written by: Katia Dean

edited & co-authored by: Nia Joseph

Learning a new technology comes with it’s obstacles. There’s the lingo, technical stuff and just a general learning curve. Despite all of that, I’m still very excited about this journey of becoming an NFT collector (on the Solana Blockchain). I’m going to explain how I discovered what an NFT is and how I entered the ecosystem. So, let’s get ready for a rabbit hole adventure and learn some basic knowledge along the way. #WAGMI

What is a Non-Fungible Token (NFT)

Last year in 2021, I noticed the word NFT all over the media outlets and became curious. I started with the basic google search approach to answer the question “what does an NFT even mean?” In short, I deduced that Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) are tokens that can represent one-of-a-kind objects. NFTs can only have one official owner at a time.

How does an NFT work?

Let’s get one thing clear: an NFT is not a JPEG file. It is a token that can represent one-of-a-kind objects. An NFT does the following:

• It’s stored on the Blockchain (keeps track of transactions) and you can verify ownership this way as well on public ledgers like Solscan
• Most of the initial NFT media attention came from those on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain; however, other Blockchains like Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC) are holding NFTs as well.

Benefits of an NFT

• Passive income
• Being apart of the NFT community; networking and building relationships
• Joining Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)
• Gaming
• Domain names
• Physical items and merch
• Metaverse access

How to Purchase an NFT?

Here are the steps to purchasing your 1st NFT.

1. Create an account on a cryptocurrency exchange such as Coinbase
2. Purchase the NFT platform’s cryptocurrency; like Ethereum (ETH) or Solana (SOL)
3. All the projects in this article are on the Solana blockchain; I purchased SOL to buy my NFTs
4. Create a digital wallet ( hot wallet) online to hold the cryptocurrency.

There are two popular wallets:

MetaMask for ETH https://metamask.io/ https://youtu.be/ZIGUC9JAAw8

Phantom for SOL https://phantom.app/ https://youtu.be/9AewR65ZyOw

1. Go to the Marketplace and see what NFTs catch your eye
2. Connect your wallet to the Marketplace and buy your NFT
3. Congratulations, you are now the owner of the NFT

Choosing Your NFT

Do Your Own Research (DYOR). Conducting market research is one way I determine the best projects to invest in.

Here are some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

1. How many Discord members are involved in this project. <2k before Mint Date
2. Mint date aka Drop = This date means before the project will be released on the Marketplace. A marketplace is where you purchase the NFTs.
3. There are a few marketplaces for Solana (SOL) NFT projects

Magic Eden https://www.magiceden.io/

Solanart https://solanart.io/ ( that will be upgrading soon)

Solsea https://solsea.io/

DigitalEyes https://digitaleyes.market/

Metaplex https://www.metaplex.com/

1. Follow the Twitter page for the project to keep up to date with the progress
2. Watch out for SCAMS! They do happen. Do not respond to any DMs on the discord
3. Try to get on Whitelist = Whitelist is getting your crypto wallet approved for the future NFT mint.
4. Paper hands vs. Diamond hands — In the NFT world, there are two types of people. On the paper hand, people want to profit and do not care about a long-term project. The other is diamond hand people holding their NFT for the long-term because they believe in the project.
5. If you are in many Discords, aka DC you may notice people there asking for the ranking. The different attributes of the NFT determine the ranking. With Solana, you can check the ranking of various projects on these websites:

https://moonrank.app/

https://howrare.is/

NFT Collection

Now that you understand some of the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) basics. I wanted to share some of my favorite NFTs that I have purchased, “Diamond Hands.”

Cyber Pharmacy

First NFT I purchased was from Cyber Pharmacy in Oct 2021 on Solana Art Marketplace. This collection caught my eye because the artwork was unique and the project roadmap was interesting since it mixed real world benefits with owning a digital asset. I joined the Discord channel to keep track of the project’s progress.

I purchased 6 NFTs to build a pharmacy that will be in the upcoming metaverse in the future. The perks of holding these NFTs for the long term are the following:

• Passive income by staking = locking up your NFTS to earn income
• Having a pharmacy in the metaverse
• Being a part of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization = like-minded people make the decisions

To learn more, read the whitepaper here. https://cyber-pharmacy.gitbook.io/cyber-pharmacy/

Cyber Pharmacist and Techs

According to Cyber Pharmacy: “Cyber Pharmacists are digital rebels who take responsibility for their well-being and don’t rely on corrupt governments and corporations for their information. They do their own research. Our digital collectibles (NFTs) live on the Solana blockchain and will accrue additional value in multiple ways with our long-term vision. NFTs are bringing the masses to Solana, and we want to help grow the network with a truly unique project. With high-quality artwork and a revolutionary brand ecosystem, Cyber Pharmacy offers unrivaled value and utility in the NFT space.”

Sneak Peak of Metaverse

SOLGods

Second NFT is SolGods. This art caught my eye scrolling through Twitter. I was intrigued by the project’s story and how it did not look like any other project on the Magic Eden Marketplace. I also minted this project in Oct 2021 and joined the Discord server.

Art was inspired by “Giorgio de Chirico [who] was a surrealist artist born in Greece and is famous for his works featuring what is now referred to as the “mannequins.” This is where the essence of the GODs can be found.

An elusive faceless figure that touches the outer limits of logical reality. This is where the gods exist… somewhere on the fringe of reality.

Shaded art and pastel colours represent the almost ghostlike presence of the GODs. Overwhelmingly present but simultaneously vacant and out of sight… Subtle but mighty.”

The perks of holding this NFT long term :

• Great community
• Organic growth from people who love the art
• Variety of art projects from an artist in the group
• Gain whitelist access to other NFT projects

The NFT community for this project has some incredible people. We say, “choose the god that speaks to you” for this project.

In my case, I loved the straightjacket detail, along with the sword in the pipe. I described my god as he was out in the battle, which made him go crazy, then he had to take a smoke to calm his nerves, ha.

SOLgod

Village of Sol

The third is Village of Sol just got this one in Feb 2021. This art was dark, and only 666 minted. I found out about this project from the SOLgod crew. The perks of owning one airdrop provides exclusive access via tickets to all future collections.

“They’re the shadow in the corner of your eye, beings tricked by voices in the dark into trading their humanity for eternal servitude to the Order of Sol, and who can only gain their true form once they’re minted.”

VoS

So there you have it; the summarized rabbit hole adventure of my journey to becoming an NFT collector. Also, if this sounds like a lot, here are some key reminders to reduce burnout in the NFT space: disconnect from the phone on the weekends and you do not have to mint every project. This space has its share of drama, but I learned that people help spread the word about scammers or rug projects.

In summary, the NFT space is fun and I’m glad to continue to learn about this new space. In future articles I’ll discuss purchasing metaverse land and real estate. As always, continue to learn and DYOR.