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OpenSea is compatible with 9 blockchains: Ethereum, Polygon, Klaytn, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Zora Network, Base, and Blast.
What blockchains are compatible with OpenSea?
A blockchain is a digitally distributed ledger that records transactions and information across a decentralized network. OpenSea is compatible with 8 different blockchains: Ethereum, Polygon, Klaytn, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Zora Network, and Base.
Blockchains are decentralized, trustless, and permissionless. They use different consensus mechanisms to verify each transaction and maintain the chain's integrity. Blockchains can be used for selling, storing, or trading cryptocurrencies or digital items, like NFTs.
Blockchains are typically known for a specific use case or purpose. Below, we’ve broken down the 8 different blockchains compatible with OpenSea and what they're most commonly used for.
Ethereum
Ethereum is a Layer 1 decentralized blockchain, which means it executes and validates transactions on its own blockchain. Since Vitalik Buterin introduced the Ethereum blockchain in 2014, it has grown to become the largest blockchain for NFTs. It is best known for its smart contract functionality, which powers NFTs. Its native cryptocurrency is Ether.
Polygon
Polygon is an EVM-compatible Ethereum sidechain, a separate and independent blockchain that is linked to a Layer 1 blockchain. In Polygon’s case, its Layer 1 blockchain connection is to Ethereum, which means it benefits from and is compatible with Ethereum. Originally named MATIC, the blockchain changed its name in 2021 but retained MATIC as the name for its native cryptocurrency. While creators use Polygon for NFTs, its other main use cases are for developing decentralized apps (dApps) or as a blockchain for decentralized financial services (or DeFi).
Klaytn
Klaytn is an L1 blockchain, and its native cryptocurrency is KLAY. The Kakao Corporation’s GroundX introduced Klaytn in South Korea in 2019 and made it internationally available in 2021. With a focus on gaming, metaverse, and the creator economy, the blockchain is known for its high throughput and fast finality (a theoretical speed of 4,000 transactions per second and a 1-second block finality).
Arbitrum
Off-chain Labs created Arbitrum as an open-source Layer 2 blockchain that uses Ethereum as its base chain for security. It uses an optimistic rollup architecture to process transactions, which means it can bundle multiple transactions into a single batch and process them off-chain. Arbitrum is known for lower gas fees (costs associated with blockchain transactions) and speedier transactions, which can benefit those who use the blockchain to mint NFTs. Arbitrum’s cryptocurrency is ARB.
Optimism
Optimism is an EVM-compatible, L2 blockchain, and similar to Arbitrum, it uses optimistic rollup to process blockchain transactions. The Optimism Foundation runs Optimism, and the blockchain breaks into a two-tier governance structure, which includes the Token House and the Citizens’ House. OP is Optimism’s token, but you do not need it to use Optimism since it is used as a governance tool instead. The blockchain is a favorite for dApps and smart contracts.
Avalanche
Avalanche is an EVM-compatible, open-source L1 blockchain. Its native token is AVAX. Unlike other blockchains, Avalanche does not use the most common consensus mechanisms; instead, it uses its own Avalanche Consensus Protocol to verify transactions. The blockchain is known for its smart contract functionality and is commonly used for dApps, NFTs, and DeFis.
The Zora Network
The Zora Network is one of two of the newer blockchains that launched in 2023 (Base is the other and explained more below!). The blockchain is compatible with OpenSea as of July 2023. The L2 blockchain is secured by Ethereum and powered by the OP Stack (software that is primarily used to power L2 blockchains). The blockchain is NFT-focused and prides itself on putting creators first.
Base
Coinbase built Base in 2023. The blockchain is an Ethereum-based L2 blockchain that is focused on onboarding developers and users who create dApps, DeFi, NFTs, and more. Unlike other blockchains, Base does not have a token.
Blast
Blast launched its mainnet in early 2024. It is an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network.
🧠 Q&A
Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta envisioned what many people have come to know as blockchain in 1991. Their first work involved working on a cryptographically secured chain of blocks whereby no one could tamper with the documents' timestamps. In 2008, Bitcoin was first introduced as a use for a blockchain.
Chains usually have a website where you can view all the transactions made on that blockchain. For example, Polygonscan for Polygon or Etherscan for Ethereum. If you've sold an item on Ethereum, you can search your wallet address to see your token balance or enter a transaction hash to verify transaction history. It's an easy way to verify whether a transaction was completed.
Think of Polygon as a sibling to Ethereum, the currencies are similar, but the two blockchains have slight differences. These differences can be explained by their blockchain type. Unlike Ethereum, an L1 blockchain, Polygon is an L2 blockchain. Layer 2 (or "L2") blockchains act as scaling solutions for Layer 1s. Layer 2 chains process transactions on their chain and then store a summary of the completed actions on the Layer 1 chain.
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