How to Become an NFT Expert

In 2022, a digital asset such as pictures or art has a greater value than a physical asset.

As the internet became more accessible, e-commerce saw a tremendous increase on a global scale. However, the novel idea of NFTs significantly accelerated online trading by providing distinctive goods that are non-interchangeable. According to NFT experts, the hype is real, and it is the future.

To be a better NFT expert, let your curiosity flow. Explore new technologies and how they are helping the developers and consumer communities around the world. Look at possible resources that can increase your knowledge of this domain.

In this article, we will try to explain every aspect of NFTs and cover some of the essentials of how to become an NFT expert.

Why Become NFT Expert

1. Trading Physical Assets with NFTs

• Criticism helps in proving the capabilities of technology. Unless you criticize how good the technology is, you are bound to feel the technology is useless. Moreover, people still think NFTs are the worst investment because any digital item sold on any NFT marketplace can be easily downloaded on the internet. This leads to the question, “Why buy it when you can have it for free?”
• 
  
• But what if we told you that things have changed, and the NFTs have expanded their operations from digital to physical assets?
• 
  
• Yes, NFT technology has begun to take over physical assets. A house in Florida, US, was auctioned as an NFT and sold for around $653,153. This opens the possibility to anything treaded over NFTs, and because it’s still relatively new, you should learn everything you can about it to become an NFT expert and have a successful career.

2. NFT Statistics of 2022

• If you want to know how NFTs are transforming the entire world and its operations, take a look at the following facts that will change your perspective on NFTs and may convince you to become an NFT expert.
• 
  
• i) The NFT markets are worth more than $3 billion.
• ii) The most expensive NFT was sold for around $90 million.
• iii) The NFT market grew over 19 times between 2020 and 2021.
• iv) A meme on NFT was sold for $4 million.
• v) The total sales value of NFTs from August 2021 to February 2022 surpassed more than $1.4 million.

3. Emerging NFT-based Technologies

• The world is full of surprises. You never know when a new tech trend will storm the entire tech industry and people’s lives. In October 2021, Meta(formerly known as Facebook) launched its virtual platform, the Metaverse, where people can play games, interact with each other, and buy digital collectables or real-world items.
• 
  
• Indeed, this brings excitement to the table as the Metaverse will sooner or later replace daily used communication channels with AR/VR devices to provide users with a real-world experience in a virtual environment. Though it’s unlikely they will be operational for mass users now, it is expected to be the next-gen internet revolution where brands will open their socials, arrange meetups, and even let users buy from a digital store.
• 
  
• As a result, NFTs have a wide application in the Metaverse because all digital items, whether in-game or in a digital store, will be tokenized for unique purchases.

4. Crypto and Blockchain Support

• Cryptocurrencies and blockchains are the foundations of NFTs. Without these, the NFTs would not become unique assets since they allow storing data (addition of new assets) in the form of encrypted blocks(minting) on a distributed ledger(blockchain).
• 
  
• For some years, crypto and blockchain have been the most booming technologies in the world. There are over 20,000 cryptos and 1,000 blockchains operational, but only a few of them are used by NFT marketplaces such as Ethereum.

How to Become an NFT Expert

Now that you know why you should become an NFT expert, then let’s move ahead and learn the fundamentals of NFT technology.

1. Learn The Basics

• Before you start learning to become an NFT expert, let’s get familiar with the fundamentals of NFTs. The NFT market is volatile and is swept by new trends each year, so get aware of these trends to broaden your NFT knowledge.
• 
  
• The following are the areas you should understand thoroughly.

• i) What is blockchain?
• ii) What are Crypto and NFT?
• iii) Comparison between cryptocurrency vs blockchain vs NFT?
• iv) What is minting?
• v) How are the transactions done?
• vi) Understanding of Ethereum Virtual Machine
• vii) Learn about DAO(Decentralized Autonomous Organization)

2. Understand Smart Contracts

• Smart contracts are programs that work by executing their operations automatically when a predefined set of tasks are met. These are created to automate contracts so that the buyer and seller can avoid the hassles of paperwork and other formalities.
• 
  
• For instance, if a client agrees to deliver a software product subject to a list of conditions, the smart contract checks to see if the software application complies with those conditions and completes any necessary paperwork and tasks automatically.

3. Learn About Dapps

• Dapps are the decentralized medium between smart contracts and the user. They use smart contracts to serve the users with auto-execution of tasks. Moreover, they help developers deploy the blockchain ecosystem on a platform.

4. Knowledge of Tokens

• Tokens are digital coins with some value or right that allow users to gain access or participate in the blockchain ecosystem. The most widely used token or crypto is Ethereum, which has multiple types, such as ERC-20, ERC-721and more.

5. Tech Stack

• A better understanding of tech stacks is required to understand how the blockchain ecosystem and NFT marketplace are built and how they function. This is why following tech stacks are essential to becoming and finding NFT expert jobs.
• 
  

• i) NFT Platforms, Blockchains, and Consensus Mechanisms

• To become an NFT expert, you must study different NFT platforms such as OpenSea, Rarible, and others to get a thorough understanding of NFT infrastructure and blockchain technology. Find out what type of NFTs these platforms enlist, what blockchain technology they use, and what consensus mechanism they work on. For instance, Ethereum uses a proof-of-work mechanism.

• ii) Study Different Protocols

• NFT protocols are standards that deliver a decentralized exchange infrastructure to sustain fungible and non-fungible assets. For instance, Binance’s BEP-721 operates on the Binance smart chain and has comparatively lower fees and faster transactions as compared to Ethereum’s ERC-721.
• 
  
• These protocols serve NFT classes with robust infrastructure and undergo constant advancements to better serve the evolving needs of the NFT community.

6. Learn How to Use, Buy, and Sell on the NFT Marketplace

• To become an NFT expert, gain hands-on experience on how to sell and buy NFTs, and try to use the NFT marketplace often. Use different NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea, Rarible, and others to understand their platforms, what types of NFTs they enlist, and what functionalities and features they provide.
• 
  
• Moreover, learn how to open an account with digital wallets such as Metamask, gain knowledge on how to create an NFT, how to enlist that NFT, how to auction an NFT and sell it, and further mint NFTs for greater benefits.
• 
  
• One important parameter you should focus on while you use NFT marketplaces is getting aware of their gas fees, which are charged to enlist your NFTs on the marketplace.

7. Learn About Different Niches

• To understand the different marketplaces and their NFT specifics, studying different niches is important. Various NFT marketplaces prioritize only a few niches that can be sold and bought via their platform, while some allow everything to be housed.
• 
  
• OpenSea is one of the platforms that allow most of the NFT specifics to be enlisted on their platform, which contains art, music, collectables, photography, videos, etc., While SuperRare, a platform devoted to art, enlists digital art only from verified artists.
• Indeed, studying these marketplaces is important for becoming an NFT expert to boost your grasp of how each niche is valued, their NFT marketing strategies, their demand, what audiences they target, and so on.
• 
  
• Moreover, many platforms are emerging with new niches, such as Axie Infinity, an online gaming platform that allows users to earn NFTs by playing games. Also, the Metaverse is expected to be stormed by new NFT trends and niches to provide users with greater accessibility to the products. By studying various niches and specifics, you can measure how NFTs are evolving and how new trends impact their ecosystem.

8. See Through The Challenges

• Every path has challenges, and becoming an NFT expert has them too. There are many reasons why NFTs are still considered fraud, scams, and poor investment strategies. As an expert, you should be aware of these challenges to avoid falling your company’s funds into the wrong hands.
• 
  
• Even with the most secure methods of transaction, people on NFT platforms are robbed with methods no one can think of, and the most common scam everyone falls for is the Rug-Pull. Which is nothing but baiting a client on social media about an NFT project, and as soon as they get enough funds from clients, they shut down their project and run away. Other common scams on NFTs are phishing, bidding, pump-and-dump schemes, and plagiarized NFTs.

9. Give Certified NFT Expert Exam

• Now that you are aware of the fundamentals of NFT and its ecosystem, it’s time to test your skills. For this, you can find any NFT certification courses that come along with an exam that thoroughly tests your caliber.
• 
  
• You can find many course providers that promise to provide you with the robust knowledge to become an NFT expert. Indeed, being a certified NFT expert will make you qualified for NFT expert jobs in the market.