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NFTs Are Coming to Polkadot as Kusama Deploys Ethereum Alternatives

Vishal Chawla

Mar. 25, 2021

Various digital art initiatives on Kusama point to how NFT mania may soon take off in the Polkadot ecosystem.

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Key Takeaways

Various development teams like Parity, Moonbeam, Usetech, Bit Country, and KodaDot have built open-source components for NFTs.
NFTs have already come to Kusama through Substrapunks, a substrate-based spin-off of the CryptoPunks game.
On Mar. 26, Kusama Treasury is organizing Virtual Niche, the world's first crypto art exhibition in Beijing, China.

NFTs on Polkadot may arrive sooner than expected thanks to its canary network Kusama.

NFT Projects Expand on Kusama

Many of Kusama’s initiatives share a common goal of deploying NFTs as soon as possible on Polkadot for applications in art, music, and gaming.

While most of the NFT market currently exists on Ethereum, exorbitant gas fees have been problematic for retail users, prompting them to explore other blockchains. Kusama is thus looking to pave the way for cross-chain adoption and ease much of this congestion.

To make this happen, various development teams like Parity, Moonbeam, Usetech, Bit Country, and KodaDot have built Substrate-based NFT components. Substrate is the development environment for the Polkadot ecosystem.

One such tool is the RMRK app, a standardized technique for creating NFTs on the Kusama Relay Chain. Another is KodaDot NFT Explorer, which allows even non-technical users to create a marketplace for their artwork.

Native NFTs have already arrived have already on Kusama in projects such as Substrapunks, a spin-off of the CryptoPunks game launched on its parachain called Unique Network.

Besides much of the development in open source software for NFTs, the canary network is now promoting its technology to art collectors, artists, and other art fans worldwide.

On Mar. 26, Kusama Treasury is organizing Virtual Niche, the world’s first crypto art exhibition, for 14 days in Beijing, China. The exhibition will feature well-known names in the NFT art scene, including Robert Alice and Beeple, whose artwork has propelled the latest media excitement.

During the event, the Kusama team will give workshops on NFTs to Chinese digital artists. Chiba Gallery, a digital art project built on the Kusama Network, will also be introduced.

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