Get Your First Cardano NFT!
Education 10.10.2023
Get Your First Cardano NFT!
It doesn't matter whether you're coming from another blockchain or if you're completely new to NFTs. In this guide, we aim to keep things concise yet impactful to kickstart your Cardano NFT journey in just a few simple steps. Feel free to skip sections you're already familiar with.
Let's assume you know what Cardano and NFTs are, but if not - dive into some of our previous articles What makes Cardano the best blockchain of choice?, A brief history of NFTs or What are NFTs?.
Let's dive right in:
Get Your Wallet!
To store both ADA (the currency used on the Cardano blockchain) and your NFTs, you'll first need to have your own wallet. While you can hold ADA on a centralized exchange (CEX) like Binance or Coinbase, do you truly own this crypto when it's on their platforms? That's why it's always the best choice to have your crypto in your wallet. As the saying goes, "Not your keys, not your crypto."
There are several excellent wallets available for Cardano. To get started, we recommend Yoroi, Lace, or Nami for desktop users. If you prefer a mobile wallet, Vespr is likely your best bet. Please, always doublecheck you are downloading the right wallet, even when following links! Creating a wallet is a straightforward process. Just follow the steps in any of the mentioned applications, generate and securely store your seed words and you're ready to go. Remember, seed is your backup of the wallet.
Yoroi wallet video-guide: here.
Another benefit is that once you have your seed, it essentially represents your wallet on the blockchain. The wallet applications you use to interact with it are merely "windows" to the blockchain. You can take your seed and restore the wallet in any other application or use multiple applications for the same wallet.
Fund Your Wallet
Once you've successfully created your wallet and securely stored the seed, you're prepared to fund it with ADA. Simply navigate to the receiving address in your wallet, copy the address, return to your centralized exchange account (Binance, Coinbase, etc.), select "send" or "withdraw" for your crypto, and send your ADA to the copied address.
Congratulations! You now have ADA in your OWN wallet, and if you've kept your seed secure, you're the only person with the ability to access this ADA.
What NFT Do You Want to Buy?
Now comes the challenging part: choosing which NFT to buy. There are many fantastic projects on Cardano, so how do you make your selection?
You can choose from new projects and mint NFTs, making you the first owner, or you can get NFTs on the secondary market. If you opt to mint an NFT from a project, they will guide you to the spot where NFTs are minted. For secondary projects, head to an NFT marketplace and purchase the NFT from someone selling it via a smart contract.
Since we're building JamOnBread.io NFT marketplace, this might be your go to place ;).
A Brief Guide on Choosing Your First NFT
Before making your choice, consider what you expect from your NFT. Do you want to own digital art, play a game, access an alpha group, experiment with crypto mining without hardware, boost your native token staking rewards, or simply become part of a community?
Once you've decided on your expectations, set a budget for your NFT purchase. Since NFTs can be seen as potentially risky investments, avoid overinvesting. Don't rush into projects you know nothing about. It's always a wise decision to research the project, understand their goals and team, and gather essential information. A great place to start is by following their posts on Twitter, visiting their website, and joining their Discord community to find as much as possible. Don't hesitate to ask others what they think, just be careful of bias.
If we could offer one personal recommendation, it would be to look at who is the team behind the project. The success of an NFT project often correlates with the involvement and capabilities of its leaders. Choosing a reliable team is the crucial first step in selecting your first project to get!
Once you have made your decision, you can simply head to JamOnBread.io, in the top right corner connect the wallet you use (it's super easy, we promise - for more detailed guide, check our previous post: Get your NFT on JamOnBread.io), navigate to the desired NFT, press buy and sign (confirm) the transaction!
Woo-hoo, you own your first NFT on Cardano!
Want to know more about the ecosystem? Read one of our past articles about navigating the Cardano ecosystem to get familiar with all the tools necessary!
Explore Our Blog
If you're interested in reading about various projects and NFT categories, feel free to check out our previous articles on our blog. Or watch our YouTube channel to watch interviews with project founders.
To highlight a few:
Utility focused NFT projects, part 1
Utility focused NFT projects, part 2
Profile Picture NFTs on Cardano
Tavern Squad - bringing tabletop RPGs to Cardano blockchain
Traditional collectibles vs NFTs
It's important to clarify that any information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as non-financial advice (NFA). Always consult with a qualified professional before making important non-financial decisions.