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The Beginners Guide to Understanding the NFT Art Phenomenon

The Beginners Guide to Understanding the NFT Art Phenomenon
Written by
Michael Sheikh
Published on
March 23, 2022
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For the last few months, nothing has been hotter than NFTs. Where did they come from? What the hell are they? Non Fungible Token…WTF is that? How can ART be a token? Is it crypto? Did someone truly pay over $1 million for a .jpg image file? If you have these questions and are confused, sit back and let us guide you through the NFT hype circulating the internet and the financial industry by storm. This is more of an introductory article so be patient, the stock tickers are at the end.

The Basics: What is NFT Art?

First we understand what an NFT is. It does stand for Non Fungible Token and by token it's like a coin, yet 1 of a kind. There are no others… its Non- FUNGIBLE, non replaceable -- 1 of a kind. Each NFT has a meta tag attached to it (long set of letters and numbers) registered on a blockchain. These NFT’s reside not exclusively on one blockchain, but on a multitude of them, but unpacking that universe is entirely another article. If there is only 1 of anything, it can be an NFT. We are going to talk about NFT “Art” which is just 1 of many things that could be a NFT, but has served as a means to educate the masses on what NFTs are and how essential they will be in the future for creating a receipt of ownership as the blockchain keeps a ledger which connects that item to you and your digital wallet. Take the deed to your home or the title to your vehicle… These can be NFTs as they are 1 of a kind and the blockchain can hold the information that connects your ownership to that home, land or car.So with ART, people are purchasing digital pictures, whether they be cartoons of animals, photographs, paintings, 3D style objects, drawings of life, flowers, naked women you name it-- these items are the ONLY 1 of their sort and buying the NFT guarantees you ownership of that image. The artist and creator sold and transferred those rights for that image to YOU. Many joke and say that they can copy the image and paste it and say they have the image but like having a picture of fine art (aka the Mona Lisa), having the image is great, but do YOU OWN it? The answer is NO. Lastly, ART is collectible and people collect things, such as NFTs.

Why the HYPE? Why Are People Buying NFTs?

People have been collecting things since the beginning of time. They need it, or it makes them happy, or they hoard it because it has value and later could be bartered, traded or sold for money or something else they want more. With stories of how certain NFTs were in such demand that their values were jumping 2, 3, 5, 10x the price that was paid for them, it instantly attracted the get rich quick crowd and everyone else who was willing to take a chance at making money buying and selling NFTs. For penny stock investors and crypto currency traders, who have a high tolerance for risk, this NFT game was right up their alley. All these investors jumped at the opportunity to make a quick buck and scanned to forums, and social media platforms for the next hot NFT collection with hopes of buying in early and selling at a profit quickly. Let me clarify, some individuals LOVE the art, but let's be honest, people are buying these NFTs in hope of making money. They are an investment, a collectible yes, but at the end of the day, they speculate a positive return.

What Makes Collecting NFTs So Fun?

The best analogs are Scratch-off Lottery Tickets, Packs of sports cards, and holiday grab bags are all still a thing. They all entail the mystery of not knowing what you are going to get. With the lottery ticket, you invest a few bucks with hopes you win more. With a pack of sports cards, you invest or buy it for a few bucks and hope you get a special card, an autographed one or the Rookie card of a promising young athlete. With NFTs there is that same excitement and it's addicting.Now there are a couple of ways you can BUY an NFT and they more or less involve the timing of things. When a collection goes on sale, they call this the day of the MINT, like the Federal Reserve MINTS money, you MINT (buy) your NFT. Once all the NFTs in the collection are sold, for all the NFT enthusiasts that missed the minting, they can still purchase an NFT from the collection on the secondary market from someone who originally minted the NFT and placed it for sale. Back to the minting, when this happens, you do not know what you are going to get, just like a grab bag or that pack of cards, while the person who buys the NFT on the secondary market does have the ability to choose the NFT the want or offer a lower price than the seller wants with hopes they accept. Now after everyone partakes in the mint, your NFT is soon “revealed” and this is the exciting part as one hopes they minted a rare version of that NFT which will demand more money than initially invested, thus a potentially profitable experience.

Understanding Rarity Among Randomized Art NFTs

As we mentioned before, there are many types of ART NFTs, but the most popular are ones that use a “randomizer” to pick traits for the different attributes of the NFT. For this example, we are going to use the famous Bored Apes Yacht Club. The collection is of Bored Apes, but these apes are all unique in their own way. The developer or creator chose 6 different attributes for each bored ape NFT consisting of image background, hat/hair of the ape, eyes, mouth, color fur and clothing. Now each of these attributes has a number of unique traits. For example again, there could be 10 different background colors, 12 different sets of eyes, 15 different mouths, 20 different hair and hat options and an equal amount of clothing options also. By design, the creator made some of these traits common, some rare, some super rare or “epic” and some really hard to get called “legendary”. For example, 15% may have gray fur, only 5% may have pink fur, only 3% may have zombie fur and less than 1% will have GOLDEN fur. Doing the math, minting and owning an ape with gold fur, you can see by the stats there are 15x as many apes with gray fur making apes with gold fur or zombie fur that are much more rare and more highly collectible among collectors of that NFT. One with gold fur could be valued at 5, 10, 20x more than a common gray one. Like getting that rare superstar in a pack of cards, collectors hope to get a rare gold fur type NFT when they participate in a MINTING.The exciting part, for those that got a gray furred ape, you still have hope. Don’t forget there are other attributes in which you could have landed rare traits for your ape, such as golden teeth, or a gold jacket and so on. Like a lottery ticket, they all can’t be winners, some will be basic common ones and some will be mid tier because they have a few sought after rare traits or features and of course there will be those lucky enough to mint legendary ones. With the bored apes, they all are winners as the floor price (cost of the cheapest NFT of that collection on the market) is still $200k plus. As one can imagine, developers and creators of these collections have continued to evolve and keep things fun, fresh and enjoyable for the collectors. One way this has transpired was by adding a subset of rare 1 of 1’s in addition to the randomized NFT set. For example, the traits of these ones may not be a part of the collection. Let’s say there are 10 1 of 1’s where the apes are dressed in superhero outfits like superman, batman, spiderman, etc. Now, not only did the creator make it interesting by landing an ape with rare features/traits like gold fur, but he/she also added rare 1 of 1 apes mixed into the collection. Landing one of these is super rare and pretty much guarantees the owner a nice payday. For example, an NFT collection named the Apocalyptic Apes which has a floor price of .35 ETH ($1000) had a 1 of 1 Batman ape that was recently sold for 102.5 ETH ($300k?). So as one can see, landing one of these 1 of 1’s is not only exciting but potentially financially rewarding!

What to Look For When Buying NFT Art

My advice if a collector is to buy things that make you happy, make you feel a particular way, resonate with who you are and flat out appreciate the art and or artist. If you are an investor, things are a bit different. There is no telling which ones are going to be worth money someday, but there are a few things you can look out for that are a recipe for a successful collection and can only increase your odds of buying one(s) that could have both shortterm and longterm potential. These are things I look for Pre-Mint vs Post-Mint.

  1. PRE-Mint look for hype, look for twitter and instagram accounts with lots of followers.
  2. PRE-Mnt look for a well designed website with ROADMAP of the project that looks promising, something more than a cash grab but a project with a future that will maintain demand. Will it tie to the Metaverse, or an online game/app.
  3. PRE-Mint look for unique projects, great art, clever concepts, something new and fresh.
  4. PRE-Mint look at the track record of the project team or the influencers and/or celebrities attaching their name to it.
  5. PRE-Mint look at the Mint Price and which blockchain it's attached to. Is it overpriced? If on the Ethereum blockchain, do you want to pay the high gas fees compared to others like Solana. It is nice to see some developers have made special smart contracts with lower gas fees for use of the Ethereum blockchain.
  6. POST-Mint look for community. What is the ratio of collection NFTs to owners. You want it as close to 1:1 as possible. Example: A collection with 5,000 NFTs with 3,000 owners is much more attractive than a collection of 10,000 NFT’s and 400 owners. Like stocks, have a larger community or shareholder base means more mouths and cheerleaders to spread the word and talk about the project.
  7. POST-Mint look for active sales on the marketplace. Is the floor price on the rise or on the decline?
  8. POST-Mint look for NFTs with RARE traits being sold by a seller in need of cash.
  9. POST-Mint don’t be afraid to offer 10-50% LESS than what the NFT seller wants for it. They may just accept it.
  10. POST-Mint look for projects being promoted or marketed again as catalysts on the roadmap are approaching

The Process of an NFT Project

For those that are curious what a project entails, this is what I have seen. First you need an artist to create the content of the NFT. As the artist works on the ART, someone else will start to market the project and the art by finding interested NFT enthusiasts. They will create social media accounts on twitter, instagram and discord where they will do giveaways, offer whitelist spots for referring friends and invitees to their channel on discord until a community starts to form. A website is made explaining the project with the when’s and how’s and why’s and whats. Whitelist spots are earned by individuals and given by project owners as a means of thanking them. Whitelisters are usually granted the ability to buy FIRST before the public and sometimes at a discounted price. The bigger the community grows the more hype grows due to all the chatter from the growing community. Soon the MINT date happens, the NFT developers use a recognized platform (NFT Marketplace) such as OpenSea, MagicEden, SolSea and others to allow a means of selling their NFTs to the public.

5 NFT Projects to Add to Your Watchlist

Badass Ape NFT Club (BANC) https://badassapenftclub.io Mint Day: March 17th 5PM (Public) .15 ETH -- Yeah yeah another Ape deal, but this one does have some of the best art to date. The series will have 8888 NFTS in the collection with an insane 350+ unique traits. Large team, great roadmap.The Sleepy Joe Project https://www.sleepyjoenft.com/ Mint Day: TBD Mint Price: TBD -- The Sleepy Joe Collection is made up of 10,000 unique NFTs, with rarity based on over 100 traits. Sleepy Joe NFT the character, begins with a 3D base and has 2D traits layered on top. A limited number of ultra-rare versions of Sleepy Joe NFT are also hidden within the collection. Already pressed on the OAN News networks, this collection depicting the president in a humorous light is bound to grab the nation’s attention and be a must own among NFT collectors. Pop Culture Kidshttps://popculturekids.io/ Mint Date: TBD Mint Price: TBD -- The 800/1600 NFT Collection is made up of 20 Characters with an A and B version similar to the famous Garbage Pail Kids. There are 40 Cards of each Character. Of the 40, there are 35 Commons (5 each of 7 different color backgrounds) 3 Ultra-Rare Refractors, 1 Legendary Gold and 1 Legendary Metaverse version. This “Politically Incorrect” series is bound to make one laugh, shake their head and add a few to one’s collection.Funky Flies https://funkyflies.com Now Available at OpenSea - Floor .05 ETH - Amazing 7,777 NFT collection of hand drawn art. The project consists of colorful unique art with much attention to tiny details. The artist actually hand drew everything with pencil and paper, then went over with black pen and marker and eventually vectorized to be colored and saved digitally. The project developers have recently announced a “spray can” that will mutate the flies similar to how the Bored Apes mutated to the Mutant Apes.Azuki Apes Social Club (AASC) https://azukiapessocialclub.com Available on Open Sea - Floor .075 ETH - Another clean and colorful derivative project that combined both apes and the Japanese comic book azuki profile style collection. The collection floor was recently as high as .22 ETH after a minting of 3,333 NFTS at .0375 ETH. The floor could very easily raise above .1 again as the NFT market warms up again.

The OTC’s Getting Involved in the NFT Space

Here is a look at a handful of Over the Counter public companies that have embraced the NFT phenomenon and are now apart of their business model: Net Savings Link, Inc. (OTC Pink: NSAV), a cryptocurrency, blockchain and digital asset technology company, today announced that the Company’s long-awaited NFT Marketplace is now live. Metatron (OTC Pink: MRNJ), a mobile and web technology pioneer announced it has developed NFTMinthouse.com, a NFT full service provider.WonderFi (OTC: WONDF) recently announced the launch of a new division, WonderFi Interactive Inc, expanded its product offering into play-to-earn (P2E) gaming and NFTs.One World Universe (OTC Pink: OWUV) recently announced their "MVP The Movie" NFTs will be an elite collection of 250 NFTs with 10, extremely rare, 1 of 1s. These ten lucky individuals who receive a 1 of 1 NFT will also gain access to the real-world benefits of owning a 1 of 1. HyFi Corp ("HyFi'”) (OTC Pink: BOPO) announced that it intends to sell 100,000 HyFi NFT Series 1 Vaults at $1,500.00 each for a total of up to $150 Million. ClickStream (OTC PINK:CLIS) a technology company focused on developing apps and digital platforms that disrupt conventional industries, announced today that its subsidiary Rebel Blockchain, Inc. aka Nifter™ has executed an agreement with Intercept Music, Inc., ("Intercept Music") a subsidiary of Sanwire Corp. (OTC PINK:SNWR) for sounds and music NFTs.Goff Corp (OTCMKTS: GOFF) is easily among the most exciting situations on the OTC and speculators are heavily accumulating on this dip while they still have a chance. There are significant catalysts at play as the Company recently announced it is entering the $40 billion NFT space and changing its name to Worldwide NFT as well as affect a forward stock split.SutimCo Inc. (OTC Pink: SUTI) recently acquired several software packages and programming to add and enhance its own “secure’ and “encrypted” systems. Not to be outdone by SUTI’s several “sister” companies, SUTI will use these developed codes to launch its own set of NFT’s and cryptocurrencies.Tapinator, Inc. (OTC: TAPM) through their wholly-owned subsidiary, Revolution Blockchain and the NFT500 platform, they have amassed a significant collection of what we believe are "blue-chip" fine art NFT's, and we have developed and launched a mobile application that extends the utility of these digital asset investments.Black Dragon Resources Inc. (OTC Pink: BDGR) announced their recent success of NFT’s and Cryptocurrency. The company has completed its first round of paying its shareholders a dividend using its own newly minted cryptocurrency, Black Dracos., (#B$D), and added a tremendous value by launching a catalog of NFT’s based on several collections of High appraised value Art. https://opensea.io/collection/blackdracosAsia Broadband Inc. (OTC: AABB) announced that it has launched an initiative to enter the Non-Fungible Token (“NFT) market to advance the rapid expansion of the Company’s digital asset base. AABB has been in discussions to create multiple NFT marketplaces for unique digital content categories. Additionally, the Company has a comparative advantage to efficiently process NFT transactions within the marketplaces. Nitches Inc., (OTC: NICH) announced it hired Anthony Piper, famed writer and illustrator at Marvel Comics, as Nitches creative director. Piper will develop all visual and digital elements for Nitches, including NFT (non-fungible token) projects, campaigns, digital imagery and compelling storylines.MasterBeat Corporation (OTC: MSTO), a holding company in the automotive and real estate industry, tweeted their #JTEC division shall mint unique collectible digital #tokens that can be bundled with car purchases! While parts supply chain issues plague the Industry, we are seeking new potential revenue streams in #MetaverseNFT& #AutomotiveNFTCordia Corporation (OTC: CORG) today announced the debut of the Crypto Food Hall NFT Chef Collection. The collection is on sale now at www.cryptofoodhall.com and www.opensea.com/cryptofoodhall. The Crypto Food Hall is a collection of 1000 unique chefs working in our virtual food hall. CYIOS Corp (OTC PINK: CYIO), announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Immortals Group Pty has signed an exclusive development and distribution agreement with Stan Lee Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong to produce and market Superhero NFT collectables. eWellness Healthcare Corporation (OTC: PK EWLL) EWLL management has decided to pivot its primary focus from American Health Protection Inc.’s emphasis on Tritanium Lab’s Hypochlorous Acid business to acquiring ArtFin Inc. Mr. Ed Honor is the CEO of Tritanium Labs and developer of the ArtFin NFT marketplace.

Closing Thoughts

I hope this helped you understand the NFT Art world at the moment. It can be a lot of fun, and being a part of some of these communities have been amazing experiences. Covid has unfortunately caused many of us to find new ways to interact with others from around the world who own the same NFT collectibles as you. This has allowed many of us a fun way to socialize once again. Word of advice. Have fun but be aware not all NFTs will be good, or make you money. Scammers are out there so be careful. Also beware of direct messages if you don’t know them offering you a special deal and want your crypto. Also, some NFT project owners will flake and “rug pulls” will happen (where owners just sell their NFTs then ghost the community), leaving the project with no future.

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Disclosure: Insider Financial and its owners do not have a position in the stocks posted and have posted this article for free without editorial input. This article was written by a guest contributor and solely reflects his opinions.

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