A few weeks ago, we wrote our first blog article about NFTs, highlighting 10 crucial things to know about them before diving in! If you didn’t read it yet, be sure to check it out so that it’s easy to follow this blog.
But to quickly re-cap, we discussed how NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) are unique digital assets that live on the blockchain (just like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) and cannot be copied. So when you own an NFT, it’s yours and no one else’s!
Today, we’ll be taking a look at how you can get started in the world of NFTs as an African Creator (or just a regular person interested in NFTs) – beginning with wallets!
For Creatives, turning your work into an NFT is a smart way to take advantage of the new Creator economy that Web3 presents.
By creating limited edition digital versions of your physical work, you can give your fans an easy way to purchase your art if they can’t afford the physical version.
You can also use NFTs as a digital certificate for a 1-of-1 artwork or craft that you want to sell. So for example, if you have a physical fine art piece that you want to sell for $1000, you can create a digital version of that work, mint it as an NFT on your marketplace of choice and then list it for sale.
In creating your listing, you will then indicate that whoever purchases your NFT also gets the physical version of the work for themselves. This way they are getting the digital NFT as proof of ownership and the physical work they can put up in their house, office, etc.
For everyday people like you and me, NFTs can be a great way to invest in digital assets and support artists financially. And as an artist progresses in their career, so will the value of their NFT!
Since they are always 1-of-1 or limited edition pieces, supply will always be short, creating a surplus of demand and driving their value up even further.
So you could purchase an NFT of a Creative’s work today for $1000 and in 5 years, it could be worth as much as $100,000!
Now that we’ve put that out there, let’s get into how you can set up your own NFT wallet today.
What are NFT Wallets?
NFT wallets are digital wallets that store your NFTs. They are like regular wallets that store your cash: they keep your money safe and away from people who might steal it.
If you think about how many times you’ve reached for an actual wallet in the past 24 hours, then you can probably guess that I’m talking about something pretty important here. The difference between an NFT wallet and a regular one is simple:
– NFT wallets don’t exist, at least not in physical form. They live on the internet somewhere; they exist only as bits of data on servers all over the world (which means they won’t fasten onto your belt or slip into your pocket). So unlike a standard wallet that holds bills and coins, NFT wallets don’t physically contain the png and jpegs that you’d normally see as NFTs. Instead, their basic operation is more like that of a debit card or a bank.
– You don’t need to worry about losing them because no one can take them from you if they’re gone—as long as someone else doesn’t know where those bits are kept online (and even then there are still ways to get them back).
NFT wallets also work similarly to traditional cryptocurrency wallets. However, they offer additional security features to protect your NFTs from theft or fraud.
As a general rule of thumb, when choosing an NFT wallet, be sure to select one that offers two-factor authentication and cold storage options. You should also consider a wallet that supports multiple NFT standards, such as ERC-721 and ERC-1155.
How to choose a secure NFT wallet
The first step to creating or setting up an online wallet for your NFTs is to decide which blockchain network you’d like to use in creating them. There are several networks available including; Ethereum, Tezos, Solana, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, Tron etc.
The key factors to consider in making an informed choice include; transaction costs, the speed of transaction, smart contract robustness as well as security.
Ethereum is currently the most popular blockchain network as it has been around the longest (since 2015), is highly secure, has a stable architecture and is widely used on all NFT marketplaces.
However, if you are cost-conscious and looking to create your NFTs on a blockchain network with lower transaction fees but still as secure, you will be better off creating your NFT on the Solana blockchain network.
This is important to note because various online wallets support various blockchain networks. And while there are a bunch of wallet options to choose from, based on research and overall security, we will recommend;
– Metamask Wallet for NFT projects on the Ethereum, Polygon or Binance Smart Chain network
– Phantom Wallet for NFT projects on the Solana network
How to set up your NFT wallet
Now we’re at the easy part!
Contrary to what you might think, setting up an NFT wallet is simple, and can be done in less than five minutes.
MetaMask Logo
Phantom Logo
Here’s how:
1. Visit Metamask or Phantom (or other compatible wallets) website and download the browser extension (note that you will need to be using Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Brave browsers to access their extensions)
2. Next, follow the setup wizard to create your account and get access to your Secret Recovery Key which should be kept safe and never shared with anyone
3. Once your account is set up, on Metamask, you will be brought to your dashboard from where you can select an NFT network, buy or deposit cryptocurrency, send it to a friend or swap
4. For Phantom, your dashboard gives you options to buy or deposit Solana (SOL) or other supported tokens, send SOL to your chosen recipient and keep track of all your collectables.
5. And that’s about it! You can play around with your dashboard to discover even more options/functionality and get comfortable using your new wallet.
It is essential that you set up two-factor authentication on all wallet platforms that support it! This ensures that even if someone gets their hands on your password somehow, they won’t be able to access anything because they don’t know the second factor (your mobile device).
Conclusion
Now that you are ready to invest in NFT, we hope this article helps you create your NFT wallet and get the ball rolling!
There are many online NFT wallets you can select from ideally, but the most important thing is to make sure that you choose a secure one that is best for you and your needs.
There are even hardware wallets and paper wallets (which we didn’t discuss within this post) that can be used to store your NFTs so it all comes down to preference and accessibility.
No matter which method you choose, just make sure that you take the time to research it thoroughly before making any decisions.
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