Immutable X is the first Layer 2 scaling solution for NFTs on Ethereum, the most used blockchain in the world for NFTs. It’s a unique and valuable platform built on Ethereum.
In addition to allowing client partners to develop marketplaces, apps, games, and more with instant trade confirmation, it offers great features to its users.
Immutable X is also scalable. It can execute 9,000 trades per second without any gas fees, but also doesn’t compromise user custody.
Immutable X Solves Nagging Ethereum Issues
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are a new class of digital assets. NFTs include anything, ranging from digital trading cards,to art and virtual real estate or game items.
There’s an explosion of NFT games as well. Game developers are looking to NFTs as a new way to offer novel abilities to players. Marketplaces are popping up so that players and collectors can buy and trade game items.
According to a 2020 report from tech-tracking company L’Atelier BNP Paribas and nonfungible.com, investments in NFTs rose 299% in 2020, and have become popular with some demographics that didn’t already support digital assets.
NFT creators and resellers have made millions. Artist Beeple broke digital art records to become one of the most valuable artists, who sold a crypto art piece for nearly $70 million.
However, the Ethereum blockchain, which is still the most popular place for NFT issuance and trading, isn’t up to the task at hand. Some NFT issuance has clogged up the system, and gas fees can explode when the network is hot.
These problems may not affect a person who is buying a million dollar NFT, but Ethereum was meant to be more than a platform for expensive art.
What Is Immutable X?
While the slower transaction speeds and rising gas prices are problems for Ethereum, Immutable X can solve these issues without forcing users to move away from the Ethereum platform.
In addition, Immutable X is also appealing to companies working in Gaming, DeFi, Collectibles, and Marketplaces as a trusted technology partner and blockchain provider.
With Immutable X, costs and capacity are no longer dependent on the state of the Ethereum ecosystem. As such, capacity is wide open and the cost structure is based on revenues earned by clients – not the gas fees on the network.
The developers focused on creating something that works with Ethereum instead of competing against it. Immutable X is an L2 solution.
As a result, it still has well-developed security, ecosystem connections, and appeals to the overall community on the Ethereum network.
The Immutable X platform is also carbon neutral.
“The Ethereum ecosystem is likely to be all-in on rollups as a scaling strategy for the near and mid-term future,” according to Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum.
Immutable X is taking this design ideal to heart, and has created a next generation L2 solution for NFTs.
Immutable X: The Features
Immutable X’s value is a direct solution for key issues of cost, capacity and scalability that the Ethereum community has faced over the past few years.
The firm has developed three core elements, including the Immutable X protocol, which uses StarkWare’s ZK rollup technology. As a result, the platform operates with incredibly fast transactions, but still maintains Ethereum’s great level of security.
The Immutable X token ($IMX) is an ERC-20 utility token, allowing holders to stake, participate in governance, and pay transaction fees. It can also be traded like any other ERC-20 token, which may be appealing to some users.
In addition, the Immutable X Marketplace, which is the first NFT exchange to offer gas-free minting/trading of NFTs, is a boon to smaller artists who need to keep costs down.
Let’s take a look at some of the other features that Immutable X created for its users:
$IMX Token
Rewards will be added over time and opportunities for rewards may include trading NFTs, depositing NFTs, holding NFTs, or building on Immutable X.
The $IMX Supply breaks down like this:
20 million $IMX were created, issued, and distributed by Digital Worlds NFTS, a partner of Immutable X
- 51.5% for incentives such as user rewards and developer grants
- 25% for project development
- (up to) 17% for early buyers
- 6.5% Digital Worlds fee
ZK-rollup
The ZK-rollup structure is a critical feature of Immutable X, which is a leading technique for scaling public blockchains.
It allows thousands of transactions at once by using cryptographic proof. Launched in 2020, it has the same underlying security as blockchain.
Immutable X is the first zk-rollup used to scale NFT transactions.
API-Driven
Permissionless API Integration allows non-blockchain knowledge developers to integrate their products without blockchain experience.
It creates a better UI and process experience for developers and marketplace creators, using the universally accepted API approach to allow for a common language and structure for development.
APIs are the industry standard for promoting ecosystem development and partnering with those who want to participate in growing their own platforms.
All users’ actions just use REST API, which creates a simple integration experience that bypasses blockchain configurations, new libraries, new languages, or smart contracts.
“Immutable X allows us to implement new meta systems in our games that were previously impossible,” commented Chris Clay, Game Director at Gods Unchained.
Marketplace Interoperability and Customization
Immutable X is an ecosystem hosting a number of different platforms and exchanges and is built on Ethereum.
Users don’t have to change the platform they are using to discover or buy new content, therefore, it helps to increase the audience depth for any platform that builds on the Immutable X protocol.
Developers can create and own their UX and even build an improved version of a 3rd party exchange in order to create a better user experience while enjoying the lower costs and higher capacity of Immutable X.
With Immutable X, applications can white label the functionality, then use it to create their own platform while completely owning the entire front-end experience including their marketplace, sales, airdrops, UX, and the liquidity of their NFTs.
Applications get to choose what fees and royalties they collect. A unique additional bonus is that they will also receive perpetual royalties on the secondary market for those assets they create.
Immutable Growing into an Influential Platform
Immutable, formerly Fuel Games, was founded in 2018 based in Australia by James Ferguson and his brother Robbie Ferguson. Its primary product is Immutable X which addresses several pressing concerns seen by the team within the NFT space.
Its goal is to remove the scalability in the Ethereum ecosystem, capacity, and cost.
The company also launched Gods Unchained, one of the most successful blockchain card games by Chris Clay, who formerly directed the Magic the Gathering Arena.
The Australian-based company targets developers who partner with Immutable to use the protocol to build their own platform on top of Immutable X for Immutable X and crypto investors, traditional investors, ETH & NFT community members for the token.
In addition to the pair co-founders, Immutable has Alex Connolly as CTO. In 2017, he entered the Ethereum ecosystem and built a blockchain agnostic programming language for smart contract VMs.
Connolly joined Immutable and led the NFT architecture through each stage of development, leading it to the platform allowing millions of Gods Unchained cards to be minted with no network impact.
Immutable is Well Funded and Ready for More
Immutable successfully completed a seed round of fundraising with $2.4 million USD raised in 2018, and a Series A round of $15 million USD in 2019.
Its investors and advisers include Naspers, Galaxy Digital, Coinbase, Apex Capital, and Nirvana Capital.
The company recently announced its Series B round of fundraising, and is working hard to reach potential partners in gaming, entertainment, sports, dApps, marketplaces, and $IMX token holders.
To learn more about Immutable X, please click here to visit its website. The company also offers frequent updates on everything it is doing via Twitter and Medium!
The post Immutable X: The First Ethereum Layer 2 Scaling Solution for NFTs appeared first on Blockonomi.
