Evaluation of participating projects will be based on their business acumen, creativity, focus on users, employing Solana tech, and real-world use of the product. Winners will get a chance to work with industry experts who will provide guidance to make their projects real.
The Solana Foundation has launched an initiative that focuses on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and aims to “strengthen the quality” of new NFT projects. Called “NFT Showdown”, Solana’s idea is basically a competition that invites artists to come up with innovative business plans and create collections with “real-world utility” in fashion, entertainment, and gaming. With the NFT Showdown contest, Solana hopes to improve the quality of new projects in the creator ecosystem.
Solana Foundation’s head of strategy Austin Federa stated:
“The NFT Showdown is designed to encourage a shift in the way NFT brands design their business plans prior to launching. Projects should consider what it will take to achieve long-term success as an NFT brand.”
The idea has been supported by Magic Eden, a community-centric NFT marketplace that offers trading for Solana-based collections. According to Magic Eden’s Head of Marketing Tiffany Huang, the project will bring new people into the industry and generate new ideas.
How to Participate in NFT Showdown?
To become a contest participant, creators need to submit their ideas on the NFT Showdown website once the submission window opens (the dates for submitting the project ideas are from June 5 to June 9). The project should be described in a PDF document. It should include the project’s target audience, issues it addresses, business model, strategy for entering the market as well as the real-world application of the product, short and long-term community engagement and retention plans, and a kind of mock-up of the collection’s art concept.
Any creator inspired by and interested in NFTs can participate. Existing projects will not be accepted.
Evaluation of projects will be based on their business acumen, creativity, focus on users, employing Solana tech, and real-world use of the product. Those selected as winners will get a chance to work with industry experts who will provide guidance to make their projects real. Besides, winners will also receive Creator tickets to Solana’s Breakpoint event that will be held from October 30 to November 3.
Solana vs Ethereum in NFT Space
Ethereum network has been the choice of most NFT projects as it is stable and secure. Ethereum is one of the most popular blockchains and has been the first to introduce the concept of smart contracts. The infrastructure for most digital assets was built for and remains compatible with Ethereum and Ethereum-related protocols. Due to Ethereum’s popularity and positioning in the market, the widest selection of NFTs is available on the Ethereum network. But everything might change if Solana succeeds in its NFT Showdown.
Solana has lower gas fees, faster transaction speeds, and is more environmentally friendly than Ethereum. Besides, the cost to create NFTs on Solana is greatly reduced as its network is not nearly as popular as Ethereum which means the demand to buy NFTs on Solana is not that high.
To sum up, Ethereum is the more popular and secure option. But when it comes to high speed and low fees, Solana is a newer network with huge potential.
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