5 tips on how to value NFTs in 2022
It's tricky to assess the value of an NFT. Here's what to look for before purchasing this digital asset.
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NFTs are among the newest frontiers in crypto. Some investors have made fortunes buying Bored Apes or CryptoPunks early on, while many others have purchased images of cartoon animals that haven't done as well.
Working today because I thought a horse that could run > an Ape.
Enjoy your Friday. pic.twitter.com/Ew2fUNp1dE
— JACK SETTLEMAN (@jacksettleman) March 25, 2022
While the first NFT was created in 2014, this type of token didn't become popular until 2021. Now, NFT is a household term, and owning certain blue chip NFTs has become quite the status symbol.
Finder spoke with Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro Australia, about how to best assess the value of NFTs.
1. Determine the utility of the NFT
While many people consider NFTs to be glorified JPEGs, some NFTs have notable utility.
Josh Gilbert explains:
"Utility is a huge factor when valuing NFTs. Take, for example, the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Users receive free NFT airdrops worth thousands of dollars, access to exclusive events, merchandise, etc. This can provide tremendous value to an owner."
One of the airdrops that Gilbert refers to is the ApeCoin (APE) airdrop of early 2022. Bored Ape holders received up to 10,950 APE tokens each (issued by ApeCoin DAO, part of the Bored Ape ecosystem), simply for being owners of Bored Ape NFTs.
Bored Ape holders are invited to real-life and metaverse events. These events are quite exclusive, as there are only 6,300 Bored Ape holders in the world.
2. Determine how rare the NFT is
The rarity of an NFT often affects its value.
Gilbert discusses the importance of assessing rarity:
"Rarity also plays a significant role, given that often the rarer the NFT, the higher the value. I'd make sure to use a rarity checker. These sites can help identify the rarity of the NFT you're buying."
Rarity checker sites include rarity.tools, Rarity Sniper and NFT Rarity Explorer.
To provide further context on rarity, let's consider the CryptoPunks NFTs. There are only 10,000 CryptoPunks, which makes them pretty rare in general. Only 44 CryptoPunks have beanies, however, and these CryptoPunks can fetch up to six times more than a CryptoPunk without a beanie.
You can also use sites like icy.tools to discover, track and analyse trending NFTs.
3. Do your due diligence to avoid scams
Gilbert recommends asking yourself four questions before purchasing an NFT:
• What is the road map?
• Who is behind the project?
• What are the creators' backstories?
• And, most importantly, is the community that supports the project composed of legit NFT collectors — or at least in part?
The eToro analyst also suggests using different social media platforms as resources:
"It's always a good idea to check out an NFT project on social channels such as Twitter and Discord. A strong community is required for a project to be long-lasting and successful. This also lets you see what other people are saying about the project.
Avoid clicking on broken links from social media, DMs from unrecognisable Discord users, and don't interact with cold messages and emails. Unfortunately, if it seems too good to be true, it often is."
4. Learn to use blockchain explorers
Blockchains are essentially shared, public ledgers or records of transactions. As a result, you can see on the blockchain how much the NFT you're interested in buying has been traded and for how much.
Gilbert touches on the importance of familiarizing yourself with blockchain explorers:
"Examine the history and wallet records of any project that grabs your attention. This is when blockchain's transparency comes in handy. With EtherScan, you can view all of a wallet's transactions on the Ethereum blockchain."
5. Make a plan to safely store your NFT
Before you purchase your NFT, you need to plan where you'll store it. If you did choose the right cartoon animal NFT — in other words, found your golden ticket to financial freedom — you'd want to keep it safe.
Gilbert understands the importance of keeping your NFTs safe, warning:
"There are risks to storing assets in a hot wallet. Never give away your seed phrase or private key to your crypto wallet to anyone. New users might not know how important this is, but anybody can enter your wallet with this information.
A hot wallet is a wallet that's always connected to the Internet, including wallets on a centralized crypto exchange like eToro or a browser extension wallet like Metamask."
How to buy an NFT via eToro, Metamask and OpenSea
Gilbert suggests a hardware wallet for the strongest security:
"Users can acquire a Ledger to store NFTs for maximum security."
Bottom line
NFTs have surged in popularity over the past year, and series of NFTs like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks have become incredibly valuable.
Before you buy an NFT, use the five expert tips from eToro as a guide to valuing NFTs you're interested in. And be sure you have a plan to store them safely.
Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.
Image: Getty.
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