How does Polygon work on OpenSea – OverSimplified

Have you heard that Polygon claims to handle up to 65,000 transactions per second, whereas Ethereum could only roughly do 17 transactions? We’ll talk more about Polygon and its usefulness in Opensea, but before that, here’s a disclaimer.

Disclaimer

We are not financial advisors. The content on our website is for educational purposes only and merely cites our own personal opinions.

Moreover, at the end of this article, you’ll discover that despite Polygon being way convenient. Why still many consider Ethereum a better choice? So, enough words, let’s begin.

OpenSea

Making Decision

When using OpenSea, you can choose to use either Ethereum or Polygon. And this could be a very big decision for starters. As when an NFT is being minted or created in OpenSea, it will get stored on a blockchain, mainly the Ethereum Blockchain. But every time a transaction happens, such as an NFT being purchased or minted, that transaction must be approved. And this process takes energy. So, you’ve got to pay for this energy through a mechanism called Gas.

NFT Explained

Gas Fee Problem

However, the Gas fee fluctuates with demand. So the higher the demand, the higher the Gas fee. On top of that, Ethereum doesn’t currently have a solution for its high volume of transactions, so it tends to be congested, making the Gas fees quite expensive.

OpenSea Polygon Explained

Polygon Bridge

Then, that’s where Polygon comes in. Actually, you could assume Polygon as an add-on to the  Ethereum blockchain. As Ethereum struggle with congested, slow, expensive transactions. Polygon helps solve this problem by using side chains while using its own infrastructure to distribute the load. Generally, we got the main chain Ethereum and the side chain Polygon. And though these two chains are separate, still there’s something called a bridge that connects them. And this bridge can convert assets from one chain to the other by locking up the assets on one side and then unlocking them on the other side.

Polygon Work in Metamask

The Amazing Polygon Solution

Well, Polygon claims to handle up to 65,000 transactions per second, whereas Ethereum could only roughly do 17 transactions. All with fees costing less than a fraction of a cent, as you’re only paying for a fraction of a single Ethereum transaction. And with that in hand, we could definitely consider Polygon as a better option for starters to experiment and examine how the OpenSea platform works without worrying much about the expensive Gas fee.

Polygon on Metamask

READ MORE: NFTs for BEGINNERS – Explained

The Polygon Dilemma

Safety Problems

However, here’s a catch. Why still many consider Ethereum a better choice? Well, here’s why. At present, Polygon Blockchain, despite being way convenient, still concerns many people for it being perhaps way less secure compared to Ethereum.

Polygon on Metamask

Conclusion

Though it doesn’t totally mean that it’s completely unsafe or your NFTS and assets are doomed to get stolen. Still, most people, especially beginners, tend to be less familiar with Polygon, or worst, some of them have never even heard of it. So, that’s why Polygon as an option in OpenSea could really be quite daunting for someone who isn’t tech-savvy and, of course, for someone new to the NFT space. Unlike Ethereum, which had been long-standing unbreachable and was well-known, heavily secured leading blockchain technology.

Polygon Metamask

READ MORE: NFTs for BEGINNERS – Explained

To be continued…

Leave a Comment