A glance into non-RMRK NFT standard tech in the Polkadot ecosystem.
At inception, every project developer is tasked with finding a network with the ideal tech standard required to support the development and running of their product. And as every product should be unique, technical details are often very important to developers. This is to ensure that the project enjoys an enabling environment in order to maximize growth based on resources, available tech, and other influential factors.
NFT tech standards.
NFT standards are sets of instructions, tools, softwares, and other technical materials that guide the development and deployment of NFT projects within an ecosystem. Simply put, NFT standards are rules, commands and technology that make it possible for NFTs to exist.
Within the Polkadot ecosystem, there are two categories of tech standards for NFT developers to choose from.
-RMRK NFT standard.
-Non-RMRK NFT standard.
Every NFT parachain network in the Polkadot-Kusama ecosystem is either one of both.
However, we shall only be discussing “Non RMRK NFT standard”, looking at its tech stack features, benefits, and the parachains that offer this standard to NFT developers.
Non RMRK NFT standard.
Before the existence of the RMRK standard for NFTs, there were pre-existing instructions and materials (i.e standards) guiding NFT deployment in the Polkadot ecosystem.
Non-RMRK NFT standard comprises materials, developer guides, instructions, and tech, that provides assistance and support for developers building on non RMRK NFT parachains. This tech standard facilitates the deployment (i.e; building, launching, and distribution) of NFTs by projects in the non-RMRK sector of the ecosystem.
Non RMRK NFT parachains and tech features.
Over time, parachain developers have gone ahead to create advanced features upon preexisting non-RMRK technologies. The advanced tech features contribute to create vantage points, attracting developers to a specific utility on a specific parachain. These parachains activities have helped grow the non-RMRK sector in the ecosystem, providing a variety of services and utilities for project developers.
Below, we list non RMRK standards, tech features, and utilities they provides to builders and developers in their ecosystem.
1. ERC 721 standard.
ERC 721 has been the standard for development of NFTs from inception. This standard contains the set of rules that allows creators to issue tokenized non fungible assets, NFTs, on an EVM compatible network. Tokens may have a variety of uses, and depend on the smart contract of each NFT project.
The adoption of ERC-721 standard in the Polkadot ecosystem has helped attract builders from the larger community of ERC developers.
2. ERC-1155 composability.
With ERC-1155 composability feature, developers can build to accommodate both fungible and non-fungible tokens in the same contract. This form of “nestability” could be used to create in-game assets, multi token contracts, feature NFTs, etc. This also makes it possible for developers to create separate “special NFTs” and assets that can be traded individually in their in-game marketplace too.
Astar networks’ ERC-1155 support has attracted projects like Candy Girls and Oden DAO to build their projects in the Astar network ecosystem.
3. EVM Compatibility.
EVM compatibility is a feature that allows projects launched upon an EVM compatible parachain to have access to the EVM/ERC community. Developers may seek EVM compatibility when choosing a parachain because of the wider marketshare of the ecosystem enjoyed by the evm and erc communities. This is to enable such projects to attract members from the Ethereum society, while enjoying the security, scalability, and network structure that Polkadot-Kusama substrate network has to offer. It also helps EVM familiar devs to easily transition into the Polkadot ecosystem.
This compatibility feature is practical in Exosama collection launched on the Moonsama network, but available on the EVM network. This serves as a point of contact with the ERC community and attempts to foster cross-relationship development. Other NFT parachains that have EVM compatibility include Unique Network, Acala Network, etc.
4. Crosschain Communication/Integration.
Polkadot’s substrate network design makes it possible for crosschain interaction between parachains in the ecosystem. XCM (cross consensus messaging) is possible as information in the ecosystem passes through the same relay chain before execution. This is why multichain functionality is very common within dotsama NFT parachains, thanks to their ecological design.
Parachains like Moonbeam Network supports (NFTs, dApps and other project) developers with XCM-related utility functions, enabling easier communication with other XCM-enabled parachains.
5. Multilayer security and storage.
Although every network offers security, there are those with higher levels of security based on network design. For example, builders who need high levels of security and advanced storage for their product, can look to non-RMRK NFT parachains like Crust Network. With its multi-layered advanced cloud storage network, stored data and overall security are less prone to DDOS and DNS hacks. Their multi-layer decentralization of data gives advantage over such troubles.
6. Platform-As-A-Service (PaaS).
For creators who aren’t developers, PaaS is a service that provides technical assistance, documentation, and SDKs to enable them to easily integrate their project into an ecosystem. A parachain that offers PaaS is Enjin Network. On this parachain, creators can;
- create their own onchain community,
- facilitate ingame trading/marketplace development,
- easily transfer multiple items,
- set a wallet connection service to identify NFTs without moving them from wallet,
- host onchain events for the community, etc.
To learn more about Enjin platform and it’s PaaS feature, visit here.
Please note that these tech features aren’t exclusive to only the mentioned parachain. For easier assimilation, the focus is on the tech features and their roles in NFT development in Polkadot non-RMRK parachains.
Conclusion.
As a developer, it is important to first identify what you need to help achieve the objectives of your project. This makes it possible to properly identify the tech features to shortlist for when scrutinizing network options.
The presence of both RMRK and non-RMRK standards provide a healthily competitive and creative environment for both parachain NFT networks and NFT developers. This means that developers in the Polkadot ecosystem enjoy more options when it comes to dev tools and network features. And as detailed above, we can see several tech features available for developers in the non-RMRK NFT standard sector.
