The NFT scene on MoonbeamGo to page https://moonbeam.network/community/projects/ has grown with the development of new blockchain technology. New use cases that include the freedom for users to access their NFTs across blockchains and the concept of one-of-one NFTs are making waves in the space. Moonbeam is actively improving cross-chainGo to page https://moonbeam.network/blog/cross-chain-smart-contracts/ access to NFTs with connected contracts, which opens new opportunities for the use of NFTs on any blockchain.
The Moonbeam networkGo to page https://moonbeam.network/ is home to a diverse and active ecosystem that includes NFTs natively supported by the ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards available for use in cross-chain connected smart contracts. This means Ethereum-compatible NFTs and other assets are visible and useable from one application without moving them across blockchains. This flexibility will impact NFT use in many aspects of gaming, metaverse, art collection, and more.
Moonbeam is Ethereum compatible and supports ERC-721 NFT bridging with Ethereum, but this may no longer be necessary as the next generation of user-friendly applications solve the problem of fragmented cross-chain functionality and user experience.
NFTs on Moonbeam
A variety of top-tier multi-chain NFT marketplaces deployed on MoonbeamGo to page https://moonbeam.network/networks/moonbeam/nfts/ are already experimenting with the possibilities brought by recent innovations. Moonbeam’s marketplaces include TreasurelandGo to page https://moonbeam.network/community/projects/treasureland/, NFTradeGo to page https://moonbeam.network/community/projects/nftrade/, Tofu NFTGo to page https://tofunft.com/, MoonbeansGo to page https://moonbeam.network/blog/native-project-spotlight-moonbeans-nft-marketplace-grows-on-moonriver/, MintverseGo to page https://moonbeam.network/community/projects/mintverse/, and RaresamaGo to page https://moonbeam.network/community/projects/raresama/.
As a smart contract platform for building cross-chain connected applications that can access users, assets, and services on any chain, Moonbeam is an ideal place for NFT marketplaces to reach their users on more than one blockchain.
“TofuNFT supports more than 30 chains, and Moonbeam is a very important one. The number of projects is large, the quality is high, and above all, we strongly feel through the Moonbeam project there is a lot of community building that is so important to establish NFT projects,” says Yuto Nagashima of TofuNFT. “We will continue to provide strong support for Moonbeam, as its growth will lead to the growth of NFT marketplaces such as tofuNFT.”
Treasureland is another multi-chain NFT marketplace that supports NFT creation, issuance, auction, and socialization, aiming to connect NFT creators, users, and consumers in a decentralized way. “Treasureland supports the Moonbeam network due to its strong compatibility and flexibility, which gives the NFT assets on Moonbeam long-term potential, even more so for the 1-1 NFTs,” a rep explains.
Projects building on Moonbeam have their sights set on the benefits of interoperability available through Moonbeam cross-chain smart contracts with integrated cross-chain messaging.
Harrison Seletsky, Head of Growth and Strategy at NFTrade, explains, “At NFTrade, we believe in a cross-chain and multi-chain future, which is exactly what Moonbeam is working to facilitate. In this regard, we are happy to work together with Moonbeam development teams and their community so that value accrual occurs on their chain and to their collections, which will be a focal point of success for the future.”
Moonbeam is uniting functionality from Ethereum, Cosmos, Polkadot, and more into a single platform, solving today’s fragmented user experience — unlocking true interoperability and paving the way for the next generation of applications. One key motivator for improving user experience is to support wider adoption, and the NFT space is a meaningful way to do that.
Lead Raresama, Momsama shares that “Raresama is a Marketplace with a focus on 1:1 art and is 100% community governed and curated; new tokens and collections on the Marketplace have to be voted in by the token holders. Verification (think blue checkmark) of members also goes through community voting and even new features, and the development direction of the platform is in the hands of the community and artists.”
Miami, CEO of Moonbeans, explains that the Moonbean’s marketplace’s aim is to provide a user experience that is familiar and friendly. “We want newcomers to the space to feel comfortable learning about NFTs and trading them. Ease of cross-chain transactions is key to the user experience. Therefore, [Moonbeans] has reached out to partners like Multichain to provide support to help develop the protocols to allow proper NFT bridging. Cross-chain NFTs are the way forward and providing an interaction layer to users to easily be able to transact and interact with these NFTs is key.”
Polkadot is inherently built with cross-chain interoperability in mind. So, according to Miami, “Picking Moonbeam was a no-brainer as the leading EVM chain on Polkadot. Over time [Moonbeans] will be rolling out support to all EVM parachains and external EVM chains as well”.
The Value and Uses of NFTs
NFTs are cryptographic assets that exist on the blockchain with unique identifiers that distinguish them from each other. Unlike cryptocurrencies which are fungible, NFTs are non-fungible which means one cannot be traded equivalently for another. NFTs are not interchangeable, which leads to a marketplace centered largely around collectibles.
NFTs come in the form of photography, music, digital art, collectibles, 1:1 art, tickets, memberships, gaming avatars, and domain names. NFTs can consist of generative art, original art, or a series of images like collectibles (i.e.trading cards). The creator of an NFT can choose how, where, and how many NFTs to mint, depending on their intended use case.
The value of an NFT comes from community demand and scarcity. Like fine art, “rarity” is what makes owning NFTs exciting. NFTs can offer other utility as well, including access to token-gated communities, metaverses, and gaming. NFTs can give access to voting, provide proof of ownership, and represent the authenticity of real-world assets. In some cases, NFTs can be used as collateral for borrowing.
New NFT use cases continue to arise as the possibilities of Web3 broaden. NFTs are being used to represent investment baskets tradable by investors and can aid in royalty distribution. NFTs can be fun to collect and trade and play with, but they also prevent fraud and support decentralized finance in staking.
The success of an NFT project hinges partly on the strength of the community surrounding it, making NFTs, especially 1:1 NFT artists, a bridge between traditional real-world art communities, and digital blockchain art. The nature of the online community is shifting to bring more users into Web3 as more people understand and appreciate the potential of NFTs.
1:1 NFTs
When minting an NFT, a creator can choose to issue a collection or one or more editions of the same piece of art. When there is one edition of a single work, this NFT is the only one available and referred to as a 1:1: NFT.
Unique NFTs often fetch higher market prices than collections because they are one-of-a-kind, which drives up demand. Another reason for interest in 1:1 NFTs is that they tend to come from artists that bring their own fans and community to the marketplace, increasing demand and interest, making obvious the need for a more familiar buying and trading experience. Additionally, one-of-a-kind perks may tip the scale even further as some 1:1 NFTs offer VIP access to events or also include a piece of real-world art.
Moonbeam provides infrastructure for the user-friendly development of fluid applications and projects in Web3 which extends to the NFT space. This 1:1 approach to NFTs is changing the space and has the potential to address problems surrounding royalties of art returning to the artist throughout the trading process, and access of fans to purchase the art.
On Moonbeam, the Moonbeans marketplace focuses on giving users the freedom to create as they want to make. They have been “working on the full non-beta product from the ground up using what worked from the beta platform to build an experience that is not only easy to use but also exciting to use.”
“To this end [Moonbeans has] designed creation features that allow a range of NFT types, one of these being 1 of 1 NFTs. These unique NFTs will benefit from all the current features in the beta plus a few extra features being cooked up. [Moonbeans’] goal is to support all creation so users can focus on their art, games, brand, or whatever else their vision is. We run the tech so they can run the experience,” says Miami.
Artists on Moonbeam
1:1 NFTs have low volume, but bring communities into Web3 as part of the “fan” journey. This experience is collaborative and bridges the gap between the world of art and the communities that support the arts. Angela Pencheva’s contact with Moonbeam to mint on Raresama and additionally list on Moonbeans and NFtrade is an example of this process in action.
Angela Pencheva is an artist, NFT creator, and designer working on her first personal one-of-one NFT project on Moonbeam. Based in Sofia, Bulgaria, Pancheva worked as a UI/UX designer when an offer to work on an NFT project came up, which resulted in two successful NFT projects featuring her drawings.
1:1 NFTs are a tool that real-world artists are beginning to use to move their communities into the Web3 space. In this regard, one-of-one NFTs may very well become a catalyst for wider adoption of blockchain technology as more users open crypto wallets and utilize crypto tokens for purchases.
“With an increased focus on utility in the world of NFTs – often considered a challenge by artists,” Momsama says “Raresama will offer NFTs on the platform long-term support and integration in its (future) metaverses. This way, Raresama delivers the utility and artists can focus on creating their art, unleashing their creativity, and telling their stories.”
Artist curious about the NFT space may look to collaborate with teams like the people that work on Moonbeam itself, or a marketplace like Raresama that have experience building online communities, minting NFTs, and using the tools common to these things (i.e. discord, telegram, etc) as they transition from Web2 to Web3.
Pencheva recognizes entering the NFT space as the best thing that has happened in her career so far, despite the challenge of learning the lingo, how to mint, the purpose of gas fees, using tokens, and how to set up a wallet. The biggest obstacle to entering the space was bridging the gap between the art world and the digital blockchain world as an artist.
This movement of real-world art and its fans into the digital space signals a shift in the way NFTs are being used, and how they may develop in the future. The focus becomes less on flipping static digital images and generative art and more on the quality of the images, and the authenticity of the artist.
Visit MoonbeansGo to page https://moonbeans.io/collections/astrocluster, RaresamaGo to page https://raresama.com/collections/0xaccb8b73499ab0e76141684d144deec17c96e44c, or NFTradeGo to page https://nftrade.com/collection/astro-cluster for more about Pencheva’s Astro Cluster collection.
Building on Moonbeam
Moonbeam was instrumental in aiding Pencheva’s transition to Web3. The team got her started once she did her own research and chose which layer 1 blockchain she wanted to build on. According to Pencheva, the unique connected contract strategy put her over the edge in her decision to choose Moonbeam.
“As an artist, I don’t want my NFTs to be confined to just a single L1 given how many chains are developing in the Web3 space, so with connected contracts, I’m able to de-risk that decision of where my NFTs will live and have utility on since by being on Moonbeam they’ll be able to interact with other chains as well,” Pencheva said.
The community aspect of the ecosystem and Dotsama in general also attracted Pencheva to Moonbeam. She explains that “everyone has been very open and supportive to help me out which is great for someone who is new to this space.”
Moonbeam continues to support the ecosystem with cross-chain connected contracts, and real-world applications of Web3 concepts like NFTS, decentralization, and community. Building user-friendly applications will continue to streamline interoperability between blockchains and bring about the mass adoption of blockchain technology including the art world via 1:1 NFTs.