Thinking of getting into the NFT craze? Opensea is one of the best places to buy, sell, and trade NFTs. Touted as the world’s first and largest NFT marketplace, it pays to deal in a place most traders trust. However, is Opensea legit? Let’s find out.
What is NFT?
Since you’re here, you probably already know what an NFT is. But for the sake of the uninitiated, let’s explain. An NFT (or a non-fungible token) is a cryptographic asset representing physical or real-world objects such as art, music, videos, and gaming items. They are made unique with authentication codes which means that they are non-interchangeable.
When trading cryptocurrency, you can trade it and get the same item. An NFT is the opposite. It is one-of-a-kind so that when you trade one NFT, you won’t get the same thing. Think of it as buying a Van Gogh painting. It is unique, and you won’t be able to get the same thing when you trade it. This is what makes it valuable. The same goes for NFTs, that’s why they sell for millions of dollars.
Is Opensea Legit?
If you want to go into NFT trading, you need to go onboard a platform: an online marketplace where you’ll do the buying or selling. Enter Opensea. It is a decentralized marketplace founded in 2017 that initially started as a market for CryptoKitties. It has then expanded to hold collectibles and a wide selection of digital assets, including art, game items, domain names, and many more.
You might be wondering, is Opensea legit? As with any marketplace, be it online or physical, there is always risk involved. But, with a fantastic valuation of $13.3 billion and an incredible revenue of $350 million from the service fees it charged in 2021, it’s pretty safe to assume that Opensea is legit.
Can You Make Money on Opensea?
The answer to this is a resounding yes. When you’re trading in cryptocurrencies or stocks, the general rule would be to “buy low and sell high.” This is the same when trading NFTs. First, you need to buy an NFT to have something to flip. Creating one is a different ball game, so for now, we’ll stick to this concept.
The NFT landscape is booming as the average trading volumes of NFTs in the first half of 2021 reached $64 million. It saw a gargantuan leap in the second half of the year with $750 million. Overall, the NFT niche is a $41 billion industry, according to Forbes. If this isn’t something you can make money on, we don’t know what will.
How Does Opensea Work?
As mentioned above, Opensea is a decentralized platform. It uses smart contracts designed to allow you to buy and sell NFTs. These contracts let you protect the custody of your NFT collectibles and provide security for the creator’s work.
Opensea expedites the NFT transfers, but it also lets you transact directly with other users on the blockchain. But first, you need to link Opensea to a supported Web3 wallet such as MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet. You can buy NFTs using mainly Ether (ETH). However, over 150 currencies such as UNI (Uniswap) or DAI (decentralized stablecoin) are also accepted.
To purchase an NFT, you need to connect your crypto wallet (e.g., MetaMask) to your account. You can buy digital collectibles directly from a seller with the seller’s set price. You can also enter bidding for your chosen NFT, which leaves the seller the decision to accept or reject your offer.
Similarly, if you want to sell your NFT, you should also connect your wallet, upload your NFT, and set your desired price.
How to Open an Account on Opensea
To start trading on Opensea, you need to get your hands on some digital currency, a crypto wallet as explained above, and an account on Opensea. To create your Opensea account, you need to do the following steps:
1. Get Your ETH
Go to a digital currency exchange like Coinbase or eToro so you can buy some ETH. This is what you need to “mint,” purchase, and pay gas fees for an NFT. After your purchase, you can now proceed to get your crypto wallet.
2. Get Your Crypto Wallet
The list below are the crypto wallets that you can use with Opensea:
- MetaMask
- Coinbase Wallet
- Portis
- Dapper
- TrustWallet
- Authereum
- Bitski
- Kaikas
- Torus
- Formatic/Magic
- Venly
- WalletLink
- OperaTouch
- WalletConnect
A crypto wallet is where you can store your ETH and process your transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. A unique wallet address will be given to you that you will use in all your dealings. After doing this, you may now connect your wallet address to Opensea.
3. How to Connect to Opensea
You first need to create a profile on Opensea to interact on the platform. Head on over to Opensea and click on the Profile tab.
A prompt will tell you to connect your crypto wallet. Follow the steps provided until you get to the “Connecting…” part. You can change your username by selecting the gear icon on the upper right side of the screen. For extra security, you will be prompted to select Sign. You can now continue updating your profile.
Scams to Avoid on Opensea
Wherever there’s money involved, scams are most probably there, too. Opensea isn’t exempt, so beware of the most common scams on the platform:
Phishing Scams
The NFT space isn’t safe from this common internet scam: phishing. Beware of emails or text messages from fraudsters posing as a bank or crypto company representative. Don’t click on links that may attempt to get your details, such as passwords or bank info.
Fake NFTs
Even in the NFT world, fakes do exist. Ensure that the address of the NFT where it was minted is genuine. Take advantage of Opensea’s verification checks. Also, don’t give in to an NFT with a meager price tag, as these are most likely fake.
Fake Bidding
This happens when a poser places a bid on an NFT using USD instead of a WETH or wrapped Ether. These scammers use WETH as their profile pictures and scam unsuspecting sellers to accept their offers. Since USD has a lower value than WETH, the seller will end up getting a lower price for their NFTs.
Final Thoughts
The NFT world is an intimidating one that even creating an account can be confusing. Scammers make it even more difficult. However, if you arm yourself with knowledge, it is an exhilarating journey that can make you some legit money. Luckily for us, Opensea is legit and can help you start your NFT trading journey.
