Ethereum seems to be surpassed by Polygon in the NFT market. But thanks in large part to the success of Solana and the challenging market environment, this is history already.
A quick ascent and nothing more…
In terms of NFT network users just a year ago, Polygon was rated as the second network. Footprint Analytics collects information from wallets that have purchased or sold an NFT at least once in the preceding month in order to calculate this user count.
Polygon had experienced a rapid ascent. In fact, in just 6 months, the blockchain went from having 0% NFT users to having over 48%. The network then had the opportunity to pass industry giants Solana and Ethereum.
But now that the bear market has started, everything is extremely different. In the world of NFTs, Solana has solidified its place as the second reference blockchain. When it comes to NFTs, the number of Polygon users has drastically decreased. They are currently substantially more prevalent on Solana and Ethereum.
The causes of Polygon’s success.
The second layer solution on Ethereum is called Polygon. This network greatly enhances Ethereum’s capacity to scale. In comparison to Ethereum, the network was notably able to execute a higher volume of transactions at a lower cost.
The second layer or layer 2 solutions have seen a lot of success because to Ethereum’s persistent congestion issues. In addition to Polygon, we have witnessed the growth of other networks including Arbitrum, Optimism, and Boba Network. These products add to Ethereum’s position as the market leader, notably in the NFT market and in terms of the blockchain infrastructure.
This conversation has changed in more recent times. We have witnessed the emergence of several blockchains dubbed “Ethereum Killers.” The latter do so through advancing Ethereum’s boundaries through new consensus techniques or technological advancements.
Naturally, Solana comes to mind, since it has grown to be one of the ecosystem’s premier networks. Avalanche and Fantom are two other options that have emerged and are quite successful.
Although Solana eventually gained popularity, notably in the area of non-fungible tokens, Polygon was able to leverage on its superiority. The blockchain provided by Solana is effective and has very low transaction fees. Thus, markets like Magic Eden have become the center of a true NFT ecosystem.
We identify this significant migration to Solana by comparing the transaction data of the 2 blockchains on OpenSea.
Polygon is still alive.
Be cautious not to draw conclusions hastily, though. Although Ethereum is now the preferred choice for NFT applications, Polygon still draws major corporations like Coca-Cola who use layer 2.
But in recent months, Solana has solidified its position as the indisputable number two in the industry. Despite ongoing issues with failures, the network enjoys a number of advantages over other blockchains.
The Merge will undoubtedly affect Ethereum’s activities. It’s wonderful news for the Ethereum NFT industry that the network is switching from proof of work to proof of stake. Because of this transition, Ethereum is able to function better even if the network’s scalability is still being developed. We have high hopes for the deployment of sharding, which will happen soon, in particular.
Given the state of the market, drawing conclusions is also challenging. The NFT sector is suffering as a result of the crypto market and the macroeconomic environment. NFT transaction volumes have significantly decreased since the year’s beginning after a stellar success in 2021.
More than 17 billion dollars’ worth of volume was traded in January 2022. That amount was decreased to approximately $466 million by September 2022. a reliable signal that enables you to understand the recent significant market decline.
All of these factors work against Polygon, but things may turn around if the bullish trend picks back up. Additionally, Polygon is still growing and is one of the most well-known initiatives in the current blockchain market.
