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19/4/2023

Polygon and NFT as a 100% precious marriage. Why not?

10 min read
April 19, 2023
Research by Surto.io

Introduction

Polygon is a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that enables quick and easy development of decentralized applications. It uses a network of side chains to process transactions faster than the Ethereum Blockchain, making it suitable for high-volume applications such as DeFi protocols and Gaming platforms. Polygon uses various technologies such as POS Chain, Plasma Chains, ZK-rollups, and Optimistic rollups.

Its native cryptocurrency, MATIC, is used for fees, staking and more. Major DeFI protocols such as Aave and Curve are supporting this chain. The blockchain supports Solidity programming language, making it easier for developers to build their own projects. MATIC has seen an increase in value due to institutional interest, new partnerships, and bullish sentiment in the crypto market.

In the last month, Polygon's NFT ecosystem has experienced growth globally, leading to an increase in revenue despite concerns about MATIC's on-chain performance. While trade counts decreased, Polygon's NFT sales volume increased by more than 50%, as reported by CRYPTOSLAM's data.

The Instagram Effect

The price of MATIC has gone up following the announcement by Instagram of its plans to integrate NFT technology into the platform. This move will increase the usage of MATIC and provide artists with a platform to showcase and earn from their creations.

Sandeep Nailwa, Polygon's founder, has the ambition of making it one of the top three cryptocurrencies alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. Instagram NFT platform, powered by MATIC and integrated with OpenSea, Solana, and Phantom Wallet, marks the social media platform's entry into the NFT market and could make it a significant player in the digital art and collectibles space.

NFT Competition

OpenSea's NFT Sales on Polygon Network Outpace Ethereum for Second Month in a Row. For the second consecutive month, OpenSea's NFT sales on the Polygon network have exceeded those on the Ethereum network. However, most of these sales involve low-cost assets. In January, OpenSea sold over 1.5 million NFTs on Polygon, compared to just over 1.1 million on Ethereum. December also witnessed more NFTs being sold on Polygon than Ethereum through OpenSea.

https://dune.com/rchen8/opensea

Ethereum has long been the preferred platform for NFTs, despite its high gas fees. Nevertheless, Polygon is gaining momentum as it collaborates with major players such as Meta, Starbucks, and Reddit, and lures more game projects to its scaling network. Consequently, an increasing number of assets are being traded on the sidechain.

Although the Ethereum merge significantly reduced the mainnet's energy consumption, it failed to address the issue of high gas fees. Gas fees are the costs charged by the Ethereum network to users for executing a transaction, and they can sometimes exceed the base price of the asset being transacted.

Meanwhile, Solana and Avalanche are competitors of Ethereum's layer-1, alongside Polygon. They offer considerably lower fees for user transactions, making them more popular for their cost-effective NFT collections.

In January, the most popular NFT collection on the Polygon blockchain was the Donald Trump digital trading cards, despite controversy surrounding them. They had almost 5,500 sales across all Polygon marketplaces, generating 1,743 ETH (around $2.8 million) in trading volume. This excludes the y00ts collection, which moved from another blockchain.

It is important to mention that the majority of these sales are for inexpensive assets that will be utilized in metaverse environments or Web3 games. Some sales, like those of Sunflower Land and Planet IX, are selling for very little ETH, which is significantly lowering the average sale price of NFTs based on Polygon during this period.

Although Polygon has surpassed Ethereum in overall sales, the value of Ethereum remains significantly higher. The total trading volume of Ethereum on OpenSea in January was about $446 million, while Polygon NFT sales amounted to just $15.4 million. With approximately 1.5 million NFT sales on Polygon, the average selling price is around $10.

It is important to note that this is not the first instance where the overall monthly sales of Polygon NFTs have surpassed those of Ethereum. A similar surge was observed in Dune towards the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, but the sales on Polygon experienced a significant decline until the recent resurgence.

The Ethereum network still dominates the market for expensive and sought-after NFTs, including the Bored Ape Yacht Club. However, Polygon is gaining popularity as a platform for gaming NFTs and affordable collectibles, which could help increase overall NFT adoption by appealing to a wider audience. While Ethereum continues to drive more trading volume, Polygon is carving out its own niche in the market.

Infrastructure

Polygon is becoming the favored layer 2 blockchain for NFTs due to its superior advantages over other network infrastructures. As the cryptocurrency world grows, congestion on well-known networks such as Ethereum has driven users to high-scalable ecosystems like Polygon that offer quick and gas-friendly solutions.

In addition, the instability and network failures on other popular blockchains like Solana have also led users to adopt the Polygon NFT marketplace on a global scale. With its current growth in popularity, Polygon is poised to become the primary blockchain for many future NFT collections.

NFT Collections

Y00ts

Y00ts is a collection of 3,333 hand-drawn doodles that feature various animals and objects.

A collection that has been migrated to Polygon from the Solana blockchain. The collection is made by DeLabs - the creators of DeGods (we’ve mentioned them in “Bitcoin NFT debut results: All the key information you need to know” research

y00ts’ move away from Solana to Polygon and Ethereum comes just a month after the collapse of FTX. In just one day, NFT collections worth at least $37 million have migrated from Solana to Polygon. DeLabs has revealed that it received a $3 million grant to move y00ts to the Ethereum sidechain Polygon.

Polygon's lower transaction fees and faster processing speeds have made it an attractive alternative for NFT traders.

  • Total Volume: 2 417 ETH
  • 30d Volume: 2 417 ETH
  • Floor Price: 2 ETH
  • Total Supply: 15 000

Trump Digital Trading Cards

Sales of Donald Trump's NFTs have spiked again after the indictment of his company, as supporters rush to show their loyalty. The NFTs, which consist of digital trading cards featuring the 45th President of the U.S., have been popular with Trump's fans since their launch earlier this year, with one NFT selling for over $1.5 million. The recent indictment of the Trump Organization has sent sales soaring once again, with some traders hoping to capitalize on the event as a historic moment in politics.

The success of Trump Digital Trading Cards can be attributed, in part, to their acceptance of credit cards as a convenient payment method, as opposed to exclusively relying on web3 methods like MetaMask, which may limit accessibility to potential customers.

  • Total Volume: 13 459 ETH
  • 30d Volume: 1 112 ETH
  • Floor Price:0,4247 ETH
  • Owners: 13 953
  • Total Supply: 45 000

Lens Protocol Profiles

LensProtocol is a social Web3-graph Polygon chain that enables creators to own connections with the community, forming user-owned compositional social graphs. LP creates a foundation for social networks where all the information (subscriptions, content, etc) is stored.

A Lens Profile NFT is a unique digital asset that provides its owner with complete control over its usage within the Lens Protocol ecosystem. This collection contains all the claimed Lens Profile NFTs thus far, enabling users to engage in a new era of decentralized social media through the Lens platform. With a Lens Profile NFT in your possession, you can determine where and how you want to use it.

  • Total Volume: 2 430 ETH
  • 30d Volume: 960 ETH
  • Floor Price: 206 USDC
  • Owners:111 581
  • Total Supply: 116 121

Conclusion

Trump Digital Trading Cards

Sales of Donald Trump's NFTs have spiked again after the indictment of his company, as supporters rush to show their loyalty. The NFTs, which consist of digital trading cards featuring the 45th President of the U.S., have been popular with Trump's fans since their launch earlier this year, with one NFT selling for over $1.5 million. The recent indictment of the Trump Organization has sent sales soaring once again, with some traders hoping to capitalize on the event as a historic moment in politics.

The success of Trump Digital Trading Cards can be attributed, in part, to their acceptance of credit cards as a convenient payment method, as opposed to exclusively relying on web3 methods like MetaMask, which may limit accessibility to potential customers.

The increasing popularity of these collections is capturing the interest of both crypto enthusiasts and traditional investors. As the prominence of NFTs continues to grow, it is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of the Polygon chain's infrastructure and its NFT collections, as any one of them could potentially emerge as a

As evidenced by the data, collections on the Polygon network exhibit a high supply, which, in turn, demonstrates the platform's growing popularity and expanding user base. Additionally, these collections have attracted numerous new participants to the world of NFTs. The influx of newcomers to the Polygon network can be attributed to several factors, including its user-friendly interface, low transaction costs, and efficient infrastructure.

Moreover, the platform's emphasis on cost-effective transactions and rapid processing times enhances its appeal to novice collectors who may be wary of the high fees associated with other platforms, such as Ethereum.

The growing popularity of NFTs on Polygon is indicative of the network's potential to become a major player in the NFT market.

This material is provided for information purposes only. Surto is not an advisor. Nothing in this material should be construed as investment, financial, tax, legal, accounting, regulatory or other advice.

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