Explainer: So you want to buy an NFT

Buying a digital likeness of Mike Cannon-Brookes or Clive Palmer sounds daunting, but it’s easier than you might think.

Melanie Perkins is now an NFT. Illustration by: Rebel Challenger

So, you’re a Mike Cannon-Brookes fanboy. Or maybe you’re a heavy user of Melanie Perkins’ design software Canva, or you’re in awe of the sneaker empire Tahnee Beard has built from scratch. Or maybe you’re Clive Palmer. You might then want to buy a non-fungible token – or NFT – celebrating Australia’s wealthiest individuals, in digital form. NFT is a term used to describe a digital asset that is unique and can’t be replaced by something else. The artworks, by illustrator Rebel Challenger, are being sold to help raise funds for the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Flood Appeal. If you do decide you want to buy one, there’s one very valid question you might first ask – how the heck do you do that?

Buying your first NFT is not as hard as you might think. I myself have two – a cartoon koala donning a Bunnings uniform, and a futuristic-looking American football player. Like mine, the Richest 250 NFTs reside on OpenSea, the world’s biggest NFT marketplace where people buy and sell thousands of digital artworks every day. Some NFTs have sold for hundreds or thousands, and even millions, of dollars but our NFTs have a very reasonable starting price of around just $A400.

Acquiring cryptocurrency

To buy an NFT on OpenSea, you’ll first need to purchase cryptocurrency. Ethereum is typically the digital currency used to buy NFTs; you can’t buy NFTs directly with Australian dollars, you’ll first need to buy crypto with your real-world dollars. For this guide we’ll use Australian crypto exchange CoinJar –

Asher Tan, the founder of a crypto currency exchange CoinJar at Southbank in Melbourne. Picture: David Geraghty

Australia’s longest-running digital currency exchange – but there are plenty of verified exchanges out there. On your web browser head to https://www.coinjar.com and click ‘Sign up’ to create an account. From there use your Visa or MasterCard to buy some Ethereum, or ETH. ETH is the world’s second most popular crypto behind bitcoin. Make sure you write down your password somewhere safe, because you’ll lose access to your crypto if you lose it. Most of The List NFTs have a current starting price of 0.1 ETH – about $400 – and you’ll need some extra for what’s known as ‘gas fees’ – the small bit of cryptocurrency it costs every time you make a transaction on the network. So to make a bid, you’ll probably want about 0.11 ETH for example. With ‘CoinJar Instant’ the Ethereum should be in your account in less than a minute, though the company may need some extra verification for your account, so have your drivers licence ready just in case they ask.

Setting up a crypto wallet

Now that you’re a new Ethereum owner, you’re ready to set up a wallet. The wallet is what integrates your Ethereum with digital platforms like OpenSea. We’ll use the most popular Ethereum wallet Metamask. Open your browser on your computer and head to the Metamask website at https://www.metamask.io, and select your chosen browser, and then click ‘Add to Chrome’ if you’re using Chrome, followed by ’Add extension’. Then click ‘Get Started’, then ‘Create a Wallet’, and write down your 12 word secret backup phrase, so you don’t lose your crypto. Once you have Metamask installed you’re ready to move your ETH into your digital wallet. Click the Metamask logo in the top right of your browser and copy your public address – if you hover over ‘Account 1’ you can click ‘Copy to clipboard’ and that will copy your public address. Then head back over to CoinJar and click ‘Send’, then ‘Everyday Ethereum’, then ‘Wallet address’ and paste your Metamask address. Send the ETH over, and it should arrive in your Metamask account within minutes.

Becoming a proud NFT owner

Now it‘s time to pick your favourite NFT and make a bid. In your browser, go to https://opensea.io/collection/the-list-australias-richest-nfts, and click on one you’d like to bid on, whether it’s Cliff Obrecht and his coloured pencils or Jack Cowin and his supreme pizzas. From there, click ‘Place bid’. That will then trigger Metamask to open in your browser, and click ’Sign’ to prove it’s you signing in to OpenSea. Select ’Convert ETH’ and confirm your amount, making sure there’s a little bit left over for transaction fees. From there, the ETH balance should be presented in Metamask. Confirm the amount and click ‘Place bid’ again, and ’confirm’ to complete your bid. Your bid should now appear in the ‘Offers’ section on the NFT’s page on OpenSea. The sales end April 1 at 9pm (Sydney time), and if you’re the highest bidder you’ll be the next proud owner of digital Melanie Perkins or Mike Cannon-Brookes, and your NFT will be available on your OpenSea account in a tab called ’My Collections’. You’ll have proof of ownership, and the NFT is officially yours.

You can make the digital artwork your Twitter profile picture, print it out and hang it on your wall, or sell it on for a profit. Ultimately, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll be a part of what is looking very much like the future of digital art and creativity, while helping raise money for the Flood Appeal at the same time.