NFT Guide – Pastel

How to Buy NFTs on Coinbase

Posted on December 20, 2022December 8, 2022 by Andrew Amarosa

Coinbase is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, with over 73 million users. It’s best known for its easy to use interface and in-depth educational resources, making it the perfect exchange for new investors.

Now, Coinbase has entered the NFT market with Coinbase NFT. Coinbase NFT works as an extension to the traditional Coinbase platform and requires users to re-sign in with their crypto wallet.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can buy NFTs on Coinbase.

How To Buy An NFT On Coinbase

Start by heading to https://www.coinbase.com/ and creating a Coinbase account. On the login page, enter your email address and “Get started,” or click the Sign In button on the right side of the page.

Once logged in, click on the NFT tab on the bottom left hand side of the page. This will open a new tab for the Coinbase NFT platform.

From here you’ll need to sign in again. Click on the “Sign In” button on the top right and select your wallet. MetaMask and Coinbase are the two most popular options.

After signing in, look at the current trending NFTs or alternatively search for the collection you want to buy an NFT from.

Click on your chosen collection and select the NFT you want to buy. After clicking on an NFT, you can view its unique attributes, offers, and recent activity. You’ll also be able to see its “Buy Now” price.

If you want to buy the NFT instantly, click “Buy Now.” Alternatively, you can make an offer slightly lower than the Buy Now price to bag a bargain.

After placing your bid, the NFT owner will need to accept your offer. Once accepted, the transaction will be made, and the NFT will be sent to your wallet.

Congratulations! You’ve now purchased an NFT on Coinbase.

How To Connect With Your Friends On Coinbase

As well as buying NFTs, the new Coinbase market is also introducing a social side to NFTs. Through the Coinbase extension, you can follow friends, look at their recent activity and show off your latest purchases. Here’s how.

When logged into Coinbase NFT, click on the “Following” tab at the top of your screen.

Search through the different accounts to follow, or use the search tab to look for your friend’s account.

Click on the account to look at the NFTs they own or look at their most recent activity to see what they’ve been up to.

Coinbase NFT: The New OpenSea?

With Coinbase dominating the cryptocurrency industry, could it overtake current NFT exchanges such as OpenSea when it comes to NFT sales? At the moment, it’s a little hard to say.

Coinbase NFT is still in its Beta phase, and it definitely feels that way. It uses a similar interface to Coinbase, but doesn’t quite have the usability of OpenSea. It lacks the different categories offered by OpenSea and seems a little limited in its offerings, with the main focus being on popular collections.

That being said, it definitely has the potential to influence the NFT market, especially if Coinbase can successfully convert its new crypto user base to NFTs.

Coinbase NFT FAQs

Does Coinbase Sell Solana NFTs?

No. As of December 2022 Coinbase only offers Ethereum NFTs.

Are There Any Selling Fees On The Platform?

Coinbase is currently running an early phase sale program where there are no fees for sales. Fees will be a part of the platform after its Beta phase, though no official date has been released.

I Have No Experience With NFTs. Can I Still Use Coinbase To Buy NFTs?

Of course. Coinbase makes it easy to buy NFTs with their dedicated wallet. This wallet will already be used as part of your cryptocurrency account, which makes it easy to adapt. You can also learn more about NFTs through the Coinbase Learning Portal.

What Wallets Can I Use To Buy Coinbase NFTs?

Current wallets include MetaMask, Coinbase, and WalletConnect.

I’m Experiencing An Issue With My Coinbase NFTs. Who Can I Contact?

You can contact the Coinbase team directly here. Using the support center you can report issues about the product you’re having issues with or contact the support team directly.

Can I Buy Music NFTs on Coinbase?

No. As of December 2022 music NFTs are not available via Coinbase.

What Are The Most Popular Collections On Coinbase?

Coinbase offers some of the most popular NFT collections, including BoredApeYachtClub (BAYC), CryptoPunks, Otherdeed For Otherside, and More Loot.

Does Coinbase Offer New Collections?

Yes! Drops are a part of the Coinbase NFT platform and can be found on the “Drops” tab. Each drop has its own countdown and a “Remind Me” button, where you can sign up with your email to be the first to hear about any project updates. You can also view comments from other investors underneath each drop.

Moonbirds: A Complete Guide to the PFP Owl NFTs

Posted on November 10, 2022November 10, 2022 by Anthony Georgiades

Moonbirds is a collection of 10,000 NFT bird profile pictures (PFPs) that include a unique pool of rarity-powered traits released on April 16th, 2022, by PROOF Collective.

Notably, the collection reached over $200 million in sales in the first 48 hours.

Since its release, the collection has generated $500 million in sales, with 2,000 NFTs reserved for Proof Collective members and 7,875 NFTs released to the general public via a whitelist.

Moonbirds has been compared to projects like Cryptopunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, but does it have the utility to live up to the hype?

In this article, we’ll cover what the Moonbirds basics, how Moonbirds work, the collection’s founding team, how you can buy, and whether or not Moonbirds are worth the price tag.

What Is Moonbirds?

Moonbirds is an NFT collection with pixelated owl PFPs, each of which comes with its own unique traits. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Moonbirds give holders access to a private club and several additional benefits the longer they hold the NFT.

Each NFT has several unique features, including beak size, hair, eye color, and accessories such as eye patches, headbands, and monocles. Each PROOF NFT holder was gifted two Moonbird NFTs, which left 7,875 for the public.

The initial Moonbirds mint price was 2.5 ETH (around $7,000 in April 2022), which sparked some criticism amongst the NFT community as buyers believed they were being priced out before the project had started. Despite this criticism, Moonbirds sold out in two days, and the floor price dramatically increased. As of November 2022, the floor price is 8.44 ETH, which currently equates to around $12,529.

How Do Moonbirds Work?

One of the reasons behind Moonbird’s initial success is the project’s utility. Alongside unique owl profile pictures, Moonbird holders are granted a range of benefits as a holder.

All holders are given access to PROOF’s exclusive Discord community, which gives members regular rewards. They also have priority access to PROOF’s new metaverse project, Project Highrise.

Holders are also granted additional rewards based on how long they hold their NFT through a process called “Nesting.” Nesting works like traditional cryptocurrency staking, in which holders can lock up their assets, in this case, their NFTs, and earn passive crypto income and other DeFi benefits.

If a Moonbird is nesting, it can’t be sold on another market. While nesting, Moonbirds level up and, in the process, upgrade their “nest.” Each new upgrade grants additional drops and rewards, though these rewards have yet to be officially announced.

What makes nesting different from traditional staking is that it doesn’t need to be transferred to another vault or wallet for safekeeping. Instead, it can remain in the holder’s wallet, though it remains untradeable.

Another benefit of Moonbirds is that holders own all commercial rights to the NFTs they own. This means they can use their NFT in any way they want, including T-shirt prints, marketing videos, and more.

Who Founded Moonbirds?

Moonbirds was founded by Kevin Rose, a popular American internet entrepreneur and the founder of PROOF Collective. PROOF is a private members-only group of 1,000 NFT collectors and artists.

Though known for his work in the Web 3 space, Rose was formerly known as a podcaster, investor, and entrepreneurial celebrity in some circles. He founded Digg, a social media platform that covers the latest internet trends.

Rose worked alongside several developers and PROOF members to build the project, such as Justin Mezzell. Mezzell is the co-founder and chief product officer of the Proof platform. He also created the art for each design alongside an in-house art team, inspired by the pixelated designs of CryptoPunks and CryptoSkulls.

How To Buy Moonbirds

You can buy and sell Moonbirds through most NFT trading platforms, including OpenSea, LooksRare, and Rarible. The current floor price is 8.44 ETH, which is significantly lower than the project’s all-time high of 30 ETH in April 2022.

To buy a Moonbird, search for Moonbirds in the search bar of your chosen platform. Make sure you choose the official Moonbirds project (the real project has a blue tick next to it) to avoid any scam replicas. Connect your wallet (MetaMask is the most popular), and you’re ready to get started.

From here, you can choose from currently listed Moonbirds, which are ranked on rarity and price. If you want a Moonbird straight away, you can choose “Buy Now” for a fast transaction, or alternatively, you can place a bid to try and bag a bargain.

Final Thoughts: Are Moonbirds Going To The Moon?

Moonbirds experienced significant hype almost immediately upon release, pushing the resale price to highs of 30 ETH. This hype has since died down and decreased the floor price in the process, bringing the floor within range for many people.

The Moonbirds team is still investing in the project. They announced via YouTube that the collection will be used to launch a new media company. At the same time, 100% of all revenue from the project is being used to hire more experts and launch additional products.

For the time being, Moonbirds are a good investment for NFT holders who want to generate a passive cryptocurrency income, with lucrative reward options and upgradable nests for those who are happy to keep their Moonbirds in a nesting phase.

With the project being well funded and plans in place for additional products and team members, it would appear that the project certainly has long-term potential if the team can implement its plans effectively.

How Computer Vision Could Help NFT Authenticity

Posted on October 28, 2022October 28, 2022 by Anthony Georgiades

Computer vision is a new field of science that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to teach computers how to interpret visual data.

It’s currently used at the forefront of the autonomous vehicles industry to detect and classify objects like road signs, create 3D maps– and, recently, its technology is being explored to verify NFT authenticity.

The NFT market is worth $4.36 billion but has been criticized throughout 2022 due to faults in the minting process and scams. Since July 2021, over $137.6m of crypto assets have been stolen due to rug pulls and other crypto scams, with most investors losing everything in the process.

Computer vision could help tackle these problems by proving the authenticity of an NFT before a purchase. By proving authenticity, buyers can be confident in their purchases, and NFT scams will be harder to pull off.

This article will cover what computer vision is, common NFT authenticity issues and scams, and how computer vision can be used to solve them.

What Is Computer Vision?

Computer vision is the process of creating a digital system that processes visual data in a similar way to people. The idea behind computer vision is to help computers understand images at a pixel level, picking up visual data that can’t be picked up by the human eye.

The technology is commonly used for:

Object classification: When a computer classifies an object in a video or photo and assigns it to a category. For example, the system can help categorize images with a bird, a specific color, or with people in it.
Object identification: When a computer looks through an image or video to identify a particular object. For example, a specific type of rock, the back of a vehicle, or a specific animal.
Object tracking: when a computer looks through a video to search for certain criteria, which will then have its movement tracked.

Computer vision is currently used in several industries including healthcare, automotive, agriculture, and retail, where it’s used to improve the efficiency of different systems.

Common NFT Authenticity Issues

Double Minting

A current issue within the NFT space is double minting. This is when a seller will double-mint their NFT collection.

Phishing

Phishing usually involves a fake ad, email, or pop-up from a website promising a high ROI NFT. To claim this NFT, users will be asked for their private wallet details. Once the scammers have this information, they can steal all NFTs and cryptocurrency in the wallet.

Airdrop

Airdrop scams are extremely common on social media. They usually advertise a free NFT for sharing a post with friends or signing up for an email list. When a user goes to claim their prize, they’re asked for cryptocurrency wallet information for the NFT, which hackers use to gain access to the account.

Project Impersonations

NFT Iinvestors are sometimes taken advantage of by project impersonators due to the complexity of the industry’s fairly disparate moving parts.

This is when an individual claims to be selling NFTs from a popular project, usually with an incentive such as a discount. They create a similar-looking website to make the project look legit and then sell a fake NFT to buyers.

Unfortunately, even the most experienced crypto investors fall for project impersonations, such as Pranksy, who paid more than $336,000 for a fake Banksy NFT.

How Can Computer Vision Solve NFT Authenticity?

It’s important to note that the result of applying computer vision technology to NFTs is largely speculation. The technology is still in its infancy and we don’t know exactly how it would work, but with that in mind, here’s how computer vision could work if applied to NFTs.

Firstly, computer vision could solve authenticity by embedding verification codes into an NFTs image.

This code would be so small it could only be picked up by software and so wouldn’t impact the image itself. Each time an NFT was sold, its authenticity could be verified by scanning it with computer vision software.

The code would prevent scammers from replicating an NFT as they wouldn’t be able to replicate the code, making it safer for investors to buy NFTs.

As well as authenticating NFTs on an individual level, NFTs could also be authenticated on a project basis. This would work with computer vision object classification, where an NFT would be classified by a certain project.

The process would work much like the individual codes, however, would show that an NFT is actually part of a project. Therefore, if a scam project was created users could quickly verify if it’s legit.

This technology is already being used by the likes of Google Cloud and Mobile Vision APIs, which help developers process images through machine learning models. Through an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) functionality, users can detect text in images that aren’t visible to the human eye.

It’s also being used by Amazon Rekognition, a video analysis service designed to simplify the analysis process. It’s used to identify text, people, activities, and objects in an image. It’s currently used to detect inappropriate content; however, its technology could be applied to authenticate NFTs.

Development platforms such as Althea AI and Fetch.ai are currently testing different ways computer vision can impact NFTs through smart computer vision. They’re looking for ways to incorporate language and speech into NFTs to create a dialog with owners.

If successful, it could be used to authenticate an NFT through unique language exchanges or specific answers to questions that only a real NFT can provide.

Final Thoughts: Could Computer Vision Be The Future of NFTs?

Although computer vision is yet to be applied to NFTs, it has plenty of potential to help overcome many of the scams currently occurring in the market, making it friendlier for new investors.

As both NFTs and computer vision continues to innovate, it’s likely they’ll have additional applications for NFTs and Web 3.

Although few claims are definitive, computer vision is an exciting concept that could play a significant role in adding legitimacy and structure to a rapidly evolving market of digital art.

Why NFTs Need a Scalable Storage Solution

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Anthony Georgiades

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a physical or digital asset recorded on the blockchain.

In 2022, an estimated four percent of Americans (9.3 million people) said they own NFTs– a 100% increase from 2021 shows that NFT ownership is rising.

As ownership continues to increase, so will the demand for scalable storage solutions. Many of the current storage solutions lack scalability, which limits how many NFTs people can own- particularly if they have larger collections.

In this article, we’ll cover four different storage solutions, which are the most scalable, and the benefits and challenges of each.

Let’s get started.

Software Wallets- MetaMask

MetaMask was launched in 2016 by Consensys, a blockchain software technology company based in New York City. It’s the most popular decentralized wallet in the world, with around 21 million monthly active users.

Although the wallet was created for cryptocurrency, MetaMask is also popular for buying and storing NFTs. It lets users store and manage their private and public keys, connect to decentralized exchanges such as UniSwap and PancakeSwap, and buy and sell NFTs.

MetaMask is relatively friendly for new investors and can be installed through the Google Store. MetaMask also has an in-depth FAQ Page for investors who want to learn more about the wallet, how to trade cryptocurrency, and how to store NFTs.

MetaMask is consistently connected to a decentralized ledger and, in theory, shouldn’t have any issues regarding scalability on the backend. As long as the blockchain is scalable, operations between the wallet and the blockchain should be scalable too.

The only area where MetaMask falls short is when it comes to security. MetaMask is constantly online and, as a result, can never be as secure as hardware wallets (which we’ll cover below.) Though MetaMask has never been hacked, its users have been prone to phishing scams, including one that cost a wallet holder $650,000 after believing they were giving their details to an Apple employee.

Other popular hardware wallets for NFTs include Math Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, and Trust Wallet, which Binance owns. However, for decentralized NFT storage, MetaMask remains the best option.

Hardware Wallets

Hardware wallets are the most secure option for NFT storage as all digital assets are stored offline- making them impossible to hack. This makes hardware wallets a great option for collectors who want to store their NFTs for the long run.

The most popular hardware wallets are Ledger and Trezor, which will cost anywhere from $80 to $300+ for the latest models. Once an NFT has been stored in the wallet and the wallet unplugged, nobody can transfer the data to or from the hardware wallet. When you buy a hardware wallet, you’ll also be provided with a secret phrase of 12 words and can set additional passwords if you want even more security.

However, there are two downsides to hardware wallets. Firstly, if you lose your wallet, you lose your assets. For example, in 2013, James Howells threw away a wallet with 7500 Bitcoins (around $56 million.) He was refused access to the landfill where it was and, as a result, lost his millions. As of September 2022, Howells hasn’t managed to retrieve his wallet.

The other downside to Hardware Wallets is that they’re not scalable. They’re limited to the spec of the wallet you’ve purchased, which could impact NFT storage as NFT files begin to demand more storage space.

Nonetheless, hardware wallets are the perfect option for collectors planning to make long-term NFT investments.

InterPlanetary File System

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a relatively new way to store NFTs. It’s an open-source project founded by Protocol Labs and was originally designed for storing and accessing websites, apps, files, and other data.

With IPFS, users’ NFTs are stored off-chain through platforms like Pinata, significantly reducing the likelihood of their assets being stolen. It also uses content identifiers (CIDs), which are broken down aspects of your data linked directly to your NFT. Instead of your NFT data being stored through an HTTP link, your data is broken down across several storage solutions; this way, if one fails, a different solution backs up your data.

IPFS solutions are also highly scalable. Additional nodes can always be added to deal with additional data, which means users will never have any problems with storage.

The only downside is the technology is still somewhat in its early phase and technically wasn’t created for NFTs. This means that although it has a lot of potential, it hasn’t been in the market long enough to be tested.

BitKeep

BitKeep is Asia’s most popular NFT storage method, with over 6 million users, 70 mainnets, and 220,000 supported crypto assets. Much like MetaMask, you can download the BitKeep wallet through the Google Store and use it to store NFTs.

However, unlike MetaMask, BitKeep has its own NFT store. The store has launched projects such as Kaju Legends and OutSad, and lets users buy other collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC.)

BitKeep also has a comprehensive education center, where new collectors can learn how to trade NFTs, sell them, and use the BitKeep wallet. BitKeep is connected to a decentralized ledger and shouldn’t have any problems with scalability. It’s only limited by the scalability of the blockchain.

Final Thoughts: Are Scalable Storage Solutions a Must Have?

As the NFT market grows in popularity, scalable storage solutions will become important for larger collections. However, for the average NFT investor, hardware wallets should be more than enough for a small NFT collection.

These wallets are a great way for collectors to store their NFTs if they have no plans to sell them. Both software wallets and IPFS are also great ways for collectors to get involved in the industry and offer scalable storage options for larger collections.

The best option for you will depend entirely on your preferences.

How to Display NFT Art (In Real Life & Online)

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Anthony Georgiades

NFTs are digital art pieces stored on the blockchain. They can be bought and sold online in NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea or minted directly from a project’s contract.

Throughout 2021 the NFT market took off, with total sales reaching over $14 billion and art pieces such as The Merge selling for $91.8 million.

Many of these art pieces were showcased on social media profiles, with some art making it to decentralized metaverses such as Decentraland.

NFTs have now made it to the real world, showcased in museums such as the Picasso museum in Barcelona and in real-world homes through innovative digital frames.

This article will cover displaying your NFT art, including real-life and online display methods.

How To Display NFTs in Real Life

Although NFTs are primarily an online technology, there are several ways you can showcase your digital art without needing the internet. Here are four of the most popular options.

Digital Frames

Photo frames have always been used to showcase family photos and art. Now digital frames are changing the way we display NFTs. Innovative new frames are used to bring NFTs to life in your home.

For example, the Infinite Objects “Video Print” frame features video NFTs on loop in your home. They’re available as 5” and 7” displays and don’t require any apps or additional software to work.

Another example is NetGear’s Meural Canvas, available as a 13.5” x 7.5” frame and a gallery-sized 19” x 29” canvas. Owners can download Netlink’s proprietary Meural app for iOS or Android, add their NFT images or videos to the frame, and showcase them around their homes.

Physical Prints with QR Codes

Collector Andrew Coathup first used this innovative NFT concept. It’s when a collector prints off the image of the NFT alongside a custom art label- similar to many of the art pieces in modern art museums.

Labels include everything from the title of the NFT, the collection from when it was purchased, and a QR code that opens an information page about the NFT on OpenSea (or the platform the NFT was purchased from.)

This solution is cheaper than digital frames and appeals to collectors who want to combine classical displays with modern art.

Looking Glass Holograms

Looking Glass Holograms are an exciting new way to showcase 3D NFTs. These holograms are futuristic for displaying NFTs, letting users show holographic videos and 3D characters. Options include the Looking Glass Portrait, Looking Glass 4K Gen2, and Looking Glass 8K Gen2, with prices starting at $399.

TV Display

This option is for collectors who want to combine their NFTs with their love for TV. With the Samsung QLED 4K Smart TV, you can showcase your NFTs when the TV is off. When the TV is on, it works like any other TV, but when switched off, it works as a digital frame for your NFTs.

The TV resembles a sizeable digital frame and works perfectly with the rest of your decor. It has an “Art Mode,” which uses motion sensors to showcase art when someone is in the room. It then turns off when nobody is around to save energy.

How To Display NFTs Online

With NFTs primarily being online pieces of art, most display options are currently online. Here are three of the primary options for displaying your NFTs online.

NFT Galleries

The most popular option for displaying NFT art is through online galleries. Galleries and marketplaces such as OpenSea and Lazy let NFT owners put their NFTs on display without charging them. These displays work similarly to an Instagram page and usually include social media features for owners to share their collections with a broader audience.

The Metaverse

Despite being in its early phase, the Metaverse has quickly become a popular option for NFT collectors to showcase their collections. Virtual worlds such as Decentraland let users create huge digital art galleries displaying their own and other collectors’ NFTs.

Another famous virtual world is Cryptovoxels. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Cryptovoxels is a simpler version of Decentraland that loads faster and is more accessible to NFT collectors with less advanced computers. Despite being less popular than Decentraland, Cryptovoxels has become home to many NFT collections, with exhibits throughout the digital world.

Social Media

If you own a Twitter account, you can almost guarantee that you’ve seen an NFT used as a profile picture. Twitter is a popular social media platform to flex NFTs and is commonly used by collectors to network with people who own an NFT in the same collection.

Social media has been used by celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, and Eminem, who have used NFTs as their profile pictures on both Twitter and Instagram. Meta has also announced that it will soon release a feature where users can showcase and sell their NFTs through Instagram, creating a new digital art marketplace.

In addition to the classic social media platforms, new platforms are being designed to showcase NFTs. For example, Showtime has slowly become the first NFT-driven social network. Users can connect their crypto wallets to the site, and Showtime will automatically generate a profile featuring all the NFTs you hold.

Closing Thoughts: Have NFTs Become The New Modern Art?

As NFTs continue to grow in popularity, we may start seeing them in homes worldwide. But do they have the power to replace modern art?

When showcasing your NFTs, you have several options for displaying them in your home. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will. NFTs remain somewhat niche, with only hardcore collectors showing them around the house. Most people still don’t know what an NFT is or how it works, so it may be a while before we see them replace modern art.

Despite this, NFTs have become a popular part of creating your online avatar, and as use cases grow, the number of ways you can display NFT art both in real life and online will grow too.