How To Buy an NFT on Opensea? [2023]
In many contexts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be useful. Ever since an alien Cryptopunk sold for $69 million, the NFT market has witnessed an explosion of interest and is rapidly evolving.Â
Blame it on the 2020 pandemic, but now, Artists understand their work can also have value on the blockchain. Beyond an outright sale, they can monetize their work by collecting royalties on future resales.
One of the top marketplaces to purchase an NFT is Opensea, and in this article, we will discuss how to buy an NFT on Opensea before that.Â
What Is NFT?
NFTs are digital assets that anybody may trade online for a cryptocurrency payment. They're highly sought after on the market because of their rarity.Â
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are exchanged on a decentralized exchange platform. They use blockchain technology to authenticate the customer's digital item ownership and protect transaction information. Video, audio, trade cards, and real estate might all be represented by NFTs as digital versions of their physical counterparts.
The NFT market for real estate is gaining traction quickly. There have been recent sales of virtual plots for millions of dollars.Â
NFT Wallets
In just a year, NFTs have gone from obscurity to power. As a result, investors, collectors, and players all need the best wallet to hold their NFTs, meaning these tokens may be worth more than they initially appear.
You don't carry NFTs or cryptocurrency in a physical wallet because they are kept on the blockchain instead. You'll store the private keys in the wallet to access the tokens.
An NFT wallet is crucial if you plan to engage in NFT trading, as it will allow you to acquire, hold, dispose of, and transact with NFTs.
How to Create an OpenSea Account
There are a few prerequisites before you can begin making purchases and sales on the OpenSea marketplace. You'll need a wallet, as you probably predicted.
Step 1
Obtaining an NFT wallet to store your bitcoin and NFTs is the first step before creating an OpenSea account.
To begin using your new wallet, you'll need to load it with some cryptocurrency. Personal preference is the most crucial factor in deciding which cryptocurrency to use. On OpenSea, ETH is the most popular currency for trading NFTs.
OpenSea cannot process payments made in fiat currencies like the US dollar or the Euro.
Step 2
Second, register with a reputable cryptocurrency trading platform, such as Coinbase.com.
Coinbase's verification procedure is as easy as providing your debit card or bank account details. After passing Coinbase's verification process, you'll have access to buying Ethereum (ETH) and other cryptocurrencies.
Using a debit card to acquire cryptocurrencies typically results in instant access to the purchased money.
However, it may take three to five business days for your bank to process a bitcoin transaction made with your bank account.
As soon as Ethereum (ETH) becomes accessible on Coinbase, transfer it to your wallet (up to 15 days later).
You may sign up for OpenSea and begin trading virtual goods as soon as you have some crypto in your possession.
Step 3
If this is your first time visiting the OpenSea NFT marketplace and you would like to engage in trading, you will need to register for an account. Here are the steps you need to do to create an account on OpenSea:
OpenSea's Connect Wallet page lets you link your wallet, no matter what kind it is, to the app. You'll need to use a digital signature when integrating your wallet with the OpenSea marketplace.
Once you have connected your wallet to OpenSea, you will be able to update your profile details, such as your username, bio, email, and social network connections.
From that point on, you may move forward with confidence. After creating your OpenSea account, the digital signature stored in your wallet can be used to access it.
OpenSea Fees, Payments, and Royalties
OpenSea has made it easier for its consumers to make purchases. You'll pay a flat 2.5% fee on all of your purchases. NFTs can be created for no reason and at any time thereafter.
Moreover, as the initial NFT inventor, you get to choose a royalty charge of up to 10%. In this way, you'll profit each time an NFT you own is traded or resold.
It is important to note that contract-level splits are not currently supported in OpenSea. As a result, OpenSea isn't the place to settle a revenue share between many parties.
Buying NFTs on OpenSea
After logging into your OpenSea account, you may browse for an NFT that piques your interest using the Explore page or the Search function. After finding the NFT you wish to acquire, pick it and then either click the "Buy Now" button or enter an offer price in the "Make an Offer" window. You can confirm the transaction using a digital signature.
If you make an offer, the buyer might accept it, reject it, or make a counteroffer. Your gas bill may increase if you decide to cancel your bid. If you want the asset sent to your wallet within a few minutes, select "Buy Now" to complete the transaction instantly.
Let's say you're curious about the status of your NFT delivery. Choose the Account, Profile, or Collected option from the OpenSea menu. All of the NFTs associated with your wallet address may be found here.
NFT Wallets: Factors to Consider When Choosing
Among the most important features to look for in an NFT wallet are:
NFT marketplace compatibility is essential. To begin with, if the marketplace is supported, there will be a way for you to purchase/store the NFTs you desire.
The wallet's level of security should be very robust. NFTs can be valued in the tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands of dollars), depending on their value. You are looking for the most secure option.
A user-friendly graphical user interface is essential. Good UI (user interface) makes NFT trading easy.
An NFT wallet that can be used on multiple platforms and devices at once should be preferred. Your NFTs may come in handy if you can access them simultaneously on your PC and your mobile device.
Trust Wallet: The Best Wallet for OpenSea
Now that you know what to look for in an NFT wallet, you must think about the best option to use with OpenSea. NFT collectors prefer Trust Wallet, a mobile wallet with over 5 million users.
Users can access art marketplaces like OpenSea, MyCrypto Heroes, Axie Infinity, and more with a one-click in the software. Trust Wallet provides a secure environment in which users' assets may be kept and managed.
Trust Wallet has native support for public chains, including Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum Classic, TomoChain, ThunderToken, GoChain, and Calisto.
Pros:
The Trust Wallet's user interface is relatively straightforward.
NFT applications may be accessed with one click using Trust Wallet.
Inside the Trust Wallet app, you can buy crypto at any time.
There is a wider range of options to choose from thanks to the support for multiple blockchains.
There is a cryptocurrency exchange built into the Trust Wallet.
No wallet fees.
No dApp or crypto swapping fees.
Cons:
The software is only mobile-device accessible.
Since it collaborates with Binance, Trust Wallet is pushing Binance-based products ahead of other products.
Tips for Safeguarding Your NFTs
It is absolutely necessary to have a solid understanding of how to use your NFT wallet if you want to maintain the safety of your digital asset(s).Â
You should never give out your password to anyone. Commit your wallet's password to memory. The information shouldn't be shared online at any cost. Save a copy on your computer or phone instead of sending it over email. It's best to write it down and keep it in a secure location.
Keep your password/passphrase in a secure location. You shouldn't only jot it down offline; you should also preserve the document in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box or a fireproof safe. It can be laminated if you choose. This low-cost protection measure will keep it safe from harm.
Finally, connect your wallet to the MetaMask 2-factor authentication system. Even if your wallet phrase is compromised, the hacker/thief will not use your funds unless they have physical access to your device.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are NFTs Taxable?
The short answer is yes, but there is more to the narrative and some gray areas because this is a new space. It all boils down to how involved you are with them. You can make and sell NFTs (Creator) or buy and resell them in the NFT marketplace (Investors).
NFTs are created by creators and sold on OpenSea, SuperRare, or Nifty Gateway. When NFTs are sold, they must pay taxes. This is how it works:
Assume Adam created a piece of NFT art and sold it for $4,000 in ETH. He would declare $4,000 in "normal income." If he creates NFTs, he can deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses to minimize taxable income. Self-employment taxes will also apply to this sum.
On the other hand, it is an investor's job to buy and sell NFTs on the open market to profit. NFT investors must pay capital gains tax. The vast majority of people fit into the investor group. NFT investors are subject to the same regulations as bitcoin traders. Ether and other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are often used to purchase NFTs. Unfortunately, because NFTs are considered "collectibles" and they do not come cheap, high-income earners must deal with massive tax costs once they sell them.
Are (NFTs) illegal?
Consider this: NFTs are often art goods such as paintings, and we have seen racketeers launder billions of dollars through art pieces in the not-too-distant past (and even now). Is it now possible for hackers to use NFTs to launder money and escape taxes?
Is it also criminal to launder money and avoid paying taxes? True, but that does not make NFTs illegal in and of themselves.
Human innovations have always been both a force for good and a force for evil, and we are continuously innovating.
However, there are more visible legal issues. Money laundering is less common in the NFT space: Copyright. A common misconception is that when you purchase an NFT, you also purchase the digital artwork's copyright. This needs to be corrected.
The situation is nearly equivalent to that of buying artwork. When you buy a painting, you only purchase the original artwork and do not create and sell replicas or new works that completely or significantly mimic the original.
The same is true for NFTs: no copyright is immediately acquired. The rights of NFT holders are mostly confined to the capacity to possess, sell, lend, or transfer the NFT itself, depending on the marketplace rules where you purchase it.
Are NFTs harmful to the environment?
Anyone can easily take a video or screenshot an image and proudly display the replica on their desktop, thus crypto art is no safer from copycats than anything else on the internet. In the case of an NFT, however, the owner obtains a validated token that acts as digital proof that the work is theirs—much like an artist's signature.
However, for this to be secure, it must all happen on the blockchain. Using a marketplace built on the Ethereum Blockchain, such as Opensea, uses a process known as mining to retain a secure record of bitcoin and NFT transactions (ETH 2.0 will change this to PoS).
The method is similar to that used to validate Bitcoin in that it employs a computer network that uses advanced cryptography to determine whether or not transactions are valid.
Until recently, the NFT community gave little thought to energy usage; however, as sales climbed, so did energy use, particularly on the Ethereum Blockchain. As a result, marketplaces are migrating to alternative blockchains, such as Solana and Binance Chain, which use the proof-of-stake (pOS) consensus method and are more ecologically friendly.
NFTs, in a nutshell, have little or no environmental impact. This is because practically all blockchains in use are PoS or other forms of energy-efficient blockchains.
It might be argued that it uses less energy than traditional art or collectibles. Traditional art and collectibles, for example, are undeniably more energy-intensive in creation, distribution, and storage than their digital counterparts.