In the past few years, there has been a rapid increase in demand for investment vehicles. From Bitcoin’s manic rise to power to other crypto assets like Ethereum and Dogecoin creating their own stamp in the market.
These are the base currencies of the market. However, it is not possible to use any of them in transactions. 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 aims to help facilitate this growing market of NFTs by providing a platform for users to quickly jump on to make, purchase, and sell NFTs quickly. Let’s take a quick look at OpenSea’s features and pricing.
Before you continue, you may want to check out this video by Lite Liger on YouTube that gives a quick overview. After, you’ll want to read the rest of the article for a more comprehensive review.
What is OpenSea? OpenSea Marketplace
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 across different platforms, but their Blockchain-induced scarcity makes NFTs unique.
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 does OpenSea do 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. This is similar to traditional e-commerce sites like eBay, where sellers can post items to sell regularly without paying any consignment fees.
OpenSea is a great choice for artists and other creators because of its sheer size. It has grown to become the largest NFT marketplace online since its inception. This increases the chance for interested buyers to discover your work and invest. You can even transact from your mobile device with the mobile app for iOS.
Managing said transactions is much easier with OpenSea’s Collection Manager, giving users the ability to mint and sell NFTs with no attached fees.
Does OpenSea Have Any Costs?
OpenSea must generate revenue to keep its operations going and the platform operating. OpenSea adds a selling fee to any transaction, as is the case with most NFT marketplaces. This additional fee is usually paid by the buyer, allowing the sellers to reap the full benefits of their price. The buyer will pay $102.5 for a $100 NFT. This is in addition to the NFT’s listed price.
Sellers may charge an additional fee if the artist is a worthy buyer. They don’t want to add additional fees. They can opt for the NFTs’ built-in royalty system. This means that your NFT will continue to generate royalties at a maximum of 10% for every subsequent sale after the initial sale.
Take note, though, that, unlike other NFT marketplaces, OpenSea does not accept payment in the form of bank deposits, credit or debit cards, and Paypal. To make transactions on OpenSea, you’ll need to have existing wallets that have compatibility 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 < <
OpenSea is easy to use
OpenSea’s platform is pretty user-intuitive in that it can showcase bids and auction times in varying 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 view information about each listing’s cost, available offers, and the price history of the artist.
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.”
You can now design the logo, banner and other elements of your collection, as well as the name for NFT and 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 Marketplace
Click Create to watch your collection space grow. Once the collection is set up, you can add items to it and upload your work up to a maximum of 100MB per file. Add a name to each item you upload and a subsequent description, mark it for sale, and just like that, you’re a certified NFT creator. 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. This is a prerequisite to opening an OpenSea Account. However, it is easy to do.
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 Marketplace
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. Profiles with high traffic have the advantage of having “verified status”, which is indicated by a blue-check that confirms their authenticity.
Is OpenSea safe?
Safety is a concern with any crypto platform, especially when it comes to 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 Marketplace
OpenSea is also what you would call a non-custodial marketplace. This means that OpenSea does not hold any of your crypto funds on its platform, only moving cryptocurrency from one wallet to another when a transaction takes place. All of this is possible because of the smart contracts mentioned above, which keep everything secure and verifyable.
Final Words
OpenSea is an essential stop for any NFT creator or investor. The fact that it boasts the most extensive collection of NFTs currently and that it has such a simple interface for minting makes it a bit better than other marketplaces currently out there. Plus, it does have some additional checks and balances that can keep your purchases secure.
> > Click Here to Explore OpenSea < <
Frequently Asked Questions OpenSea Marketplace
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 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. This would require third parties to verify each transaction in traditional financial environments. 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.
The best part about NFTs is that these distributions would be controlled. 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. But with any new technology comes its abusers, so take the good with some bad in this scenario.
Does OpenSea have 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. Make sure to include in the email a subject line indicating the nature of your problem and any particulars 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. You might find the answer in one of their many entries.
