TL;DR
Immutable X is a layer-2 scaling solution for NFTs on Ethereum. It offers instant trade confirmation and near-zero gas fees for minting and trading NFTs. Users can easily create and trade NFTs without compromising the security of their assets.
Immutable X uses an engine called Zero-Knowledge Rollup to achieve scalability. It can facilitate up to 9,000 transactions per second. Immutable X’s shared global NFT order book can efficiently enhance NFT liquidity and increase their trading volume. NFTs can be bought and sold on any marketplaces built on Immutable X.
IMX is an ERC-20 utility and governance token. It’s used to pay for transaction fees and incentivize users and developers on Immutable X. Token holders can earn rewards through staking and participating in the platform's governance.
Introduction
Trading and minting NFTs on Ethereum can be expensive, especially during times of high traffic. Users need to pay higher gas fees to have their transactions confirmed quickly. It’s also common for minting transactions to fail, causing significant losses.
What is Immutable X?
Immutable X is a layer-2 scaling solution for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum. It aims to improve Ethereum’s scalability and user experience.
Immutable X was founded in 2018 by James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson, and Alex Connolly. It offers instant transaction confirmation and near-zero gas fees for minting and trading NFTs. Users can easily create and trade ERC-721 and ERC-20 tokens at lower costs without compromising the security of their assets.
How does it work?
At the core of Immutable X is a scaling technology called Zero-Knowledge Rollup (ZK-Rollup), which is a layer-2 protocol for validating transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.
Instead of adding every transaction data to the blockchain, ZK-Rollup batches hundreds of transactions into a single zero-knowledge proof known as the zk-STARK proof. Zk-STARK stands for zero-knowledge scalable transparent arguments of knowledge. It’s a verification method used to prove possession of certain knowledge without revealing any information about it. It can provide Immutable X transactions with increased levels of privacy and security.
After batching the transactions, the proof is submitted to the blockchain and verified by a smart contract. The ZK-Rollup smart contract maintains all transaction details on layer 2, so that the proof can be quickly verified as they don’t contain the complete data of every transaction. The computing and storage resources required for validating a block will be lower too. This is how Immutable X can facilitate up to 9,000 transactions per second (TPS) with significantly reduced gas fees. For the end-users, Immutable X transactions have zero gas fees.
NFTs users trade or mint on Immutable X are 100% carbon-neutral. For example, minting 8 million NFT trading cards for the play-to-earn game Gods Unchained would consume approximately 490 million kWh on Ethereum. With ZK-Rollup compressing the data required for minting, Immutable X only used 1,030 kWh to mint the same amount of NFTs, which is 475,000 times less energy consumption. The minuscule energy consumption remaining is offset with carbon credits.
Another unique feature of Immutable X is a set of powerful REST APIs that can simplify complex blockchain interactions. Users can create and transfer NFTs easily via API calls without having to interact directly with smart contracts. Combined with Immutable X’s simple software development kits (SDKs), developers can integrate the APIs and Wallet to their platforms easily. This will allow them to build NFT projects, such as play-to-earn games, in just a few hours rather than weeks.
To facilitate a third-party NFT marketplace ecosystem, Immutable X provides a global order book that allows NFTs to be bought and sold on any marketplace that implements their scaling solutions. This means that orders created in one marketplace can be filled in another, effectively increasing the trading volume and liquidity of NFTs. Immutable X also supports all desktop Ethereum wallets. Users can seamlessly trade NFTs on different NFT-enabled crypto wallets without moving their assets across networks.
What is IMX?
IMX is the native token of Immutable X. It’s an ERC-20 utility and governance token with a 2 billion total supply. IMX is used to pay for transaction fees and incentivize users and developers on Immutable X. They can earn IMX tokens by contributing to the platform’s growth, such as trading NFTs and building applications.
As a utility token, IMX allows token holders to earn rewards through staking in reward pools. They can also participate in the governance of Immutable X by submitting and voting on community proposals. The more IMX coins they hold, the greater their voting power.
Closing thoughts
Immutable X leverages layer-2 scaling technology to bridge the gaps in trading NFTs on Ethereum. It creates a platform for NFT businesses to grow, including play-to-earn games and marketplaces.