How to buy NFTs on Solana?

The burgeoning popularity of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) has led to issues like exorbitant transaction fees and congestion in the prevalent Ethereum-based ecosystem. The fee factor serves as a major deterrent to anyone wanting to execute transactions on the blockchain.

A report published by Reuters revealed that the NFT sales volume was $24.9 billion in 2021, considerably more than the $94.9 million in 2020. The number of wallets trading in NFTs jumped to about 28.6 million, from a modest 545,000 in 2020. Recently, when Bored Ape minted its NFTs, the gas fee surged to $3300, showing a glimpse of how bad the costs were on Ethereum (ETH).

Solana (SOL) has emerged as a prominent challenger to Ethereum, performing amazingly better on two key metrics, speed and transaction cost, thanks to an innovative proof-of-history (PoH) timing mechanism along with a proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol structure.

In this article, we will discuss the advantage Solana has over other blockchains and marketplaces as well as how to buy NFTs on Solana.

The Solana advantage

This blockchain clocks block time (0.4 seconds) and block size (20,000 transactions) compared to Ethereum (block time: 13 seconds, block size: 70 transactions) allowing the network an incredibly low gas fee of just $0.00025 per transaction.

The arrival of solutions like Solana enables buyers to purchase NFTs with a negligible transaction fee or few congestion issues. Practically, it means that Solana or SOL NFTs are more easily accessible than those on Ethereum.

In the second half of 2021, the price of Solana NFTs began picking up. A Degenerate Ape NFT sold for around $1.1 million in September 2021, becoming the first million-dollar NFT sale on the Solana network. In October 2021, a Solana Monkey was sold for $2 million.

Solana NFT marketplaces

If you are wondering where you can buy Solana NFTs, marketplaces are the answer. All functions related to NFTs such as minting, buying, selling and trading occur on specific marketplaces. This is quite like the usual cryptocurrencies, which are managed through exchanges and crypto wallets. OpenSea is the most popular NFT marketplace on Ethereum.

SolSea, Solanart and DigitalEyes are three prominent marketplaces that support Solana NFTs. SolSea enables creators to choose and embed their licenses while minting NFTs. On Solanart, you can find, collect and trade NFTs. DigitalEyes is a popular platform featuring collections like the Solana Monkey Business and Frakt.

How to buy Solana NFTs

Busy thinking about how to buy and sell Solana NFTs? Purchasing NFTs on Solana involves a few steps, as explained below:

Get a Solana wallet

The first step you need to take is to get a Solana-based wallet. Two better known wallets are SolFlare and Phantom. Advanced users may use Sollet, an open source wallet. Each of these NFT marketplaces have collections, fees and terms to work that you need to take into account. So, you need to do adequate research at your end before committing your funds.

Create a new wallet on your chosen solution and connect it with the Solana marketplace you have selected. The website of the market place will guide you through the process.

An important thing to remember, don’t try to do anything on Solana via Metamask, a popular wallet on Ethereum, or else your SOL will disappear forever as MetaMask doesn’t recognize SOL tokens. Phantom is the Metamask of Solana Network.

Get SOL coins

You have to use SOL cryptocurrency on Solana NFT platforms, just like you use ETH on Ethereum-based marketplaces. SOL coins are for sale on various exchanges. The typical process involves connecting your fiat account with the exchange, moving funds and purchasing the required SOL amount. You need to withdraw this SOL to your wallet address.

To be on the safe side, withdraw just what you need for buying the NFT. For instance, in case an NFT is available for 15 SOL, you may withdraw exactly that amount along with…