How to get started on NFTs?

What are NFTs?

NFTs or Non-fungible tokens are smart contracts that represent the ownership of unique items (digital art, videos, music, tickets to an event, legal documents, etc.)

When something is “Non-fungible,” it simply means it is unique and cannot be replaced with something else. For example, a dollar bill is a fungible item as one dollar bill can be replaced by another and be considered and worth the same. A “Non-fungible” item outside the crypto world is assets like diamonds, land, and even baseball cards. A Non-fungible item is not interchangeable with other items because of its unique properties.

NFT’s only has one official owner, and the transaction and contract are secured and recorded on the Ethereum blockchain.

Example of NFTs:

How NFTs work:

When an NFT is created or “minted,” it creates a smart contract recorded onto the blockchain. This contract is managed through a uniqueID (or address) that displays who the current owner is. When you purchase an NFT (think digital art), that uniqueID changes and is reflected on the blockchain (an online public ledger). You now have public and traceable ownership of that asset through the Ethereum blockchain.

Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology: laptop connected to a network of concepts

A single person can only own an NFT, and the record of the sale, price, and ownership all exist on a public ledger (blockchain). When the NFT changes hands, the blockchain acknowledges the transaction viewable by all in public.

Simply put, you own the NFT, proving the ownership is quite simple and secure, and so is any proceeding sale of the asset.

How to Buy NFTs?

Buying an NFT is quite simple, but at first, it can seem quite intimidating. We have put together a tutorial on how to purchase an NFT through our favorite platform Rarible.

We recently launched a project called Crypto Baristas on Rarible, which is our effort to raise funds for the first NFT funded café in NYC. Those who participate in purchasing a “Crypto Barista” would receive caffeinated benefits for life through our website and all future coffee shops!

Here are the steps you would take when attempting to purchase an NFT:

Buy Cryptocurrency: Join and fund a cryptocurrency marketplace like Coinbase to purchase ETH.
Get a Cryptocurrency Wallet: Signup for a “Non-custodial” wallet like Metamask, which is where you can store and control your cryptocurrency and digital assets.
Transfer Your Cryptocurrency: Transfer your ETH coins from Coinbase to your wallet (Metamask or other), which gives you the control to purchase NFTs across the various marketplaces.
Join the NFT Marketplace, Rarible: Join Rarible, which is a marketplace for NFT artwork. You will be asked to sync your digital wallet (Metamask or other) to the site, which will allow you to purchase and then store your digital assets.
Follow Coffee Bros. on Rarible: Follow our profile on Rarible to stay up to date on all our digital asset auctions, like our Crypto Baristas project!

Read our Step-by-step guide on How to Buy an NFT

How to Value an NFT?

Before you make your first big purchase, you may want to know how to value an NFT. We like to think of NFT’s a bit differently than most.

99% of NFT’s will probably not go up in value, so purchase an NFT from which you will get real-world use.

As an example, the OpenSea marketplace for NFT’s, and at the time of this writing, they had over 4 million assets for sale, and this number continues to grow exponentially every day.

To assume all these assets will appreciate it would be a poor assumption.

To even understand if NFT’s will hold future value, it is essential to find projects with one of the following elements.

· Rarity/Celebrity: Is the project highly desirable, limited supply, or created by a celebrity?

· Utility: Does the NFT project have use outside of just being a piece of art?

· Uniqueness: Is the art/project unique, or does it follow the same 8-bit formula as the past?

Read our in-depth article on How to Value an NFT

What are the Best NFT Projects in 2022?

There are millions of NFT’s for sale, and it seems like thousands of new projects are launching daily. How do you cut through all the noise to determine the best NFT projects to follow and potentially invest in?

So, you might ask, what should you look for in a project? We find NFT’s with utility a great first introduction into NFT’s and their potential future uses.

Here’s our list of favorite projects in 2022:

What NFT Discord Servers Should You Follow?

You are now at the point of continuing your NFT education, joining a community, and potentially investing in a project.

To get even deeper into the realms of NFTs, you need to join a Discord server. If you have never heard of Discord, Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat app used already by millions of people worldwide interested in NFT’s and Cryptocurrency.

We put together our top 10 Discord servers that you should join right now to learn more about NFTs.

Each Discord Server below has unique attributes; some are great for artists and developers, others are perfect for investors, and some are NFT project-specific.

We are personally active members across many of these accounts and can vouch for their active communities that focus on advancing the NFT space as a whole.

Most of these servers are perfect for those who are new to NFTs and new to Discord. Remember that most Discord channels have a short but necessary verification process before you are admitted to all the servers’ media. This verification process helps weed out any spam or bots that might pollute the channel with unnecessary chatter.

Conclusion

You are now an NFT Jedi; you know what an NFT is, how to purchase one, value a project, and what communities to join!

If you have more questions or want to follow our NFT journey, head over to our Discord channel Crypto Baristas, we will welcome you with open arms.