Solana: how the blockchain surpassed Ethereum on the NFT market

Solana is a blockchain that keeps making headlines. After reaching the top 4 of cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization, it has achieved a new feat: surpassing Ethereum on the NFT market. What are the factors that explain this performance? What are the most popular NFT projects on Solana? And what are the future prospects for this innovative blockchain? Here is our analysis.

What is an NFT?

An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a digital token that represents a unique and indivisible asset. It can be a work of art, a collectible, a video game, a piece of music, a domain name, etc. An NFT is recorded on a blockchain, which gives it properties of security, transparency, traceability and rarity. An NFT can be bought, sold, exchanged or collected on specialized platforms, called NFT markets.

Why did Solana surpass Ethereum on the NFTs?

Ethereum is the most used blockchain to create and trade NFTs. It hosts famous projects like CryptoPunks, CryptoKitties, Axie Infinity, etc. However, Ethereum suffers from technical limitations that affect its user experience. Indeed, Ethereum faces problems of congestion, slowness and high cost of transactions. These factors can discourage buyers and sellers of NFTs, who want to take advantage of a growing market.
Solana, on the other hand, offers competitive advantages that make it more attractive for NFTs. Solana is a blockchain that aims to be fast, scalable, secure and accessible. It uses an innovative consensus, called proof-of-history, which allows it to process more than 50,000 transactions per second, with a confirmation time of less than a second and an average cost of 0.00025 dollar per transaction. Solana also has a rich and diverse ecosystem, which includes many NFT projects in the fields of art, gaming, sports, etc.
These assets have allowed Solana to surpass Ethereum in terms of volume of NFTs traded. According to the data from CryptoSlam, Solana recorded a volume of 1.2 billion dollars over the last 30 days, compared to 1.1 billion dollars for Ethereum. Solana thus captured 35% of the NFT market, compared to 32% for Ethereum.

What are the most popular NFT projects on Solana?

Solana hosts many NFT projects that are experiencing increasing success. Among them, we can mention:

• Metaplex, a platform for creating and selling NFTs, which hosts collections such as Star Atlas, Degenerate Ape Academy, Solana Monkey Business, etc.
• Solanart, an NFT market that offers original and varied artworks, such as Aurory, Frakt, SolPenguins, etc.
• Solanax, a gaming protocol that allows players to create, own and trade NFTs in a virtual universe.
• [SolSports], a sports betting platform that uses NFTs to represent events, teams and players.

What are the future prospects for Solana and the NFTs?

Solana seems to have found its place on the NFT market, by offering a performant and affordable alternative to Ethereum. Solana benefits from a strong demand from users and developers, who want to take advantage of the NFT revolution. Solana also has a significant growth potential, thanks to its technological innovation, its dynamic ecosystem and its engaged community.
Solana will have to face the competition of other blockchains, such as Cardano, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, etc., which also want to position themselves on the NFT market. Solana will also have to face the evolutions of Ethereum, which plans to switch to version 2.0, which should improve its scalability, speed and cost. Solana will therefore have to continue to innovate and differentiate itself to maintain its lead on the NFTs.

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