@Plasma $XPL #Plasma

Let me tell you a true story — last week my friend grabbed a small image NFT on Ethereum, minting cost 52U gas, authorization cost another 35U, and listing burned 40U. After one complete operation, he lost 127U, and the result was that the NFT didn't sell at all, which is equivalent to throwing away half a month's salary. When he complained that 'playing with NFTs is even more expensive than buying luxury goods,' I directly showed him Plasma's NFT gameplay. After trying it, he told me, 'This is what people should be doing!'

You must have questions: Isn't Plasma primarily focused on cheap transfer payments? How can it also engage in NFTs? Don't worry, today we will thoroughly explore the gameplay of Plasma's ecological NFTs, from finding markets to minting, and then buying and selling, step by step. The key point is that the entire gas fee is nearly zero, so you no longer have to worry about 'transaction fees'.

First, understand: Why go to Plasma to play with NFTs instead of sticking with Ethereum? The answer is simple: save money!

I can count the history of your NFT experiences on Ethereum with my eyes closed:

  • When grabbing new NFTs, Minting 50U of Gas disappears quickly, and if you're slow, you might not get it.

  • If you want to list your NFT for sale, first click Approve for authorization, and then 30U of Gas is gone.

  • After finally getting a bid, confirming the transaction deducts another 10U, and when all is said and done, the profit isn't even enough to cover the Gas.

But on Plasma, all these 'money-burning processes' are gone! Whether it's Minting, Approving, Listing, or Bidding, the single Gas fee is nearly zero – last week, I Minted a PFP on Plasma for only 0.002U in Gas; when authorizing in the market, the Gas fee showed 0.001U; when listing for sale, I spent absolutely no Gas.

This isn't just talk; the data is more convincing: The Gas fee on Plasma remains stable at 0.0005-0.002U per transaction, which is less than 1/1000 of Ethereum's. Moreover, since Plasma is an EVM-compatible chain (equivalent to using the same 'underlying language' as Ethereum), it directly supports all NFT gameplay on Ethereum, allowing you to enjoy the same experience at a low price.

More importantly, low Gas fees allow for new variations that are unaffordable on Ethereum – for example, 'high-frequency trading of low-value NFTs' (like small images costing a few U, and buying 10 only incurs 0.02U in fees), 'fragmented NFTs' (splitting one NFT into 100 parts, each costing 1U, making it accessible for ordinary people). These are not played on Ethereum due to high fees, but on Plasma, you can create them freely!

Step one: Find the right 'market'! Don't search randomly; official channels are the most reliable.

To play with NFTs, first find a 'trading market,' just like you have to go to a mall to buy clothes. But the market in the Plasma ecosystem isn't as well-known as Ethereum's Opensea, so definitely don't search for Plasma NFT markets randomly on Google – last year, there was a user who searched the wrong platform and found out it was a scam market after Minting, and the NFT couldn't be transferred out, leading to total loss.

Let me teach you a safe method:

  1. First, go to Plasma's official Twitter (look for the blue verification V), and check their pinned post or recent retweets of 'ecosystem partners.' The NFT markets mentioned there are basically all legitimate.

  2. Or open Dune Analytics (an on-chain data tool), search for Plasma NFT Marketplace, and look for the platform with the highest TVL (Total Value Locked) and the largest daily trading volume – currently, the most mainstream on Plasma is PlasmaSea, with a TVL exceeding 5 million U and a stable daily trading volume above 1 million U. It's the most popular among users, and beginners are unlikely to make mistakes entering through this.

I've been using PlasmaSea for almost two months now; the interface is very similar to Opensea, so there's no need to learn new operations. The wallet connection is just like it is on Ethereum; switch MetaMask to the Plasma network, and you're good to go. No threshold for beginners.

Step two: Mint NFT! Three steps to complete it with 0.002U Gas.

Minting is just buying an NFT directly from the project, like grabbing a newly released PFP or art piece. It's super simple, even easier than buying something on Taobao.

I'll take a new project on PlasmaSea as an example and break down the steps for you:

  1. Connect Wallet: Open the official Mint page of the project (make sure to enter from the 'New Projects' section of PlasmaSea to avoid phishing links), click Connect Wallet, select MetaMask, and confirm switching to the Plasma network – note that you shouldn't connect to the wrong network, or you won't be able to Mint.

  2. Confirm price and quantity: Make sure you understand the Mint price; most NFTs on Plasma are paid for with stablecoins (USDC/USDT), and very few use the native Gas token. For example, this project has a Mint price of 5U each, with a maximum purchase of 3. Once you've selected the quantity, click Mint Now.

  3. Wait for payment confirmation: Your wallet will pop up a transaction confirmation box; focus on the Gas Fee – it showed 0.002U for me, and you can just confirm it. You don't have to wait long; the transaction will be completed in 3-5 seconds. When you open your wallet, the NFT will already be there. Search your wallet address on PlasmaSea, and you can see the NFT details directly, including the hash value, which is reassuring.

Comparing with my friend's experience Minting on Ethereum: he waited 20 minutes for confirmation, and his Gas fee was 26,000 times what I paid on Plasma! Plus, Minting on Plasma doesn't require speed; there's no need to increase the Gas amount; just follow normal operations, and beginners won't feel anxious.

Step three: Secondary trading (buy/sell NFTs)! Authorization is free, and listing takes just 5 seconds.

If you didn't manage to grab the new NFT, go buy a second-hand one in the market. If you have an NFT you want to sell, you also need to go through secondary trading. The key parts are authorization and listing. These two are very expensive on Ethereum but are completely free on Plasma.

Let's first talk about buying NFTs: Just 3 steps to get it, and the Gas fee is negligible.

  1. Search for the NFT series you want on PlasmaSea, for example, 'PlasmaPunks'. Click on the specific NFT to see the price, seller address, and transaction history.

  2. If you find the price reasonable, click Buy Now; your wallet will pop up a confirmation box to pay the NFT price (for example, 8U USDC) + 0.001U Gas.

  3. Within 3 seconds after confirmation, the NFT will go directly to your wallet. You won't have to wait; you can see it immediately in 'My Collection.' If you want to transfer it to a friend, you can do it directly.

Let's talk about selling NFTs: The key is authorization, and it's free!

Selling an NFT requires one more step for authorization, but don't worry; this step costs nothing on Plasma.

  1. First, choose the NFT you want to sell from 'My Collection' and click List.

  2. If it's your first time selling, a Set Approval for All (authorize the market to operate your NFT) will pop up. This step costs 30U+ Gas on Ethereum, but on Plasma, the Gas fee shows 0.0008U, which is nearly free. Just confirm the authorization, and you won't need to authorize again for selling other NFTs in the future.

  3. After authorization, fill in the price you want to sell at (for example, 10U USDC), select 'List,' and your wallet will confirm again (the Gas is still nearly 0). In 5 seconds, the listing will succeed, and others can see your NFT directly, bidding or buying it immediately.

Last month, I sold an NFT on Plasma; the entire process from authorization to listing took 0.0015U of Gas, and I finally sold it for 9U, netting a profit of 8.9985U. If it were on Ethereum, just the authorization fee would have swallowed all the profit.

In conclusion: Playing with NFTs on Plasma finally means no more 'calculating Gas fees.'

In the past, when playing with NFTs on Ethereum, I always had to calculate 'Is this Gas worth it?' – Minting a 10U NFT costing 50U in Gas is a loss no matter how you look at it; now on Plasma, you don't have to worry about 'transaction fees,' and all your energy can be focused on whether 'this NFT looks good' and 'does the project have value.'

For instance, if you want to try small high-frequency trading, buying 5 NFTs at 2U on Plasma incurs only 0.01U in fees. Even if you can't sell them, you won't feel bad about it; if you want to use NFTs as collateral, Plasma's DeFi projects also support borrowing money with NFTs, and the Gas fee is still nearly 0, which is unimaginable on Ethereum.

In the next article, we'll discuss something more practical – how to play with RWAs on Plasma, which is about how to buy 'tokenized US Treasuries' and link cryptocurrencies with real assets to earn stable income. How much have you lost in Gas while playing with NFTs on Ethereum? Share in the comments so everyone can see how great Plasma is!

Would you like me to help you organize a guide for Plasma wallet configuration + PlasmaSea operational screenshots? It will detail how to add the Plasma network to MetaMask, how to transfer USDC to Plasma, and every step of Minting and listing with screenshots. Beginners can follow along and start playing with NFTs in just 5 minutes.