How to get started in Crypto, NFTs and Web3
*disclaimer* none of this is financial advice. You are, of course, responsible for your own financial decisions, but for my money, Crypto and NFTs are the future.
The web3 world is such an exciting place to be right now! It’s fast-paced, optimistic, and full of potential. It can also be incredibly complicated and intimidating. The hardest point to get past however, is taking the first step. After that, you’ll learn one thing at a time, as the need/desire arises, but at your own pace. Even if you only take that first step, you’ll be ahead of the game, and while the crypto space is still somewhat on the fringes, this is world-changing technology. We’re at the frontier of a new internet and everyone else will be here soon, too.
That said, the aim of this article is to walk you through taking that “first step” which, of course, is actually a series of steps ¯\_(ツ)_/¯:
Get setup on a CEX
A CEntralized Exchange is what you’ll use to buy crypto (Eth, in this case) with fiat (USD/EUR/Etc). Bitcoin (BTC) & Eth (the currency of the Ethereum network) are generally considered “blue chip” cryptos, meaning that while their values may fluctuate day to day, they’re expected to continue growing in value in the long run. Eth is typically what you’ll use to purchase NFTs.
Other options: Binance, Kraken, etc.
Setup a Wallet (and fund it from your CEX // or directly, for a fee)
*A word on gas: “gas fees” are paid to the maintainers of the network for processing transactions. Gas prices fluctuate with network traffic, and (on the Ethereum chain) are measured in units called “gwei”. Gas fees will be incurred for every transaction.
Other options: Coinbase Wallet, Rainbow.me, etc.
Keep it all safe
Your “seed/secret phrase” really does need to be kept secret (and safe. Don’t lose it. Seriously).
These words are all that’s needed to import your “account” into a new wallet. You also need to be sure who/what you are interacting with whenever you approve a transaction in your wallet. Wherever there are large amounts of money changing hands, there will be people looking to take it. Direct Messages from fake accounts asking you to connect your wallet or share your secret phrase for some reason or another are incredibly common. Always be suspicious. Always double check.
Buy/Mint an NFT
Digital art is the first use-case to gain traction, but NFTs will be soon be commonplace for everything from property titles to gift cards (plus all the things we haven’t thought of yet). Here you have two options: to “Mint” — initially create the NFT, by running the “contract code” — or to purchase on the secondary market at marketplaces like opensea.io.
Minting
Connect your wallet to the project’s website (through the Metamask browser, if on mobile) and enter your desired mint amount and click ‘Mint’. A MetaMask popup will appear from your browser extension telling you:
1. ETH required to mint your desired amount of NFTs
2. ‘Suggested gas fee’ to pay
3. Total maximum amount of ETH required to mint your NFTs
Click ‘Reject’ to stop the transaction or ‘Confirm’ to proceed with minting.
After clicking ‘Confirm’ the transaction has been sent for confirmation on the blockchain and, if successful, your NFT will show up in your wallet shortly (Metamask browser extension doesn’t currently display NFTs. Instead visit rainbow.me/<your 0x address>).
How to purchase an NFT on Opensea
A few project recommendations from the author:
Decentralized Bone Society — Mint Price: 0.05eth
Cryptoon Goons — Mint Price (Sold Out): 0.07eth — Floor price*: 0.344eth
Mood Rollers — Mint Price(Sold Out): 0.07/0.09eth — Floor price*: 0.767eth
Slim Hoods — Mint Price (Sold Out): 0.05eth — Floor price*: 0.785eth
Invisible Friends — Mint Price:TBD, minting Feb 2022
*All floor prices are current at time of writing
Get an ENS domain
ENS domains give human-readable names like “john.eth” to wallet addresses that normally look something like this: 0x41D49e99e7b6F74264ad7F1d1A6FbA7b4d191395. They’ll also act as web3 usernames that are platform agnostic, so once you own one, you’ll be able to use it everywhere.
The entire web3 community is very very excited about everything that’s happening right now, so if you have any questions, tag @DeBoneSociety in a tweet and we, or our community will be happy to point you in the right direction.
Wagmi! (We’re All Going To Make It)
