Blockchain technology was first introduce by Stuart Harber and W. Scott Spornetta in a hope to create a technology which contains blocks to hold a set of time-sealed transactions. Later, in 2009, the dream came true and the link between the blocks resulted in a chain to save unlimited amount of information.
Since then, various blockchains have been introduced to cryptocurrency and the NFT worlds. However, some were made to be more energy efficient and user friendly. You can read more about blockchains here.
Tezos blockchain was developed to answer certain requirement of the NFT market. It owns specific features to satisfy the requirements of NFT users. In this article, we provide a full guide on what you need to know to seamlessly participate in Tezos ecosystem. In the following, we will explain why Tezos blockchain is so popular in crypto and NFT worlds.
What is Tezos blockchain?
Tezos is an environmentally-friendly blockchain that uses a proof of stake consensus algorithm to create a secure network without emitting a large carbon footprint. Tezos was founded in 2017 by Kathleen and Arthur Breitman. At its core, Tezos is an open-source platform for assets and applications. It’s similar to other blockchains in that it’s a platform to create smart contracts and build decentralized applications (dApps).
Tezos’ native cryptocurrency is XTZ. Despite the blockchain’s popularity for NFTs, its crypto ranks around 50th in terms of market cap. Yet, what Tezos may lack in market prominence, it makes up for with innovation.
One of the most unique and interesting aspects of the Tezos blockchain is its ability to self-amend. In short, it can improve itself over time by using a formalized process to upgrade its protocol. Many blockchains lack formal governance structures. As a result, decisions are often made by a small group and imposed on the whole ecosystem. Tezos has on-chain mechanisms for proposing, selecting, testing, and activating protocol. These features, paired with the fact that Tezos has been incentivizing developers to build dApps on the platform since its first days in operation, has positioned the blockchain as a leader in operability — it’s able to reach consensus and scale quickly while remaining safe and reliable.
And just as NFTs first began booming in early 2021, so too did the NFT use case for Tezos. However, there were a few jumps and starts.
One of the first marketplaces on the blockchain was Hic et Nunc. At the time, it was heralded as an economic alternative to Ethereum-centric marketplaces. But the platform shut down suddenly on Nov. 14, 2021. No explanation was given on the marketplace’s official accounts. Fortunately, the NFTs that were listed there are immutable, as they are recorded on the blockchain itself. Others picked up the cause and created new ways to mint and trade on Tezos. Many of the NFTs that originally went to market on Hic et Nunc are now listed on these other marketplaces — and Tezos is still considered one of the best and soundest chains for trading NFTs.
How does Tezos work?
Tezos makes use of a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, while Ethereum and some other blockchains run on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanisms. Let’s see how do each of these mechanisms works.
PoW requires computers to compete with one another to solve complex puzzles to add blocks and transactions to the blockchain. As such, blockchains that use PoW, such as Ethereum, require a lot of computer power or a lot of energy to work.
On the other hand, PoS allows users to stake their cryptocurrency for the chance to be randomly chosen as a block validator. This type of mechanism rewards loyalty while reducing the computational work needed to verify blocks and transactions on the blockchain. Therefore, Tezos and other PoS blockchains not only run efficiently but also charge much lower fees compared to other blockchains.
The Tezos blockchain also enables many features common to cryptocurrencies. Developers can use its software to run smart contracts and design new decentralized applications that help replicate products and services.
Tezos blockchain can be divided to two parts:
Shell: The code that amends itself based on user voting, it is also responsible for interpreting transactions and administrative operations
Protocol: The code responsible for sending proposals to the shell for review.
Tezos Upgrades
Baking is a system developed in Tezos which allows users take part in the governance of the blockchain by voting on proposed code changes. The voting process consists of four distinct voting periods, each separated by 23 days.
- The Proposal Period: Any baker or user can submit a proposal to amend or upgrade the Tezos blockchain. Proposals with the most votes move on to the next period.
- The Exploration Vote Period: Proposals that reach a super-majority (80% of votes in favor of the proposal) move on to the next period
- The Testing Period: The proposal then moves to a temporary test chain (48-hour fork) curated to verify if the change works and is safe for the network to adopt.
- The Promotion Vote Period: Bakers vote to determine if the proposal will be implemented. Proposals go through if the vote reaches a super-majority in favor.
How to buy and sell crypto on Tezos
Tezos’ native cryptocurrency is XTZ. You will need a Tezos wallet if you want to trade XTZ. Temple Wallet and Kukai Wallet are two most popular wallets for trading crypto and NFTs on Tezos. XTZ is available to buy and sell on nearly every major centralized and decentralized exchange. Several platforms such as Coinbase and Binance offer to trade XTZ.
How to make and mint a Tezos NFT
Minting NFTs in Tezos is similar to any other blockchain. First, you need a digital wallet filled with enough deposit of the blockchain’s native crypto (XTZ) to cover minting and other transaction fees.
Tezos fees are less than that of the Ethereum blockchain. However, the cost obviously fluctuates a bit. If you plan to mint on Objkt, Tezos’ most popular NFT marketplace, it currently costs 1 XTZ to create an entire NFT collection and smart contract.
The next steps will be to determine the kind of NFT you want to mint. Also, consider if you want to create a 1/1 (one-of-one) or an edition (multiple copies of the same NFT). You can even mint a large-supply NFT collection, similar to CryptoPunks or Bored Apes.
When you are set with your new NFT(s), you will need to find the right platform to mint on.
Best Tezos NFT marketplaces
Tezos marketplaces are the host to a wide variety of small-batch to large-scale collections.
Objkt
As you may already know, Objkt is the largest and most popular marketplace on the Tezos chain. It can be compared to OpenSea for Tezos NFTs, hosting everything from JPEGs to videos and songs.
Teia
The second large Tezos NFT marketplace is Teia. This community-owned platform operates very similar to Hic et Nunc, and it has been quickly gaining popularity since launching in 2021.
Kalamint
Kalamint is one of the first Tezos NFT marketplaces is still a popular choice among the collectibles crowd. Although it is not as popular as before, art, collectibles, and photography are still traded regularly in Kalamint.
All these platforms offer a straightforward, beginner-friendly minting process that includes comprehensive step-by-step instructions. So you should not worry about smart contracts or interacting directly with the network. Tezos platforms are really user-friendly.
Best NFT Projects on Tezos
Tezos is known as a treasure for 1/1 and limited-edition artworks. It has even been successful to attract some major drops from XCOPY and Blake Kathryn. Although Tezos PFPs are not as popular as Ethereum avatar projects, there are a few great large-scale Tezos projects to look out for. Here is a list of NFT projects by Tezos:
Tezzards
Tezzards is a collection of 4,200 “snazzy” lizard-inspired PFP NFTs. Although numerous avatar collectibles have been minted on Tezos over the years, Tezzards is possibly the first PFP project truly take off on the blockchain — receiving widespread support and garnering regular trading throughout the NFT space.
FxHash
FxHash is both a generative art platform and marketplace. It lives as an open platform where artists can mint generative NFTs without having to jump through the hoops of traditional generative platforms. In fact, fxhash is described as “a platform to provide a framework so that generative artists can have a space in which they can mint their pieces meant to be generative. No curation, open to everyone.”
Dogami
Dogami is both an NFT collection and a Metaverse game. With Dogami, users can collect a 3D dog-themed NFT that they can raise, interact in AR, and even earn crypto rewards from taking care of their pet. Think Tamagotchi but for the blockchain!
And the list is still expanding. More creators have recently joined Tezos and this promises more possibilities of what can be built on this NFT blockchain.
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