BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING LETS GET YOU SET UP TO BE SECURE ONLINE.
EVEN IF YOU NEVER TOUCH AN NFT THIS IS ALL ESSENTIAL DIGIAL HYGIENE FOR 2024
Is it impossible to put all info about NFTS in one piece of paper, but hopefully this can be used as a guide to all the information you need. DYOR means do your own research. While I am confident in the information that I am publishing on this date, things change quickly, so always check multiple resources. While I aim to main objective in facts, I also note some personal experiences and observations. When I first started out, the only guide was the : NFT bible by opensea. It is great, but at the time, it still seemed like a foreign language to me, so I broke down many concepts even further.
This guide is mainly catered towards artists or people wanting to mint their own art, vs people who want to flip NFTS, though a lot of this information is essential to understand regardless of your intentions.
Additionally, while NFTS exist on many chains, and I have dabbled on them, my deep dives are on platforms that support NFTS on Ethereum (ETH). By no means is this the only chain, but simply the one I have spent the most time learning. I would encourage everyone to get familiar with as many blockchains as they want. There is ALOT of information in here, and things may seem overwhelming (or basic depending on what you know). Take your time :).
So what is an NFT? - NFT stands for NON Fungible token. In the most simple terms, NFTS are unique digital assets that are traded & stored on the blockchain. ANYTHING YOU CAN digitize, you can tokenize. NFTS are unique, and tradable through the blockchain. That means you will always be able to prove where they originated, and where they have been. For artists, this is revolutionary to not only establish provenance, but also because you can get immediate lifetime royalties on secondary sales. (but I go over all of this in more detail).
It is hard to fully grasp how revolutionary NFTS are and what they are capable of without participating (don't worry, I have information on how to do this too). But if you are here, you are probably somewhat familiar, so lets get you started!
What do you need to buy/sell NFTS?
Access to secure internet / a private device. (I would recommend a computer if you have)
A crypto wallet
Crypto * (You can mint on Polygon without any Crypto to start)
Art / what you want to create into an NFT (anything that can be digitized can be tokenized
A plan for where you are minting & selling your NFTS.
1) FIGURE OUT HOW YOU WILL BE ACQUIRING CRYPTO:
First step - figure out how you will be acquiring crypto, depending on where you live, and the exchange, it could take up to a week to be able to send the crypto from the exchange to your wallet (next step). This is why I recommend doing this first. You will most likely be using a centralized exchange, abbreviated to (CEX). Something you will hear all the time is NOT YOUR KEYS, NOT YOUR CRYPTO. Centralized exchanges custody Your crypto for you, meaning if they decide to remove your access, or go bankrupt, Your crypto could be at Risk. It is not advised to store money in a CEX, but to turn crypto into fiat (currencies not backed by commodities- ie USD, EURO, etc) and vice versa, you will most likely need to use a (CEX). Some examples (please DYOR)
NEXO
Coinbase
Gemini
Binance
USE A CEX TO GET ACCESS TO CRYPTO, AND AS SOON AS YOUR ARE ABLE TO WITHDRAWAL SEND TO YOUR OWN WALLET.
CRYPTO & NFTS ARE THE KEY TO SELF- SOVEREIGNTY WHICH MEANS SELF CUSTODY... which brings us to step two!!!!
2) MAKE YOUR CRYPTO WALLET
(now this will first go through ETH as most people are still using EVM (ethereum virtual machine) compatible chains. IF you are looking for BTC NFTS, please see my ordinals guides)
Download Metamask, the above video will walk you through step by step on what to do and what it will look like.
Repeating for safety’s sake: Write DOWN YOUR KEY. Write it. On paper. These 12 words are often times referred to as your seed phrase, or your private key. If you lose them, no one will be able to help you gain access to your wallet. Additionally, if someone gains access to your private key, they can access all of your crypto. This is why it is essential to never store these publicly.
It is also recommended to order a hard wallet, also referred to as cold storage. Security is essential in Web Three, please spend time going through these resources:
Great Thread on Web2 Security
If you are in the US, you can get a ledger in store in best buy, if not you will need to order cold storage online. Please go to the security guide for more details on cold storage!!!!
Why Metamask? While yes, it is true that there are other wallets, but Metamask is the most widely used, and not all platforms will be compatible with all other ones. Coinbase wallet is something referred to as a custodial wallet, meaning they control access to your crypto money. To receive all the benefits of crypto, the more ownership and control you have, the safer and more well positioned you will be.
** You may be able to buy ETH directly on Metamask –> tbc on where you live.
Extra info about Metamask, that may not be relevant day 1 for you, but worth understanding :)
*** Metamask is owned by consensus, which also owns Infura (a tool that provides APIS — this is advanced and you do not need to know this to mint an NFT) BUT if you are in a country sanctioned by the USA, you may have had issues with Metamask, or accessing some NFT platforms. Unfortunately we are very much in a space of web 2.5 and if you consider yourself high risk (having lost access to payment processors or living in a country that crypto is banned we are realistically in web 2.5… That being said, if (for example) Metamask stopped being accessible for you, once you were able to input your seed phrase into another wallet, your money would still be there.
That would not be the case if you were to be banned from Coinbase. A coinbase wallet may be referred to as a custodial wallet. Especially following the recent events with celcius and voyager, you will hear the terms NOT YOUR KEYS NOT YOUR CRYPTO be repeated often.
ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS AND TOOLS FOR NAVIGATING THE BLOCKCHAIN
DECENTRALIZATION:
is a large buzzword, but also the main principal that defines web3. Decentralization means there is not one main authority or figure of power. Many tools, platforms and protocols have a level of centralization. Decentralization is a spectrum and to some more important that others. While this may be a bit dense on day one, I highly recommend anyone to read the Bitcoin Whitepaper. With great power comes great responsibility, and the more decentralized something is, the more responsibility you have to take. With that, allows for freedom. Bitcoin was invented to be a peer to peer, instantaneous, permission-less, immutable, transparent, payment system. While many blockchains now have created their own iterations these are principals that drive a majority of blockchain technology.
GAS ON THE BLOCKCHAIN:
Gas is the amount of energy required to make a blockchain transaction possible. Anytime you transact on chain, you will be paying a gas fee. This fee goes to the miners, not the platforms, or whomever you are transacting with. Gas fees are calculated based on two factors, how complicated the transaction is, and the amount of current activity on the network. For NFTs, the simpler the smart contract is, the lower gas is. Most contracts that people use are pretty Gas Efficient these days. The amount of network activity is similar to uber surcharges, if there are more people trying to use the blockchain, miners can charge more, and thus the gas cost will increase.
txstreet.com has a great visualizer to explain gas fees (as seen in my video).
On ETH, gas is measured in GWEI, a tiny tiny denomination of eth. (Just like 100 pennies = 1 USD), 1 billion GWEI = 1 ETH. Because gas prices in Gwei fluctuate due to network conditions, and the value of ETH changes as well, looking at the gas price in GWEI will be the best way to compare if a gas cost is high or low. You can check current gas prices on txstreet, or etherscan.io/gastracker.
When you go to make a transaction in Metamask, you will be given a gas fee estimate. (You can pay more to make transactions happen faster, but if you are just beginning do not worry about changing gas settings). Sometimes, it will end up costing a bit less than the estimate. If it is too high, and the transaction is not time sensitive, you have the choice of declining the transaction and trying again later.
Similarly, if network conditions change before your transaction completes processing, your transaction time may increase.
Transactions have to take place in order, meaning if you have a transaction pending, you must wait for it to clear before making another transaction.
If a transaction is stuck (this happens occasionally) you can speed up/add gas, or clear it using what is called a duplicate nonce. (Transactions are numbered, and the number is called the nonce). I would recommend using the strategy in the video below:
You can check Transaction status on Etherscan... which brings me to my next point:
TRANSPARENCY ON THE BLOCKCHAIN:
One of the best things about the blockchain is that every transaction that is made is available on a public ledger. This means every action that you make from your wallet will exist for anyone to see. While there may be context missing from transactions, you will always be able to track the time a transaction took place, what wallets were involved, and what amount of currency was involved. The most widely used tool to view this information is Etherscan, which is also referred to as a block explorer. (Etherscan is a web2 page that we view web3 information on).
It is also important to understand this. What you do on the blockchain Is permanent, so, keep it legal, look up tax implications in your city, and know that
These videos may make more sense once you have started playing around on chain, but here are a few different ways in which Etherscan can be used to help you find more information about NFTS. While you may not know who a wallet belongs too, you can see everything that any specific wallet owns.
These are a bit more advanced concepts, but I am hyper-linking some quick video tutorials here for when you feel ready!
You can also use Etherscan too:
WEB3 GLOSSERY
Some “basic terms” that you will question at some point. If you don’t understand all of this right away its okay. I learn by doing, and so feel free to refer back here when you have questions, or when these come up.
Centralized - A system in which there is one authority / owner. For example, Twitter is Centralized.
Web Three - A new internet that is decentralized and uses blockchain technology. In this model, there is a focus on tokenized incentives for participation, Individuals own their content, and information is distributed and stored throughout the entire network.
Web Two - A term coined in 1999 to mark a new stage of the internet, (the one you are used to now). This marked a shift from static, owned webpages to a more dynamic experience. Web Two is a participatory experience, making it simple for users to create their own content. (Social media etc).
* I think we are in web 2.5, while we utilize blockchain technology, we still rely on web2 Infastructure and tools in the current NFT ecosystem)
Token - There are many types of tokens. This is the T in NFTS. So you may hear people refer to their Art / NFTS as Tokens. The three most common types of tokens are ERC1155, ERC721, and ERC20's.
Metadata - The information attached to your NFT. When talking about Metadata in NFTS, this will likely refer to your art, traits, the description. This is all the information attached to the smart contract, and what people are truly buying when they buy NFTS. (Unless they just love your smart contract). Metadata is most commonly attached to smart contracts via a token URI. Metadata is what people analyze when calculating rarity. Metadata is most commonly stored on IPFS and ARWEAVE.
IPFS - Interplanetary File System. Essentially a decentralized dropbox. Although it is not a blockchain itself, it is structured similarly, using peer to peer distribution. IPFS works through a network of nodes that host information. When information is uploaded, it is broken down into smaller pieces that are stored cryptographically and labeled by a CID. If the image is updated, it will be given a new unique CID, which is great for proving the authenticity of information. Something to note is that by default, these nodes do not need to keep your information forever. If information is not re-pinned on IPFS, there is a chance it will be erased. Services like Piñata or Infura re-pin your information automatically, to help elevate the risk of your information being removed. MOST metadata is stored via IPFS.
ARWEAVE - ARWEAVE is another decentralized storage system, similar to IPFS but structured as a protocol which utilizes blockchain technology to give added confidence in permanence. Instead of requiring consistent pinning or payment for servers, there is only a one time upfront fee. As someone who came into this with concerns on censorship, I think it is important to note that even ARWEAVE has a content moderation policy. So, things *can* be removed. You will need ARWEAVES token to store information on ARWEAVE, and as of now I do not know any no-code ways to upload anything to ARWEAVE (with the exception of minting on Manifold, which stores metadata on ARWEAVE.
ARWeave vs. IPFS. For many, ARWEAVE is considered to be a layer more secure than IPFS, that said, both are utilized and IPFS is probably more common at the moment. While I have seen collectors refuse to collect from Opensea if Metadata is not Frozen (see Opensea section). To store stuff on ARweave on your own, you need their token, so it can be more expensive than IPFS. (But setting up dedicated IPFS gateways can also have associated costs. IPFS is a little bit easier to upload too. Ultimately this is a personal choice. If ARWeave is a priority for you, Manifold uses ARweave with their custom smart contracts, and is the only No Code Solution I know of at this time to upload directly for arweave.
** Permanence - this is a personal opinion, as someone who discovered all of this in looking for solutions besides posting my work on traditional social media, but nothing is guaranteed to last forever, and at the same time, it is unlikely many things will fail. An early criticism of Opensea is that they store images on google. Now I think a world where AWS or Google failing is unlikely and would indicate other problems, I think making sure you store backups of your metadata is always smart. A great example of this is the pride punks collection. **
Smart Contract - Not every Smart Contract is an NFT, but every NFT is a smart contract. These are not very smart, but simply programable code that cannot be changed. They set conditions that must be met for actions to happen. And if those conditions are met, these actions occur immediately and automatically. The most common function of smart contracts in NFTS is - If x amount of ETH is sent to a smart contract, then an NFT will be sent to X wallet. You can get more creative with these functions, and we have seen many examples. In Ethereum, smart contracts are coded in Solidity. For NFTs, smart contracts are not used in the legal sense, so you do not need to understand every line of code. (And also, it is always good practice to take legal protections with any of your work, especially when collaborating with others)
ERC1155/ Semi-Fungible tokens - In NFT's, this is what many people refer to as editions. (However, you can also make editions with ERC-721's). These are unique tokens that there can be any multiples of. Theoretically, each of the ERC-1155s can be interchangeable, though depending on their function, that could change. There are a-lot of potential use cases in gaming. Other use cases include concerts, vouchers, or coupons.
ERC721- Non-Fungible tokens - ERC721 is the token standard for Non Fungible tokens. You can use this for 1/1's or editions, if used for editions, they would appear as a numbered series.
** for clarity around the difference between an ERC721 and ERC1155 go to token display guide :)
ERC20 Token Standard - Fungible tokens. In real life, any $1.00 bill equals and other $1.00 bill. ERC20’s are fungible tokens. This is what people use to create “social tokens”, “dao tokens,” for example, APE coin is an ERC20. Eth, while it is a fungible token, was developed before the ERC 20 token standard, which is sometimes why you need to use WETH (Wrapped ETH).
WETH - (Wrapped Eth). 1WETH = 1 ETH. When you wrap Eth, you are putting it in a wrapper so that it can be used in protocols or smart contracts that require tokens to comply to the ERC20 token standard. You can easily turn ETH to WETH in you Metamask wallet, and no % is taken to make this swap happen.
TestNet - These are clones of blockchains that exist for development and testing. They operate with their own version of currency (for Ex, Rinkeby ETH, or Mumbai Matic). Unlike blockchains, their data wont last forever, but they are accurate representations of how things would act on chain.
Unlockables - A link or file that you can attach to an NFT that is only visible or accessible to the owner. Keep in mind that if it is a link and the link stays the same, when the piece sells on secondary, someone may still have access to said link, so token gating may come in handy as well.
Royalties/Secondary Sales - This is one of the most amazing things about the blockchain, and something that is oftentimes misleading. While secondary sales commissions can be added into the code of smart contracts (EIP 2981), there are many things that buyers / sellers can do that would not satisfy the conditions in a smart contract needed to send the commissions. Secondary sales are paid out by the marketplaces, which is why it is important to set up your collections on ALL even if that is not where you are listing your primary sale. Also, if someone does a private sale, secondary commissions are not always honored. The good news is, that you can see on chain where tokens go, and where money goes. And I am sure as this technology evolvesThis is not always done maliciously. Manifold made a royalty registry in collaboration with Foundation, manifold.xyz, Nifty Gateway, OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare and Zora.
Snapshots - This is a way that people can get a current list of all wallets that own a token. This can be done for ERC721, ERC1155, and ERC20 tokens. Manifold offers a tool in house for snapshots of any creator contract. Premint.XYZ also offers 5 free snapshots for any ERC721 contract. All of this information is publicly available on etherscan as well, but depending on how many owners of a token there are, this may be alot of work to do manually. Snapshots are a really cool tool that can be utilized to reward collectors
Token-Gate - Token-gating is another function unique to NFTs. This means that an experience can require a user to own a token to see information, enter a digital space, etc. The Most common use you will see for this is via discords or websites to claim event tix or even tokens
Airdrop - (Oftentimes Using Snapshots) Collection owners have the ability to send airdrops to collectors. Currently, this is *also* used as methods to spam or sometimes to lead people to malicious sites or transactions. You can hide these unwanted or unknown airdrops on Opensea. Many default to the hidden folder now, so something to keep in mind is communicate with your collectors if planning an airdrop.
Mint/Minting - The process of uploading your NFT to the blockchain. Like "posting" an image on instagram, when you create an NFT, it is referred to as "minting" it.
Lazy Minting - A way of creating NFTS in which they are not minted to the blockchain until someone purchases them. This saves on upfront gas costs, but is considered by some to be a "less legitimate practice". (Do what you need too, if you do not have the funds to begin without lazy minting, its okay!)
Layer Two - Layer Two's are scaling solutions for blockchains that are built on top of existing protocols to make them more efficient. With ETH, Layer 2 solutions handle transactions, which lowers gas fees and allows for more transactions. Layer 2 solutions use the same tech, and communicate with layer one, so that data is still available on Layer 1.
This lets layer 1 handle security, data availability, and decentralization, while layer 2s handles scaling. Layer 2s take the transactional burden away from the layer 1 and post finalized proofs back to the layer 1. By removing this transaction load from layer 1, the base layer becomes less congested, and everything becomes more scalable.
Side Chain - (Polygon/Matic is a side chain). An ETH sidechain is a separate blockchain that runs independent of Ethereum and is connected to Ethereum Mainnet by a two-way bridge. While they may have similar goals to Layer 2, side chains have their own technology and protocols. While Layer 2's do not change the underlying tech, Side chains are new blockchains with their own protocols. You may hear people say their blockchains are EVM compatible, this would be a side chain.
More info here on: Ethereum.Org
EVM - Ethereum Virtual Machine, the environment in which all ETH data exists. A deep understanding of this is not needed, but if you are focused on interoperability, being EVM compatible is key.
More info via Eth Org
Contract Address - A unique numerical number in which you can identify a smart contract. This address is created when a contract is deployed to the blockchain. This is public information and can be used to verify legitimacy or search!
TokenURI - Metadata gets attached to smart contracts via a tokenURI. This link (which is sometimes and IPFS HASH) is where your art lives.
White/LightPaper - It's 2022. If you are making a project, call it a litepaper. You will hear this term alot, and most chains, platforms and protocols create a comprehensive overview of their goals, structure, and any other important information regarding a project.
PFP - a profile picture
GM - good morning
GN - good night
Degen - "a degenerate" a term used to describe people who are full crypto. Also used as a verb. "Im degenning right now- minted a bunch of these pinkpunkcatclubs"
CT - Crypto Twitter
Rug Pull - Essentially a scam. A rug pull is a term coming from Crypto, where developers would release a token, and then take all of the liquidity ($ value) and disappear. With NFTs, it is when a project launches under false info, or deletes all of their comms shortly after people buy in. This term gets used losely, projects that do not do well, but are still building, are NOT rugs.
Collectable - In NFTS, people mainly refer to PFP projects, or any series as a collectable. There are no rules to what a collectable collection should lookalike, but oftentimes traits / metadata get calculated into rarity
Reveal - With PFP projects, many times the project will reveal a few days after the mint. This is done by Updating Metadata. #wenreveal?
OKAY I GET IT!!! AND IM IN!!! NOW WHERE / HOW DO I MINT MY NFTS?
** AS OF 11/7 this gets a little bit more complicated for new collections regarding secondary sales** Please make sure you have read the comms from this week on it & updated tutorial coming this week!!!**
Even if you don't get how those things work yet, its okay. I promise it will make sense eventually.
Like the first guide, I will focus on platforms that are open to everyone! WHY? Because I came here to get away from platforms (literally). While I understand curation is important, I like to think that we can create systems that embody the open, permissionless ethos that this technology was founded upon. These platforms should be accessible for **most** people reading these guides. Please read TOS of each platform if you live in a country sanctioned by the USA... (the perils of centralization/web2).
There are really two choices you will need to make, and they may end up being the same answer. Where you will MINT your NFTS, and where you will LIST, or SELL your NFTS.
Here is a general reference for all platforms, but we will also get into it!
CUSTOM SMART CONTRACTS:
There are many options for custom smart contracts, and this is the path I would recommend if you are able too. (There are some collectors who will only collect art that is deployed via a custom smart contract).
There are many reasons one may want to do this:
1) Complete ownership
2) Provenance
3) Control
4) The ability to customize aspects of your contract
5) Easier organization of your art.
Essentially, if any platform goes down, will your work still exist? Even if you mint NFTS through a platform on your own smart contract, the answer is likely yes. On the other hand, for example, Opensea’s shared contract can be completely removed by them if it violates their TOS. However, if they remove a contract you deployed, it will still exist on the blockchain. If IPFS goes down and you own your own smart contract, you can update the tokenURI to point somewhere else (depending on the contract). (also some people want to know that metadata will never be changed).
While you may need a DEV for super customizable Although Manifold is not a platform you can sell NFTS on, it is one of the easiest ways to make custom smart contracts for artists. (ERC721/ERC1155).
You can deploy custom Smart Contracts Via
Manifold
Nifty Kit
Rarible
Foundation
Zora
ThirdWeb
MANIFOLD SMART CONTRACTS: (manifold.xyz)
Eth / Polygon
Airdrop Support
Collector Analytics
ERC1155/ERC721
Free Claim pages
Secondary Sales Royalty Splits
Easy to edit Metadata
Metadata on ARWEAVE
Discord tools
Manifold has become the leader in deploying custom smart contracts. (Customization is relative though, but is enough for those simply wanting to mint their art to the blockchain) They have a simple, no code solution in which you can mint your own smart contracts via their web app, and then sell them on a variety of open platforms. Their documentation is amazing, and I have additional tutorials here. That said, they do not have a tool for custom sites yet, or for generative projects. (Stay tuned for more resources!)
Manifold is not the only way to make custom smart contracts, but simply the only one listed that requires an additional marketplace. Manifold is a very trusted company, when people see a Manifold contract, they know that it is legit.
NIFTY KIT SMART CONTRACTS: (niftykit.com)
ETH/Polygon
Lazy Minting
No Code Generative Project “Drop Kit” (Blind minting)
Custom Smart Contract abilities
Free Claim Pages
Air Drops
Split Royalties
Nifty Kit is another amazing no-code option for custom smart contracts. They do charge a monthly subscription fee, that said, they have been the first no-code platform to offer many features. While they have alot of things the “web3 native creator” may desire, they also cater to those with little blockchain knowledge, or first Nfts (fiat payments etc). While I have not personally deployed a project with drop-kit, I have minted from some of my friends who have, and I have heard it is pretty easy to navigate. Now, I know what you are thinking, why pay a subscription fee if you own your own smart contract? Well, I asked the same thing when I first found Nifty Kit, and I removed Nifty Kits Admin control. Now the contract is completely mine, and I could mint new NFTS via Etherscan. They have a full SDK to add mint buttons to your own website with their contracts. I do have tutorials but at the time of writing this, Nifty Kit has some major announcements this week, so I will come back and update yall here!
ZORA: (zora.co)
ETH
ERC 721, 1/1, Editions, or Open Editions Via their Platform
24h auctions
5% Platform Fee on Primary Sales for NFTS Minted With Zora
0% platform fees for Auctions using their protocol
Open-Source Protocol that can be used to create your own marketplace
You can use their protocol to list ERC721 Contracts minted on Manifold for 0 fees.
Zora is a protocol more than a platform (though it has a marketplace as well). But it is built to be true to so many blockchain ethos. For artists, if you mint on Manifold, your contracts are visible on Zora's Marketplace right away. If minting on Zora they only have ERC721 contracts, but you can still create editions or Open Editions. Auctions bids need to be made in WETH. Auctions go to a custody contract which need to be settled when the auction ends. (24Hr auctions)
Their documentation is good, though kind of hard to find so I am linking below. Zora has really cool OS resources for creating an auction house. I couldn't figure it out, (got close), but I definitely encourage any devs to look into Zora's docs!
FOUNDATION: (foundation.app)
Open to everyone
Auction and buy it now
1/1 (ERC-721 only)
Manifold integration **
24H auction (min reserve .05 ETH)
Custom smart contract via FDN available as well
Split Royalties
Eth bids on Auctions
Foundation was one of my least favorite platforms a year ago, and one I quite enjoy now. Earlier this year they added the option to make your own individual contract via Foundation. Prior when viewing on Opensea where many secondaries take place, this meant all work would show in the Foundation collections. Custom smart contracts are also nice. Buy it now is a new feature, and it is nice to give both options. They used to take 15% (semi standard on the curated platforms, and lowered it to 5%. Their UI is simple, and it is one of my favorite places to buy / sell, especially if you would like to auction off your work. All live auctions are also visible, so there is an increased chance of discoverability. Personally, I always get more bids on Foundation where I have not had much success with auctions elsewhere. Foundation used to work by invites only, and I love the fact that they opened this up to everyone.
You can also deploy contracts with Splits, which is awesome for collaboration with other artists.
THAT SAID - they have a small limit for metadata (50MB). Many videos (or larger images) minted on manifold may not display correctly! (On Opensea for example if you are minting a video you can do a preview image (a gif or a still). You also cannot use foundation on testnet to see if your token will display correctly.
You are able to update your metadata on Manifold, but you can not manually refresh it on Foundation. That said I have heard they respond quickly via their support channels.
When you mint on Foundation, you are creating a custom smart Contract. Once NFTS have been minted you can not update metadata, but you can Mint via Etherscan (ie if foundation goes down you can still use your contract).
OPENSEA: (opensea.io)
Eth/Polygon/Solana
Open for everyone
The most widely used site
Unlockables and collections
Multiple collections
Approval process after first mint!
Gasless minting **
Ability to Sell Any Contract on Eth
Accepts Credit Card **
Not a ton of market support.
Solana Minting via launchpad (new)
Flexible Auction Times
Weth Auctions
FOR ANY CONTRACTS DEPLOYED AFTER 11/7 SECONDARY SALES WILL ONLY BE HONORED FOR CONTRACTS THAT BLOCK 0% ROYALTY MARKETPLACES (possible on niftykit & thirdweb)
On my OG guide, Opensea had the lowest platform fee. Now it is one of the higher ones! Additionally, I commended them for having the lowest barrier to entry, and gassless minting was a huge benefit to me. I still standby Opensea having one of the lowest barriers to entry. If minting on Polygon, you can mint on Opensea’s shared contract completely for free (they cover the gas fees). Gasless minting is also an amazing option for anyone who does not have a ton of excess eth, or in times where gas is really high. Opensea’s lazy minting allows for you to only pay 1 transaction fee to initialize your collection. Your NFT will not be on the blockchain until someone buys it. In early 2021 when many of us started off, this was the standard. Now I would not recommend this. However, listing on Opensea is still very popular, even for contracts minted on Manifold.
Opensea has the highest volume traded over any other platform. And although you will see many angry tweets about “broken-sea”, people know how to use it. They are familiar shopping there and that can be an advantage.
Their verification standards are quite frankly not known and not always standardized, and if you are a new collection there are many warnings before someone purchases your work. This is standard, and most people know to ignore that, but something to note if you are onboarding buyers new to crypto.
Their UI changes alot, but they recently added a “featured pieces” section where you can highlight 5 pieces of work. You can make multiple collections and access them via your profile.
AUCTIONS- Auctions on Opensea Take place in WETH. A collector will pay a gas fee to convert WETH to ETH, and a gas fee to bid. You can set a minimum bid and a reserve price. The lowest reserve you can set is 1E, and any bids over 1E at the end of the auction will automatically transfer(or reserve if you set a higher one). If not, the artist will have to accept the bid (another gas cost). In all honesty, for whatever reason I do not see auctions on Opensea doing as well as other sites. Maybe it’s the extra steps, or maybe because people are not used to auctions on Opensea. In general auctions take longer, and I do think people should take it into account. While it can be a great tool for price discovery, sometimes its extra work + fees that may or may not make sense, plus they are a 24 hour process!
Solana - They just added a launchpad this week (similar to magic eden). While you cant yet mint Solana NFTs, most Solana NFTS show up on Opensea.
RARIBLE (rarible.com)
open to everyone
Gassless minting on the Rarible Contract
Standard contract or create your own
1/1’s or collections
RARI TOKEN
Supports Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Flow and Tezos
Aggregator meaning that any token in your wallet (collectables, PFPS, any work you have collected or have been airdropped will show up in your profile)
This is where I minted my first NFT. Like Opensea, you can set commissions and have an unlockable which was super important to me in the beginning. (Opensea did not at the time, now they do, and now this is a feature I do not care about).
Rarible has less volume than some of the other marketplaces, but is still an option where you can mint either on their marketplace contract, or create your own. https://rarible.medium.com/create-nfts-for-free-on-rarible-com-via-a-new-lazy-minting-feature-91cb4b7c68e6#:~:text=NB%3A%20The%20lazy%20minting%20functionality,applied%20for%20owned%20collections%20soon.
While I don’t see a huge advantage of using Rarible over any other marketplace custom contract currently, they had this feature available much before other marketplaces, so if your first custom contract was there, there may not be a reason to switch. Rarible will show all the tokens in your wallet (like Opensea), and its platform is a bit lower than others. You also have the ability to set your secondary sales % on the platform. For ETH Rarible also recognizes the manifold Royalty Registry.
Rarible released a protocol that is truly amazing, they also give access to their API, and have a testnet marketplace, which in all honesty I have found metadata loads quicker and their Testnet is more reliable.
Rarible Verification is via twitter
Opensea and Rarible are pretty comparable IMO. Right now Opensea is more popular but a year ago it was not, meaning base your decisions on the platform that you think best fits your needs, as likely others will follow
LooksRare & X2Y2 do not allow you to mint via their platforms (unlike Opensea and Rarible), that said you can still list your Manifold contracts on them. Additionally, you should set your profiles up there as well as your secondary sales commissions. Because secondary sales percents are processed via the frontend, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Especially if you have a large edition that picks up volume, people will use aggregators like Gem or Genie to sweep (this is more common in PFPs, Open Editions etc). Because they are not mentioned in Manifolds Original Documentation on the Royalty Registery, better to be safe than sorry. Remember that just because one platform is large now, does not mean it will last and dominate (why having a contract that you can list on any platform is important. Also, alot of collections forget to set their royalties on these platforms, so sometimes you can get a better deal
LOOKSRARE
Pays in Looks to list + buy/sell
Pay With ETH / WETH
Looks Staking program
Often times you will have to manually refresh metadata
Lower fees than opensea
All payouts in WETH
Looksrare was the first competitor to Opensea. Verification is usually quicker there, and because of the structure of their rewards program initially, many people were incentivized to use it. They do not have an auction format currently, and pride themselves on being more decentralized than Opensea. (More relevant with PFPs but artists are not immune to DCMA takedowns). When work gets taken down from Opensea that was minted on its own contract, the contract / art is not deleted from the blockchain, just inaccessible from a platform (another reason to control your own contract).
X2Y2
Volume has been increasing
Lowest fees of any trading platform
Incentive token
Make sure you set your secondaries if you minted on Manifold / another platform
X2Y2 is similar to Looksrare and does not take secondary sales percentages, so its volume has been increasing. Right now they are doing rebates for buyers on collection commissions, so for selling items it makes sense. Once again worth setting up your collections there, and is an options for buy it now. They pay you in ETH, not WETH. If looks or x2y2 add more features for artists I could see them being more popular. These are all trusted places to sell your own art. While they may not be the most popular at the current moment, things can change quickly. Its worth setting your profiles up everywhere
But what if I want to make my own blind mint, pfp or generative project?
NiftyKit
ThirdWeb
Hashlips (hashlips recently integrated with NiftyKit after this week)
Hire a dev (Please see contact me to
Bueno is another no code solution by Pablo Stanley (Robotos) for generative projects. While I have not used it, he has been great about sharing resources and education.
ThirdWebb
OG smart contracts for Dummy's Guide
For generative projects I have heard Nifty Kit is awesome! ThirdWeb I need to play around with more, but they have alot of the website integrations that I personally was looking for!! def tune in to spaces on Wednesdays to learn more about smart contracts
Curated Platforms (in no particular order):
Makersplace
KnownOrigin
SuperRare
1stDibs
ArtBlocks
AsyncArt * blueprint is relatively open.
MINTING ON ETH CHECKLIST
Decide where you are Minting
Mint
Make sure you set your collection / royalties on
* Opensea
* Looksrare
* Rarible
* x2y2
* and the platform you chose
List your token for sale!
Market!
Other Popular Chains for Art
TEZOS
* Tezos.art is an amazing comprehensive guide on everything you need to know to get started on Tezos.
SOLANA
In all honesty I have not completely gone down these rabbit holes. Solana’s most popular site for generative collections is Magic Eden. On Solana, there is something called Candy Machine, which is a tool kit developers can use to create generative projects. Solana is built on Rust, but this tool kit being standardized is awesome for the ability to create on SOL. The biggest marketplace for collectables is Magic Eden
People to follow / great twitter spaces.
This is NOT everyone, but some people with great info or who are in quality conversations. I have my spaces schedule on the Contact Page
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