Despite all the skepticism around them when the craze started back in 2021, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have continued to be a popular digital asset among artists, collectors, and investors.
Having generated more than $17 billion last year, NFTs have also become more than mere collectibles as developers find new use cases in areas such as music, sports, real estate, the Metaverse, sports, eSports, and many more.
With NFTs proving to be such a useful and popular technology, it is not a surprise that NFT ownership has doubled over the past year. Not only has this resulted in the creation of a whole new open digital economy but also in a whole new world of possibilities for people around the world to connect.
Names like Bored Ape Yacht Club, Axie Infinity, Pak, Beeple, Rarible, and Foundation have become synonymous with the NFT space over the past year. However, no brand has done more to boost the growth of the ecosystem than OpenSea.
This NFT Marketplace is the biggest for a reason ranging from great features to a vast collection of NFTs. Let’s take a look at why OpenSea is such a powerhouse and how you can use it to buy an NFT.
What is OpenSea?
OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace both in terms of user base, trading volume, and NFTs offered. Founded back in 2017, the marketplace has seen a trading volume of over $20 billion from selling more than 80 million NFTs across 2 million collections.
A lot of success is the result of the marketplace’s popularity with over 1 million active user wallets, something their close competitors can only dream of at this time.
OpenSea was founded by Alex Atallah and Devid Finzer after they became fascinated with the movement that CryptoKitties started. As early adopters of NFTs and crypto, these 2 entrepreneurs came up with the mission to build “the most accessible marketplace for buyers, sellers, and creators.”
Today, it is possible to say they have fulfilled this mission continuously, forcing other marketplaces to try to keep up and in turn, boosting the whole NFT ecosystem.
Over the past years, the success of OpenSea has been seen by billions of people, with media and investors keeping close tabs on it.
Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, Blockchain Capital, and YCombinator are only some of the investments that have chosen to back the company financially and strategically.
Celebrities like Mark Cuban, 3Lau, Ben Silberman, Alexis Ohanian, Ashton Kutcher, and more have also publicly advocated for the company, increasing its exposure.
Buying an NFT On OpenSea: Step By Step
Now that you have decided to buy an NFT on OpenSea, it is time to look at the steps you will have to follow to do so.
Buying an NFT in OpenSea is a pretty simple process for anyone familiar with blockchain or crypto. However, if you are new to the space, there are some terms and tools that will be unfamiliar. Worry not, we will explain.
Step 1: Set Up Your Wallet
OpenSea will require you to have an account with them in order to interact with the marketplace.
However, unlike traditional marketplaces, this account won’t be linked to your email address, username, or password. Instead, you will be making use of a crypto wallet to use the marketplace.
The wallet is a tool that you use to store your cryptocurrency and digital assets, allowing you to interact with decentralized and blockchain-based platforms.
A crypto wallet can allow you to send, receive, sell, buy, trade, stake, or perform other operations with your assets, as well as authenticate yourself. The limits of these features will depend on the wallet and platform you are using.
For the purpose of this guide, we will be only taking a look at some basic features of crypto wallets.
While we will be looking at how to buy an NFT on OpenSea using Metamask, these instructions will be translatable to other supported wallets like Phantom, Coinbase Wallet, Glow, and more.
Metamask is the most popular crypto wallet when it comes to NFTs as it is compatible with most Ethereum-based decentralized applications (dApps). In addition to being extremely secure and highly compatible, it also offers both a mobile and web version.
You can download MetaMask on its official website. We recommend that you install it in your browser as this will make the process of connecting with OpenSea quick and easy. Just head to the link, install the wallet and get ready to set it up.
Important Note: Make sure you are on the correct Metamask website as they are lots of scams around. Never click a link from email or messages on social media platforms. The correct URL is https://metamask.io
To do this, just choose the “Create a wallet option” and create a strong password to ensure the safety of your assets.
You will then be given a secret recovery phrase that you should take note of and make sure to keep safe as it is the only way to recover access to your wallet if needed. Don’t underestimate the importance of this recovery phrase.
Now, you will need to confirm the recovery phrase by clicking on the words in the right order. Once you do this, your wallet will be set up and ready to operate.
Step 2: Connect Your Wallet to OpenSea
Now that you have a wallet, you will need to connect your wallet to OpenSea. This is as easy as going to OpenSea’s Login page and clicking the “Metamask” button. A “Connect With Metamask” prompt will pop up once you do so. Click “Next” after making sure the right wallet is ticked.
Your MetaMask is now linked to OpenSea. Click on “Accept and sign” to finish the process by clicking on “sign” in the window that will pop up. This is basically the same as clicking on “Sign up” on any other website and implies the acceptance of the terms of service.
You now have an OpenSea account which will use your wallet as the key. Just add funds to your MetaMask wallet and you will be ready to buy NFTs using OpenSea!
Step 3: Find an NFT & Buy Now or Make Offer
You are now set to buy an NFT using OpenSea. The process will be pretty straightforward from here on. You will need to find the NFT you are interested in buying using the “Explore” or search options. Once you know what NFT you want to add to your collection, you will just need to use the “Buy now” option.
When using “Buy Now”, you will be required to have the fund in your wallet as the transaction will take place immediately. This is no different than making a purchase with a credit or debit card:
You pay and get the asset. The only difference is that in this case, the asset will be sent to your wallet. This process can take some minutes depending on the network status.
You can also use the “Make Offer” option, which will notify the owner of the asset of your proposal. If the owner was to accept, the transaction will take place just as with the “Buy Now” option.
Once a transaction takes place and the NFT is transferred to your wallet, it is yours to keep. You can choose to sell it, trade it, or just keep it in your collection.
You are now a member of the NFT community and can enjoy all the benefits it entails!
Why Use OpenSea to Buy NFTs?
NFT collectors and creators using OpenSea have access to a vast collection across categories like Art, Collectibles, Domain Names, Music, Photography, Sports, Trading Cards, Utility, Virtual Worlds, and more.
However, the marketplace is more notable for its multi-chain support, which allows Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and Klaytn NFTs to be traded using the platform. ETH, DAI, USDC, and over 150 tokens are also supported.
While this might not sound like much, it brings a whole new lot of possibilities for everyone to use.
Surprisingly, OpenSea has been able to remain easy to use despite its exponential growth over the years, making it one of the best platforms for beginners.
Not only does it offer a super clean user interface but also access to a lot of resources and an extensive knowledge base.
In addition to this, its popularity means that a strong and big community has emerged around it, creating an extra layer of support for anyone looking for information on it.
Easy to Use for Beginners
OpenSea is also known for how easy it is to use, which is a huge plus for any beginner.
With a variety of resources and a vast knowledge base, you are likely to find whatever information you are looking for. If you are still unable to do so, the platform’s customer support team will provide top-notch service.
With the Blockchain ecosystem still in its infancy, it is not unusual to hear about hacks and security flaws in established projects. Fortunately for its users,
OpenSea is widely known as one of the most secure NFT marketplaces out there.
Unlike other platforms, OpenSea has taken a holistic approach toward security which goes beyond protecting its server and services but also establishing communities like the NFT Security Group.
Should You Buy an NFT?
Now that you know why OpenSea might be the right choice for you to buy an NFT, it is worth asking if you should buy one in the first place. Sure, NFTs are more than just a lot of fun as they can also open the door to closed communities, services, and much more.
However, it is important to remember that NFTs will in most cases be an investment of sorts. If you are thinking about buying an NFT as a means to get rich quickly, you should reconsider.
Investing in NFTs is an idea that has been misunderstood by people for quite a while. Let’s make it clear: There is no such thing as investing in NFTs. NFTs are not an asset class but a means to demonstrate ownership over an underlying asset, which can be of different classes.
While this might seem meaningless, understanding it can change how you approach NFTS and help you make better investments in the future.
Investing using NFTs can be harder than other assets like gold, precious metals, and even forex. With human perception taking a bigger role, those looking to make money out of NFTs need to be able to determine the perceived value of an asset in the short and long term.
This is especially true when it comes to digital art, the most popular niche in the NFT market at the time.
NFTs can be highly volatile, even more so than cryptocurrencies. This is not only due to them being speculative in nature more often than not but also due to how fast the ecosystem is evolving. With new projects being born by the hour, a phenomenon like FOMO can easily affect a project’s behavior.
As such, the best rule to follow before buying NFTs as a form of investment is the same as with any other asset: Don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose. Now, if you are interested in buying NFTs due to their utility or any other trait beyond value, then go ahead!
