OpenSea NFT – everything to know

If you’ve been following cryptocurrency trends, you may have heard of the OpenSea NFT marketplace. You would have eventually come across non-fungible tokens, digital media that people rave about nowadays. Most people see them as promising investments, while artists see them as easier to earn money from their craft.

After hearing this, you may have become interested, so now you’re looking for more details about NFTs. That search would have eventually led you to the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea. However, you probably didn’t want to test the waters immediately, so you looked for a guide. Fortunately, this article has all you need to know!

Let’s start by explaining what NFTs are and how they work. Afterward, we’ll talk more about the OpenSea platform and its features. Once you know the basics, we’ll show the steps to creating, buying, and selling your first OpenSea NFTs. What’s more, we will explain how you can explore this marketplace safely.

What is an NFT?

The term stands for “non-fungible tokens,” pieces of digital media with ownership tied to the blockchain. You will have a unique signature on a crypto network despite numerous copies.

You may compare it to owning the original Mona Lisa. Google Images can show you thousands of images, yet yours stands above them. Would you print and hang those in your living room?

Most people would prefer displaying the original because Leonardo Da Vinci painted it. Similarly, your NFT is unique because of its signature on the network.

People often think of “art” when NFTs come to mind. After all, the first one was a digital image called Everydays: The First 5000 Days by Mike Winkelmann, a.k.a. “Beeple.”

It drew public attention after it sold for a whopping $69,346,250. Artists saw it as a way to earn from their work, and celebrities took advantage by launching NFTs themselves.

NFTs aren’t just artworks because Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet using this form. What’s more, it brought games that let players earn while playing.

The most popular NFT game right now is Axie Infinity. Players earn crypto tokens called Small Love Potions (SLPs) that they can exchange for regular money.

We have probably covered your reason for learning about NFTs. Your goal will eventually lead you to the NFT marketplaces, especially the biggest one: OpenSea.

Read More: The NFT world of art, music, and so much more!

What is OpenSea?

Its About Us page says it’s the world’s first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In other words, most people buy, sell, and create NFTs here.

OpenSea hosts millions of non-fungible tokens from various artists and creators. As we said, it’s not just art, so here are the other forms of OpenSea NFTs:

• Music – These include songs, sound effects, and other forms of audio. You may listen to them before you buy, and some feature a video while you’re testing them.
• Domain names – They’re otherwise known as websites.
• Trading cards – Pokemon cards have been trading lately, so now we have NFT trading cards. You can find many of them on this platform.
• Collectibles – The first popular crypto collectible was CryptoKitties, but we now have others like Bored Ape NFTs. More people are trading on OpenSea because of this.
• Sports – Even sports brands are getting in on the NFT action. Nowadays, you can buy digital goodies from the NBA and Formula 1.

OpenSea isn’t the only NFT marketplace, but it remains the most popular right now. One of the reasons is that it charges lower fees than other platforms.

What’s more, OpenSea doesn’t store NFTs, and it only connects buyers and sellers, and money and NFTs will only swap hands once the transactions are verified.

This means there’s no way that hackers could take your NFTs or funds by breaching the platform. You’ll be keeping those on your crypto wallet, such as MetaMask.

How can I create an OpenSea NFTs?

After hearing about low costs and high security, you’re probably wondering how to make your first entry on the platform. Follow the steps below:

1. Get cryptocurrency – You will need Ethers or ETH, the Ethereum blockchain’s native cryptocurrency. You’ll use them to “mint” an NFT, the act of adding your NFT to the Ethereum network. Also, Ethers are for buying NFTs and paying gas fees. The cost needed to complete transactions.
2. Crypto wallet – As we said, MetaMask does not hold your NFTs or assets. And instead, it allows you to connect your crypto wallet, which contains those things. Click here to see the other crypto wallets that OpenSea accepts.
3. Create an OpenSea profile – Click the OpenSea icon, then click Profile. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to connect your wallet. Once that’s done, edit your profile by updating the details.

Be serious about creating your profile. People may not buy from you if your profile looks sketchy or if it fails to catch attention. Afterward, you can start making your first NFT:

1. Place the file – OpenSea supports these formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, MP4, WEBM, MP3, WAV, OGG, GLB, and GLTF.
2. Fill in the main details – Type the name, external link, and the description.
3. Add other features – You can add properties, stats, levels, and even unlockable content. Also, you may group NFTs as a collection.

How can I buy and sell OpenSea NFTs?

Now that you have your first NFT, it’s time to sell it. OpenSea connects you to potential customers and posts price listings. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Connect your crypto wallet to OpenSea.
2. Open your profile and select an NFT.
3. In the top-right corner, click Sell.
4. The platform will transfer you to another page where you can choose the auction type, desired price, and other details.
5. Once you’re done, click the Post Your Listing button. Since this is your first NFT, you’ll have to pay two gas fees, and you won’t have to pay for gas after this.

Of course, you could buy OpenSea NFTs yourself with the following steps:

1. Buy Ethers from a reputable crypto exchange like Coinbase and Binance.
2. Transfer the ETH to your crypto wallet.
3. Connect your wallet to your OpenSea account.
4. Head to the marketplace and pick an NFT.
5. Click the Buy Now button to buy at a fixed price or submit an offer to the seller.

How can I stay safe when buying NFTs?

Important safety tips.https://t.co/HBK8JvnMz6 pic.twitter.com/VrnZiwoFBm

— OpenSea (@opensea) September 29, 2021

The OpenSea platform is a free and wide platform where people worldwide may freely share their work. Unfortunately, scammers may take advantage of this freedom.

The OpenSea team always looks over the platform, but fraudsters may sometimes slip past. This is why it released a blog post about safely buying NFTs:

1. DYOR – This term stands for “Do Your Research.” Check the creator’s social media accounts before buying its NFTs. See people’s comments and directly message them for more details.
2. Mintable warning icon – Some NFT collections are “mintable” because users may mint them onto shared smart contracts. They haven’t been checked, so you should be careful. The round yellow icon with an exclamation mark should serve as a red flag.
3. Verified collections – OpenSea adds a blue tick on the NFT collections it has checked. If you see duplicates, choose the ones with that blue icon.

Final thoughts

Similar to OpenSea, we advise that you look into NFTs yourself. We are just informing you about the platform, but it’s up to you whether you’ll try it or not.

Make sure you’re aware of the risks you face when buying and selling NFTs. More importantly, only use the money you’re willing to lose.

Read more Inquirer USA articles if you’d like to learn more about non-fungible tokens and other crypto topics. They have all the info you need about crypto!

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