Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin and the gateway to hundreds of DeFi initiatives, has a safe ecosystem. As it is programmable and scalable, anyone can use it to create DApps and other blockchain products. However, hefty gas fees, power consumption, and network congestion topped the list of Ethereum’s shortcomings.
Traders, gamers, and artists were impeded from transacting on the Ethereum network by high gas fees. As a result, numerous layer-2 solutions are addressing common Ethereum difficulties by offering secure and rapid network confirmation without a gas price. Immutable X is one of these layer-2 scaling solutions. Utilizing Ethereum’s features, Immutable X provides smooth trading of NFTs, enabling users to create NFTs with vast scalability and quick transactions.
This guide will explain in greater detail what Immutable X is and what you need to know about it.
About Immutable X?
Immutable X is a layer-2 blockchain that solves the scalability problem for Ethereum-based NFTs. It allows users to construct and administer NFT projects on a secure platform for free. It also provides rapid trade confirmation, no gas fees, and scalability without compromising security for games, applications, and markets.
Using zero-knowledge rollup technology, the network is able to perform more than 9000 transactions and mints every second. This exceeds the size requirements for conventional NFT projects. Immutable X also aims to simplify the trading, minting, and mailing of NFTs and ERC-20s.
According to the official website, the network has issued more than 50 million NFTs and supports a large number of NFTs without jeopardizing Ethereum’s security or requiring additional gas payments.
In addition to developing a layer-2 solution for NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain, Immutable X provides a comprehensive carbon-neutral NFT marketplace that compensates for carbon emissions. In other words, the L2 approach ensures that no energy is wasted during the creation and trading of NFTs. Immutable X accomplishes this by forming a relationship with climate-aware firms Trace and Cool Effect.
Additionally, Immutable X powers the Gods Unchained game. Additional significant L2 partners include Naspers, Apex Capital, Coinbase, Galaxy digital, and Starkware.
How Immutable X began
Originally known as Fuel Games, Immutable is an Australian blockchain-based gaming firm headquartered in Surry Hills, New South Wales. James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson, and Alex Connolly founded it in 2018.
As a result of a relationship between StarkWare and Immutable, Immutable offers a blockchain infrastructure that facilitates the ownership transfer of NFTs in the video gaming sector. It enables users to create and exchange ERC-721 and ERC-20 tokens with no transaction fees and without compromising the security of their assets.
How does Immutable X work?
Immutable X combines StarkWare’s ZK rollup technology with NFT-based exchange to develop a solution gateway for trading NFTs.
ZK rollup
Immutable X’s key technology is the zk-rollup scaling engine. Using their StarkEx prover and verifier, it was developed in collaboration with StarkWare. First, let’s define rollups and explain what they mean in general.
As its name suggests, rollup combines numerous transactions into one large batch and then generates a “proof” for that batch. This proof is then deployed on the main network in place of each transaction. Rollups are one of the most efficient scaling technologies for all Ethereum participants.
These are Stark evidences. They explicitly address the significant issues of snark-roll ups, are enormous, and are more expensive to post on-chain, which makes them more acceptable for user security.
Immutable X uses a zero-knowledge rollup (ZK). It accomplishes this by managing several off-chain transactions, providing “validity proof” — evidence that users who owned the assets allowed the trades, and validating this proof on-chain, where a smart contract verifies it.
During this operation, the smart contract keeps the assets and only releases them when valid proof is produced.
One of the primary benefits of ZK-rollup is that blocks are certified faster due to the reduced amount of data involved. In addition, ZK-rollup makes it simple to move transactions from layer 2 to layer 1 because a ZK-rollup contract-generated and-approved validity evidence has already confirmed the trades.
API abstraction layer
By basing its scaling technique on an API that adheres to the design principles of the REST — representational state transfer architectural style, Immutable X simplifies the process of designing NFT applications for developers.
This architectural design enables straightforward API calls for minting, transactions, and transfers. This paradigm allows, among other advantages, a straightforward transformation of sophisticated asynchronous blockchain interactions into synchronous REST API calls. Consequently, new gaming and multimedia projects can deploy their initiatives immediately without interacting directly with smart contracts.
NFT-enabled wallets
Immutable X, unlike layer-2 scaling alternatives, is compatible with all Ethereum desktop wallets without requiring users to switch networks.
The platform provides a transitional layer, commonly referred to as “the Link,” that enhances the overall experience using NFT-based wallets. Immutable X Link enables customers to conduct transactions in a secure environment while supporting the ecology of a third-party marketplace.
Immutable X Marketplace
This gas-free marketplace offers a variety of non-fungible goods, such as art, play-to-earn games, virtual worlds, trading cards, and collectibles, among others. It consists of both ERC-721 and ERC-20 token assets.
In addition, you can purchase, sell, and browse exclusive digital assets such as Gods Unchained, Nifty Nuggets, and Vyworlds, among others. The marketplace contains hundreds of projects, including digital art and collectible games.
Using the Immutable X mining tool, creators can create their own mainnet-based assets. They may also use it to create free collections and NFTs without having to write a single line of code. You may easily use Immutable X if you’re developing your own game application or other blockchain-based businesses that provide specialized services.
If you are selling products on Immutable X, you may do it for free at a predetermined price. In addition, users can trade NFTs risk-free on the marketplace, enabling a transparent and trustless network.
Immutable X’s IMX token
IMX token is an ERC-20 utility token designed primarily to reward users for their participation on the Immutable X platform. These operations span from trading and providing liquidity to application development. In addition, the token is used as a reward in network transactions between traders, gamers, artists, markets, and others.
The total amount of IMX tokens is 2 billion, with around 235 million in circulation. It is now trading at $1.08 and has a market capitalization of approximately $224 million.
Tokenomics
IMX tokens are utilized for application development, direct value exchange, and liquidity provision. Specifically, the IMX cryptocurrency attracts transaction fees and can be staked. Other token uses include staking incentives, voting on the protocol’s future, and funding marketplace trading expenses.
Fees
The platform Immutable X charges a 20% network fee. You can pay this price with IMX, or the network can exchange a token to cover the cost. This provides users with an advantage, and they are not need to hold IMX tokens to participate in the network.
In addition, there is no assurance or authorization that the Immutable X protocol will generate money based purely on token ownership.
Staking rewards
The network fees collected from IMX token users are deposited into the “staking rewards pool.” This pool will be distributed evenly each month to all network participants actively locking their IMX tokens on Immutable X. These rewards are proportional to the amount IMX users wagered during the month in comparison to all other regular wagerers.
To be considered to have staked your IMX, you must:
Maintain IMX on L1 or L2
- Have voted on a governance proposal within the previous thirty days.
- Hold an NFT on Immutable X, or have completed a transaction on this asset within the past month.
Distribution and governance
Users holding IMX tokens will be able to vote on issues pertaining to tokens via decentralized governance. These are recommendations about token allocation, developer grant voting, triggering daily prizes, and potential adjustments to the token supply.
In addition to token holders, the Foundation may also propose actions for a vote. These recommendations aim to improve the ecosystem’s overall functionality and the voting process.
All votes will be carried out properly. Wallet balances are sourced from both layer-1 and layer-2. Protocol administration occurs on the main network.
The more tokens a user possesses, the stronger their voting power is typically.
Token supply and allocation
Currently, 2 billion IMX tokens are assigned to the following categories: projects, Sales, and Reserves. Notably, the development team will not receive any tokens as reward for their efforts.
Tokens are allotted below.
- Ecosystem development: 51.74% — given for marketing, user rewards, developer grants, and liquidity provision
- Project development: 25% — given to improving the Immutable X network
- Private sale: 14.26% — allocated to private sale investors (institutional and individual)
- Public sale: 5% — also allocated to the IMX token public sale
- Foundation reserve: 4% — allocated to ecosystem-growth related initiatives and liquidity provision for both centralized and decentralized exchanges
Roadmap
- Apr. 2021: Mainnet Launch, completion of the first blockchain development
- Sep. 2021: ICO
- Oct. 2021: Allows users to transfer ERC 20 and 721 tokens from L2 wallets to other L2 wallets from the Immutable X marketplace
- Dec. 2021: On ramp and Off-ramp L2 ETH and USDC to fiat. Users can exchange L2 ETH and L2 USDC directly for fiat. The fiat will be directly deposited into users’ bank accounts.
- Feb. 2022: GameStop and Immutable X partnership
- May 2022: NFT marketplace officially live on IMX!
Future project development
- Maker/taker fees on trades: Implementation of network fees on all trades within the Immutable X marketplace
- Protocol fee: Implementation of the 2% protocol fee applied to all transactions on the protocol. This includes transacting payment currencies into IMX.
- Bulk NFT transfers: When a user wants to transfer many NFTs at once, the system will process them in batches of 50, requiring the user to sign for every NFT being transferred.
- Staking: Allows users to stake their IMX tokens to receive shares of the overall protocol trading volume
Is Immutable X a good investment?
Immutable X leverages layer-2 scaling technology to provide NFT fans with the optimal experience when minting, trading, or playing games on the Ethereum blockchain.
If additional gaming projects embrace it, it may be a profitable investment. It is also in demand on major exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, Kucoin, etc. Nonetheless, you should be aware that Immutable X is still in its infancy. It is typical for such a project to boast a variety of characteristics. Therefore, conduct your own study.
Contact
Website: https://www.immutable.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeatimmutable/
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/immutablex
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ImmutableX/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Immutable
Summing up
Through the above article, CryptoChill has helped you know about the ImmutableX and the highlights of the project.
Disclaimer: This post is not investment advice. You will be 100% responsible for your investment decisions.
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