Top 3 Blockchains Used in NFT Development: A Beginner’s Guide
Main Takeaways
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are one of the crypto industry’s most well-known and popular asset types.
From unique icons individuals can purchase to VIP tickets to events, NFTs are becoming increasingly prevalent in different industries.
Ethereum, Polygon, and BNB Chain are all popular blockchains — if you are keen on diving into the world of NFTs, you should know what makes these blockchains popular and which one to choose.
Learn about popular NFT blockchains and the key things to consider when choosing the right blockchain for your upcoming NFT project.
NFTs have fast become one of the crypto world’s most popular asset types. As each NFT is unique, they differ from fungible tokens like BNB or bitcoin (BTC). Common use cases include NFT metaverse items, artworks, and collectibles. What all NFTs have in common, however, is that they are powered by and developed on blockchains.
The Ethereum blockchain has often been seen as a one-stop shop for NFTs, though other NFT-supporting blockchains also exist. More blockchains than ever now offer NFT capabilities and NFT connoisseurs have a wider variety of choices of where to mint and trade NFTs.
In this article, we'll take you through some of the most popular blockchains that support NFTs, and as well as how they differ from one another.
What Is Blockchain?
First, let’s define what a blockchain is. According to Binance Academy: “A blockchain is a special type of database. You may also have heard the term distributed ledger technology (DLT) — in many cases, they refer to the same thing. A blockchain has certain unique properties."
“There are rules about how data can be added, and once the data has been stored, it's virtually impossible to modify or delete. Data is added over time in structures called blocks. Each block is built on top of the last and includes a piece of information that links back to the previous one.”
You can learn more about the topic in our What Is Blockchain Technology? The Ultimate Guide article.
What to Consider when Choosing a Blockchain for Your NFT Project
There are always numerous factors to consider when choosing which blockchain you want to mint on, including network popularity, creator costs, smart contract capabilities, and security.
For example, you should find out if a blockchain is proof-of-work (PoW) or proof-of-stake (PoS). PoW is typically associated with lower speeds and higher transaction costs, leading to PoS becoming more commonplace due to its greater speed and affordability.
However, PoS networks also differ from one another in terms of validation rules and participation rights. To help you on your way, we’ve listed below some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a blockchain for your NFT project.
Transaction speed
Transaction processing and confirmation speed varies from one blockchain to the next. Speed can be important to users looking to buy or mint their NFTs as quickly as possible. In fact, it’s not uncommon for collections to sell out almost instantly.
For example, a blockchain that can process only 50 or 60 transactions per second (TPS) can easily delay the minting and transfer speeds of a project’s NFTs. Keep in mind that delays can also be exacerbated during high-traffic hours.
Transaction costs
Transaction costs are among the most important factors users and projects consider when choosing the right blockchain for their needs. Users pay these fees when submitting their transactions for confirmation, and a network’s traffic can often affect these fees. For instance, if a blockchain is busy, users may have to outbid one another in terms of fees to ensure their transactions go through.
There have been, on occasion, networks whose transaction fees were as high as $50 per transaction. In such instances, users may be hesitant to purchase or mint NFTs.
Security
Security is a top priority in crypto. Due to blockchain’s underlying technology, many networks offer a reasonably solid, stable, and secure experience. However, that doesn’t mean that hacks don’t happen.
Blockchain hacks have seen investors, traders, and NFT creators lose their funds and data while their development teams face phishing attacks. A good example is the $600 million Ronin hack.
Common standard for smart contracts
EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatible blockchains use a common language to create smart contracts. If you already have Solidity skills from experience with Ethereum or BNB Chain, you may find it simpler to pick another EVM-compatible network. Many users are more familiar with such networks, and often already have compatible wallets.
Consensus mechanism
A blockchain’s consensus mechanism is a core part of its confirmation and validation process. The most commonly used consensus mechanisms in public blockchains are proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS). You’ll need to pick a network with a consensus mechanism you find best for your situation.
Popular Blockchains Used in NFT Development
Now we’ve covered some of the factors to consider when choosing a blockchain for your NFT project, it's time to explore which blockchain may be suitable for your NFT project.
Binance NFT now offers cross-blockchain compatibility across the Ethereum, Polygon, and BSC blockchains. The integration of Polygon further elevates Binance NFT to a multi-chain, open marketplace ecosystem, where users can now explore and trade a wider variety of NFTs across multiple blockchains.
Here are some of the main differences among the blockchains now supported by Binance NFT:
BNB Chain (BSC and BNB Beacon Chain)
BNB Chain is a blockchain ecosystem that developers and innovators can use to build Web3 decentralized applications (DApps). BNB Chain strives to maintain manageable fees and high-speed transactions with its Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism, a combination of PoS and proof-of-authority (PoA).
BNB Chain is made up of two chains: BNB Beacon Chain, which is used for governance through staking and voting, and BNB Smart Chain (BSC), an EVM-compatible network. The latter supports relatively short block times and reduced transaction costs compared to competitors and has attracted thousands of users and projects.
Ethereum
The biggest and most well-known blockchain after Bitcoin, Ethereum pioneered the concept of NFTs back in 2014. As the NFT ecosystem took off in 2017 and NFTs began evolving into a smart contract-based tool, Ethereum launched the multi-token standard ERC-1155 to support wide-scale NFT adoption.
Older token standards, such as ERC-20 and ERC-721, required the creation of a separate smart contract for each type of token. With ERC-1155, the smart contract interface now allows the transference of multiple kinds of token simultaneously, thereby saving on transaction costs.
One thing to note is that Ethereum’s popularity means higher transaction costs to mint and trade NFTs. As a result, other blockchains have been launched as alternative NFT ecosystems.
Following the Merge, Ethereum now uses a PoS consensus mechanism that allows it to consume less energy than it did under its previous PoW system.
Polygon
Polygon is an EVM-compatible blockchain that allows for secure and instant transactions with EVM-compatible coins such as ether (ETH). The Polygon network was designed to act as a parallel blockchain to Ethereum and is one of Ethereum’s first scaling solutions.
Polygon runs alongside the Ethereum blockchain on PoS architecture. As a Layer 2 solution, it shares many of Ethereum’s qualities, such as its reputation for security, smart contract features, and EVM interoperability. Polygon can offer a higher degree of flexibility and scalability compared to Ethereum, and people often choose Polygon for its affordability and improved speed.
Binance NFT Marketplace is also excited to announce the addition of the Polygon network to its supported chains. To switch between networks on the Binance NFT Marketplace, click on the filters button and select the respective network shown on this page:
Zero Trading Fees on Binance NFT Marketplace for Ethereum and Polygon Collections
To celebrate the launch of Polygon on the Binance NFT Marketplace, Binance is launching a zero-fee trading promotion for our NFT community! This promotion will run from 2023-03-21, 11:00 (UTC), to 2023-04-10, 23:59 (UTC).
Users will be eligible to trade NFTs from all Ethereum and Polygon NFT collections available on the Binance NFT Marketplace at zero trading fees.
During this time, users can also enjoy 100% gas rebates in the form of USDT token vouchers. This is only applicable when users purchase their first three third-party platform NFTs from any Ethereum NFT collection available on the Binance NFT Marketplace! You can refer to this FAQ to find the supported Polygon NFT contract addresses on Binance.
Please note that third-party platform NFT fees differ from those of NFTs directly listed on the Binance NFT Marketplace. For more details, please refer to our announcement.
Choosing the Best Blockchain for Your Next NFT Project
Now that you're familiar with the basics of NFT blockchains, it should be easier for you to make a more informed decision on which network to use. It's certainly not a decision you should make in a rush, so be sure to research any blockchain you are considering using properly.