How to Buy Steve Aoki’s NFT

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Contributor, Benzinga
May 12, 2021

Want to buy NFTs? First you can buy Ethereum on eToroGemini or Coinbase.

Steve Aoki is working with Antoni Tudisco to launch a limited release of digital collectibles called NFTs. These digital collectibles contain EDM music by Aoki paired with digital artwork produced by Antoni Tudisco. These items are made on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which have been gaining traction far beyond the cryptocurrency community. 

His collection will be released on Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m. EST on Nifty Gateway’s website. Nifty Gateway is a platform used by artists to release limited NFT collections for collectors to buy. The platform also has a secondary marketplace, making it easy for investors to resell their collectibles.

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What is a Non-Fungible Token (NFT)?

An NFT is what makes it possible to release limited digital collectibles. Unlike normal cryptocurrencies, each NFT holds its own distinct value and can’t be exchanged for each other. NFTs give artists the ability to verify their works’ authenticity digitally. Yes, you could make a copy of the art on the NFT, but it won’t be authentic. Think of owning an NFT like owning a real piece of art, as opposed to owning a copy from the internet.

Since NFTs are Ethereum-based tokens, the Ethereum network would have to be taken over for the collectibles to be duplicated. Since Ethereum is a decentralized network with millions of nodes, hacking the network would require an incredibly sophisticated attack that would cost billions of dollars in computer hardware. 

Popular celebrities like Grimes, Logan Paul, Tyga and Lindsey Lohan have all hopped on the NFT bandwagon. The technology makes it incredibly easy for people of influence to release limited collectibles, and people are buying them. The NBA recently partnered with Dapper Labs to make NBA trading cards called NBA topshot –– the priciest Lebron James card sold for more than $200,000.

Steve Aoki x Antoni Tudisco NFTs

Steve Aoki is among the most famous celebrities to release an NFT to date. He is a top EDM artist and has over 8 million followers on Twitter. Antoni Tudisco is a digital artist with a following of 400,000 accounts on Instagram. He has sold NFTs for thousands of dollars, and you can expect his collaboration with Aoki to sell for much more, depending on the quantity produced. 

Aoki has released teasers of part of his upcoming release on his Twitter. He also notes that there will be open editions and limited drops, which are different types of releases on Nifty Gateway. Open editions are NFTs that are released for a certain amount of time and can be minted a maximum of 9,999 times. Typically you have 5 to 10 minutes after the release to purchase an open edition from the primary marketplace.

Limited editions have a certain amount of pieces to be minted, similarly to other collectibles and art pieces. This number can range drastically, from 1 to over 1,000 units made. The amount made is a critical factor in determining the NFT price. Some NFTs sell out in seconds and can sell for thousands of dollars over the initial drop price. 

How To Buy Steve Aoki's NFT

  1. Make a Nifty account.

    To buy NFTs on Nifty Gateway, you’ll need to make an account on its website. This is a straightforward process — you just need to enter your email and password, then choose a username. Most releases on Nifty require your account to be validated, which you can do by linking your phone number to your Nifty account.

    Nifty is owned by Gemini, a leading cryptocurrency exchange. To fund your account, you can use either a credit card or Ethereum. To fund your account with Ethereum, you’ll need to send Eth tokens from an exchange like Gemini, Coinbase, eToro or Binance.

  2. Buy a wallet (optional).

    Any Ethereum wallet that supports ERC-721 (non-fungible tokens) can be used to store your NFTs. Similar to holding cryptocurrency on an exchange, keeping your NFTs on Nifty puts your collectibles at risk of being hacked.

    You can choose to store your NFTs on either a hardware wallet or a software crypto wallet. Software wallets are computer applications that store cryptocurrency and are generally free to use. Hardware wallets store your crypto offline on a physical device, so it’s the most secure way to store your assets.

  3. Buy a piece from the collection.

    In many cases, this is easier said than done. This will be the case for Aoki’s limited collection releasing this Sunday –– you will have to be on Nifty’s website right at 2 p.m EST to have a chance at purchasing this limited edition collection.

    Due to the increased attention that NFTs have gotten recently, Nifty’s website often crashes or gives out numerous errors. If you see an error when you’re trying to purchase from the drop, just refresh your page until you’re granted access. Unfortunately for now, this leaves a lot of ambiguity as to who is able to purchase NFTs from the release.

    If the collection sells out before you can purchase a piece, you can buy it on the secondary marketplace. Many hyped releases sell for hundreds of percent higher than what they released for, so be prepared to pay a premium on the secondary market.

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Here are some exchanges to help fund your account with Ethereum.

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Best Crypto Wallets

Here are the best software and hardware wallets to store NFTs.

Ledger Hardware Wallet
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Best Hardware Wallet: Ledger Nano S

The Ledger Nano S is a great choice if you’re looking to store your NFTs in a hardware wallet. Although many Ethereum wallets support ERC-20 tokens, less support ERC-721 tokens (NFTs). Ledger allows you to securely store NFTs on a small device, and you can access your collectibles on your PC via USB cable.

Best Software Wallet: Argent

Argent is a great choice to store your NFTs because you can view your collectibles directly on your wallet. Argent offers industry-leading security measures like 2-factor authentication and bank-grade encryption and allows you to store NFTs as well as any other Ethereum-based token.

Bonus Tip for NFTs

BZ

Bonus:

Limited editions typically resell for a higher price than open editions. Of course, the amount of prints in a limited edition greatly affects the resell price of any collectible. To get an idea of how much hype there is for a release, you should check the artist’s social media following — it’s one of the core places they advertise their NFT releases.

Current Crypto Prices

NFTs have gained traction with the cryptocurrency bull market. This year, Bitcoin broke past $50,000 for the first time and became a trillion-dollar asset. Other major cryptocurrencies are up several multiples from their lows –– Ethereum has risen past $1,500 from its sub-$100 price just last year. 

Are NFTs a Good Investment?

Not all NFTs are good investments. Anyone can make an NFT and upload it to the blockchain, but the NFT itself isn’t valuable. What’s put on a non-fungible token is what makes the NFT valuable, whether it be art, music, writing or any other tokenized product. For these products to be valuable as an investment, the NFT has to be made by a reputable artist.

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