The multi-chain Rarible Protocol has integrated Solana NFTs into its system. So get ready to start seeing Solana NFTs on the Rarible.com marketplace.
Solana NFTs: Exploring New Frontiers
The multi-chain open-source Rarible protocol has announced that it’s finally integrating Solana NFTs into its database of supported assets. This announcement came just a week after NFTs minted on the Solana blockchain were launched on the popular OpenSea marketplace.
Rarible, widely considered one of the main alternatives to OpenSea, has now taken a similar step to keep up with the widely regarded marketplace in terms of supported assets.
In their announcement, The Rarible blockchain protocol disclosed that soon, investors would be able to trade Solana NFTs on the Rarible.com marketplace.
Solana is currently the second-largest NFT ecosystem after the Ethereum network, the first and most extensive blockchain for NFTs. Solana has become a significant competitor for Ethereum since it was created in 2020. Its growth was bolstered by the addition of projects like Degenerate Ape Academy, Aurory, and Solana Monkey Business.
Solana’s integration into the major exchange platforms shouldn’t come as a surprise, as there have been talks about the planned integration of the ecosystem for a while. In November 2021, Rarible’s co-founder and CEO Alexei Falin told Decrypt that the ecosystem had been on the Rarible protocol’s roadmap. He further mentioned that the integration process had been ongoing internally.
Solana Projects Enjoying the Perks of a customized Protocol
Alongside the announcement of the support integration for Solana, Rarible also launched a custom marketplace for the Degenerate Ape Academy (DAA), which is arguably the most popular NFT project on Solana. The DAA first gave hints of this development via a tweet on their official Twitter page on April 10, however, Rarible eventually confirmed the launch not long after.
The development of a custom marketplace was possible since Rarible is a protocol and not a primary marketplace like OpenSea. It has functionalities that enable other projects to tap into it, and creators can develop custom platforms.
The custom platform tagged Deneriverse is expected to use Rarible protocol’s white-label marketplace tech. In addition, it’ll support DAA and its offshoot projects like Degenerate Trash Pandas and Degenerate Ape Kindergarten.
How does this affect Ethereum’s NFT dominance?
Several investors expected the integration of Solana NFTs into OpenSea and Rarible to usher in a significant boom period for the ecosystem and bring it much closer to the Ethereum blockchain.
However, the short-term impact has been… minimal, to put it nicely. A report by CryptoSlam indicated that Solana NFTs trading is down by 12% over the previous week. Meanwhile, Magic Eden also reported that OpenSea only processed about 13,100 SOL (about $1.37 million) worth of Solana NFT transactions over the past week.
For most investors, the numbers are not impressive enough. Nonetheless, the development is still in the early stages, and there’s no need to rush to conclusions regarding the performance of the Solana NFT ecosystem.
