Static to scalable: Unique Network turns NFTs into composable assets

Unique Network is an NFT infrastructure chain designed to support advanced, production-ready use cases across gaming, loyalty, entertainment, and AI. At its core, Unique offers programmable NFT capabilities, such as fractional ownership, nested relationships, and dynamic metadata, that extend beyond the limitations of standard marketplaces and trading platforms. With a focus on scalability and customization, Unique empowers teams to build dynamic, user-centric NFT experiences.

Challenge: Breaking beyond NFT limitations

When Unique Network began building infrastructure for next-generation NFTs, the team encountered several structural and ecosystem-level barriers that shaped its approach.As Unique pushed the limits of what it calls “NFT 2.0,” three key barriers stood in the way:

• Limited functionality on existing chains: Early prototypes on Ethereum revealed prohibitive constraints: high gas fees and rigid standards meant advanced features like fractional ownership, nested NFTs, and dynamic metadata were either infeasible or prohibitively complex. There was no way to connect NFTs to other digital assets or allow multiple accounts to own a single asset.
• Fragmented tooling and standards: Across most blockchain ecosystems, the NFT landscape also lacked interoperability. Tooling, messaging, and technical standards were fragmented, making it difficult for developers to navigate or build cross-chain applications involving NFTs.
• Missing scalability for mass adoption: Even chains known for speed struggled to mint millions of unique tokens without sacrificing performance. Yet Unique was designing for mainstream games, loyalty programmes and AI applications that would require tens of millions of NFT mints.

These limitations convinced the team that they needed control at the protocol level. That realization set them on a search for an ecosystem that offered flexibility, shared security, and seamless cross‑chain connectivity—criteria that ultimately led them to Polkadot.

Solution: Building custom runtime and real-world scale for NFT infra

Unique addressed its early challenges by leveraging Polkadot’s modular architecture, interoperability standards, and shared security model to build a purpose-specific NFT infrastructure chain.

Custom runtime with advanced NFT logic: Using the flexible Polkadot SDK, formerly Substrate, the team wrote custom runtime logic to enable fractional ownership, nested NFTs, and dynamic metadata, turning tokens into programmable, composable digital assets."The Polkadot SDK gave us low-level control," explains Maria Matyushina, Director of Engineering at Unique Network. "We weren't building an NFT app—we were building the runtime itself. That's only possible with Polkadot."

Web2-friendly developer experience: To improve accessibility, the team developed a Web2-friendly SDK. Built on top of Polkadot’s infrastructure, the Unique SDK abstracts away blockchain complexity, making it easy for non‑blockchain teams to integrate NFTs without needing deep protocol expertise.

Cross-chain NFT interoperability: In parallel, Unique extended Polkadot’s native cross-consensus messaging (XCM) to support NFTs, enabling assets to retain their metadata and ownership logic when transferred across rollups (aka parachains). This contribution to interoperable NFTs filled a critical gap for developers building cross-chain applications involving complex digital assets.

Focus on innovation over infrastructure: Polkadot’s shared‑security model lets Unique avoid managing its own validator set. That freed the team to concentrate on protocol innovation, developer experience and adoption rather than network operations—without compromising on security.

Results and impact

By building on Polkadot, Unique Network unlocked new NFT use cases across gaming, loyalty, and AI, by turning NFTs into extensible, data-rich building blocks that could power real application logic.

Performance breakthroughs: Since launch, Unique Network has minted over 3 million NFTs. The platform now supports high-throughput applications and advanced onchain logic. In one stress test, the team minted nearly 5,000 NFTs per minute, outpacing benchmarks from other leading networks. “We ran a stress test where we minted 5,000 NFTs a minute—faster than Solana or Polygon,” said Charu Sethi, President & CMO at Unique Network. “That was before Async Backing or Elastic Scaling. Polkadot’s architecture let us push that boundary early.”

Real-world adoption at scale: To date, Unique has supported over 30 pilots and applications across sectors like gaming, fashion, and sustainability. Key highlights include:

• TapNation: A Polkadot Treasury–funded pilot with mobile game publisher TapNation resulted in over 700,000 wallets onboarded in under six months. Players earned blockchain-based rewards through an in-game "reward mode,"without needing prior Web3 knowledge.
• Conor Daly fan engagement: At a live racing event, fans scanned a QR code to claim a digital collectible and receive race-related updates. The intuitive flow onboarded audiences of all ages, including first-time crypto users.
• Dundas AW23 Collection NFTs: During Paris Fashion Week, attendees received NFT-based proof-of-attendance, connecting physical events with onchain identity.
• Digital Art for Climate: Earlier collaborations explored sustainability-focused NFTs and art-based engagement.

Ecosystem Leadership: To reduce fragmentation and create a more cohesive developer experience, Unique launched the NFT Mozaic Alliance, supported by the Web3 Foundation’s Decentralized Futures program. The initiative aligns NFT-focused teams across Polkadot around shared technical standards, ecosystem messaging, and go-to-market strategy. With the program continuing through November 2025, Unique is focused on deepening collaboration and bringing more visibility to NFT development within the Polkadot ecosystem.

What’s next

Unique Network is preparing to launch a new AI-powered NFT initiative, developed in collaboration with another blockchain but designed to leverage the scalability and flexibility of Polkadot. As the team continues expanding its partnership with TapNation and onboarding new pilot programs, Unique is positioning itself to lead the transition from speculative NFTs to functional digital assets that power real-world applications.