The ultimate NFT guide: NFTs explained, what is it and how they work.
To begin with, “What are NFTs?”.Apparently, this new technology is all the craze within the mainstream media. And don’t worry even about getting started because it’s just getting started as well. But there’s always some power in being early. Same scenario case about starting companies, it’s always better to get started when it’s an IPO. So that when it evolves and grows, you won’t miss out on the gains. (You feel that Warren Buffett vibe I’m giving you? Hahaha. LOL)
So here it is, the simple definition of what an NFT is. NFT simply means Non-Fungible Token. They are a unique and non-interchangeable digital representation of art photo, video, text — that exist on a blockchain mostly under the Ethereum blockchain, being the most popular one. Although you can also find NFTs on the Solana and Polygon blockchains as they have less gas fees there. NFTs prove ownership and confirm the rarity or scarcity of a digital asset, meaning that each of these digital assets is unique in its own way. Each of these NFTs has its own registration number, similar to the address of a house or a car registration number.
NFTs are tied to a smart contract on the blockchain and this smart contract is publicly visible and remains unchangeable forever. Interesting fact, the global market for NFTs hit $22 billion in 2021, according to DappRadar, a global app store for decentralized applications.
This unchangeability and scarcity are what make NFTs special and thus in this way give the asset value. The process of creating this smart contract on the blockchain is what is called “Minting”. This can be completely and fully done by anyone out there with a vision and drive to be an elite in the NFT community.
But where do you start? That’s the million-dollar question.
Here’s a hint: Keep reading you, bozo.
How to mint your first NFT.
Let’s begin. This is not financial advice as I’m talking in accordance with what I’ve done and did work for me. All this is entirely and fully based on the Ethereum blockchain.
To get started you will need:
· A cryptocurrency called Ethereum or Polygon or Solana but in this case let’s just stick with Ethereum.
· A wallet to store that ETH and interact with metaverse-based platforms. Mostly Metamask.
· Access to an NFT marketplace.
Getting the crypto Ethereum is relatively easy. If you already have some ethereum on your Binance wallet. It’s simple and straightforward. If you already don’t know how to get started on buying crypto through binance, here’s a link to my previous blog on how to get started: https://onsandoabucheri.medium.com/want-to-invest-in-crypto-and-dont-know-how-5e4ec85c0974
Once you have some ETH set up, you will then transfer it to your metamask wallet which can easily be downloaded. (You can easily Google how to do this.)
MetaMask is a software cryptocurrency wallet used to interact with the named blockchains. It allows users to access their Ethereum wallet through a browser extension or mobile app, which can then be used to interact with decentralized applications such as Opensea which is an NFT marketplace. (Don’t worry, we’re coming soon to that Sonic)
DO NOT LINK YOUR METAMASK WALLET TO ANY UNKNOWN WEBSITES. DO NOT CLICK ON ANY UNTRUSTED LINKS AS YOU MIGHT LOSE YOUR ETH.
The last step is linking your wallet to a marketplace to start minting your NFTs and hopefully selling them. The most popular marketplaces that I commonly use and would possibly recommend are Opensea and Rarible.
To start minting on Opensea, all you need is a meta mask wallet. OpenSea is a peer-to-peer marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens. It includes collectibles, gaming items, and other virtual goods backed by a blockchain. On OpenSea, anyone can buy or sell these items through a smart contract. Here are a few steps:
1. Set up your wallet. Once you’ve set up your wallet of choice, connect it to OpenSea by clicking the wallet icon in the top right corner.
2. Create your collection. Click My Collections and set up your collection. Add social links, a description, profile images, and set a secondary sales fee.
3. Add your NFTs. Upload your work (image, video, or 3D art), add a title and description, and customize your NFTs with properties, stats, and unlockable content.
4. List them for sale. Choose between auctions, fixed-price listings, and declining-price listings.
To start minting on Rarible, here are a few steps to get started.
1. Go to Rarible.com and connect your wallet (i.e. Metamask).
2. Click the blue CREATE button at the top of the page.
3. Select whether you want to mint a Single NFT or an NFT with multiple editions.
4. Upload your image, video, or music file.
5. Specify a price, name, description, and royalties.
6. Click create an item.
7. Your wallet will ask you to sign and pay for gas fees. Gas fees can be high, and it’s worth it to pick the right moment to mint an NFT.
How to sell your NFT.
When it comes to selling your NFTs, the right “Community” is what NFTs are really about. It would be extremely difficult for anyone to buy your NFT if they have no idea who you are. Many people hear about the money flying around and think to just jump in without doing their own research of meeting people and connecting with them in meaningful ways. You might be lucky and randomly catch some ETH flying around but ultimately community is a more reliable strategy.
For example, Twitter is such an interesting community for anyone to get started on NFTs. Get in on Twitter and follow artists whose work you actually like, retweet their work, comment genuinely under their posts, reach out to them in the DMs, enter twitter spaces and slowly build up the confidence to speak on those exact same spaces. Most of the people are very open and willing to share their knowledge and experience with you. In the end at some point, your own work will resonate with enough people to lead to sales.
You really don’t need 5000 followers to make an impact, just a few who appreciate your work and enough to build your community with. Be Humble and be very patient for what is yours will find you. That is entirely how the universe works, don’t it?
Summing it all up, NFTs are a relatively new world with lots of new terminologies that can’t be addressed within a single article. You need to read a lot more articles, watch a lot of youtube videos and spend a lot of time on Twitter spaces. Just use social media for the right purposes which are educative and inspirational.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments if you have any.
Follow me @onsando.abucheri on Twitter and let’s connect more. Peace out till next time.
