NFTs have not only changed the way we look at art but also how we perceive investment. Since 2021, the Non-Fungible Tokens have been rapidly climbing the economic charts. Experts have said that the NFT market is rising by 35.27% per year and will be nearly worth $1 trillion in a few years.
But the NFT ecosystem isn’t open to everyone despite being a growing market. The blockchain currently dominating the NFT market – Ethereum – has a high entry price – stopping an everyday joe from entering the market of Non-Fungible Tokens.
Thankfully, the popularity of NFTs has grown beyond Ethereum, which has allowed the valuable digital arts and avatars to appear before a larger crowd. It has given rise to calls to make the NFT market more inclusive, leading to the emergence of other blockchains.
Among them is Solana, an inclusive blockchain that has taken the crypto world by storm with its native token SOL becoming 4th most popular cryptocurrency in the world. Many publications have named Solana as the biggest rival of Ethereum.
Designed to address the weaknesses of Ethereum, Solana boasts higher transaction speeds and lower transaction fees. These factors have grown the importance of Solana NFTs, with more than 800k NFTs already minted on the Solana blockchain.
Crypto investors who want to look beyond Ethereum for their NFT needs are asking – what are the best Solana NFT projects to invest in right now? Read ahead as we answer the same.
Top Solana NFTs
- Okay Bears
- Solana Monkey Business
- StepN Sneaker NFT
- Chimpion
- Balloonsville 2.0
- Boryoku Dragonz
- Portals
- Degenerate Ape Academy
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1. Okay Bears
Okay Bears is one of the biggest NFT projects. When it first arrived, it broke records and made 18 million dollars in sales in a single day – surpassing the top Ethereum projects of that time.
What are Okay Bears? It is a collection of 10,000 bears with diverse traits. Owning these NFTs will give you access to The Park. The idea behind OK Bear is to create a positive community and collaborate with indie businesses and world-renowned brands.
Holders of OK bears gain access to merchandise, Outdoor campaigns, and exclusive live events.
It is one of the leading Solana NFT projects, with the current price being 132 SOL and a total volume of 994K SOL sold at the time of writing.
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2. Solana Monkey Business
The Solana Monkey Business is suitable for those who wanted to get into pixel art NFTs when they first arrived but couldn’t due to a high entry price.
A collection of 5000 pixelated arts, Solana Monkey Business, consists of traits similar to the combination of the features of Cryptopunks and BAYC. Getting these NFTs is considered valuable, with many saying that owning one makes you Solana NFT royalty.
Celebrities such as Steven Aoki (DJ) and Steve Harvey (made a household name through his show, Family Feud) are among the biggest names that own a Solana Monkey business.
Holding this NFT allows you to access MonkeDAO, the first NFT Decentralized Autonomous Organization on Solana. Participating in MonkeDao will give you staking opportunities and access to future tokens. The MonkeDAO has its own node, provides a lot of value to the members through meetups and projects and has continuously taken large strides through onchain elections.
Currently, the floor price of Solana Money business is 185 SOL. The trade volume stands at 1.08 million SOL.
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3. StepN Sneaker NFT
The concept of play to earn is common in the NFT space. It stands as the driving factor behind the creation of metaverses. The StepN Sneaker’s NFT takes a different approach. StepN made waves on Yahoo finance by being the first move2Earn NFT gaming platform.
What is StepN? It is a Web 3.0 lifestyle app that combines SocialFi and DeFi elements. To play this game, you need to get a pair of NFT training shoes or Sneaker NFTs. Sneaker NFTs are available on the Magic Eden marketplace.
Many have asked about the value of these NFTs? The answer is simple – it gamifies exercise. Developers are constantly trying to prove the real-world utilities of their NFTs, and StepN Sneakers NFT is one of the few Non-Fungible Tokens to have real-world use cases.
Once you have a StepN sneaker, you can start earning. Just walk, jog or run outdoors to start earning GMT and GST coins. Some crypto investors are so bullish about this NFT that they’ve started employing runners to earn GMT and GST.
The current price of StepN Sneaker NFT is 12.7 SOL, and the total volume of transactions is worth 37.8k SOL.
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4. Chimpion
Chimpion is a collection of 222 hand composited and non-generative pixelated artworks featuring chimp-like creatures.
Their lore is this:
They were once many and roamed across the primordial forest. But one day, on their lands, “they” came, bearing claws and fangs. A Triumvirate of Chimpions stood as warriors to fight them.
Chimpions are currently priced at 177 SOL, and they have completed a total volume of transactions worth 17.6k SOL.
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5. Baloonsville 2.0
Baloonsville is a community-driven project that gives control back to the holders on the Solana blockchain.
If the term 2.0 puzzles you, it is because it is the second iteration of Balloonsville NFTs. The first iteration of Baloonswille was a rug-pull that scammed investors out of millions of dollars.
The original project developers were unrepentant and quickly blamed Magic Eden for not asking for the ID to refund the investors.
Thankfully, there was enough hype around the project to create a community. It came together to launch the second version of Ballonsville. “This time, it is legitimate.” – they have claimed.
Balloonsville NFT allows the NFT holders to stake their NFTs in their metaverse (Loonverse) and earn AIR tokens.
The project is still under development, but the trusted sources in the Solana ecosystem have stated that it is credible. The current floor price of Baloonsville 2.0 is 2.20 SOL, and the total volume is 58k SOL.
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6. Boryoku Dragonz:
Boryoku Dragonz is a collection of 1111 Dragon NFTs. It is one of the most expensive SOLANA NFTs right now. More than a simple PFP offering, it provides NFT holders with daily airdrops and a breeding game with token burning mechanics.
The developers say that a total of 5000 Baby Dragonz will be launched as part of the future roadmap.
Dragon owners can earn BOKU tokens that they can use to take part in the breeding games.
Many have stood in support of this NFT project, with Solana legend saying that Boryoku Dragonz can become the “CyberKongZ” of the Solana network.
The floor price of these Dragon NFTs is 222 SOL. At the time of writing, 138.4K SOL worth of NFTs have been sold.
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7. Portals
Portals is a collection of NFTs for a Metaverse project on Solana. Getting this NFT will give you access to one of Solana’s exclusive buildings: Vision, Ivory or Onix.
As an NFT designed for branding, Portals is poised to feature world-class crypto brands through its metaverse, such as Binance.US, Audios, FTX and more.
Portals is a 3D metaverse in works since early 2021. The team currently focuses on creating a dense city center in this metaverse that delivers an immersive experience to the holders.
Portals floor price at the time of writing is 36 SOL, and the total volume traded is 253k SOL.
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8. Degenerate Ape Academy
This Solana-based NFT is a collection of 10,000 uniquely generated apes. Solana intends these NFTs to compete with Ethereum’s Bored Ape Yacht Club. To mint a Degenerate Ape, you must enroll in the Ape academy.
Degenerate Academy was the first million-dollar NFT collection in the Solana blockchain. The rarest NFT of this collection, Ape #7225, was sold for 5980 SOL ($1.1 million at the time) to Moonrock Capital, a Blockchain Advisory company.
On a side note, the official website is very interactive. We recommend paying a visit to get a glimpse of the developer’s dedication to the project.
The current floor price of this NFT is 52 SOL. And till now, the total volume of Degenerate Apes sold is 412K SOL ($ 26.1 million).
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What is Solana NFT?
Solana blockchain works on a Proof of History and Proof of Stake mechanism. Solana’s proof of stake is designed to quickly confirm the order of transactions produced by the Proof of History generator. Proof of History is a consensus mechanism used by the Solana blockchain to maintain the order of transactions.
It is an open-source, public blockchain that allows the owners of its native crypto – SOL – to pledge their tokens to provide liquidity and earn rewards. Sol tokens assist Solana in providing faster transactions and lower transaction fees.
Launched in 2017, Solana quickly caught the eye of the blockchain crowd in the NFT and DeFi space. The blockchain supports Dapps, smart contracts, NFT marketplace, multiple blockchains, and NFT projects.
Solana ranks as the 4th most popular blockchain in the world. Solana NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens built on the Solana Blockchain. The artworks of these NFTs are similar to that of digital arts on the Ethereum blockchain.
In fact, many Solana NFT arts have taken direct inspiration from the most popular NFTs on the Ethereum Network. For instance, Solana has an NFT collection called Solpunks, similar to Cryptopunks, and Bored Ape Solana Club, similar to Bored Ape Yacht Club.
The underlying style of the art differentiates Solana NFTs from their competitors. Take Solpunks and Cryptopunks for instance:
The color scheme provided by SolPunks is much nicer as compared to CryptoPunks.
But the difference becomes less pronounced when it comes to the Bored Ape Solana Club. Although this NFT collection of 6,000 randomly generated Apes has different traits, the artwork is too similar to BAYC.
Note: Yuga Labs have no affiliations with Bored Ape Solana Club.
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Solana vs Ethereum for NFTs?
Solana for NFTs
Solana is a high-performance blockchain, offering high transaction speeds at low transaction costs. Its primary purpose was to address the shortcomings of the Ethereum blockchain and enable high scalability.
Here are the pros of using Solana Network for NFTs:
More Scalable:
The Solana Network is scalable at its core and does not need layer-2 solutions to enhance scalability. The reason is that the blockchain divides the data into smaller components, making it easy to transfer data across the network. Sealevel is another technology that Solana uses that helps process transactions on SSDs and GPUs, which results in Solana being an efficient blockchain.
Better Transaction Speeds:
Solana leverages Ethereum’s slow network to increase its own transaction speeds. It opts for a centralized network to achieve higher TPS, which has been a matter of concern for many users since Solana’s launch.
Here is the explainer: the network uses Tower BFT (Byzantine Fault-Tolerant) mechanism that prevents nodes from communicating with each other in real-time. This lack of communication reduces processing time, increases efficiency, and allows the Solana network to process nearly 65,000 transactions per second.
Proof of History to Maintain the Order of Transaction:
Along with proof of stake, Solana also uses a Proof of History consensus. It allows the network to create a database that records the events at specific moments in time. Proof of History uses a cryptographically secure function to ensure that input can’t predict the output. Doing so allows the network to maintain the order of transactions.
Less expensive:
Being highly scalable allows Solana to maintain a block time of 0.4 seconds and a block size of 20,000 transactions. Due to these factors, Solana can provide a low transaction fee: $0.00025 per transaction.
Ethereum for NFTs
Ethereum is the blockchain that gave rise to the concept of NFTs. Most crypto investors still rely on the Ethereum blockchain for their NFT needs. Their reason for sticking with this network can be summarized in three points:
Ecosystem:
Ethereum has the largest ecosystem in the DeFi, and covers 95% of the NFT market.
Market Size:
Ethereum has a larger pool of buyers. So, if you create your NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, it will give you exposure to a larger number of investors than Solana.
Trust Factor:
Ethereum is the leading blockchain of NFTs (considering it was this blockchain from which the first Non-fungible tokens emerged) and has the trust of all the crypto crowd.
Disadvantages of Ethereum
Slow Transaction Speeds
Ethereum blockchain can only manage 15 transactions per second.
High Gas Fees
When the Ethereum network is congested, the gas fees can go enormously high – going as far as hundreds of thousands in some cases.
To summarize, when it comes to trust factor, market size, and ecosystem, Ethereum has Solana beat by a long shot. On the other hand, Solana dominates Ethereum in terms of low transaction fees and high transaction speeds.
One point to note is that now Ethereum is only covering 80% of the NFT market. It has lost 15% of the market to Solana.
For many, Ethereum is the “Apple” of the NFT space. Much like the community of Apple brands, the Ethereum NFT group has an air of exclusivity that many newcomers are attracted to.
Disadvantage of Solana
Solana NFTs are gaining popularity, and crypto enthusiasts are rallying behind them. They are not ignoring the significant disadvantages of Solana Network.
Lack of Stability
Solana is currently being managed by a relatively small community. Only 1469 nodes are currently operating this “infant” blockchain. Since its launch, Solana has been down 11 times, with the Solana foundation declaring the blockchain to be intermittently unstable in its current state.
Since reliability is one factor contributing to the growth of a blockchain, Solana has yet to build a sufficient amount of trust in the market.
Not Centralized Enough
To increase the transaction speeds, Solana takes a more centralized approach. It has resulted in Solana being less secure than the Ethereum blockchain.
Many Rugpulls
Although Solana has created an inclusive community, it has also become ground-zero for many rug-pulls. It started with the Lunar Yield project that scammed investors out of 6.7 million dollars, and the number has been rising since then. The Solana community is backing many projects (like the Baloonsville 2.0 NFT) and trying to hold the NFT market together, but trust in the Solana blockchain is not so high.
Despite these disadvantages, it is essential to know that Solana is a brand new blockchain. It is evolving and has high potential in the future if it addresses those disadvantages.
How to Buy Solana for NFTs – Complete Guide
Solana NFTs can be purchased using SOL. To buy SOL, you need to choose the right crypto trading platform. Thankfully, many crypto exchanges have listed SOL coins, but only a few can provide a hassle-free transaction experience. Here are the steps to buy Solana from our recommended trading platforms.
1. Create an Account on a Crypto Exchange
Solana’s potential has attracted many trading platforms, eToro, and Crypto.com are among them. They both are beginner-friendly and provide a simple UI to interact with the crypto market.
eToro gets our recommendation as a trading platform that combines user accessibility and cost-effectiveness. It adopts the concept of social trading – allowing you to follow the investment strategies of successful traders and interact with them.
Other than SOL, eToro provides access to more than 60 cryptocurrencies. So, if you’re looking to expand your crypto portfolio, eToro provides you with an easy option. To create an account on eToro, visit the official website and follow the required steps.
2. Open a Crypto wallet
You can’t keep your cryptocurrency on the crypto exchange. Doing so can make your account vulnerable to hacking attempts. It is recommended to use a cold storage wallet to store your SOL.
A cold storage wallet comes with a wide array of security features like two-factor authentication and private keys. The degree of protection varies depending on the exchange wallet. To prevent issues down the line, you must research before choosing the right crypto wallet for Solana.
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3. Buy Solana
All popular trading platforms – eToro included – have listed Solana. To buy Solana on eToro, go to your dashboard, search for Solana and click on the “Trade” button to purchase the cryptocurrency.
To buy Solana NFTs you’d need a Solana-based wallet such as Phantom, Sollet or Solflare. Once you purchase SOL, transfer your tokens into one of these wallets to interact with the buy NFTs on the Solana Marketplace.
Update – As of 2024, the only cryptocurrencies eToro users in the United States will be able to trade on the platform will be Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum.
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Where to Buy Solana NFTs?
Solana NFTs are quickly gaining traction in the blockchain space and the attention of major NFT marketplaces.
Here is the list of best Solana NFT marketplaces. These are the best NFT marketplaces that we’ve ranked based on their accessibility, potential, utilities, and transaction fees.
1. Magic.eden
Magic Eden currently stands as the most popular marketplace for Solana NFTs. Users can manufacture, sell and invest in Non-fungible tokens on Magic.eden.
The marketplace has a transaction of 2% but does not have a listing fee. It is a suitable option for NFT creators as it allows them to specify their royalties and pays them as soon as the NFTs are sold. Being a new marketplace, Magic Eden is cautious about which NFTs to list.
It also lists upcoming NFT launches for those anticipating the NFT drops from their favorite artists.
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2. Solanaart
Another popular NFT marketplace that caters exclusively to Solana NFTs is Solanaart. It allows users to create, trade and buy NFTs.
The transaction fee for every successful NFT sale is 3%. That being said, Solanaart allows the developers to determine their own fees. It has listed some of the most popular NFT collections, such as the Degenerate Ape Academy, Galactic Gecko Space Garage, Aurora and others, just to name a few.
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3. Solsea
Solsea is the first NFT marketplace for Solana NFTs that allows creators to mint and trade Solana-based Non-Fungible tokens. It is the first platform to introduce NFTs with rarity ranks.
The most noteworthy feature of Solsea is the Calendar. This utility allows users to stay informed about the upcoming drops. Notable NFT collections on Solasea include All.Art, Circle, Metawaifus, basis-markets and “First 100” – a virtual NFT art that showcases pioneers and early adopters of Solana NFTs.
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4. FTX
FTX marketplace allows users to buy, sell and mint NFTs cross-chain across the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. It is not a curated platform and doesn’t lock users on the marketplace as they purchase NFTs.
It allows the users to trade tokens in an open market. They can buy NFTs using cryptocurrencies or fiat methods such as ACH transfers, wire transfers and credit cards.
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5. Digitaleyes
Digital Eyes is the first Open Marketplace for Solana NFTs. It allows users to create, sell and buy NFTs on the Solana Blockchain.
Notable NFT collections featured on this platform include Degenerate Ape Academy, Frakt, Aurory, and Galactic Gecko Space Garage. Like Solesea and Magic Eden, it also features a mint calendar – letting users stay updated about upcoming drops. DigitalEyes charges a transaction fee of 2.5% and supports wallets such as Solflare, Phantom, Solong, Slope and MathWallet.
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6. Alpha Art
Alpha.Art is an NFT marketplace that allows users to buy and sell Solana NFTs but does not support minting.
It features no listing cost, and the seller fee is 2%. It supports major Solana-based wallets such as Phantom, Slope, Solflare, Solet and Ledger.
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7. Solport
Built on the Solana blockchain, Solport is an NFT marketplace with features including rarity filtering, auctioning, marketplace activity notifications through discord/telegram, and more.
Like the other NFT marketplaces on this list, it doesn’t charge for listing the NFTs, and refund charges are also absent from Solport. Notable NFTs on this store include Mutant Monkey Business and Realm Kings. Solport supports two wallets, namely, Phantom and Solflare.
Frequently Asked Questions about Solana NFTs
Does Solana have NFTs?
Yes, Solana has NFTs, and the market of Solana-based NFT is on the rise.
What are some of the best Solana NFT projects?
The best Solana NFTs to invest in are Okay Bears, Portals, Chimpions, Baloonsville 2.0, and the rest that we have listed in this guide.
Which one is better for NFTs – Ethereum or Solana?
Choosing the right blockchain for NFTs depend on your goal. If you’re looking for a wider ecosystem, a larger market size, and trusted blockchain, you should go with Ethereum. However, if you’re looking for high transaction speeds and low transaction costs, you can choose Solana.
What is the cost of minting Solana NFTs?
Solana is a highly scalable blockchain that tries to keep the gas fee under 0.01 USD.
Where to trade in Solana NFTs?
There are multiple marketplaces available on which you can trade Solana NFTs, including Solanaart, Magic.Eden, FTX and more.
