Unfortunately, going into the crypto world may not be as easy as it sounds. Just talking about it may not be enough. Because at the end of it all you cannot just buy NFT with the money that you have in your wallet nor the numbers you have in your bank account. You will need Cryptocurrency to make your purchase of NFT and also a Crypto wallet for you to safely store the data when you purchase your NFT. Yet, that’s only the beginning. We’ll talk about how NFT’s are created, traded, stored and also how it is managed.
1. Get A Crypto Wallet
A crypto wallet is a device or computer program that allows you to store and transfer digital data. There are two that we know of and one is the software and the other is hardware wallets. When it comes to short term trading you should choose a hot wallet. But for safety reasons, you should use a hardware wallet to store the most valuable NFT assests.
Software Wallet
What software wallet is is an application that you can download on your device and you can store your assets there. It is also called a ‘hot wallet’. It is very convenient because it is an application which means that as long as you have an internet connection then you are able to access your assets. But this hot wallet can be hacked hence we talked about its security being weaker and it is less safe to use long-term or to keep very valuable datas in them.
Hardware Wallet
Hardware wallets are physical objects that you store your assets in. It is also called ‘cold wallets’. Often it is referring to something like a USB or External Hard drives which cannot be easily accessible just by the internet alone. And it is a safer option for you to store your valuables in them because in the long-term it is much safer because it is isolated fro the network.
2. Buy Crypto
Some NFT platforms allow you to buy NFT with traditional payment methods like Nifty Gateway, MakersPlace. But some of the platforms like SuperRare and OpenSea only allow Cryptocurrency to be traded on. But which one should you choose when it comes to Crypto? We would recommend Ethereum or ETH for short because it is the leading trading currency used in trading NFTs. It is a native currency to Ethereum Blockchain and can be bought in different ways and on platforms like Coinbase and Gemini which allows you to buy ETH using a bank account or Credit Cards.
But putting into consideration the very high transaction costs on ETh some may want to use other Crypto blockchains then you can opt for alternatives like Solana, Tezos, Flow and Binance which all also support NFT Transactions. But if you are a beginner into buying Crypto then it is best to stick to ETH as it has more marketplace and users.
3. Find a Marketplace
When choosing a marketplace to buy NFT you need to consider first whether you are minting or buying one buy one or a whole collection because if you are trying to buy a batch or collections then it is best to use platforms like OpenSea. It is the most popular with over millions of active users and its fierce rivals are platforms LooksRare and Rarible.
If you intend to mint one by one or one of one, then it is better for you to look into platforms like SuperRare, Foundation and Zora and they are the best if you want to go into that.
Do be prepared that if you want to start minting or buying you will need to give a transaction fee first and sometimes you will need to be more extra careful as some of them might put on extra fees. You will also need to put effort into researching royalty splits because it is not guaranteed that you can cross-platform royalty if you mint and OpenSea or Rarible. Even when there are platforms to help you solve these issues like CXIP or 0xsplits. So you have to be careful and do your research on these.
4. Mint an NFT
New NFT is made via process called minting. This is a process that takes something and makes it an NFT combining an object with data and hence you have the NFT. When picking a unique asset you need to have the copyright rights first because if you are not careful in this you can end up with lawsuits.
Once you select a marketplace and have created an account, you can start to mint. The process is slightly different from platform to platform but the rule of thumb is you need to upload the item you want to make an NFT and fund the transaction using ETH or other blockchains if you are using other cryptocurrencies. It is also possible to mint actual physical items but that will be more complex than what we talk about.
Once the minting process is done, you do not have the information on your new NFT and it will be stored and linked to your wallet and you can then keep it or sell or trade and it is all up to you.
5. Buy or Sell NFT
You need to keep in mind that not all NFTs are sold through platforms but for example like CyptoPunks, they have always been sold through their own Larva Lab Website and not through the marketplaces
Once you have found the NFT to your liking, you can buy it outright or you will have to bid on it. You will need to bid on it until either the seller selects or accepts your bid or the auction closes. Anyhow if you buy it outright or you win the bid, once the transaction is complete then NFT will be stored in your wallet then the ownership will be transferred to you.
Again at that point you have the will to choose to keep, sell or trade the NFT.
Selling your NFT involves a similar process and that is to set up your auction on the marketplace then understand the fees and different kinds of sales methods then you can start the sales. Once it is completed, it will automatically transfer the NFT ownership to the new holder and the transaction will be transferred to you. Read more NFT guides on NFTeller.
