Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Magic Eden has announced support for Solana’s compressed NFTs (cNFTs), providing a cost-effective and scalable alternative to owning digital collectibles.
Today we’re releasing support for cNFTs (find them in our popular collection)
cNFT is a new wave of NFT creation that can only be implemented on Solana. The “c” stands for compression (not Cardano, don’t worry), which makes them a fraction of the cost of production of traditional… pic.twitter.com/WbO4qqWLEt
— Magic Eden (@MagicEden) September 14, 2023
cNFTs differ from usual Solana NFTs in that their data is compressed and stored off-chain. Because of this, high-volume production is more feasible as they require less casting expense.
According to Magic Eden, this type of NFT is ideal for creating mass-produced collections in various industries such as gaming, music, events, and virtual universes. The NFT market believes it can allow creators to reach a wider audience without spending more money.
The NFT market also believes that by lowering the cost of NFT production, it has the potential to boost adoption and become an “easy access point” for new people trying to collect NFTs. At a lower cost, users can collect NFTs without risking large amounts of money to acquire the collection. It reduces the risk of losses due to NFTs.
cNFTs are powered by Solana’s state compression, a feature that allows minting up to 1 million NFTs for only about $110. Compared to the cost of minting NFTs on Ethereum, which ranges from $2.9 to over $30, the cost of minting cNFTs is significantly lower.
related: ‘What did I just witness?’ Magic Eden turns porn after hosting service hacked
While there can be benefits to hosting NFTs off-chain, it can sometimes present challenges. In 2022, NFTs minted on cryptocurrency exchange FTX crashed and displayed blank images as the exchange went bankrupt. One engineer pointed out that NFTs are hosted using Web2 APIs rather than blockchain, and warned that there are lessons to be learned from using Web2 technology to host NFTs.
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