Apto’s NFTs are coming – and can put network scalability requirements to the test

The newest crypto on the block, Aptos, was launched main net this week to significant buzz around its token airdrop to early adopters, but also questions about the network — which has raised $350 million in VC funding —can live up to the hype about the technology.

However, blockchain’s first real test may come soon, like a rush off NFT projects are preparing for launch on the network. NFT trading has previously set Ethereum and Solana network under significant stress, so how will Aptos hold up if the demand for their NFTs matches the buzz?

The launch of Aptos came with considerable expectations, partly due to the large VC funding and also its origin from Facebook’s scrapped Diem initiative. But some of the buzz also came from claims that Aptos can scale to handle dramatically more transactions than any current layer-1 blockchain—over 160,000 transactions per second (TPS).

But if Aptos can really handle such huge technical demands, we haven’t seen evidence of it yet the main network. When it launched on Monday, Aptos only treated a few transactions per second. As of today, the number is hovering around 10 TPS.

Among majors smart contract platforms that run autonomous code to power decentralized apps, Ethereum handles about 30 TPS on its main network, med Solana of around 3000 TPS. But test net claims do not always correspond to actual conditions on the eventual public mains – Solana, for example, claimed hundreds of thousands of TPS on the test net many years ago.

Aptos co-founder Mo Shaikh tweeted Tuesday that “current TPS is not representative of network capacity – this was the network idling before projects came online. This figure is expected to increase with more activity.” In other words: not much is happening yet at Aptos, but it will be ready for action.

The increased activity could be just around the corner as Aptos users prepare to create their first NFTs, with dedicated Aptos marketplaces already live with a handful of collections. A number of additional collections are expected to launch this week and next after gathering significant traction on social media.

The NFT scene at Aptos is already growing. Topazone of the marketplaces that already facilitates trades for a handful of collections—which CryptoPunks knockoff Aptos Punk—tweeted Thursday morning that it had already processed about 12,000 APT (over $87,000) of trades, with about 3,700 NFTs listed on the platform.

An NFT is a blockchain token which can serve as proof of ownership for an item, and they can be used for a wide variety of use cases – including with digital artwork, physical clothing and other items, and much more. However, there are applications that Profile pictures (PFPs) and interactive video game elements have typically driven the demand that can challenge the stability of networks.

Ethereum has faced notable scaling challenges with NFTs dating back to the 2017s CryptoKittiesas famous clogged the network and made it difficult to process other transactions. More recently, in the middle of NFT market boom late 2021 and early 2022 in-demand coins caused Ethereum gas fees (transaction fees paid to the network) to increase to hundreds or even thousands of dollars at times.

Solana, the second largest tier-1 platform for NFTs, can handle many more transactions per second than Ethereum – but it has also had issues around NFT drops. In April, Solana the network crashed (one of three such cases in 2022) due to automated bot programs flood the network with transactions trying to overwhelm and NFT games are launched.

So far, Aptos has a small NFT scene compared to its more established rivals, but it’s only been a few days so far. NFT’s markets can quickly flourish and finds significant demand, especially as speculative frenzy sets in. The wider NFT market has cooled off latelybut new opportunities could potentially bring in a ton of hungry traders.

Topaz Marketplace co-founder, pseudonym 0xclickbait, told Decrypt that the initial interest in Apto’s NFTs has taken them by surprise.

“In my four years of being in the crypto space, I have never seen such immediate demand for NFTs on a new chain,” they explained. “There’s something about Aptos – the technology, the team, [and] mission – which is to attract people and breathe new life into this crypto winter.”

They expect increased interest as the Aptos ecosystem expands, more projects are launched, and centralized crypto exchanges begin to offer the APT cryptocurrency. As for technical capabilities, they said the Aptos testnet handled between 2,000 and 4,000+ TPS before the mainnet launch “without breaking a sweat,” in their words.

ONE recent research report from crypto exchange FTX backs it up, with 4200 TPS for testnet performance. It is still far from the claimed potential peak of the technology that uses Aptos’ parallel execution techniquebut it would at least be in the same ballpark as Solana if that level of TPS can be matched on the mainnet.

“Anyone who’s been following Aptos for more than a month is pretty confident,” 0xclickbait said of the network’s ability to meet increased demand.

Topaz and rival marketplace Souffle3 teeing up a series of upcoming NFT drops from profile picture (PFP) collections that have amassed a notable social media following over the past few weeks and months.

Bruh Bearsa project with a pixelated look similar to Solana Monkey Businesswill debut at Topaz on an undisclosed date, along with Aptos Monkeys– which Shaikh has already mentioned via his own Twitter avatar. Another project, Aptomingos, will roll out a free coin on Friday. Souffl3’s upcoming launches include Retro boys club and Okay Bears-like Straight Dogs.

“I’m most excited about the organic, real, grassroots, serious community builders, like Aptomingos and Bruh Bears,” said 0xclickbait Decrypt. “They are here for the long haul, building brands and communities that will grow and last.”

When Topaz debuted the testnet launch pad for minting new NFT projects, 0xclickbait said the marketplace received more than 1,000 applications from creators. They believe that Aptos’ much-touted Move blockchain programming language will attract developers as well, and that NFT-based gaming will prove to be a prominent use case on the network.

Given little evidence so far of the Aptos mainnet’s ability to scale to handle significant demand, can the technology handle the potential demands of thousands of traders all competing to buy a limited number of NFTs at once? Based on early signs, there may be a market of eager collectors ready to put it to the test.