Reference: A Compressed-NFT Mint at Scale

Compressed NFTs (cNFTs) via Bubblegum store asset data in Merkle trees, slashing rent costs for large collections. This reference covers tree creation, batch mint, DAS reads in the client, and cost trade-offs vs traditional Metaplex NFTs.

Recipe

Quick-reference recipe card - copy-paste ready.

1. Create Merkle tree (depth/capacity plan)
2. Create collection cNFT + verify collection setup
3. Batch mint leaves with Bubblegum mint instructions
4. Read assets via DAS getAsset / searchAssets
5. Transfer via Bubblegum delegate path

When to reach for this:

• 10k+ PFP or badge drop
• Gaming inventory at scale
• Cost comparison proposal to stakeholders
• Indexer design for compressed assets

Working Example

import { createSolanaRpc } from "@solana/kit";
 
const rpc = createSolanaRpc(process.env.RPC_URL!);
const das = process.env.DAS_URL!; // Provider DAS endpoint
 
async function fetchWalletCnfts(owner: string) {
  const res = await fetch(das, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      jsonrpc: "2.0",
      id: 1,
      method: "searchAssets",
      params: { ownerAddress: owner, compressed: true, limit: 1000 },
    }),
  });
  return res.json();
}

## Capacity planning (example)
 
Tree depth 20 -> ~1M leaves max
Mint 50k collection -> depth >= 16
Cost: tree rent + per-mint CU (~ low vs 50k full accounts)
 
**Read path:** DAS only; `getProgramAccounts` impractical

What this demonstrates:

• DAS as first-class read API for wallets
• Tree depth drives max supply
• Cost model before committing to architecture

Deep Dive

Architecture

Mint Pipeline

• Queue mint jobs with rate limit respect to RPC
• Priority fees on batch transactions during public drop
• Monitor failed mints via signature logs

Gotchas

• GPA for wallet inventory - Timeouts at scale. Fix: DAS searchAssets.
• Undersized tree - Cannot add capacity without new tree. Fix: Depth planning spreadsheet.
• Standard RPC without DAS - cNFT metadata missing in wallet. Fix: Provider with DAS enabled.
• No delegate plan - Marketplaces need delegation flows. Fix: Document delegate ix in spec.
• Assuming same UX as Metaplex NFT - Proof paths differ. Fix: Client team spike DAS early.

Alternatives

FAQs

Related

• Compressed NFTs Bubblegum - mechanics
• Reading Compressed Assets DAS - read path
• Transactions Not Landing - drop day landing

Stack versions: This page was written for Agave 4.1.1, Solana CLI 3.0.10, Anchor 0.32.1, anchor-lang 0.32.1, Rust 1.91.1, @solana/kit 7.0.0, Surfpool 0.12.0, and LiteSVM 0.6.x.