How to make money with NFTs (2024)

Contents

1. What are NFTs and why are they so valuable?
2. What can you sell as an NFT?
3. What are the most popular NFT marketplaces?
4. What do you need to buy and sell NFTs?
   1. Make a crypto wallet
   2. Buy cryptocurrency
   3. Connect your crypto wallet with the marketplace
   4. Create NFTs
5. Five methods for making money with NFTs
   1. Flipping NFTs
   2. Selling NFT collections in niches
   3. Passive income with NFT investments
   4. Minting and selling NFT game characters
   5. Branding NFTs
   6. Creating your own NFT marketplace

NFTs are perhaps best compared with works of art, collectors’ items, and other one-of-a-kind objects. Just like an original Picasso is unique and can’t be replaced, even by an exact replica, NFTs are by definition one of a kind. The word is usually used to refer to digital objects, though strictly speaking an NFT is the digital ownership of a physical or digital artwork.

NFT creators turn digital goods into unique collectors’ items and objects that can be sold. However, when you buy an NFT you don’t get the work itself, but the right of ownership. Since NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain, you can check who the current owner of an NFT is in the transaction history. Essentially, as certificates of authenticity, NFTs guarantee that a digital object remains non-fungible and can’t be forged. That’s where they get their value. It’s rather rare to sell an NFT for millions. But they do offer artists the chance to sell art online and make it possible for collectors, investors and auctioneers to make a profit.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are fungible tokens. This means that they aren’t unique and can be exchanged without losing value.

Auctions like the one at Christie’s for “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” are actually rather rare. NFTs are usually bought and sold online through NFT marketplaces, which are like Amazon or eBay for NFTs. What you’ll find there are works of crypto art like songs, videos, GIFs, and drawings. They can take the form of physical works of art that have been uploaded as a file, or they can be purely virtual objects and artworks. Even books can be financed by and sold as NFTs, as in the case of author Elle Griffin.

Another form of NFTs are digital properties in virtual metaverses like The Sandbox Game, the third largest metaverse in the Ethereum blockchain. Other well-known NFT objects include CryptoKitties and Cool Cat NFTs, which are comparable to trading cards.

Well-known NFT marketplaces include:

• OpenSea
• Rarible
• Foundation
• Mirror World

Some of these marketplaces are open for all buyers and sellers, whereas others are invite-only. Some sites feature a wide variety of NFTs, and others specialize in specific forms, such as NFT art. NFT marketplaces use blockchain for making purchases and verifying transactions. The blockchain is what houses data about ownership and rights of use. Payments are made in Ethereum’s cryptocurrency, meaning that you’ll have to buy some of it if you’re looking to create or sell NFTs. Crypto exchanges like Crypto, Gemini, and BitMart and crypto brokers like BSDEX and Toro are popular options for acquiring currency.

While there are a few marketplaces that accept Bitcoin and Altcoins, most only accept the Ethereum currency Ether (ETH). So, if you’re looking to buy, sell, or collect NFTs, you’ll need an Ethereum-compatible crypto wallet. To make a wallet, you can use Coinbase, Binance, or Crypto. Alternatively, you can create soft wallets for different currencies. If you opt for a soft wallet, you’ll have to download special wallet software. However, online wallets are a better choice for beginners. With Coinbase Wallet or MetaMask, you can create a wallet for different currencies.

You’ll need a wallet in order to carry out any cryptocurrency transaction. Crypto wallets establish the identity of the buyer/seller and ensure that crypto transactions are verified. You don’t store your crypto funds directly in the wallet. Instead, the wallet contains private and public keys for crypto transactions. NFT marketplaces will normally indicate which wallets they support. One option for finding the right wallet for you is Ethereum’s wallet finder.

After you’ve set up your wallet, the next step is buying the cryptocurrency itself. You can either do this in your wallet or use a cryptocurrency marketplace. If you opt for the latter, make sure the marketplace is credible. Some popular platforms are Gemini, Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.

Even if you’re only planning on selling NFTs, you’ll still need to buy some Ether. Platforms will usually charge a fee for creating NFTs or, to be more precise, for minting NFTs. There will also be transaction fees for cryptomining, called “gas fees” in Ethereum. While some blockchains, like OpenSea, don’t charge you to mint NFTs, they still require you to have a certain minimum of crypto credits in order to publish your NFT on their blockchain.

Now you’ll need to choose the NFT marketplace you want to work with. Some popular ones are:

• OpenSea
• Rarible
• Foundation
• Mirror
• Larva Labs/CryptoPunks
• AtomicMarket
• FTX
• Nifty Gateway
• Binance
• SuperRare
• AtomicMarket
• BakerySwap

Once you’ve chosen your marketplace, link your wallet to it. To do this, you’ll want to look for a button that says “Create”, “Connect Wallet” or some variation of this. You’ll then use a QR code to connect the marketplace and wallet.

You don’t necessarily have to create NFTs yourself in order to make money with them. To buy and trade in NFTs, all you need is a crypto wallet and crypto coins. But if you do want to create NFTs yourself, there are some things you should first take into consideration. NTFs can be understood as certificates for unique objects, including physical artworks and objects, as well as virtual objects, real estate, and domains. NFT collections are particularly successful and are comparable to owning a collection of artworks, music or trading cards.

NFTs are created with smart contracts, which enable identification and verification using blockchain addresses and token numbers. Anyone can create NFTs. The only requirement is that you’re the creator and owner of the object that you want to sell as an NFT.

To sell an NFT, you’ll first have to mint it. To do this, upload the file in the correct format and size. Then you’ll want to add a name, a description and any additional information that might be relevant to potential buyers. Decide which cryptocurrency you’ll accept as payment and whether you want to sell it for a fixed price or at an auction. You’ll also need to decide whether you’ll receive royalties for each sale or whether the NFT will be freely available. Your NFT isn’t tied to any one marketplace, so you also have the option of putting it on multiple platforms.

Flipping NFTs refers to the practice of buying an NFT at a low price and then selling it for a higher price. This doesn’t require creating NFTs yourself. For example: CryptoPunk Character 8348, one of a set of 10,000 NFT characters, was bought for $456 in 2017. In August 2022, it was worth $171 million. Just like buying the work of up-and-coming artists, investing early in affordable NFTs with growing value can lead to big profits. Buying domains as NFTs or digital artworks are great ways to start flipping NFTs.

Here are some important tips if you’re considering trying your hand at flipping:

• Analyze trends and niches: Read up on niches and observe trends, so that you’ll know which undervalued NFTs might be worth more in the future. For example, keep an eye on which types of NFTs are gaining popularity.
• Buy rare pieces: Rare NFTs and limited-edition collections will quickly grow in value. Investing early in rare pieces will result in bigger profits down the line. You can check how rare an NFT is using tools like the Rarity Tool. Rankings on OpenSea and the frequency of transactions can also indicate how rare an NFT is.
• Note the floor price: The floor price is the lowest price a seller is willing to take for an NFT. If you’re looking to spend as little money as possible, look out for the floor price. This will tip you off to the least expensive item in a collection and an NFT’s flipping potential.
• Analyze high volume: Volume stands for the number of crypto transactions that have taken place for an NFT or NFT collection. This can give you information about how much interest an NFT is garnering and how its value might increase. High volume indicates that you’ll be able to resell the NFT relatively quickly.

Owning crypto shares and investing early in projects is a good way to make a profit without having to do very much. For example, those who invested in CyberKongz Genesis, a series of gorilla profile pictures, currently earn ten banana tokens a day. Banana tokens are the project’s cryptocurrency, which had a value of $900 per token in August 2022.

Here are some other possibilities for making passive income from NFTs:

• Real estate: If you invest in digital real estate, such as The Sandbox Game or Decentraland, you can rent out your virtual property.
• Royalties: As an artist or creator of an NFT, you can get royalties for each sale of your work. Just make sure to specify this when you mint your NFT.
• Staking: If you own valuable NFTs and store them long-term on a platform or in a protocol (known as “staking”), you can earn interest on them. For example, if you stake one of the 11,111 existing “Creepz” on MOBOX, you can earn around $75 a day in interest (as of August 2022).

The final method on our list is also the most complex: creating a new NFT marketplace. NFT marketplaces function largely in the same way as online shops, so it’s best to approach this endeavor as if you were going to set up an online store, and then go from there. First, you’ll need to decide whether you want to create the marketplace yourself or pay a company to do it for you.

Some important considerations when creating your own marketplace include:

• Deciding on a target group (limiting the marketplace to a niche or keeping it open for different NFTs)
• Choosing a blockchain network
• Integrating smart contracts in compliance with Ethereum standards
• Purchase and payment technologies for wallets
• API integration for third party apps
• Security features for encrypted transactions
• Common features for online stores and auction sites
• User-friendly UI/UX design
• Frontend design of the marketplace
• Customer support