NFT Platforms on Non-Ethereum Blockchains

I've been involved in the NFT space for over a year now and when it comes to platforms I feel like I've just about seen it all. Without a doubt, Ethereum currently reigns supreme when it comes to blockchain dominance for NFT marketplaces and this is solid news for any artist or collector than can afford to maneuver the Ethereum chain, but for newer participants Ethereum's gas fees can get really expensive really fast.

Gas Fees

In order to do pretty much anything on Ethereum you have to pay a network fee that's commonly referred to as a Gas Fee. These fees are paid by users to compensate for the amount of computing power required to validate transactions on the blockchain. About a year ago the average gas fee to mint an NFT was about $5-$10 but currently, in May 2021, minting a project could end up costing hundreds. Gas fees are an issue because currently Ethereum is a Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain. The network is undergoing a massive upgrade to become a Proof of Stake network which would lower gas fees and allow transactions to process faster.

NFT Life Exists on Other Blockchains

While much of the commercial world is talking about the rare and monumental sales taking place on Ethereum, many NFT sales are happening around the clock on other Blockchains and the popularity of these platforms is steadily growing. Here are a few alternative places to mint and shop for NFTs:

NFT Showroom on Hive Blockchain

NFT Showroom is one of my favorite platforms. It's a part of the Hive ecosystem which is an awesome blockchain community with a good variety of useful and active social DApps. This platform is clean, easy to use, and has a few features that can make your NFT experience on Hive enjoyable. On NFT Showroom you can easily and quickly mint your art and have it displayed chronologically on the gallery home page. You can "heart" your favorite artworks, follow your favorite creators, and seamlessly collect artworks by adding them to your "shopping cart". Each piece is displayed in High Quality and has a link to view the file on the IPFS. When minting a piece, you're able to choose what kind of rights you would like the collector will have. There's also a messaging function where you can chat with different artists, collectors, and the entire community in a noninvasive way. It's cost roughly $2 in HIVE to mint and this platform can be accessed by using the Hive Keychain.

GhostMarket.io on Phantasma Blockchain

Ghost Market is another one of my favorite platforms. I haven't minted anything there yet, but I am planning to soon.

This marketplace works across multiple blockchains, currently Phantasma and Neo. You can also make purchases and list items for ETH that can be sent to your Metamask wallet.

Ghost Market is gaining popularity and recently featured Filmmaker Kevin Smith's debut NFT drop. This is not a curated marketplace but it does require you to actively mint a few pieces before having all of the features and abilities. Most of the art offered here is high quality and unique. The main currencies used for transactions are KCAL, SOUL, ETH, and USDC. To get started you will need a Phantasma wallet with a bit of KCAL and SOUL on hand.

AtomicHub on Wax

Atomic Hub is a great collectibles marketplace based on Wax and EOSio blockchains. I've never personally used this marketplace but I've heard nothing but great things about it. Most of the art that lives on Atomic Hub are in the style of digital collectibles and can range from sports cards and characters to digital stamps and pixel unicorns. This platform is steadily growing in popularity and features popular projects like Topps Sports Cards, Garbage Pail Kids Cards, and Cartombs. To access Atomic Hub, you'll need a Wax Cloud Wallet.

Hicetnunc on Tezos Blockchain

Hic et nunc is a new platform created on the Tezos Blockchain that has a minimal cyberpunk aesthetic. The title means 'Here and Now' in Latin. I've never personally used this platform but it looks pretty interesting! The different tokens are called OBJKTs and the primary currency used is Tezos. This platform has been popular amongst the NFT newcomers because it's easy to understand, inexpensive to mint, and not curated. The main art feed is in chronological order. There is not yet a search function so If you aren't near the top of the chronological feed, your art may be hard to find. This platform has not attracted any major collaborators yet, but with further development I can see this attracting a lot more attention. To access this platform, you will need a Temple Wallet or Spire Wallet.

Conclusion

These are just a few of many NFT platforms that are currently in existence. I'm sure over the next few months you will hear about the newest, latest, and greatest NFT marketplace but these 4 are so far the best alternatives to Ethereum. Check them all out and see where your project would fit best!

Thanks for reading.

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