Immutable X (IMX) Things You Need To Know Before Investing

Riya KapoorMay 1, 2022

3 minutes read

Table of Contents

What Is Immutable X (IMX)?

Immutable X is the first layer-two scaling solution for NFTs on Ethereum. According to Immutable X, its blockchain does away with Ethereum’s limitations like low scalability, a poor user experience, illiquidity, and a slow developer experience. Instead, users benefit from instant trading and massive scalability while enjoying zero gas fees for minting and trading NFTs without compromising a user or asset security. To achieve that, Immutable X is built with STARK zk-rollups, a technology that Vitalik Buterin considers Ethereum to be “all-in on.”

Thanks to this technology, users will be able to create and distribute assets like ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens on a massive scale. Chris Clay, the game Director of Gods Unchained, a project already building on Immutable X, stated that IMX allows Gods Unchained to implement a new meta-system that was previously impossible. IMX aims to create a world-class experience for users and developers alike in this fashion.

Who Are the Founders of Immutable X?

Immutable X was founded by James Ferguson, a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur who previously led a software development team at a billion-dollar eCommerce company, and his brother Robbie Ferguson, a Thiel fellow and Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur.

The team consists of more than 100 members from different backgrounds like blockchain, FAANG, finance, fintech, and management consulting. It raised a seed round in 2018 and a $15 million Series A in September 2019. Investors included some of the “who is who” in blockchain investing, such as Coinbase, Naspers, Nirvana Capital, Apex Capital Partners, Continue Capital, and Galaxy Digital.

What Makes Immutable X Unique?

Immutable X benefits from being one of the first layer-two solutions that utilize zk-rollups and focus exclusively on NFTs. With zk-rollups growing in importance as a scaling solution, the project finds itself at the cutting edge of development in the Ethereum ecosystem. IMX has a good chance of becoming the default “NFT blockchain” in the future, provided its promised transaction speed of more than 9,000 tps can be achieved.

A crucial component to fulfilling this promise is the API abstraction layer. Thanks to REST APIs, every NFT-related interaction like minting, trading, and transferring is a simple API call on Immutable X. The company anticipates this as a key component in attracting new entrants like established gaming and content companies.

Moreover, users will not have to switch networks when connecting their wallets. The protocol also provides an intermediate layer called the “Link,” enabling an NFT-specific wallet experience and allowing Immutable X to support a third-party marketplace ecosystem without security risks.

With its shared global order book facilitating protocol liquidity, NFT marketplaces can be built on IMX without a backend. Consequently, third-party marketplace solutions can co-exist with the protocol’s native marketplace. The protocol also expects to lower entry barriers for content creators and smaller developers with this solution.

How Many Immutable X (IMX) Coins Are There in Circulation?

IMX is the protocol’s native ERC-20 utility token. The token’s three core use cases are fees, staking, and governance. 20% of the protocol’s fees must be paid in IMX, and users can stake IMX to receive a proportional share of the network’s fees. Token holders can also vote on governance proposals by holding IMX. The total supply of IMX is two billion, according to the following token distribution:

Ecosystem development – 51.74%: user rewards, developer grants, liquidity provision, marketing purposes.
Project development – 25%
Private sale – 14.26%: one-year cliff, monthly unlock over two years.
Public sale – 5%: six-month unlock.
Foundation – 4%: ecosystem development-related initiatives like liquidity provision, one-year cliff, monthly unlock over four years.

How Is the Immutable X Network Secured?

Immutable X is a layer-two blockchain with zero gas fees, where operators can set their trading fees. In contrast to other scaling solutions to Ethereum, a 51% attack on Immutable X is unfeasible, as it is not a centralized side chain but benefits from inheriting the native security of the Ethereum blockchain. Immutable X uses zk-rollups, meaning assets are traded on the second-layer blockchain, but the valid proof of a transaction is stored on the layer-one blockchain, Ethereum. Immutable X uses STARK proofs because, unlike SNARKs, they are post-quantum-secure and provide greater user security despite the greater cost.

Immutable X chose to stay on Ethereum as a first-layer solution because the team considers Ethereum best to represent the philosophy of trustless, decentralized asset ownership. In the team’s words, Ethereum has always prioritized centralization over short-term scalability upgrades, even though it has suffered from problematic gas fee spikes and network congestion, thus remaining the main blockchain for NFT projects to build on.