CoinMarketCap takes a deep dive into Immutable X, an Ethereum-based layer-2 solution for Web3 gaming.
Immutable X is an L2 chain on Ethereum with a special focus on NFTs and gaming. In this guide to the Immutable X ecosystem, CoinMarketCap Academy looks at:
- What is Immutable X
- The Immutable X team, investors, and roadmap
- How does Immutable X work
- The IMX tokenomics
- The Immutable X ecosystem
- Immutable X future outlook
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What Is Immutable X?
Immutable X is a layer-two solution secured by Ethereum, focusing on NFT minting and Web3 games. It is powered by StarkWare, a scaling solution for Ethereum that allows Immutable X to offer gas-free minting of NFTs. According to the official website, at the time of writing, over 33 million NFTs have been minted gas-free in 2022. Immutable X has also enabled over seven million NFT trades in 2022 and saved 2.7 billion kWh compared to proof-of-work solutions.
Immutable X focuses on the emerging GameFi sector. Besides gas-free minting, it strives to appeal to mainstream gamers through its custom wallet UX with integrated credit card payment. For builders, Immutable X offers expert support and simple APIs and SDKs to allower faster launching of new games. Furthermore, it offers a global order book, which instantly propagates NFTs to every marketplace in the blockchain's network.
The Immutable X Team, Investors and Roadmap
The team behind Immutable X is led by James Ferguson, a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur. He led a software development team at a billion-dollar eCommerce company prior to founding Immutable X. James Ferguson is supported by his brother Robbie Ferguson, a Thiel fellow and Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur. The project is backed by several reputable crypto VC funds like Coinbase, Naspers, Nirvana Capital, Apex Capital Partners, Continue Capital and Galaxy Digital.
With the Ethereum Merge successfully completed, Immutable X looks to develop continuously alongside a scaling Ethereum ecosystem. For instance, it has announced new partnerships with Param Labs and Ambrus Studios and launched a wallet SDK to improve the developer experience.
How Does Immutable X Work?
The blockchain is based on a zk-rollup scaling engine developed in partnership with StarkWare and using the StarkEx prover and verifier. Immutable X is confident that zk-rollups will play a significant role in the future of Ethereum since, according to Vitalik Buterin, "the Ethereum ecosystem is likely to be all-in on rollups as a scaling strategy for the near and mid-term future."
In zk-rollups, users lock assets in on-chain smart contracts, which are subsequently traded on the layer-2 chain and grouped in batches for validity proof on the L1 chain. This proof is then published on-chain and verified by a smart contract, updating the on-chain state.
This scaling technology allows assets to be minted on the second layer without compromising the security of the first layer. It does away with several limitations of NFT-related protocols and projects based directly on Ethereum.
For instance, unlike NFT projects on the layer-one chain, Immutable X does not suffer from low scalability and can process more than 9,000 transactions per second. It also offers a massive upgrade in the user experience, with NFT wallets directly integrating credit card payments. Finally, its simple APIs and platform-specific SDKs make the developer experience much smoother.
The network earns through a 2% fee on all primary asset sales and a 2% fee on every NFT trade, denominated in the purchase currency. Furthermore, marketplaces can add their own fees to every NFT order since Immutable X offers a shared order book accessible to all marketplaces. Minters can also set a royalty fee for each minted NFT.
The Immutable X Ecosystem
Immutable X has several games currently being developed on its infrastructure.
WAGMI
WAGMI Games is a tower defense game set in the year 3022. Users choose between playing humans or aliens and have to defend their towers by strategically placing troops and setting traps. They acquire in-game resources for winning games, which can be used to upgrade their cards.
Undead Blocks
Undead Blocks is an AAA multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Wagyu Games. Players can choose from different weapon NFTs and kill zombies to earn in-game assets and level up their characters. The game will be available on Mac, PC and mobile and promises to build a massive network of assets that players will be able to purchase with the UNDEAD token.
Planet Quest
Planet Quest is a sci-fi fantasy exploration game, where players have to look for a special element called Quantum. It is earned by completing adventures and challenges and can be used to trade and purchase in-game assets. Planet Quest boasts cooperative and competitive gameplay modes.
Deviants’ Factions
Deviants’ Factions is an NFT trading card game with an immersive narrative experience that combines real-world events with fictional explanations. Using an eight-card NFT deck, players have to destroy their opponents’ headquarters. Deviants’ Factions will provide both a competitive and casual gameplay mode.
Illuvium
Illuvium (ILV) is an open-world RPG adventure game with an AAA production value that incorporates play-to-earn elements in traditional gaming. The gameplay is set in a fantastical world with Illuvials, ultra-rare animals at the center of the gameplay, playing a major role. Illuvium combines classic RPG collection games with action gameplay and is considered one of the most promising projects in the ecosystem.
Ember Sword
Ember Sword is an MMORPG where players are not restricted to a specific goal. Instead, they can explore the game’s landscape and economy and engage in a cashless combat system to level up their capabilities. It is being developed by Bright Star Studios, an independent games development studio.
Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a tactical card game with over 450,000 registered players. It is being developed by the former game director of the wildly popular Magic card game. Players have to build card decks that combine a variety of tactics, with the game set in a fantasy background giving it its unique appeal. Gods Unchained is powered by the GODS token.
Guild of Guardians
Guild of Guardians (GOG) is a fantasy-action RPG, where players build a team of heroes to complete dungeon challenges and earn rewards. The game has a massive following of over 300,000 layers and has sold over $24 million worth of NFTs. It has also built partnerships with leading game development studios like Ubisoft and The Sandbox. Guild of Guardians is scheduled to launch in 2023.
Immutable X Tokenomics
The IMX token is an ERC-20 token rewarding useful network activities like trading, liquidity provision and building applications. The team offers incentives to traders, creators and marketplaces to engage in the three core utilities for the IMX token:
- Fees: 20% of the blockchain's protocol fee is paid in IMX, either directly or through an automatic swap in the purchase currency. This means users do not need to hold IMX to engage on the platform.
- Staking: All users that hold IMX on an L1 or L2, have voted in a governance proposal in the last 30 days, and are either holding an NFT on Immutable X or have completed a trade in the last 30 days are considered to be stakers.
- Governance: IMX holders can vote on governance proposals, such as how to allocate token reserves, voting on developer grants, activating daily rewards and changes in token supply. Other proposal categories may be added via the appropriate decentralized governance processes.
The total supply of IMX tokens is 2 billion, according to the following allocation:
The token unlock schedule is designed as follows:
You can find further details in the Immutable X white paper.
Immutable X Future Outlook
Immutable X boasts an interesting use case in a clearly defined niche. The GameFi market is a growth sector within the blockchain industry and will likely draw further attention with the advent of scaling solutions for Ethereum. By leveraging StarkWare, one of the household names of Ethereum layer-2 scaling, Immutable X is well positioned from a tech perspective. Evidence thereof is the list of reputable partner projects building on the blockchain.
Still, IMX has lost over 90% of its value from its all-time high and could lose further ground as the bear market is expected to last till 2023 at the very least. Investors should thus not expect swift gains on any purchases but may want to keep an eye on how the protocol develops in the medium term.
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