Polygon is changing the way we buy NFTs

Research data indicates that Polygon is being used by more people than any other level 2 network.

MoonPay’s integration with Polygon allows buyers to move from NFT custody to fiat much more easily than before.

In November of last year, I wrote An article Seeking Alpha published a piece titled “Yes, Ethereum has a Gas Problem” I argued that, despite the gas problem, level one competitors who have been dubbed “ETH Killers” are still far from Ethereum being able dethroned. ETH-USD Based on metrics such as 30 Day Revenue trend. Cardano was specifically highlighted ( ADA-USD ), Solana ( SOL-USD ), and Avalanche AVAX-USD ). This is not to suggest that I oppose other level 1 blockchains. These ideas are very welcome and I am open to them. Detailled why Friday morning, I purchased Avalanche.

In my ever-expanding pursuit of knowledge about cryptocurrencies, utility tokens and coins, I find myself still using Ethereum to do all the things I want in the crypto space. The price of ETH gas is still high. There are level 2 blockchains available that build on top Ethereum. This will help to improve the scalability of the network and reduce the gas fees. The Polygon ( MATIC–USD) network is my favorite NFT scheme to buy music. Polygon is the social media platform I am most excited about. It delivers its NFT project. Polygon is a platform that I find myself using frequently. Transactions on the Polygon network need MATIC to process.

In my original Ethereum article in May 2021, I made it clear that utility was extremely important to me. At the time, I required ETH to accomplish the things I wanted. To do the things that I want, I now need MATIC. It would be easy for us to just say “here we are, we need another crypto,” but that would be a rash reaction. MATIC makes ETH more valuable. MATIC helps keep costs down. They are very compatible.

It is important to remember that Polygon is not the only level 2 Ethereum chain. There are many other level 2 chains on Ethereum. This article will explain why Polygon is my preferred level 2 investment option. It is important to note that there are many level 2 options available for scaling Ethereum, even if they do not have native tokens. We will only compare chains with tokens in order to gain what I hope to be an actionable insight.

The Level 2 Market

Although I don’t claim this to be a complete picture of the market for Ethereum-based projects, it does show some of the major players. I will highlight four Polygon peers: Loopring ( USD), OMG Network( OMG–USD), Immutable X [ IMX–USD] and SKALE Network( SKL–USD].

It is clear that Polygon is the most valued network among the five based on market capital. Polygon also has the most social media followers via Twitter ( TWTR). It is evident that Immutable X seems to be punching above its weight in this category. Most likely because of a newly announced partnership that will help GameStop ( GL) create an NFT marketplace. This is noteworthy because there were many speculators that believed it would be Loopring used for GameStop’s NFT project. According to a 8-K, GameStop still has a relationship Loopring. However, this is a good deal for level 2 investors in less utilized projects.

Although many of us want to beat the crowd to an original idea, sometimes the best way to play an idea can be the most secure. It is better to invest in projects that are already happening than speculate on what might happen. Polygon lists more than 7,000 dApps in the network. This level of integration creates quite the network effect.

Network Effect

It is clear that Polygon has been chosen as the L2 in Google’s GOOG search history. Polygon has enjoyed a dominant edge in search interest in the United States over the past 6 months. This is likely due to the wide variety of websites and apps that choose MATIC integration for their projects.
Except for a brief period in November, when Loopring’s search interest went crazy due to the GameStop relationship with the GameStop, Polygon has been the level 2 that people have been looking for consistently in a large way. The story is similar for the rest.
Sometimes, words can be searched for multiple reasons. Polygon is a mathematical term that refers to shapes. We can adjust this by looking at the related queries to find out what word is associated with it. Below is a list of the top five related queries to Polygon and Loopring.

It is clear that the reasons for search interest are numerous. People are interested in Polygon because they want to use it and incorporate it with their Metamask wallets. Speculation has been the main reason loopring search is possible.

MoonPay Integration

NFTs will be able to move forward if there is as little friction as possible between fiat and NFT custody. MoonPay is a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp, which will reduce friction for many people. Previously, NFTs purchased on Ethereum required purchasing ETH via an exchange, then moving it to a Metamask account and then buying tokens from an open-source marketplace such as OpenSea. NFT projects built on Ethereum using Polygon. Users had to first buy Ethereum on the level 1 chain, then bridge it to the Polygon network. This was a positive step as it allowed for ETH bridge transactions to be covered by gas fees.

Users can now set up MoonPay accounts and buy Ethereum on Polygon without paying the gas fee to cross the ETH. This is an important step, as it allows users to purchase NFTs with minimal effort and cost. This is a significant step in my opinion. To buy NFTs, some projects don’t even require ETH. Others will accept stable coin USDC as an alternative. MoonPay allows you to purchase USDC on four chains.

One of these is Polygon. MoonPay allows you to buy Ethereum on three networks: Ethereum, Polygon and zkSync. MoonPay also allows you to buy OMG and IMX. Loopring and SKALE Network are not yet available to purchase. MoonPay removes friction for NFT buyers, and Polygon currently has the most options through MoonPay. MoonPay’s presence makes zkSync an interesting option.

Risques

Cypto is a high-risk investment. All of it could end up in zero. Regulators could consider certain cryptographic assets criminal behavior. Personally, I do not believe any of this is likely. Now that this is out of the way MATIC may experience price pressure if there are other level 2 scaling options or level 1 options taking market share from Ethereum.

Conclusion

The debates about level 1 blockchains, which aim to disrupt Ethereum, continue, and rightfully so, until someone else takes over the smart contract space. Level 2 chains, however, that improve the usability, scalability, and usability of Ethereum cannot be ignored. Although I don’t own an LRC, OMG or IMX at the moment, I would definitely consider it in the future. There are good reasons to look into a few other level 2s. Maybe I’ll dive deeper into another Seeking Alpha article, or my Substack. MATIC is my gas today.