Alexis Kestler
Hey friend! If you‘re thinking about launching an NFT collection, one of the biggest decisions you‘ll need to make is whether to release it on Ethereum or Polygon. As an NFT enthusiast myself, I‘ve spent a lot of time researching the pros and cons of each blockchain. In this guide, I‘ll compare Ethereum and Polygon to help you determine the best home for your next NFT drop.
Gas Fees: Ethereum‘s Big Challenge
First let‘s talk about the elephant in the room – gas fees on Ethereum. Gas refers to the cryptocurrency required to perform transactions on the Ethereum network. You pay gas in order to have your transaction processed by Ethereum miners.
The amount of gas required fluctuates based on demand. When the network is congested, gas prices spike as people compete to have their transactions go through faster.
Minting and trading popular NFTs can be a huge strain on the network and cause gas fees to skyrocket. According to CryptoSlam, at the peak of CryptoPunks mania in mid-2021, the average gas fee for minting a Punk was $513!
And it‘s not just minting. Every time you make a transaction like accepting an offer or transferring an NFT, you need to pony up more gas. An August 2021 study by Galaxy Digital found that the average gas fee for interacting with an NFT on Ethereum was $57.
These outrageous fees make launching and selling NFTs prohibitively expensive for many indie artists and collectors.
Polygon‘s Near Zero Gas Fees
Polygon was created specifically to help solve Ethereum‘s gas fee and scalability issues. It‘s an adaptive Layer 2 solution that provides faster and cheaper transactions for Ethereum-based applications.
The most attractive aspect of Polygon for NFT projects is that minting and trading NFTs costs a fraction of a penny in gas fees.
According to PolygonScan, the average gas fee on Polygon over the last 30 days has been just $0.0015 per transaction! That‘s orders of magnitude cheaper than Ethereum.
Thanks to these ultra-low fees, creators can launch massive NFT collections with tens of thousands of tokens on Polygon. For example, the popular Doodles NFT project minted 10,000 adorable cartoon avatars for just 0.01 MATIC each – less than 5 cents per mint!
Ethereum Still Rules in Terms of Adoption
Despite Polygon‘s low fees, Ethereum still enjoys a dominant position when it comes to NFT adoption and market share.
According to DappRadar, over 75% of NFT trade volume takes place on Ethereum, compared to just 7% on Polygon. Most people are simply more familiar and comfortable buying and selling NFTs on Ethereum right now.
Some major NFT brands like NBA Top Shot and SuperRare only support Ethereum transactions too. So launching on Polygon may limit your access to the biggest spenders in the NFT space.
However, as gas fees remain high on Ethereum, more brands are starting to explore Polygon. NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible have integrated Polygon, opening the door for more adoption.
How Do Transaction Speeds Compare?
Beyond gas fees, transaction speed is an important consideration when minting NFTs. Long confirmation times can equal lost sales.
Ethereum is capable of processing 15 to 45 transactions per second (TPS), depending on network congestion. But with NFT mania in full swing, it frequently exceeds capacity. Some users have experienced Ethereum transaction delays of multiple hours during recent popular mints.
In comparison, Polygon is built to handle up to 65,536 TPS. This allows near instant transaction finality, ensuring a smooth experience for minting and trading high volumes of NFTs.
According to data from PolygonScan, the average time for transactions to complete on Polygon over the past month has been 1.86 seconds. This makes it highly appealing for time-sensitive NFT drops.
Major NFT Projects Embracing Polygon
Some of the largest NFT projects over the past year have tapped Polygon to avoid Ethereum‘s constraints.
One of the most popular brand launches was Adidas‘ Into the Metaverse NFT collection in December 2021 featuring 30,000 tokenizable adiVerse products. It sold out immediately, bringing in over $23 million in sales. Minting cost just $2.30 per NFT thanks to Polygon‘s low fees.
Australia‘s largest NFT project, Jinni‘s Genies, generated over $100 million trading more than 10,000 genie avatar NFTs after launching on Polygon last October. The team cited cheap minting and transaction costs as the inspiration for building on Polygon.
And celebrities like Snoop Dogg have started issuing NFTs on Polygon, drawn by the ability to avoid pricing out fans with expensive gas fees. He sold over $47 million worth of NFTs on Polygon during his December 2021 drop.
Security vs. Speed – Finding the Right Balance
Ethereum leverages a vast, globally distributed network of miners who provide immense amounts of computing power to secure transactions. This makes it highly resistant to hacking or manipulation.
Polygon uses a more centralized proof-of-stake system secured by just over 100 validators. While Polygon claims it‘s still highly secure, some argue that Ethereum‘s model offers stronger protections, especially for ultra-valuable NFTs.
So there are certainly some risks around security and decentralization with Polygon. But its blazing fast transaction speeds open up possibilities that may not be currently feasible on Ethereum. There‘s a tradeoff between the two blockchains.
For super expensive, rare NFTs worth millions, I‘d still recommend Ethereum‘s battle-tested security for peace of mind. But for more affordable PFP collections and gaming NFTs, Polygon‘s speed and cost benefits likely outweigh potential risks.
Bringing the Best of Both Worlds with Interoperability
The ideal scenario may be launching your NFT project on Polygon while still having it be viewable across platforms like OpenSea for maximum exposure. OpenSea displays NFTs from both Ethereum and Polygon seamlessly.
Projects like Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) also allow you to move Ethereum-based assets over to Polygon with ease. As more bridges and interoperable solutions launch, the lines between Ethereum and Polygon will continue to blur.
But for most newer projects with funding constraints, Polygon is an obvious choice to avoid being priced out of Ethereum. As Andrej Skiric, Head of Product at OnCyber summarizes, "Ethereum is still king in terms of security, but Polygon offers projects too good of an opportunity from a cost standpoint to ignore for minting large collections."
The Future Looks Bright with Scaling Solutions
It‘s an exciting time in the world of NFTs! Ethereum has first mover advantage and the most adoption, but congestion and high gas fees threaten to price out new projects. Polygon provides a compelling Layer 2 solution to onboard the next generation of creators and collectors.
As Web3 advances, we should see Ethereum continue to scale its L1 further with upgrades like sharding. And Polygon must decentralized even more to provide security assurances. Ultimately more choice and flexibility for where to launch NFT collections benefits the entire ecosystem.
So weigh the options carefully and factor in your specific project needs around security, speed and budget. With the right chain selection, your NFT launch will be smooth sailing! Hopefully this guide provides a solid foundation for making your Ethereum vs Polygon decision. Let me know if you have any other questions!
