockchain by NFT sales volume just behind Ethereum.

All You Need To Know About Solana’s Rising NFT Ecosystem

Daftar Isi

Although Ethereum currently controls the greater share of the NFT market, there has been a lot of action in the Solana ecosystem lately — from projects' expansions into Solana to an influx of notable investors. For instance, CoinShares — Europe's largest digital asset investment firm with US$3.8Bn in assets under management (AUM) — teamed up with FTX in March to launch the world’s first physically-backed Solana exchange-traded product (ETP).
Back in October 2021, crypto derivatives exchange FTX launched a new marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Solana blockchain. Similarly, the world’s largest NFT marketplace — OpenSea, recently confirmed integration rumors after enabling support for Solana collectibles. OpenSea now supports Ethereum and Solana-based NFTs.
Comparatively, Solana is one of the world’s fastest and cheapest blockchains. While Ethereum 1.0 can process roughly 13-15 transactions per second, Solana’s crucial selling point is its ability to theoretically handle up to 60,000 transactions per second. Furthermore, Ethereum’s high transaction costs have allowed other ambitious blockchains like Solana to emerge, often bearing the title of “Ethereum Killer.

Given the network’s speed and low costs, Solana has become home to several NFT trading platforms that allow collectors to buy, sell and trade Solana-based assets.

Top NFT Marketplaces on Solana

Magic Eden

Despite being one of the new kids on the block, Magic Eden has grown to become the most popular NFT marketplace on Solana. The NFT trading platform is currently the largest in the Solana ecosystem in terms of trading volume, having processed over $730 million since its inception.

Listing an NFT on Magic Eden attracts a fee of 0%. However, the platform charges a 2% transaction fee. Creators can also set their royalties and receive payment immediately after a sale happens.

Magic Eden supports most Solana wallets, including Phantom, Slope, Sollet, Solflare, Clover, Ledger, Solong and MathWallet.

Following OpenSea’s expansion into the Solana ecosystem, Magic Eden took a different approach to stay competitive. The trading platform will now allow users to purchase NFTs with the native tokens of some top Solana projects. The initial rollout will support DeGods’ DUST and Aurory’s AURY tokens.

Another interesting feature that Magic Eden gives to creators is its launchpad. It is designed to help NFT artists mint their collection without having to deal with technical know-how.

Solanart

Like Magic Eden, Solanart allows users to create, sell and buy Solana-based digital collectibles. The platform, however, charges a transaction fee of 3% on every successful NFT sale.

In terms of trading volume, Solanart is currently the second-largest NFT marketplace on Solana, having over 200,000 traders and an overall sale volume of approximately $637 million. And although the platform is still in beta, it hosts a great portion of the biggest NFT projects on the Solana. Needless to say that Solanart was the first Solana NFT marketplace.

SolSea

Despite being in fifth place in terms of overall trading volume, SolSea touts itself as “the first NFT marketplace that enables creators to choose and embed licenses when they mint NFTs.” Although other NFT marketplaces are beginning to integrate the functionality, SolSea was one of the first to release rarity rankings. The platform calculates the rarity rank, score and traits of every fully minted collection on its marketplace.

As for fees, SolSea charges a 3% transaction fee.

Top NFT Collections on Solana

There’s no talking about Ethereum NFTs without mentioning the likes of CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). Similarly, there are a few collections currently dominating or making waves within the Solana NFT space.

Solana Monkey Business

Much like CryptoPunks and BAYC, Solana Monkey Business (SMB) is a blue-chip project on Solana, attracting notable owners like Steve Harvey, Steve Aoki and Alexis Ohanian. Although the original collection launched in June 2021 with just 205 total NFT collectibles, the Gen 2 collection of 5,000 pixel monkeys shot the project to the limelight and is more commonly associated with the SMB brand.

Owning an SMB NFT is akin to being a royalty on Solana. The lowest-priced Monkey in the market is 216 SOL or around $21,600 at current market prices. While this is a far cry from BAYC’s floor price of over $200,000, SMB is currently the second-largest collection on Solana in terms of the overall trading volume.

SMB holders get access to MonkeDAO, the first official NFT decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) on Solana. The DAO holds on-chain elections, operates its own node on the Solana blockchain, and brings value to holders through special projects and meetups.

Degenerate Ape Academy

With an all-time secondary sales volume of over $120 million, Degenerate Ape Academy (DAA) is the largest NFT collection on Solana. Minted in August 2021, the collection consists of 10,000 ape avatars. Interestingly, the entire collection sold out in less than 8 minutes, which was a huge surprise to everyone.

According to its founders, DAA was created on the principles of “friendship making, crayon eating and absolute, unregulated, deplorable, degenerate behavior.”

It is also worth mentioning that DAA made history as the first million-dollar NFT collection on Solana, with a current floor price of 75 SOL or $7,500.

DeGods

It is almost impossible to scroll through Solana NFT Twitter without stumbling on a post about DeGods. With the lowest-priced piece in the collection sitting at almost $20,000, DeGods has grown to become more than an average PFP project.

Holders who stake their NFTs are rewarded with 10 $DUST daily, a utility token is already being integrated with Magic Eden, metaverse projects and play-to-earn games.

Cets on Crack

Despite being a newcomer, Cets on Crack is one of the most hyped projects on the Solana NFT scenes. In just a month after the project launched, its floor price surged to over 40 SOL, a testament to the power of community.

There have been rumors that Cets are linked to BAYC. Nevertheless, the project has focused on branding and storytelling.

Thugbirdz

There is no talking about Solana OG NFT projects without mentioning Thugbirdz. This collection of 3,333 pixel birds features different rarity traits based on shades, hats, earrings, face tattoos and lots more. The collection is being run by ThugDAO and has attracted big holders like Wiz Khalifa and Anatoly Yakovenko, the founder of Solana.

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