Coach's Corner

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. NFTs are digital tokens that are used to represent ownership of unique items. Ownership is recorded on a blockchain, which is a digital ledger of sorts. NFT’s let us tokenize things like art, collectibles, even real estate. They can only have one official owner at a time, and they’re secured by the Ethereum blockchain. NFTs can be bought or sold on platforms such as OpenSea, Rarible and others. In order to purchase NFTs on these exchange platforms, you will need to have a cryptocurrency wallet.

When an NFT is created or “minted,” it creates a smart contract recorded onto the blockchain. This contract is managed through a unique ID that displays who the current owner is. When you purchase an NFT, that unique ID changes and is reflected on the blockchain.

Bigger than you may think. The NFT market grew by 299% in 2020 with sales in the first quarter of 2021 soaring to more than $2 billion—and it’s shown no signs of slowing. Auction houses are already getting in on the NFT craze and NFT-related stocks have been on the rise.

OpenSea is the flagship marketplace on Ethereum blockchain, which has had $4.6bn traded in January alone. However, there are many other marketplaces across different blockchains, like LooksRare and Magic Eden. There are also more auction-specific platforms like Foundation and Zora which are catered towards direct artist sales rather than large collections.

A cryptocurrency wallet is a digital wallet that allows users to manage, use and trade their cryptocurrencies. It also serves as a management and storage tool for your NFT collection. The most popular wallet to use and the easiest to set up is called MetaMask. MetaMask is the most compatible wallet for both NFT projects and buying/selling.

• Install the MetaMask extension on your browser –
  https://metamask.io/download.html
• A new window will open once it is installed. Follow the instructions to ‘create a new wallet’
• Just like any standard trading platform (think stocks), you will need to be approved to begin buying and selling cryptocurrency. Send in your required documents and sync a payment source. Note that this process may take several
  days.
•  A ‘Secret Recovery Phrase’ will be generated. It is of extreme importance that you record your phrase somewhere and keep it safe. This is your wallet’s master password. Do not share it with anyone, especially online! (there is no credible reason anyone would need this info from you, other than to steal the contents of your wallet )
• Once done, your wallet is set up and you will be able to access it from the MetaMask icon in your browser

• Open your MetaMask wallet by clicking the extension icon in your browser, or open the app on your phone
• Click ‘Buy’ and you will be presented with 2 options, two of which involve purchasing cryptocurrency in MetaMask:
  • Buy ETH with Wyre – this allows you to use a debit card to complete the purchase of ETH
  • Buy ETH with Transak – this allows you to use a debit card or bank transfer to complete the purchase of ETH
• Once done, check your transaction history for a proof of purchase, and if successful, the ETH will appear in your wallet shortly
• As these are third-party tools MetaMask charges a premium for purchasing ETH via the above two options.
•  

• First purchase your ETH on a cryptocurrency exchange platform such as Crypto.com, Coinbase or Binance. From there you will be able to send the ETH to your MetaMask wallet
• On your cryptocurrency exchange’s interface, there will be an option for you to ‘Send’ cryptocurrency to your MetaMask wallet
• Click ‘Send’ then select the amount of ETH you wish to transfer, and enter your MetaMask address into the ‘To’ field
• Note that you can copy (and later paste) your address from the MetaMask extension at the click of a button
• When sending ETH into your MetaMask wallet, users need to pay a ‘gas fee’, which is basically a transaction/shipping fee

• When projects are launching, they will announce information regarding how you can mint your NFT, on Discord and on Twitter. You will need to follow the account of the project you are following to keep informed on all project aspects, including minting. There are also contests, giveaways, games and other perks for following your project on Discord and Twitter.
• Please make sure that you only follow the instructions from official project
  accounts on how, when and where to mint your NFT
• On launch day, head over to the project’s website where you will be required to
  follow minting instructions
• Connect your wallet to the project’s website and check if you are eligible to mint.
  If you are eligible,
  • Enter your desired number of NFT’s to mint (projects will usually allocate
    between 1 – 10 mints to each wallet) and click ‘Mint’
  • A MetaMask popup will appear from your browser extension telling you:
    1. The ETH required to mint your desired amount of NFTs
    2. The ‘Gas fee’ to pay
    3. Total maximum amount of ETH required to mint your desired
       amount of NFTs
• Click ‘Confirm’ to proceed with minting or ‘Reject’ to stop the transaction
• After clicking ‘Confirm’ your transaction will have been sent for confirmation on the blockchain and, if successful, your NFT(s) will show up in your wallet soon after.

The most popular exchange platform to purchase or sell NFTs is OpenSea. To purchased an already minted NFT:

• Head to Opensea.io and click the OpenSea profile icon at the top right
• Click ‘Profile’ and you will be prompted by your MetaMask extension to complete several steps to allow OpenSea to set up your profile
• Upon reaching the final prompt, click ‘Sign’ and your account will be ready!
• In the search bar, look for the project whose NFT you wish to purchase and
  proceed to the project page. At this point, it is imperative that you select the
  official project OpenSea page. ONLY follow official links from the project’s Twitter or Discord channels!
• Once you find the NFT you wish to purchase, click on the image of the NFT
• If it is available for purchase, click ‘Buy Now’; which will trigger a pop up where
  you will be required to agree to terms/conditions before clicking ‘Checkout’
• A popup will emerge from the MetaMask extension showing the ETH needed to
  completer your NFT purchase, along with the Gas fees
• Assuming you have enough ETH, click ‘Confirm’ and your transaction will be
  processed
• If all went well, your NFT will show up in your wallet and in your OpenSea profile soon after (be patient!)