How to Sell and Purchase an NFT

By Abbakin Digital Currency, Digital Marketing Cryptocurrency, Digital Currency 0 Comments

NFT means Non-Fungible Tokens, but before we go deep into this, let us first understand the meaning of tokens. Tokens are used for investment purposes, to store values, or to make purchase. A token could be a coin, voucher or asset that can be exchanged for any good or service.

Since this topic is about How to Sell and Purchase an NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens), it implies that there is also something called fungible token which brings us to differentiate between them.

What are fungible tokens?

Fungible here means, when something could be replaceable by another identical item. Fungible tokens or assets are tokens that are divisible and non-unique. For instance, flat currencies like dollars are fungible that is they are interchangeable; a $1 bill in New York city has the same value as a $1 bill in Miami. A fungible token can also be a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin: 1 BTC is worth 1 BTC, no matter where it is issues.

What are non-fungible tokens (NFT)?

Non-fungible tokens on the other hand are cryptographic tokens that represent something unique and non-divisible.

Unlike bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, they do not represent a mutually interchangeable commodity (in cryptocurrency’s case, money). This means you cannot part with an NFT and have it replaced with something of equal value.

By definition “non-fungible”; you cannot exchange them for other cryptocurrencies or goods, like you can with money. However, a non-fungible token or asset is unique and cannot be directly interchangeable with each other and the value is given by the community. NFT’s can represent an art, a picture, a meme, a skit, a tweet, a music video, and basically any digital asset.

Who can create an NFT?

Anyone can create an NFT starting from artists to entrepreneurs, musicians, videographers, social media influencers, and even tiktokers. The truth is that no experience is necessary, as long as you can prove that you are the legal owner of a content. Moreover, if you are a content creator, you can sell a paid content as an NFT, music artists can sell musical albums as NFT’s comedians can sell their comedy skits as NFT’s, blogs can sell hot exclusive news through blog posts as NFT’s, and many more.

Although, it is not easy as it sounds. You may be wondering that “Can’t I just right click and save the NFT’s without purchasing them”? Yes you can, but you will not be able to sell at the same value of the original. Meanwhile right clicking and saving it is pointless because the main point of NFT is to showcase your work and talent and use it to make great profit. It is also stealing because it is not your work.

There is no content, art work or talent that is irrelevant on NFT, so far that it is your own work, you will definitely find someone that is willing to pay a fortune for your little brain work.

Now that we understand the concept of NFT, let us now talk about the emergence of NFT.

When did NFT start?

Their history dates back to 2017, when an American studio named ‘Larva Labs’ developed CryptoPunks which is a series of collectable digital characters traded through NFTs, which serve as a good starting point in getting your head around the technology.

Currently, there are up to 10,000 unique CryptoPunks to collect. But with digital commodities, the ability to make copies which could be traded freely while reducing their value is quiet easy.

So, CryptoPunks were made digitally scarce through the use of blockchain (which is a kind of ‘Cloud’ technology for financial assets that keeps track of file ownership with advanced security protocols). This gives a proof of ownership to each Punks’ holder, meaning there will only be one true copy of each of the 10,000 digital characters in the world.

Now that we know a brief history about how NFT’s started, let us now dive deeper in learning how they are used.

How are NFT’s used?

The main use of NFT has been found in the digital art world.

In the physical art world, when an artist completes a work, that work will be the only copy of it. For instance, there is only one physical original copy of da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”. Now, forging a physical artwork is very difficult to replicate, thanks to the technology that can be used to fish out fakes and also the cumulative expertise of art historians and experts around the world.

So, if you think you are smart enough and thereby you go ahead to right click and save someone else work to be purchased, you will be caught and penalized. This shows that any artwork you showcase on NFT to sell is secure.

But when dealing with digital art, pieces could be copied much more readily, usually with just the simple duplication of a file. NFTs put an end to that, encrypting the digital source of an artwork with blockchain to ensure it remains the general version of that piece.

For example, a digital artwork could be embedded into this article, but it would not be the original artwork. The artwork could be copied an infinite number of times, which essentially renders it to be worthless in a monetary sense. However, the person in ownership of an artwork’s NFT holds on to something much more valuable which is the ‘original’ piece.

3 easy ways on How to Sell and Purchase an NFT

The following are 3 easy ways on How to Sell and Purchase an NFT ;

#1. Purchase Ethereum

Ethereum(Eth) is a technology that is a home to digital money, global payments, and applications. It is a blockchain platform that allows one on one exchange of tokens. Since most NFTs are Ethereum based tokens, majority of the marketplaces for these collectibles, accept only Ethereum tokens as payment.

If you already have an account with a cryptocurrency exchange, you can purchase Ethereum on it and send your crypto to your MetaMask wallet. The MetaMask wallet is a wallet that holds or keeps your Ethereum and even your cryptocurrency. For maximum security, link your MetaMask to a Ledger hardware wallet to mitigate the risk of hacks. Simply download MetaMask, set up a wallet and send it over the ETH you just purchased from Coinbase.

If you don’t have a crypto exchange account, Coinbase and eToro are good options for beginners.

#2. Connect your MetaMask to an NFT Marketplace

There are many marketplaces that you can buy and sell NFTs. Depending on which marketplace you choose, you’ll be able to purchase different types of art or collectibles. A lot of these websites have secondary marketplaces with a variety of NFTs, but each platform operates slightly differently.

Here are some of the other most popular NFT marketplaces:

OpenSea: OpenSea is a marketplace for NFTs that operates on Ethereum. To sign on to OpenSea (and other NFT platforms) you’ll need an Ethereum wallet. Users can interact with the network to exchange non-fungible tokens for cryptocurrency. It hosts a variety of digital collectibles, from video game items to digital artwork. To use the platform, you need a web3 cryptocurrency wallet such as MetaMask. Your Ethereum wallet address acts as a username and password and lets you interact with OpenSea. Once you’ve connected your wallet, you’re ready to start browsing the market and placing bids!
SuperRare : SuperRare is a social network for NFTs. Each piece on the platform is unique, and users can buy and sell these original pieces on its website. The platform operates with Ethereum’s network, so you’ll need to fund your account with Eth tokens to make your purchase.
Nifty Gateway: Nifty Gateway is an NFT marketplace owned by the popular cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. The platform works with popular artists such as Steve Aoki, Grimes, 3LAU and many others to release artwork on the primary marketplace.

#3. Buy Your NFT

It’s an easy process to buy an NFT once you’ve funded your account. Most marketplaces are in an auction format, so you’ll need to submit a bid for the NFT you want to purchase. Some marketplaces operate more like an exchange, using highest bid and lowest ask for NFTs that have several prints.

A benefit of purchasing an NFT from the primary marketplace is the same value directly after the product goes on sale. Some NFTs that are in high demand will sell for 5 to 10 times their initial price right after the release. The downside to buying NFTs on the primary marketplace is that it is hard to estimate the demand for the art. On the secondary marketplace, you can compare your purchase to previous sales before purchasing it.

Advantages of NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens)

Non-fungible tokens make it easy to buy and sell digital media online.
These tokens use the block chain to make it easy to verify authentic artwork and digital ownership.
NFTs can make collectibles more interactive and engaging.

Wrapping up: How to Sell and Purchase an NFT

Now that we now fully know How to Sell and Purchase an NFT. We still need to understand that the main difference between fungible assets and non-fungible assets resides in the content they store. While fungible tokens work mainly with Bitcoin store value, non-fungible store data like an academic title or an artwork.

The only obvious similarity between them is the underlying block chain technology they both exist on. Block chain on the other end is the technology that can prove ownership of an intangible digital item.