Part 1/2 - Newbie interview episode with Meta, the podcast assistant, find her on Twitter
Time Stamps
[00:32 – 4:38] Meta asks what websites to use for references, specifically sites like RaritySniper and Rarible. Sabertooth says if you need to use these type of websites, you probably don’t know enough about that project to be investing in it. For kizu, the analysis is useful in an objective comparison. Sabertooth disagrees and says it is actually subjective. He also warns to check out the business model for those sites.
[4:38 – 6:52] Sabertooth says that he doesn’t personally use any websites for educational purposes and recommends that you simply listen to Floor is Rising for the info you need regarding trends, projects, etc.
Continuing, he does says that a helpful way to get more information is by looking at wallets. Using the example of CryptoPunks he says, check out what wallets have Punks then see what other NFTs that wallet owns. By this you will see patterns and transactions.
[6:52 – 11:55] Meta asks about the distinction between the different marketplaces. Sabertooth notes that it is helpful to break them down in to categories of primary and secondary sale. Primary examples would be; SuperRare, NiftyGateway, Foundation, async.art, NewWorld, etc. In these cases the artist is minting a particular work and you buy directly from him via listing or auction. Secondary sale sites include; OpenSea,Rarible, Zora, and you would buy from collectors.
These previously mentioned pertain to Ethereum. Hic et Nunc is different, it is on Tezos. Every blockchain (Solana, Terra, Dfinity) has an NFT ecosystem and thus its own marketplace. Most NFTs are on Ethereum but Tezos and Solana would be the next up.
Kizu recommends, especially for those from the traditional art world, to check out some of the NFT gallery spaces for a more curated experience. One he likes, that was even mentioned by Kenny Schachter, is FeralFile. Kizu says that on there you can even find OG artist like Tyler Hobbs, Refik Anadol, Mario Klingemann (who we just interviewed)
[11:55 – 13:45] Meta asks about minting, sales, and rights. Sabertooth clarifies that an NFT is not tied to a marketplace. This being said, the price can vary on different sites.
[13:45 – 16:36] Moving to wallets, Sabertooth talks about how the terminology and metaphors we use directly affects our behavior. Wallet conjures up the idea that the NFT is stored there, it’s better to think about the wallet as a way to interact. The blockchain stores the NFT.
Ultimately, what people need to focus on protecting is their seed phrase not necessarily the wallet.
[16:36 – 20:33] The way you prove you own what you own is through your seed phrase and this is set up usually when you get a wallet. If you loose this seed phrase that’s it. If you leaked your seed phrase there’s no getting it back, you can’t call up and reset the password.
One thing you can do to protect your seed phrase is to get a hardware wallet. This has a benefit as opposed to a hot wallet (such as MetaMask) because the information is generated on your computer and harder to crack. Examples of hardware wallets would be Ledger & Trezor.
The question then moves to, how to store your seed phrase. The first level is a password manager. Once you have more capital, then you move to breaking up your seed phrase into different parts.
[20:33 – 21:56] Meta asks, are two wallets (hard and hot) needed? Sabertooth notes that they usually integrate but the reason why people still use a hot wallet is because a hardware wallet is less convenient, a hot wallet is quicker. Then for more expensive pieces can be transferred over.
[21:56 – 24:27] Meta asks about Binance Smart Chain and finds out it is an EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). Similar to producing PCs that were compatible with IBM but could be made cheaper, we have EVMs so as to produce more affordable options. Binanace Smart Chain is just the most popular one out.
[24:57 – 25:23] Sabertooth clarifies that there is no risk to your wallet being hacked when syncing to different websites. There may be privacy risks associated with linking your wallet but there are no cryptographic risks.
[25:23 – 29:22] Moving to the topic of web 3.0 Kizu mentions that the big companies struck a Faustian bargain harvesting your data and 3.0 is about overturning that trend. In the case of NFTs, the idea is that direct buying happens between creators and collectors.
Sabertooth finds that web 3.0 and DAOs are the biggest terms getting thrown around right now. DAOs are simply co-ops and there are the obvious problems of bureaucracy. Sabertooth thinks they’re kind of overrated.
[29:22 – 32:05] Breaking down smart contracts Sabertooth says that, they are a autonomous running software on a blockchain. It is autonomous because it is running on the blockchain and unlike software on an AWS server, it can’t be shut down.
An NFT is a smart contract, namely ERC 21 (if dealing with Ethereum). You can also find ERC 1155 which is newer but still less popular.
