In the past few years, there has been a rapid increase in demand for investment vehicles. From Bitcoin’s rapid rise to power to crypto assets such as Ethereum and Dogecoin putting their stamp on the market.
While these are the baseline currencies that make up the current market, the ability to actually use any of these currencies in transactions remains slim. NFTs (or Non-fungible Tokens) allow crypto-enthusiasts the opportunity to invest and spend their hard-earned cryptocurrency in other types of tradeable assets.
OpenSea is a platform that allows users to quickly purchase, make, and sell NFTs. Let’s see what OpenSea has to offer in this quick review of its features, pricing, and other related capabilities.
Before you continue, you may want to watch this video by Lite Liger on YouTube that gives a quick overview. Afterward, you will want to read the rest of our article for a more comprehensive review of OpenSea.
What is OpenSea? OpenSea Decentraland
OpenSea was developed in early 2018 by Devin Finzer and Alex Attalah. They had extensive technology backgrounds in Google and Palantir, respectively. They have also worked previously on Claimdog and hostess.fm which were sold to larger parent companies.
OpenSea was created by CryptoKitiies in 2017, a 2017 crypto-asset which gave rise to the modern NFT. Through lean collaboration and a desire to invest in new and exciting technologies, OpenSea was developed into one of the largest general marketplaces for user-owned digital items.
What is an NFT Market Place?
For those unaware or not as digitally savvy, an NFT marketplace deals with buying and selling digitally created goods, which have the unique programmability inherent with virtual items. They can be traded, just like any other digital asset. They can be used on different platforms but NFTs are unique because of their Blockchain-induced scarcity.
Digital goods have been plagued by scarcity for a long time due to their inherent ability to duplicate and copy any item. This makes it difficult to create digital art or other collectible memorabilia as their scarcity can only be controlled by platform controls or release limitations.
With NFTs, you can control the scarcity by providing a digital non-fungible token– that is, a wholly unique ID token– and attach it to your creations to certify that one as the original. This functionality has opened the gate to how people can start buying, selling, and even investing in digital art they value. Since its soft inception in 2017, NFTs have grown in size and breadth. They now offer virtual experiences, sports memorabilia and digital clothing.
> > Click Here to Explore OpenSea < <
What is OpenSea Doing Differently?
OpenSea’s primary focus is its drive to put this new technology within reach of all digital creators out there. If you’re a digital artist, you can utilize the OpenSea platform and list your work without having to pay any commission or usage fees. It’s similar to how traditional e-commerce websites like eBay work, where sellers can regularly post items for sale without having to pay anything in the way of a consignment fee.
What makes OpenSea a fantastic choice for artists and other creators is its sheer size. Since its inception, it has grown to be the largest NFT market available online, increasing the chances for interested buyers to find and invest in your work. They even have the mobile app available for iOS devices so you can transact on the go.
OpenSea’s collection manager makes it easy to manage these transactions. It allows users to mint and then sell NFTs without any fees.
OpenSea has any costs?
Of course, OpenSea needs to generate revenue somehow to maintain its operations and keep the platform running. OpenSea adds a selling fee to any transaction, as is the case with most NFT marketplaces. The buyer usually pays this additional fee, which allows sellers to enjoy the full value of their NFTs. This fee comes in at about 2.5% on top of the listed price of the NFT, meaning a $100 NFT will cost the buyer $102.5 to purchase.
Sellers may charge an additional fee if the artist is a worthy buyer. They don’t want to add additional fees. In that case, they can easily opt for the built-in royalties system inherent within NFTs. This means that your NFT will continue to generate royalties at a maximum of 10% for every subsequent sale after the initial sale.
OpenSea, however, does not accept payments in the form bank deposits, credit cards or debit cards. OpenSea transactions require you to have an existing wallet that is compatible with the Ethereum network. The list of available wallets is long, but some of the more common ones include Coinbase, MetaMask, and TrustWallet.
> > Click Here to Explore OpenSea < <
Is OpenSea Easy to Use?
OpenSea’s platform makes it easy to use. It can display bids and auction times, in different ways. You start off with a gallery page of different NFT art available. They can be purchased using either the traditional auction process or a faster “Buy Now” option, similar to eBay’s sales.
You can view and follow different artists as well. Some artists may have additional biographies or anecdotes about the meaning and purpose behind their work. You can also see information on each listing’s price, offers made, and even the artist’s price history.
If you want to create your own NFT, a process called NFT Minting, you can do that through Open Sea as well. Simply click the create function on the OpenSea homepage and click “Create a Collection.”
Once you are here, you can design the overall logo, banner, and other design elements of your collection and the name for the NFT and even URL layout. To direct potential buyers to your work, include relevant portfolios and social media links.
You can now set your royalty rates up to 10% and choose which Blockchain you would like to add your NFT (as of this writing, Ehtereum and Polygon are the current Blockchains). You can then designate what token you’d like to accept payment in, either EtH, WITH, DAI, or USDC. To allow buyers to pay you, you will need to verify the transaction using your wallet. OpenSea Decentraland
Lastly, click create and watch your collection space develop. Once the collection is set up, you can add items to it and upload your work up to a maximum of 100MB per file. You can add a name and description to each item that you upload, then mark it as for sale. The NFTs cannot be stored in OpenSea, but in your wallet. Make sure your wallet can support web3!
> > Click Here to Explore OpenSea < <
How To Open An Account
To properly set up an account, you will need a wallet. Doing so is one of the prerequisites to having an OpenSea account, but the process is relatively easy after that.
Sign up like any other website with your email, set a password, and begin personalizing your account with a banner and your own personal bio. The OpenSa FAQs has the dimensions guidelines for banners. OpenSea Decentraland
In the past, you had to prove your collection’s validity. OpenSea removed the requirement and has expanded the number of searchable items available on their site. High-traffic profiles have the advantage of having a “verified status” (signified by a blue check) that indicates the authenticity of their account.
Is OpenSea safe?
As with all the different crypto platforms, safety is always a concern (especially when dealing with potentially large transactions). Like all crypto transactions, OpenSea transactions are secured on the Blockchain. Specifically, Ethereum’s smart contract allows the platform to facilitate transactions instantly without any oversight from third party auditors. OpenSea Decentraland
OpenSea is also what you would call a non-custodial marketplace. OpenSea doesn’t hold any crypto funds. It only moves cryptocurrency from one wallet into another when there is a transaction. All of this is possible because of the smart contracts mentioned above, which keep everything secure and verifyable.
Last words
OpenSea is an essential stop for any NFT creator or investor. It is a great marketplace because it offers the largest number of NFTs and has a very simple interface for minting. It also has additional checks and balances to ensure your purchases are secure.
> > Click Here to Explore OpenSea < <
Most Frequently Asked Questions OpenSea Decentraland
What is an NFT?
An NFT, or Non-fungible token, acts as a certificate that you can attach to digital goods that indicate their authenticity and generates a sort of scarcity on your item. This helps improve value in things, almost to astronomical prices, and reduces the chances of pirated or inauthentic work popping up around different platforms.
It isn’t a perfect system, but it’s a system that’s allowed some digital artists to begin earning from projects they’ve previously been hardpressed to find workable solutions for.
What is the Blockchain?
Blockchain would be the core of the entire process of making and transacting any crypto-asset that is currently on the market. While NFTs mostly use the Ethereum blockchain (utilizing their smart contracts function in the process), other crypto assets have their own blockchains in which their own transactions occur.
A blockchain is an automated leger, which is supported by crypto miners. It can manage, record and execute transactions between parties. In traditional financial settings, this would need third parties to verify the validity of each transaction. Sure the modern age feels almost instant, but back-end operations are still comprised mainly of audits that ensure each transaction was done in good faith.
Because the Blockchain relies on the transactions of the past, it eliminates the need to have third-party authenticationators. To defraud or duplicate trades within a blockchain, you must decouple and undo all the other transactions that succeeded. This is why Blockchain and the surrounding crypto market are interesting as they act as stepping stones towards the possible future of automated transactions between parties.
Can Anyone Make an NFT?
NFTs have become known as the “people’s token” as it allows what was usually a very centralized and exclusive art market to suddenly open up to newcomers and potential disrupters that can create quality artwork and distribute it to fans.
NFTs are controlled distributions. This is the best thing about NFTs. Each piece of art will have an NFT token attached to it, signifying it as authentic. This means that anyone can label any piece of art as their own by attaching an NFT receipt. However, abusers can also be found in any new technology. So let’s take the good with the bad.
OpenSea has customer support
Let’s say you need assistance with your OpenSea account or transactions. In that case, you can easily send an email to support@opensea.io. Include in your email a subject line that explains the nature of the problem and details about your account. They also have a ticket system that you can use to send an email.
You may find the FAQs useful if you are having simple problems. One of their many entries may already have the answer to your concern.
