When the set-up of your digital wallet is ready you can start shopping. Here is my listing of the most important marketplaces and project sites.
Please save all the links provided here in your browser, using bookmarks. Please don't google for these webpages - there are many fake sites around, that look 100 per cent the same as the original, but their only goal is to steal your crypto and NFT investments.
This is not a complete guide, but a personal summary of the most important places to know:
OpenSea | https://opensea.io/
The biggest seconday marketplace is often referred to as the "Ebay of NFTs". People can trade their digital assets for a fixed price or do auctions. Some projects are also minting directly on OpenSea (which means: the NFT does not exist, you create it on the blockchain during the mint). I've created all my projects so far on OpenSea and sell them from there directly to my customers.
ArtBlocks | https://www.artblocks.io/
ArtBlocks, founded by Erick Calderon (known as Snowfro) in 2020, is one of the first platforms for contemporary generative art. It bringt together artists, collectors and blockchain technology to create beautiful artworks. You can read about upcoming drops, that are minted directly on the ArtBlocks page, view collections, that are still open for minting and find out more about all the past drops with links to the secondary market or the option to purchase directly on the ArtBlocks marketplace.
BrainDrops | https://braindrops.cloud/
BrainDrops is the leading platform for AI-generated art. The projects are minted directly on their webpage, but most of the drops are sold out quickly: Holders of a "Genesis set", which contains the first three BrainDrops projects, are always allowed to mint first. But you can check out all the drops so far and find links to the items on seconday marketplaces.
SuperRare | https://superrare.com/
SuperRare is a curated NFT art market where only preselected artists can offer their work. SuperRare is known for its 1/1 art: Every single piece offered here is a unique artwork from well known artists in the web3 space. Some pieces have fixed prices, some are running auctions.
CryptoPunks | https://larvalabs.com/cryptopunks
There are many Profile Picture Projects (PFP) out there, but the CryptoPunks are for sure the most famous: 10.000 punks in a 24x24 pixel art that were minted in 2017. Incredible: People with a wallet back in these days could claim them for free... Today it is one the most valuable collections, museums like the Centre Pompidou are already showing them in their collection. You can buy the Punks directly on the LarvaLabs page.
On OpenSea you'll find trending collections, upcoming drops and can browse through different categories like photography, art or PFPs.
My next blogpost is about security in Web3 and how you can protect your digital assets from scams.