Ethereum is a blockchain network that plays host to most NFTs on the market today. The first Ethereum based NFTs were the iconic CryptoPunks which launched back in 2017 and are now amongst the most valuable NFT collectibles (CryptoPunk #5822 was sold for $23.7 million in February 2022).

Ethereum is a peer-to-peer network that verifies transactions and creates new blocks on the chain using a ‘proof-of-work’ consensus mechanism. This means that users will compete to be the first to verify the transactions and add them to the blockchain in order to collect a reward, normally in the form of cryptocurrency. Whilst this helps to create Ethereum’s very secure system, it also comes with limitations in scaling capacity on the network and also requires a huge amount of processing power. This is where Polygon steps in. Polygon is a ‘layer 2’ or ‘sidechain’ network that was developed as a solution to Ethereum’s scaling issues.

Polygon works alongside the Ethereum blockchain to speed up transactions and lower the cost for users (Fatsoma NFTs will be hosted on the Polygon network!). It also has a far smaller environmental impact than the main Ethereum blockchain as it makes use of the ‘proof-of-stake’ mechanism rather than the energy consuming ‘proof-of-work’ system (read more on the environmental impact of NFTs and blockchain technology here).

Find out more about Ethereum here.

Find out more about Polygon here.

Find out more about NFTs in our FAQs page here.