NFTs, culture, and WTF is even going on?

Breaking into NFTs is super intimidating.  There is a whole culture to it and all sorts of specialized terms and such.  

I made a twitter to try to learn more about it.  But it is just like any other twitter culture, it is a bit clique-y.  And especially with so much money in the NFT space right now, there is a lot of concern about safety, security, and scammers.  

Here are a few things I have learned in my first few weeks of being on NFT twitter (still as an outsider). 

• Don’t give anyone your seed phrase for your crypto wallet and don’t click weird random links that say they are MetaMask or whatever site you have your crypto wallet on.  Don’t have randos on twitter help you with anything technical that has to do with your wallet specifically in any DM.  If someone posts a solution on twitter as a public tweet, maybe their instructions are good but don’t clock their links.    (Seed phrase = essentially a super long password)

• If you are just a random artist minting NFTs (like me) that hasn’t built community in the space before and doesn’t have a following already, you are not likely going to have many (read: any) sales until people get to know you and like you and your art.  Even then, I don’t have a specific utility to my NFTs (meaning special access or use of the NFT as entry to something, etc…) and so the intrinsic value would only be in my art and someone valuing my art for the sake of its aesthetic.  People do this in the NFT space but it isn’t where most of the money is.  

• The big money appears to be in projects that have utility connected to them.  For instance, the Bored Apes Yacht Club NFTs are owned by a number of celebrities and owning one gets you an invite to various parties and exclusive events.  They are currently selling for about $180K+ each.  Some of the rare ones are selling for $1-3 Million. 

I didn’t get into NFTs to try to instantly make tons of cash.  No one should do that.  Unless you are already famous and have a huge following, you are not likely to be able to enter the NFT space and make a ton of money.  If you are trying to make money, consider creating special utility for your NFT like a conference or be prepared to put in tons of work on creating community.  

There are lots of people right now that are essentially gambling on NFTs.  There is hype before a project launches, and then it gets released, and then people buy in with the hope of being able to flip the item later.  This is fine, but it leads to teams of people who own a project hyping it up majorly to make their own NFT more valuable. 

What I can say for now is that I only own the NFTs I have minted (minting=creating/issuing).  My own art.  It sits in my wallet and is for sale on OpenSea and it is exciting to see it there.  

I haven’t purchased any NFTs at his time.  I think the space is super volatile.  I would love to be able to buy something for $200 and in 5 months sell it for $200K, but I am not willing to risk $200 multiple times over on projects that I know very little about at this time.  

More celebrities are getting into NFTs now.  Martha Stewart has NFTs on her website.  Haha.  Reese Witherspoon recently announced that she is getting into NFTs. Snoop just released his own NFTs.  More people are getting into this topic and it is lending credibility to the whole arena. 

I plan to keep looking, and see what happens over the next few months.  There is definitely a bubble in NFTs.  I am not sure if we are half way up the bubble or towards its peak.  I don’t consider NFTs at this point to be any sort of investment.  They are all speculation.  However, a number of people have speculated and now have an NFT that they could sell for lots of money.  They essentially won the lottery.  

Ok, I am rambling at this point.  Thanks for reading.  

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think about NFTs.  Do you own any?  Have you made any? Do you think they are amazing? Do you think they are trash?  

Disclaimer: This post and any other content on this website is based on my opinion. None of this is any financial advice and you should research and consult a professional before investing as there is significant risk associated with NFTs.