NFT Development on Solana
Build NFT collections using Metaplex Core, Token Metadata, and Bubblegum.
Solana has become one of the leading platforms for NFT development, with a mature ecosystem of tools and standards. The primary NFT infrastructure is provided by Metaplex.
Metaplex Core is the recommended standard for new NFT projects. It provides a simpler account structure than the original Token Metadata standard, reducing minting costs and simplifying development. Core NFTs are owned by a single account rather than the three-account structure (mint, token account, metadata) of the original standard.
Token Metadata is the original Metaplex NFT standard and is still widely used. It provides rich metadata capabilities including on-chain royalty enforcement, collection verification, and creator attribution. Most existing NFT marketplaces and tools support Token Metadata.
Bubblegum (Compressed NFTs) enables minting millions of NFTs at minimal cost using state compression. Minting a compressed NFT costs approximately $0.000005 compared to $0.012 for a standard NFT — a 2,400x reduction. Ideal for gaming items, loyalty rewards, and large collections.
Candy Machine is Metaplex's fair launch mechanism for NFT collections. It handles whitelist management, mint phases, randomization, and bot protection. Most NFT collection launches use Candy Machine.