Ethereum vs Solana: Which Blockchain is Better for Minting NFTs?
Looking to mint your NFTs but not sure which blockchain to you? Today we are comparing Ethereum vs Solana to find who comes on top. Let’s get started!
- By NFTExplained
- May 2, 2022
Minting NFT is the process of turning a digital file into a crypto collectible or digital asset. The created digital item or file is stored in the distributed ledger forever, and it is impossible to edit, modify, or delete it.
In other words, we may say that “NFT Minting” is a process of turning your digital art or digital content into a part of a blockchain. The process of NFT minting is similar to the way metal coins are minted and put into circulation. We turn a simple file into a crypto asset, which is easily traded or bought with cryptocurrencies on a digital marketplace without an intermediary.
The creator of the NFT can schedule royalties from every subsequent sale, which he can receive whenever his work is sold to another person or is traded on the secondary market.
Artists may monetize their work by minting NFTs. As we know, NFT stands for a non-fungible token, and NFTs can neither be replaced nor interchanged as they have unique properties. NFT is a digital asset representing internet collectibles like art, music, and games. It has an authentic certificate created by blockchain technology.
NFTs reside on the blockchain and have valuable information stored in them. They can be bought and sold just like other physical types of art. NFTs have unique data that makes it easy to verify and validate their ownership and the transfer of tokens between owners.
NFT can be transferred from wallet to wallet in a fast, secure, and low-cost way. Thus we may say that NFTs are verifiable in a transparent way.
The creator of the NFT is recorded in the public ledger as NFTs are recorded on a blockchain. Being recorded in the ledger gives you the ability to set a fee for whenever the digital asset is sold in the future and earn income if your work is sold on the secondary market.
What is Solana?
Solana is a decentralized blockchain and one of the most prominent competitors to the Ethereum network. Just like Ethereum, Solana is smart contract-compatible, and it’s possible to build dApps, tokens, and other Web3 projects on the Solana network.
Solana was created by Anatoly Yakovenko and operates on a decentralized computer network using a ledger called the blockchain.
The Solana blockchain is distinguished by its lightning-fast and inexpensive transactions. All Solana transactions remain under $0.01, and transaction speeds are as quick as 400 milliseconds per block.
The Solana blockchain has its downsides, too. In September 2021, the Solana was down for nearly 17 hours as the result of a hack. Moreover, a Solana bridge to the Ethereum network was also hacked, and resulted in $320 million of stolen funds.
One can use Solana with a cryptocurrency wallet for sending or receiving the coin or transferring it in exchange for goods and services.
Solana utilizes a consensus algorithm known as Proof of History, which leverages a cluster of protocols for executing transactions with an escalated throughput — over 600,000 TPS. Note, that the transaction cost is generally lower than USD here.
Minting NFTs with a Solana marketplace, such as SolSea, is notably inexpensive, swift and simple to profit from once it enters the secondary market. Unlike Ethereum marketplaces, royalties in markets based on Solana are escalated.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain-based software and is used primarily to support the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world known as Ether. The smart contracts and applications built on the Ethereum blockchain run smoothly without fraud, downtime, control, or any third-party interference.
Ethereum allows for applications to be built and run on the blockchain. It aims to provide a system that gives users more control over their data. The Ethereum platform requires Ether to run these applications and have this level of control.
You will need an Ethereum wallet to store Ether. The digital wallet can be accessed via a laptop or smartphone. This wallet provides the private key with which you can access the Ether.
We should mention that investing in Ethereum, like any other cryptocurrency, maybe hazardous as cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and can result in both increased gains and numerous losses. For example, the price of Ether has fluctuated a lot in the past.
A large majority of NFTs, as ERC-721 tokens, are operating on Ethereum since it is the greatest ecosystem of the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector and around 95% of entire NFT ecosystems are dependent on Ethereum.
Ethereum has the highest sales volume. So by minting an NFT on a marketplace based on Ethereum such as OpenSea, it is likely that more people will be willing to acquire or place bets on Non-Fungible Tokens.
Is Ethereum or is Solana Better for Minting NFTs?
It can be difficult to find the best blockchain as they all have their own pros and cons. Two of the most well-known blockchains Solana and Ethereum are often compared, but how do they actually differ from one another?
Solana and Ethereum utlize different consensus mechanisms. Ethereum provides a more decentralized network, but less scalability as it follows Proof of Work (PoW). Whereas Solana follows Proof of History (PoH), which is less secure but it leads to high-speed and low-cost transactions.
Solana
Pros
- Has higher throughput and scalability
- Has one of the fastest-growing ecosystems in the world
- Gas fees are low
- Minting NFTs is cheap and relatively straightforward
Cons
- Is a less secure network
- The market is smaller, and exposure is lower
- Downtimes are more frequent
Ethereum
Pros
- Has a larger market
- Provides high network security
- Here NFTs are sold for a much higher price on average
Cons
- Sometimes network congestion can cause transaction delays
- Has lower throughput and scalability
- Transaction fees can become unpayable for a good percentage of users who want to mint NFTs
However, don’t view the process of minting and selling NFTs as a get-rich-quick scheme. Take into note that It will require some upfront costs to sell your digital assets in this fashion, and there’s no guarantee anyone will be willing to purchase your work.
Turning the digital art into a blockchain-based asset is nevertheless a promising field but the NFT world is certainly worth exploring.
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