Altcoin Spotlight: Immutable (IMX)

The cryptocurrency world is always changing and there are constantly new projects coming to the scene. This week, we are highlighting a newer project which has quickly gained traction in the cryptocurrency world known as Immutable.

Read on to learn all about the blockchain project Immutable and how it could be a solution for NFT lovers and gamers across the globe.

What is Immutable?

Immutable is a layer-two scaling solution built on top of Ethereum for use with NFTs. It was built to circumvent the current scaling problems with Ethereum and was designed with a better user experience in mind.

Immutable is a blockchain which was specifically developed to host Web3 games built on Ethereum. With instant transaction approval, and low gas fees, the creators of Immutable wanted gamers to be able to enjoy their favorite games in real time, rather than waiting for hours for approval, or paying large gas fees to do so.

How Does Immutable Work?

Immutable runs on ZK rollups, also called zero-knowledge proofs on the Ethereum blockchain. These zero knowledge proofs add a large amount of smaller transactions together off chain then put them on the blockchain in one single transaction. This lowers transaction times, and processing costs for all those who submitted a small transaction grouped within the larger one.

In 2023, Immutable took this technology further by expanding their solution to include zkEVM processing to make their platform even faster. They have partnered with the blockchain Polygon to make this possible.

Related: Polygon (MATIC): An Ethereum Layer 2 Option

Who Created Immutable?

Immutable was created in 2018 by James Ferguson, Robbie Ferguson, and Alex Connolly in Australia. As gamers themselves, they were frustrated by how long it took to purchase NFT items within games. With the speed of gaming in mind, they set out to make their dream of instant transaction approval a reality.

Immutable is currently run by a team of over 100 members, all of whom have a background in blockchain, finance, or tech.

Recognizing the need for Immutable, Bitkraft Ventures, King River Capital, AirTree, and Coinbase all jumped on board, investing in the project. Other gaming studios have since joined in, eager to use the variety of capabilities available on the platform.

Games By Immutable

While it does take any blockchain project several years to reach success, in 2023 Immutable already had a few popular games beneath their belt. Most well known for their NFT trading game, Gods Unchained, Immutable is also behind the RPG game Guild of the Guardians.

Currently these are the only two major games which have been wholly built on Immutable, however Immutable has partnered with other games to expand their capabilities onto the blockchain.

Other games available on Immutable platform currently include Illuvium, an RPG game and Immortal Game, a variation of the game of Chess.

What is IMX?

IMX is the native ERC-20 token on the Immutable platform. It allows the users to use IMX to stake the Immutable platform, pay any platform fees, and make governance decisions. Immutable contains its own NFT marketplace where IMX can be used to purchase a variety of NFTs for games built on the platform.

Users of the IMX Marketplace can mint NFTs for free, and sell them with a 2% market fee, keeping costs low all around. The marketplace also has partnerships with GameStop, TokenTrove and OKK to allow cross platform NFT sales.

As of the writing of this article, there are 2 billion IMX tokens in circulation, and they are compatible with any wallet that allows ERC-20 tokens.

Is IMX Safe?

The cryptocurrency world is filled with scams, but we are reasonably confident that IMX is not a scam. Not only is this blockchain built by reputable founders, but it also has several reputable companies behind it.

When we took a look at Immutable, their whitepaper was easy to find, and the founders were very open about their involvement and how the platform works, two major features of legit projects. Plus, there are no claims that IMX will make you rich, leading us to think that this is one of the good projects.

That being said, we, like many others, were shocked to find out FTX was a scam—after all Sam Bankman-Fried was very open about the project and his involvement. So, if you decide to proceed with purchasing IMX, or using the platform, always do so with caution.

Related: Who is Sam Bankman Fried?

Should You Buy IMX?

While IMX as a project certainly has its place and seems to be on the up and up, IMX may not be for everyone. Although it has recently risen in price, it is first and foremost a utility token, meaning if you aren’t planning to use the Immutable platform, it doesn’t make much sense to buy the token.

If you are a gamer, or an NFT creator, however, it may be worthwhile to pick up some IMX, especially if you plan to develop on the site in the future. Even if you just plan to play a little, having a little IMX on hand can help you get started.

If you are looking for an investment, IMX probably isn’t the best choice. Since this coin isn’t just a store of value, it is unlikely to rise in price as dramatically as Bitcoin. It is also less well known among the general public, and any investment in it would be considered high risk.

Those looking for an investment should consider Bitcoin, Ethereum, or another platform instead of IMX. While the risk of investing in these platforms is still high, they are more well-known and have more use cases than IMX.

Where Can You Buy IMX?

If you have decided to proceed with your purchase of the IMX token, you’ll need to know where you can buy the coin. As of the publishing of this article, IMX can be found on the following exchanges.

• OKEx

• ByBit

• Bitget

• Huobi Global

Overall, Immutable isn’t the worst project we’ve featured on our Altcoin spotlight, and if you enjoy gaming and crating NFTs for gaming, it might be a good investment for you. Just keep in mind that any cryptocurrency investment is considered risky, and that you should never invest any money that you don’t intend to lose.

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