What are NFTs?

It is expedient to understand what non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are before delving into the realm of the Main NFT Collection.

Non-Fungible Tokens, popularly referred to as NFTs are unique digital assets that offer proof of ownership and authenticity, developed and traded through blockchain technology.

Also, an NFT is a digital domain with valid data — known as metadata — stored in them that correlates possession to unique physical or digital items, such as works of art, games, music, video, Gif, sports highlights, domain names, or collectibles. With NFT, an artist or creator can certify their digital artwork with a unique digital signature in the metadata.

The whole idea of NFT is simply taking a physical asset and representing them on the blockchain — a process that guarantees ownership and authenticity of items — thereby removing the need for intermediaries and giving power to artists; and allowing for direct interaction between creators and their customers.

The creators of “The Main NFT Collections” innovatively utilized the features of NFT — uniqueness, irreplaceable, non-interchangeable, indivisible, programmable, stored, and secured on the blockchain — in creating a unique digital masterpiece that has raked in millions of dollars in sales.

What are the Main NFT Collections?

The Main NFT collection is a group of unique, popular, and highly valued digital assets, mostly stored on the Ethereum blockchain that shares similar essential characteristics and is traded for very high prices.

In other words, they are a variety of digital assets circulated by an artist (or committee of artists) that match the same artistic expression, with slight differences across each token.

Each collection is unique and distinguishable from the others and holds a very special place among NFT collectors and crypto enthusiasts.

They are expensive, have high market value, and are mostly owned by a select few. Owners mainly include celebrities, key opinion leaders, (KOLs), influencers, business leaders, whale crypto investors, and a small number of retail investors.

Fractionalization of Blue Chip NFTs

A developing area where the influence of NFTs is being felt is the Fractionalization of NFTs, (F-NFTs).

F-NFTs are ERC -20 tokens that have been divided into smaller fractions and can be purchased or co-owned by several persons.

In other words, F-NFTs can represent fractions of whole NFT or real-world assets divided into smaller pieces that can be stored and traded as tokens on the blockchain, thereby allowing different people to claim partial ownership of expensive NFTs such as Beeple’s digital art collection/NFTs, CryptoPunks or Bored Apes, etc, and make money from future sales.

It is important to note that the Fractionalization of NFTs brings more liquidity to the illiquid market of NFTs because a significant number of retail investors can conveniently offer to buy a portion of an expensive NFT and enjoy the benefits of owning such an asset. This ultimately increases liquidity in the illiquid NFT market.

List of the Main NFT Collections

There are numerous NFTs and NFT collections in the NFT marketplace, but the emphasis would be on these popular collections; CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Meebits, Axie Infinity, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Art Blocks, Sandbox, NBA Top shot, and Azuki.

The choice of the under-studied NFTs is based on their increasing market value, trading history, cost of acquisition, high demand, rising high profile ownership, and popularity in the crypto world.

CryptoPunks

CryptoPunks is a unique collection of 8-bits pixel avatars that was launched in June 2017. It was developed by Larva Labs Studio but is now owned and managed by Yuga Labs (the same owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Meebits, etc).

This was the first NFT collection created using the ERC-20 standard and stored on the Ethereum network, and has raked in millions of dollars in sales and is still among the leading NFTs in the NFT marketplace.

They are rare NFTs, which means that no two traits are the same. Each has a distinctive character and has greater applicability in the NFT and Metaverse world.

It is known to be the stimulant behind the CryptoArt movement of the modern day. It comprises 10,000 24×24 collectible punks, all with distinctive traits. Non-human punks are rarer and more expensive than their human counterparts.

Though it was launched in 2017, it became famous in 2021 when some were sold for millions of dollars, thereby joining the list of the most expensive digital assets in the crypto world.

According to CoinMarket, a single CryptoPunk was sold for a whopping 2,500 Ether (ETH) which equates to a price tag of just over $2.6 million.

Purchasing and trading CryptoPunks can only be done on the Yuga Labs’ Website. But a full view of CryptoPunks is visible on OpenSea (the marketplace for all NFTs).

Anyone can buy CryptoPunks, not necessarily professionals. A trader or NFT collector just needs to have an Ethereum wallet that’s MetaMask and connect it to an NFT marketplace, such as OpenSea, or Rarible, among others.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)

The Bored Ape Yacht Club&rlz=1C5CHFA_enBR999BR999&oq=The+Bored+Ape+Yacht+Club+(BAYC)&aqs=chrome..69i57.142j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#:~:text=Search%20Results-,Bored%20Ape%20Yacht%20Club,https%3A//boredapeyachtclub.com,-The%20Bored%20Ape) is the brainchild of Yuga Labs LLC, launched in April 2021, during the NFT boom.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Collection is an assortment of 10,000 unique NFTs that is built on the Ethereum blockchain, using the ERC-721 standard, procedurally generated by an algorithm.

Its unique color, expression, and Ape painting make it look incredibly attractive to buyers. According to Marca.com, the Bored Ape Yacht Club traded $1.4 billion on the OpenSea, amounting to 466,000 on Ethereum value.

When it was newly launched, it was traded for 0.08 ETH each, worth about $190, but quickly skyrocketed to more than 100 ETH, that’s $300,000 by July of the same year.

According to CoinGecko, the current floor price of BAYC is 81.75 ETH which is $135,858.39.

Currently, BAYC is much more expensive than the other main NFT collections. This is because many celebrities and renowned individuals have identified with it. Popular on the list include billionaire, Mark Cuban; top American rappers: Snoop Dogg, and Eminem; popular singer Justin Bieber, and Timberland; television host, Jimmy Fallon; footballer, Neymar Jnr; athletic, Paris Hilton and renowned DJ Steve Aoki, among many others.

Holders have full rights to commercialize their Bored Apes at any point in time and also, enjoy exclusive benefits, that’s in-person events; such as “The Bath Room”, a Digital Graffiti Board, and most importantly admittance into the Bored Ape Yacht Club — a private club exclusive for all holders of the NFT.

In minting BAYC, buyers must first have an account in a trading platform like Gate.io, then create an NFT wallet, and buy Ether. Next, connect the wallet to the NFT marketplace like OpenSea, or Rarible to purchase Bored Apes.

Meebits

Meebits is a decentralized NFT project, developed and launched by Larva Labs in May 2021, using the ERC-721 standard. They are an upgraded version of CryptoPunk NFTs. While CryptoPunks are 2D pixels, Meebits are 3D voxel characters. This means that it is twice as large as CryptoPunks.

The features of the NFT collection are recorded and stored on the Ethereum blockchain.

Unlike the Bored Ape Yacht Club and the CryptoPunk with 10,000 collectible features, Meebits is made up of 20,000 3D voxel characters, formulated through a policy productive algorithm.

They can be used as avatars on the metaverse and can also be animated as 3D models.

The reason for its popularity is that it was created by the same company as CryptoPunks, and is also a departure from the popular 2D pixel characters obtainable with Punks.

In trading Meebits, it is worth noting that it has its marketplace, where bidding takes place. According to CoinGecko, Meebits is worth 5.05 ETH which is $8,116.56 floor price.

Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC)

Launched on August 28, 2021, uses the “Dutch Auction Strategy.” The MAYC NFT collection quickly joined the team of expensive NFTs raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in public sales, and currently selling for thousands of dollars in the secondary market.

The MAYC NFT Collection was created to reward and encourage holders of the ‘Bored Apes,’ and to expand the membership of the Bored Ape Yacht Club.

While the BAYC is a collection of 10,000 Bored Apes, the MAYC on the other hand is a collection of 20,000 distinct Mutant Apes.

The unique digital assets were produced, first, through minting in public sales and by exposing a Bored Ape to a vial of “Mutant Serum.”

These NFTs are closely related to Bored Apes and can be created if you have an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, transforming them into the “Mutant Version.” Also, they have entirely similar characteristics as Bored Apes with shape distinction in appearance.

CoinGecko asserts that the MAYC floor price is 15.75 ETH, which is $26,098.77.

In trading Mutant Apes, it is important to have an account in any trading platform of choice and an NFT wallet as well. An NFT wallet should be connected to the secondary market to be able to purchase any of the Mutant Apes.

Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity was developed by Vietnamese studio, Sky Mavis and launched in March 2018. This type of NFT is related to games, which is one of the bases for its success.

Axie Infinity is a Play-to-Earn metaverse game with unique gaming items and characters that reward players with its native utility token, Smooth Love Portion, SLP, traded in centralized and decentralized exchanges.

The metaverse in-game items were created on the Ethereum network, using the popular ERC-721 standard. Anyone can play the Axie game on the metaverse and also trade in-game assets (NFTs) to earn rewards — SLP.

As a play-to-earn NFT gaming platform, it enables players to play, trade, and earn. The game functions by permitting players to mint NFTs, known as Axis. These Axis are a set of well-trained animals used for combat in the Axie Infinity Metaverse.

In this game, players combat with each other using the different game characters called Axis. These Axis are either purchased or borrowed.

According to CoinGecko, the floor price for Axis — that’s the in-game characters — listed on the NFT Marketplace goes for 0.003 ETH — just over $5. Also, they can be traded on centralized exchanges (CExs) such as Gate.io, Binance, Kucoin, Global, Huobi, and several other exchange platforms; and also on decentralized exchanges, (DExs), like UniSwap.

Art Blocks

The Art Blocks are NFTs based on the numeric scheme of arts.

Art Blocks was developed by Erick Calderon in November 2020 and built on the Ethereum blockchain. It involves digital creativity, is obtained on demand, and is unique in its way.

In creating Art Blocks, artists ought to select and screen the best artwork instead of just selecting randomly.

This NFT collection is not likened to any collection that is established on some animals or symbolic drawings. Rather, it is based on numerous schemes of art, encompassing conceptual and geometric expression.

Art Blocks NFT collection is a priceless piece of digital art that can be obtained on demand. In other words, buyers essentially do not know what the artwork looks like before buying.

According to Coin Central, the floor price of Art Blocks on OpenSea is 6 ETH and can be sold, bid, and purchased on the marketplace.

The Sandbox

The Sandbox is an Ethereum-based video game that lets users own a piece of land in the form of an NFT in “The Sandbox Metaverse” — a collection of virtual worlds (LAND) built using blockchain technology.

The Sandbox game is unique, with laudable innovation brought to the gaming industry.

In this metaverse, creators and users have true ownership of their creations as user-generated content (UGC), by working with the needed tools provided by the platform, such as Voxel Edit and Game Maker, to build custom-made games and other characters.

In addition, the game is user-focused as it consists of three integrated products that collectively provide a detailed experience for user-generated content (UGC) production.

Through blockchain and smart contracts, users can secure copy-right ownership for their generated content, (ASSET).

Furthermore, the Sandbox games emphasize roaming in the metaverse and allow gamers to select their tasks. No expertise or say a developer’s knowledge is needed to play the game or create ASSETs. Anybody with a keen interest can take part in the sandbox game and earn a SAND token.

Furthermore, the Sandbox token, — SAND, LAND, and ASSET — can be traded on its marketplace and Opensea.

In trading any of these tokens, you ought to have an Ethereum wallet or an account in the Sandbox ecosystem and have Ether or SAND.

NBA Top Shot

NBA Top Shot is an NFT marketplace where fans can buy, sell, and trade basketball video clips, popularly referred to as “Moments” — short videos highlighting clips sold as non-fungible tokens on NBA Top Shot marketplace.

NBA Top Shot was developed through a collaboration between the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Basketball Association Players, and Dapper Labs — the creators of the popular CryptoKitties.

Launched in 2019; it became popular among NBA fans in 2020 and witnessed an explosion in sales in 2021, with more than 1 million registered users. By the first quarter of 2022, it had recorded close to $1 billion in sales globally.

These digital collectibles are produced and stored on the underlying blockchain, that’s ‘Flow Blockchain’ — the distributed ledger managed by the Dapper Labs’ team of developers.

Each Moment of a basketball game is captured in clips and pictures, and on approval by NBA is converted to NFTs imbued with unique codes or serial numbers displaying game and player stats.

Scarcity and value largely affect the price of these Top Shots; rare Moments from top players, like Lebron James, Steph Curry, or Luka Dunnic go for large amounts, while others sell for as low as $9 per pack.

The NBA Top Shot can be bought or traded on its Marketplace, by simply creating an account on its website. The entire exercise has been made easy and fast in order not to discourage NBA fans not familiar with the technicalities involved in cryptocurrency transactions and blockchain technology. You can buy using either fiat or cryptocurrency.

Also, you can use the Dapper wallet or any crypto wallet compatible with the Flow Blockchain to buy, trade, and store your NFTs.

Azuki

The Azuki anime art collection was launched on January 12, 2022; by Chiru Labs, a start-up by a group of four anonymous developers based in Los Angeles.

Azuki is a collection of 10,000 anime avatars created for its metaverse, “The Garden,” — a virtual world for Web3 enthusiasts, artists, and creators who seek to bring to birth our decentralized future.

The Anime Avatar lives on the Ethereum blockchain, developed from their modified ERC-721A, and allows for the minting of more NFTs, at a cheaper cost. This is a cutting-edge innovation in the NFT industry as developers would use this standard to mint more NFTs at the cost of one.

The remarkable success recorded by Azuki within a very short time is based primarily on its connection to the Japanese “Anime Culture” — a well-known cultural practice celebrated in Japan and parts of Asia. The word “Anime,” is a Japanese adaptation of the word “animation,” meaning animated content from Japan.

This NFT project rode on the wings of this famous cultural practice attracting her zealous followers to be among the notable investors and buyers of the NFTs, raising over $300 million in sales shortly after launch, outperforming leading NFT collections such as BAYC and CryptoPunks; and for a while suddenly became one of the Top-selling NFT collections in the NFT marketplace.

These NFTs can be purchased with Ether on OpenSea, or any other marketplace and can be stored in NFT wallets of choice. According to CoinDesk, the floor price of Azuki NFT as of the time of writing is $3.9 ETH, nearly $10,000.

Having learned about these collections, it is important to know how they can be acquired.

How To Buy or Mint an NFT from these Collections?

These NFTs have a similar buying or minting process and are often bought or minted on their marketplace or some selected NFT marketplaces — OpenSea, Rarible, etc.

Follow these steps to buy or mint one!

• First, you need to have a wallet such as Metamask, WalletConnect, Phantom, Fortmatic, Trust wallet, etc. If you don’t have one, you can easily create one by logging into their website and following the simple steps outlined. Endeavor to safeguard your “Seed Phrase” from third parties after creation.
• Secondly, have a substantial amount of Ether (or any cryptocurrency you intend to buy with), to pay for the cost of minting and the transaction fee. If you don’t have Ether, you can easily buy some from Gate.io by first creating an account on the exchange and passing Know Your Customer, (KYC).
• Next, connect your wallet to the NFT marketplace you intend to buy from. Special care must be taken in connecting your wallet, as there are so many malicious/fake websites.
• After successfully linking the NFT wallet to the NFT marketplace, the next step is to bid for the NFT you intend to buy and make a payment.

Conclusion

These great works of art are the fruit of innovation and ingenuity. There is a remarkable distinction between all of the collections, prompting NFT collectors to seek and acquire them, even at a huge cost.

Nevertheless, it is advisable to do your research and carry out intensive market analysis before investing in any of these digital assets as the NFT market, as with cryptocurrency, is notoriously volatile and filled with uncertainty. Though, for many, investing in NFTs has turned out to be very profitable.