NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens. No doubt, NFTs have exploded in popularity during the pandemic, leading many investors to wonder how to buy them. If you are one who is wondering what are NFTs and how to invest in them, then this one is for you.
What are NFTs?
NFT means Non-Fungible Tokens, although it has been around since 2014, it starts to gain notoriety now because they are becoming an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork.
According to Condesk, a staggering £123 million has been spent on NFTs since November 2017.
If you are the type that is in tandem with history, you will realise that artworks are something of value, especially to Europeans and some parts of Africa and Asia.
People, art lovers buy works of great artists like Leonardo Davinci, believing they will appreciate in value over time. That’s the same thing with NFTs of today.
You must know that NFTs are a digital form of artwork, while crypto is the digital form of currencies.
You must think of digital tokens as a type of virtual certificate similar to a physical certificate or title that you might present to prove you own a physical asset such as real estate.
They’re a digital proof of ownership originally designed for digital assets and art.
How To Buy NFTs
Foremost, you must know that unlike Bitcoin, which functions mainly as a payment network and cryptocurrency, blockchain networks such as Ethereum and Solana let users build apps that can store personal data and set rules for complex financial transactions, like the smart contracts that govern NFT ownership and sales.
Meanwhile, to buy NFTs, you will need to establish a digital wallet to store your cryptocurrency. Examples include Metamask, Binance and Coinbase, which you can connect to the marketplace where you plan to buy NFTs
WHERE TO BUY NFTS
- Axie Infinity
- Decentraland
- Foundation
- GROW.HOUSE
- MakersPlace
- Mintable
- NBA Top Shot
- Nifty Gateway
- OpenSea
- Rarible
- Sorare
- SuperRare
- The Sandbox
- Valuables
- Venly
- Zeptagram
- Zora
Furthermore, we will recommend using Metamask as your crypto wallet and OpenSea as your market to buy and sell NFTs
How to get a Metamask wallet to buy an NFT
- In Google Chrome, navigate to the Chrome Web Store and get the Metamask wallet Chrome extension. (If you are using mobile, just download Metamask on Playstore.)
- After onboarding with Metamask, you’ll need to add some ETH to it. You can buy Ethereum directly on Metamask by going to Buy > Continue to Wyre. Make sure to add enough to cover the cost of your desired NFT and the accompanying Ethereum gas fee (a fee you must pay to have your transaction authorized on the Ethereum network).
- Now that you’ve got your Ethereum wallet setup, you have to choose which NFT marketplace you’d like to purchase from. You can buy NFTs from SuperRare, Rarible and Mintable, but for this article, we will show you how to purchase non-fungible tokens on OpenSea.
How to buy an NFT on OpenSea
- Go to OpenSea.io and click on Marketplace. Here, you’ll be able to scroll through millions of NFTs. On the left panel, you can filter the NFTs by category (e.g. art, music, trading cards, etc.).
Once you find an NFT that catches your eye, click on it. - Take note of the price. It will be in ETH, but it will show you its cost in USD, too. If you’re comfortable with the price, click on “Buy Now.”
You will be prompted to sign in to your Metamask wallet. Click on “Sign in” and type in your credentials. - A “Complete checkout” window will appear showing you the total price of the NFT. Tick in the “Terms of Service” box.
- Click on “Checkout.” A Metamask window will pop up giving you information about the Ethereum gas fee you’ll have to pay in addition to the NFT. On a good day, the gas fee should cost no more than $25, but I’ve seen dark days when Ethereum gas fees climbed to $500.
If you agree to the Ethereum gas fee, click “Confirm.”
You’ll be taken to a page titled “Your transaction has started.” There will be a link that says “View on Etherscan.” If you click on it, it will give you information on the progress of your NFT transaction.
Don’t fret if it takes a while for the NFT transaction to go through. If the Ethereum network is congested, it could take hours and sometimes days (yes, days! It’s happened to my friend too) before your transaction is accepted on the blockchain.
Once your NFT is confirmed, you can admire it by navigating to your profile icon on OpenSea and clicking on “My collections.”
