If you are struggling to decide whether to use Solana or Ethereum for your Non-Fungible Tokens, you have come to a good place. This guide will help you make an informed decision about which blockchain is best suited for your NFT market goals.
Ethereum – Ecosystem, Marketplace and Security
There’s no doubt that Ethereum is the largest ecosystem of the DeFi (decentralized finance) sector, with thousands of projects of all kinds building on it — so it’s no surprise that the vast majority of NFTs are running on it, as ERC-721 tokens.
To be accurate, roughly 95% of all the NFT ecosystem uses Ethereum, so it’s no coincidence that when investors look for an NFT marketplace, the first one they usually run up to is OpenSea, Rarible, Nifty Gateway, and more.
Ethereum leads the pack in terms of size and trading volume. OpenSea is an Ethereum-based marketplace that allows you to mint NFTs. This will allow you more exposure and potential buyers or bidders for your NFTs. However, it’s well-known that there is a large supply of NFTs available that no one would like to purchase or bid for.
Want your first NFT with OpenSea Check our step-by-step guide here.
Ethereum is a top-rated ecosystem to launch a DeFi project. Many developers are using its blockchain to build on top of it because of its data architecture and security features.
When network activity rises exponentially (which it is often), there is a significant spike in transaction fees. These fees usually exceed the digits per transactions, which could impact the number of users that can afford NFTs.
This has led NFT collectors and creators to look for alternative blockchains that offer higher throughput, greater scalability and lower fees. Solana — is a high-performance, highly secure blockchain that uses different cryptographic mechanisms to scale it network (we’ll talk more about this later). )
While paying high gas fees can sometimes be crippling, the upside to Ethereum is that there is more money flowing into it, so the flipping ceiling for Ethereum is higher. Data from CryptoSlam shows that Ethereum has had a whopping selling volume of over $1.8 billion in the last 30 days, compared to $120 million from Solana-based marketplaces.
Source: CryptoSlam
According to CryptoSlam’s current data, the Ethereum blockchain holds the most popular NFT collection. These include CryptoPunks, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), the Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and so forth.
Additional data shows that the average NFT sale price in Ethereum (as of Q4 2021) was around $3,000 compared to Solana’s $1,000.
Solana – Throughput, Low Fees and Growing Ecosystem
Solana is the leader in technology, functionality, versatility and design.
Solana is a high-performance blockchain that uses a consensus mechanism called Proof-of-History, which leverages a set of protocols to execute transactions with high throughput– more than 60,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Transaction costs in Solana are often less than one dollar. To take advantage of the low transaction fees and scale, many NFT collectors and projects are moving to Solana. Solana has become a hub for general NFTs because they have greater freedom to build their projects and are not limited by technical limitations.
Mining NFTs in a Solana-based market like Solsea can be incredibly cheap, quick, and easy once it hits the secondary marketplace. Solana mints tend to be snapped up quickly, and royalties in Solana markets are often higher than those of Ethereum.
While Solana’s user base isn’t nearly as large as Ethereum’s, that doesn’t mean it isn’t growing. In fact, Solana’s user base has been growing at a much faster pace since the beginning of 2022, and even analysts from investment bank JP Morgan have claimed that it could overtake Ethereum in the long run.
The NFT market in Solana has been gaining a lot of momentum throughout the third quarter of 2022, as per data from CryptoSlam. The ecosystem’s sales volume had surpassed $1 billion by January.
Source: CryptoSlam
One of the most popular collections on the Solana blockchain is the Degenerate Ape Academy, a collection of 10,000 unique NFT Apes.
Although they look a lot like the Bored Apes of Ethereum, they possess their own unique traits.
They can be pretty expensive, too – the highest sale for a Degen Ape was of $1.1 million in September 2021. However, in mid-December, an NFT from the Solana Monkey Business collection was sold for over 13,000 SOL, or about $2 million.
Growing ecosystems offer early adopters a fantastic opportunity to rise to the top of the list before it reaches a wider audience. One problem with these systems is the higher risk. Since the beginning of 2022, the Solana network has suffered several downtimes, forcing users to liquidate their positions as they were unable to top up their collateral during the outages.
Developers have also addressed the rising number of Solana rugpulls. Scammers will often try to exploit any weaknesses in emerging technologies. This is a common problem with these technologies. Scams and rug pulling can occur on both sides of a story. It’s important to do your research before you invest in any NFT or DeFi projects.
Rugpulls is the most prevalent type of defrauding in the DeFi ecosystem. If you want to learn how to spot them, check our latest guide on the matter.
Closing Thoughts
Each blockchain has its pros and cons. It all comes down to how you use each one. Solana may be a better choice if you are looking for a high-throughput, scalable blockchain that charges low fees and has low gas costs.
Solana
Pros:
Higher throughput and scalability.
Growing ecosystem.
Low gas fees and environmentally friendly.
Minting NFTs is cheap and relatively straightforward.
Cons:
Less secure network.
Lower exposure with a smaller market.
Downtimes are more frequent.
If you are looking for greater market exposure and security, Ethereum might be the best choice.
Ethereum
Pros:
Access to a larger market.
High network security.
NFTs are sold for a much higher price on average.
Cons:
Network congestion can cause transaction delays.
Lower throughput and scalability.
Transaction fees can become unpayable for a good percentage of users who want to mint NFTs.
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Spot Ethereum ETF Demand Outpaces Bitcoin’s – Is a Flippening Coming?
Following the solid end in January, the spot Bitcoin ETFs have shown some mixed reactions to the macroeconomic uncertainty that started with US President Trump’s tariffs.
In contrast, the Ethereum ETFs have enjoyed the past week by registering more net inflows than their BTC counterparts for the first time.
Ethereum ETFs See Substantial Demand
Recall that the Ethereum ETF start in late July last year was anything but impressive as investors were in a hurry to move their funds out of the Grayscale Trust, which was now converted into a spot exchange-traded fund. Unlike the case with BTC, though, where they transferred most of the amount toward IBIT and other ETFs, all Ethereum products were in the red for many weeks.
However, things changed a few weeks after the US elections, and the ETFs had a 19 consecutive day period with only net inflows or at least no reportable outflows. A similar but smaller streak was recovered in mid-January and in the past week and a half as well. January 29 was the last date for net outflows from the spot ETH ETFs, with a minor $4.7 million exiting the funds.
Since then, it’s been well in the green or no outflows. The past week alone saw $83.6 million poured in on Monday, a remarkable $307.8 million on Tuesday, and a more modest $18.1 million on Wednesday, as well as $10.7 million on Thursday. Friday was a no-action day.
This puts the total for the week at $420.2 million, which is quite impressive given the economic uncertainty. In the meantime, though, ETH’s price has tumbled by more than 14% and now struggles to remain above $2,600.
Different Bitcoin Story
The spot Bitcoin ETFs, which recently celebrated their first birthday, had a different week. On Monday, the first business day following the tariffs against China, Mexico, and Canada, investors withdrew $234.4 million from the funds, followed by another $140.2 million on Thursday.
The positive numbers on Tuesday ($340 million), Wednesday ($66.4 million), and Friday ($171.3 million) managed to offset the losses, and the BTC ETFs finished the week at $203.8 million in net inflows. However, it signals a major shift (or flippening, if you will) between the Ethereum ETFs and the Bitcoin counterparts.
Within this timeframe, BTC’s price also went south hard, dumping to under $92,000 on Monday, but has lost a more modest 3% on a weekly scale, compared to ETH’s 14% drop.
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Ethereum L2 Taiko and DoraHacks Are Launching the Largest Anonymous Community Vote in Crypto History
[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, February 7th, 2025]
Taiko, an Ethereum Layer 2 network, and DoraHacks, the largest hacker movement in crypto, are spearheading the biggest anonymous community vote ever conducted in Web3. The initiative aims to advance decentralization in community governance through the Taiko Grant Factory Hackathon.
The Taiko Grant Factory Hackathon is designed to unleash developer creativity—driving innovation, interactive applications, and projects with real-world impact. After months of intense competition, the finalists are now heading into the voting phase—one of the biggest steps yet toward large-scale, community-driven decision-making.
At the core of this vote is Minimal Anti-Collusion Infrastructure (MACI), a game-changing privacy-preserving and collusion-resistant voting mechanism originally conceptualized by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Vitalik has long pointed out the fundamental flaws of traditional voting systems—fraud, collusion, privacy leaks—and MACI is Ethereum’s answer to fixing them. Dora Factory, the decentralized governance protocol, carried Vitalik’s mission and shipped the best MACI product the market has seen.
For the final round of Taiko’s Grant Factory Hackathon, voting will be executed entirely on-chain via MACI, ensuring encrypted ballots, zero-knowledge proof integrity, and protection against vote buying and collusion. Users will submit their votes through smart contracts, with timestamps recorded on-chain, making the process transparent yet private. At the end of the voting round, results will be revealed by the designated operator, ensuring both fairness and credibility. As an incentive, Taiko is distributing 50,000 Trailblazer points to participants, which will later translate into an airdrop.
“This is decentralization in action,” says Ben Wan, Taiko’s Community Director. “We’re thrilled to bring MACI to this scale and grateful to the community for participating in Taiko’s growth. The future of Ethereum is decentralized, and we’re here to make that happen—together.”
This vote isn’t just big—it’s historic. Over 920,000 participants are taking part, making it the largest whitelisted anonymous community vote in Ethereum’s history
The voting event has attracted significant participation, with more than 920,000 individuals expected to take part, making it one of the largest whitelisted anonymous community votes in Ethereum’s history.
Steve Ngok, Partner at DoraHacks, adds: “We’re incredibly excited to work with Taiko on launching the biggest MACI-powered vote in Ethereum history. DoraHacks and Dora Factory have committed resources to expanding Ethereum’s mission—advancing MACI for decentralized governance and privacy protection. We look forward to exploring MACI’s full potential alongside Taiko and its dynamic community.”
About DoraHacks
DoraHacks is the world’s largest hacker movement and a leading global platform for open-source funding, hackathons, and developer grants. Since its inception in 2014, DoraHacks has empowered 200,000 developers and funded 20,000 innovative startups in multiple frontier tech verticals in Web3, AI, Quantum, and more.
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Crypto Price Analysis February-07: ETH, XRP, ADA, BNB, and SOL
This week, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Solana in greater detail.
Ethereum (ETH)
The Monday crash took crypto by surprise during a historic liquidation event. Ethereum fell to $2,100 before it managed to recover some ground. The price is currently around $2,700 and closed the week with a 16% loss, being unable to go back above $3,000, which acts as a key resistance.
This price action has turned most charts bearish, including Ethereum, which just experienced a bearish cross on the weekly MACD. The selling volume also exploded, which shows fear in the market.
Looking ahead, Ethereum’s strongest support is currently at $2,400. Buyers have to defend this level if they want to avoid a fall below $2,000 later.
Chart by Tradingview
Ripple (XRP)
XRP’s rally ended on Monday when the price fell to $1.8 momentarily until buyers returned. This has put sellers in control, and the price ended the week with a 24% loss. This was a sharp and expensive reversal for those who were bullish and took a position above $3.
While the asset is currently at $2.3, it could easily fall to $2 and $1.6, which are major support levels. Buyers appeared interested in under $2 on Monday, but the sentiment remains bearish, and their conviction could soon be tested again.
Looking ahead, XRP just started a major correction, which may take several weeks to complete before the price decides to go higher again. The market also needs time to digest this week’s drop. Therefore, it is best to be patient here.
Chart by Tradingview
Cardano (ADA)
ADA also had a bad week after its price quickly fell to $0.5 on Monday but recovered somewhat after. Nevertheless, Cardano closes the week with a 21% loss. The momentum is bearish, and the downtrend is expected to continue.
The most important support level is found at $0.64, which could stop this nosedive. However, if the overall market sentiment remains bearish, this level could only be a short stop until a bottom is found at lower levels.
Looking ahead, Cardano is correcting sharply at the time of this post. If the $0.64 support cannot stop sellers, then the asset will likely revisit $0.5.
Chart by Tradingview
BNB’s resilience was put to the test on Monday as the price fell to $500, a price not seen since September 2024. Buyers tried to hold this cryptocurrency above $600, but they were unable to do so, considering the asset closed the week with a 15% loss.
There is good support at $550 and $500, which will likely be revisited if buyers remain shy at this time. The best BNB can hope for is a bounce that could see it test the resistance at $600. A break above this level seems unlikely at this time.
Looking ahead, as long as bulls keep BNB above $500, then it has a good shot at returning on an uptrend later once market conditions improve.
Chart by Tradingview
Solana (SOL)
Solana holders had a difficult time on Monday when the price fell under $200. They tried to bring it back above this key level, but failed after 24h, and closed the week with a 19% loss. At the time of this post, the price is around $190.
During this fall, the $200 level has turned into a key resistance, and the most important support line is now at $164. If bears continue to dominate, then SOL will likely test that support in the future.
Looking ahead, Solana’s momentum on the weekly timeframe is bearish, with the MACD and RSI making lower highs. This shows sellers are in charge, and they may hold the price under their control for quite some time. A possible reversal of this downtrend could happen in the $164 to $134 range.
Chart by Tradingview
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