What I learned in my first week buying, selling, and making NFTs.
Tags: web3, nft, nfts, defi
Published: 2022-07-28 14:33:31

---
title: What I learned in my first week buying, selling, and making NFTs.
published: true
description: I made some crappy NFTs and this is what happened (and how much money I made).
tags: web3, nft, nfts, defi
cover_image: https://megabyteghost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/nfts-are-hella-fun-1024x683.jpeg
# Use a ratio of 100:42 for best results.
---

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<p>Photocopying a Magic the Gathering Card does not mean you own the card.</p>
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<p>You can right-click and save all images of the best MTG cards, take them to a printer, and have a deck made up for yourself.</p>
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<p>They would look identical to the real thing.</p>
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<p>No one would know the difference except for the most discerning eyes.</p>
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<p>But you still wouldn't have the cards.</p>
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<p>They would still be fakes.</p>
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<p>When NFTs first started becoming popular, I thought the idea was stupid.</p>
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<p>I was one of those "right clickers."</p>
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<p>Actually, I didn't save anyone's NFTs that I recall.</p>
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<p>I didn't even want copies because I wanted nothing to do with it all.</p>
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<p>But then some things changed my mind.</p>
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<p>That's what this post is about.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://megabyteghost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/nfts-are-hella-fun-1024x683.jpeg" alt="Man sitting at computer playing Decentraland." class="wp-image-4523"/><figcaption>How the f do I get back to town?</figcaption></figure>
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<h2 id="it-s-hella-fun">It's hella fun.</h2>
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<p>All the NFTs I've bought were not with my money.</p>
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<p>Sort of.</p>
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<p>I bought a bunch of cryptocurrencies several years ago.</p>
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<p>The best of them was <a href="https://ethereum.org/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ethereum ($ETH)</a>.</p>
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<p>Since then, my $ETH has tripled.</p>
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<p>I turned those gains into <a href="https://tezos.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tezos ($XTZ)</a>, keeping the original amount invested in $ETH.</p>
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<p>Then I spend only from those gains.</p>
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<p>And dang, is it fun.</p>
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<p>It's hard to restrain myself sometimes.</p>
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<p>The purchases I made in the first week were all a part of the learning experience that has led to this blog post.</p>
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<p>There are two ways to get the NFTs:</p>
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<ol><li>Buy it straight out.</li><li>Mint a new one.</li></ol>
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<p>When you buy one, you know what you're getting.</p>
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<p>When you mint one, it's probably going to be randomization from a series.</p>
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<p>It's exciting when you hit the mint button, and it generates a totally unique NFT for you.</p>
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<p>My first buy and first mint were both <a href="https://cyberkidzclub.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CyberKidz Club</a>, which also has a fantastic community.</p>
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<h2 id="the-communities-are-very-welcoming">The communities are very welcoming.</h2>
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<p>You'll be hard-pressed to find any NFT communities not being welcoming.</p>
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<p>The communities are generally built out of people who own an NFT from that project.</p>
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<p>As mentioned earlier, my first was CyberKidz Club.</p>
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<p>The folks in that community taught me most of what I know about NFTs (that I didn't discover the hard way).</p>
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<p>I'll talk about creating my first NFTs later.</p>
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<p>The quick story is that I tried to make mine on the $ETH blockchain.</p>
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<p>I discovered the gas prices were too damn high.</p>
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<p>A friend in the <a href="https://cybrmagazine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CYBR Magazine</a> Discord recommended I check out <a href="https://objkt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Objkt.com</a>.</p>
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<p>Objkt is on $XTZ, and it's significantly cheaper.</p>
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<p>So, that's where I put my first NFTs.</p>
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<p>While browsing around, a CyberKidz Club caught my eye.</p>
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<p>I checked out the website and was more intrigued.</p>
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<p>There was a link to their Discord, so I joined.</p>
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<p>I didn't even own one yet, and they were immediately kind to me.</p>
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<p>Because of that first impression, I immediately bought that Kid NFT that caught my eye.</p>
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<p>They taught me a lot and led me to mint one, too.</p>
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<p>Later on, I won the third Kid.</p>
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<p>I check in at least once a day to say hi to everyone.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://megabyteghost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/door-to-door-sales-lady-spam-1024x683.jpeg" alt="Woman peeking through door." class="wp-image-4524"/><figcaption>Hello would you like to buy an NFT??</figcaption></figure>
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<h2 id="you-get-hit-with-a-lot-of-spam-and-scams">You get hit with a lot of spam and scams.</h2>
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<p>As soon as you start to post about NFTs on social media and join Discord servers, you will get hit with a lot of spam.</p>
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<p>And a lot of scams (more on that later).</p>
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<p>It doesn't seem to happen much on Twitter for some reason.</p>
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<p>On Instagram, I get several messages per day from scams.</p>
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<p>The same has happened with Discord.</p>
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<p>On Instagram, whenever I post something, I get comments that tell me to share it with some other Instagram account that is based on NFTs.</p>
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<p>It seems to work on growing those accounts, so that's why they keep doing it, but I find it annoying.</p>
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<p>As much as I care about growing in the Web3 space myself, I don't want to be one of them.</p>
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<p>I also noticed a Twitter growth technique that I mentioned in Issue 002 of <a href="https://metaversiannews.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metaversian News</a>.</p>
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<p>The Twitter algorithm will boost posts that get a lot of interaction.</p>
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<p>Twitter will even show them to people who may not follow that particular account but follow the subject.</p>
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<p>People have figured out a way to game that and grow followers.</p>
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<p>They post that they are going to buy NFTs and ask people to share theirs in replies.</p>
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<p>This gives the post a lot of interaction which boosts it in the algorithm and shows it to people who are not already following them.</p>
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<p>And then a percentage of those people follow them.</p>
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<p>The next time they post it, it gets more interaction, and the cycle repeats.</p>
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<p>I don't know if they're even actually buying the NFTs or using it as a trick to get more followers.</p>
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<p>It's not something I would do, but if you do use that tactic to grow your following, I recommend actually buying some NFTs so that you're at least honest.</p>
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<h2 id="it-s-easy-to-fall-for-a-scam">It's easy to fall for a scam.</h2>
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<p>I'll admit: I fell for a scam.</p>
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<p>It was one of those situations where all the signs were there screaming "scam!"</p>
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<p>But I wanted that NFT so bad.</p>
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<p>The site said they were selling out fast.</p>
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<p>And it was an NFT I could afford!</p>
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<p>My own piece of digital land in the metaverse!</p>
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<p>I could get started at my own place in a costly spot where only the wealthy play.</p>
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<p>And all for just one easy payment of $100.</p>
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<p>I knew I should double-check the domain name, but I didn't.</p>
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<p>The Discord server for the project already had it listed as a scam.</p>
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<p>I didn't check there either.</p>
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<p>It's easy to get really excited and fall for a scam.</p>
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<p>Don't be like me.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://megabyteghost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/vr-man-glitch-1024x527.jpg" alt="Glitched out image of a guy wearing a VR headset." class="wp-image-4525"/><figcaption>Free is for me.</figcaption></figure>
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<h2 id="you-can-get-free-nfts-that-are-not-scams">You can get free NFTs that are not scams.</h2>
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<p>Often, you can join a Discord for an NFT project that you do not yet own.</p>
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<p>Most operate this way and have a section for non-owners and a private section for owners.</p>
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<p>Many of these will give away free NFTs in these Discords.</p>
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<p>It's a great way to get into a project for free.</p>
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<p>From there, you can see if you want to get more involved or not.</p>
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<p>I recommend not immediately selling any free ones you get.</p>
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<p>That's rude.</p>
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<p>Don't be like that.</p>
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<h2 id="people-who-already-have-an-audience-do-way-better">People who already have an audience do way better.</h2>
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<p>This is a rule of the internet that everyone should know by now.</p>
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<p>If you already have an audience, you will do better.</p>
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<p>These aren't newbies like me when you see NFTs selling for big bucks.</p>
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<p>They're people who already have a big following.</p>
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<p>Of course, you can build a following over time.</p>
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<p>And then you will be able to make big sales.</p>
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<p>Assuming the NFT bubble hasn't burst by then.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://megabyteghost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/tulip-bulb-bubble-1024x634.jpeg" alt="White tulips against a blue sky." class="wp-image-4526"/><figcaption>Not a tulip bulb situation.</figcaption></figure>
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<h2 id="if-nfts-are-a-bubble-there-s-probably-nothing-to-worry-about">If NFTs are a bubble, there's probably nothing to worry about.</h2>
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<p>During the "Dot Com Bubble," a lot of money was made in buying and selling websites and domains.</p>
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<p>Then it "crashed."</p>
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<p>Yet there are more websites than ever.</p>
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<p>And they're still making money.</p>
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<p>I encourage you to look at NFTs, the metaverse, and Web3 in general as the new normal.</p>
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<p>Likely, many NFTs do not make it to stardom.</p>
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<p>Most won't.</p>
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<p>Some NFTs you buy will lose value.</p>
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<p>The approach I'm taking is this:</p>
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<p>I buy the NFTs I want, not to invest with intentions of selling later for a big payoff.</p>
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<p>The ones I buy that are just art are just art.</p>
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<p>They will decorate my metaversian home(s).</p>
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<p>It's the same reason I buy a poster or painting to hang on my wall at home in meatspace.</p>
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<p>Some NFTs have a purpose (more on that later).</p>
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<p>There are NFTs now that are games that generate more cryptocurrency for you.</p>
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<p>Clubs are popping up where you have to have an NFT to be a part of it.</p>
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<p>They're very welcoming clubs, too!</p>
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<p>If you're buying NFTs, buy them to be involved in the project.</p>
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<p>This is the long term.</p>
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<h2 id="it-can-be-hella-expensive">It can be hella expensive.</h2>
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<p>Since it feels like a bubble right now, a lot of the metaverse is costly.</p>
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<p>Part of this is because the blockchains take time and literal energy to process transactions.</p>
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<p>A transaction could be someone buying, selling, trading, even minting a new NFT.</p>
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<p>All of that costs time and energy.</p>
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<p>And it creates a queue of transactions waiting in line.</p>
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<p>The energy is "paid for" with something called gas.</p>
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<p>In many situations, the more gas is spent, the higher up you move in the line.</p>
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<p>This creates substantial gas fees and long transaction times.</p>
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<p>That's what happened with me when trying to make my NFTs on the $ETH blockchain.</p>
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<p>My goal is to create "<a href="https://fivedollarnfts.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Five Dollar NFTs</a>," but it wasn't possible with gas prices on $ETH as high as they were.</p>
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<p>It would cost me more than five dollars just to make each one.</p>
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<p>I had to find a better way.</p>
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<h2 id="it-doesn-t-have-to-be-hella-expensive">It doesn't have to be hella expensive.</h2>
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<p>Ridiculous (IMHO) prices led me to $XTZ, which is significantly less expensive than most other blockchains.</p>
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<p>It's also "clean NFT," which is part of why it's less expensive.</p>
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<p>Or instead is a result of it being less expensive.</p>
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<p>I don't really understand the technical stuff, but it requires significantly less time and energy for transactions.</p>
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<p>Which in turn makes it much cheaper.</p>
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<p>And because it uses significantly less energy, it's better for the environment.</p>
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<p>At least compared to the other mainstream NFT blockchains.</p>
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<p>Now, we just need to wait for stuff like Decentraland and The Sandbox to be built on the $XTZ chain.</p>
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<p>Or build it ourselves.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://megabyteghost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/creepy-dolls-1024x768.jpeg" alt="A bunch of creepy dolls in a dilapidated room." class="wp-image-4527"/><figcaption>There are worse things to collect than NFTs.</figcaption></figure>
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<h2 id="these-are-the-types-of-nfts-i-look-for">These are the types of NFTs I look for:</h2>
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<p>After all that I learned in this first week, I've figured out what I like to look for in NFTs before buying them.</p>
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<p>First, the NFTs I have bought:</p>
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<ul><li>Artwork to decorate my metaversian living space(s) (once I have one).</li><li>CyberKidz Club because I liked the lore and the Club was very welcoming to me as a newbie.</li></ul>
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<p>Next, I'm looking to buy:</p>
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<ul><li>NFTs that have PlayToEarn (P2E) qualities.</li><li>Metaversian real estate that I can develop into a place to hang out virtually.</li></ul>
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<p>Some metaversian real estate also doubles as P2E.</p>
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<p>Those don't really look like they can be experienced from a virtual reality standpoint in the way Decentraland is.</p>
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<p>This means to me, they are not virtual real estate.</p>
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<p>They're just tokens in a game.</p>
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<p>Which is cool, too.</p>
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<p>I'm down to play some games.</p>
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<p>But what I'm really excited about is having a virtual place I can call my own.</p>
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<p>Until then, I explore and write blogs like this.</p>
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