What to Expect when Getting into NFTs: Q&A with @themonarch00

I got involved in TopShot at the end of February 2021.

After we minted the Bored Apes, my friend @ProfFredrickDMA and I started collecting from a lot of different projects. The space was still very new—we made some good decisions and some bad decisions—but we ultimately focused on building a broad and diverse portfolio across the NFT space that included large projects (like BAYC, Cool Cats, World of Women, and BYOPills), metaverse projects (like Sandbox, Cryptocities and LandVault), 1/1 art projects (like Tribes, Haylos and Animxls), and photography projects from talented artists (like Dave Krugman, Jessica Cardelucci and Corey Wolf).

At this point its trite to say, but it needs to be the team. That is often hard to determine pre-launch, but it really is the key to success. Looking at BAYC, Cool Cats and BYO (as well as many others), the common thread is an extraordinary team. Some people say the team needs to be fully doxxed (i.e. not anonymous), but that’s not true of several of the top projects, so I wouldn’t live and die by that rule. What I would do is look at projects that have a unique or ambitious roadmap and have delivered on their checkpoints.

I’d say first you have to like the art—you’re going to have to look at this thing for a while, so you might as well enjoy it. And second, see whether you vibe with the community—I’ve gone into discords for some projects that look good, cringed and immediately left. But the art and community are clearly not everything (some aren’t even art or are not community-based), so it really comes down to the value proposition it provides and whether you think (1) it will resonate with a broad group, (2) it is achievable, and (3) it is sustainable. If you’re looking for a quick flip, only #1 matters. But if you’re looking for a long-term investment, all three are critical.One red flag for me that I would point out is when the project teams are focused on their floors (i.e. the minimum price to buy on the secondary market), either overtly in their roadmaps or through announcements and incentives in their discord. Let the collectors worry about the floors—the team should always be focused on building and delivering, not the price.

Unquestionably it is the difficulty for users to easily and securely transact. I’ve been in this space for almost year (like a decade in NFT time) and I am still consistently concerned that I have done or am about to do something that will lose my asset(s)—either to scammers, hackers or simple user error. It’s too hard for people that aren’t tech savvy to get set up and interact safely and comfortably. That needs to change before mass adoption is possible.

Honestly, I see the entire space being entirely unrecognizable within 18-24 months from where it stands today. Things are moving forward and outward so rapidly it is hard to imagine what the space will look like in 3 years. I’d imagine things will start to go live in more metaverses, like Sandbox and BYOVerse. I’d also assume that the vast majority of projects in existence today will either no longer exist, will have merged with other projects, or morphed into something entirely different.

I really just want everyone to succeed. For a long time, people used to just say WAGMI (“we’re all gonna make it”) and I still firmly believe that. So, I want to try to pass on as much knowledge as I’ve gained to people in the space. To that end, a few more pointers I’ve learned.

First, be safe and do not trust anyone in your DMs. Don’t click on random links. Don’t rush through anything. If it sounds too good to be true it almost certainly is false.

Second, any money you are putting into this space should be assumed to be gone. I heard someone say this should come from your entertainment budget and not your investment budget. Think of your “investment” in NFTs the same as you would think about spending on a vacation—that money was spent on your enjoyment and does not come back to you when you get home.

Third, have fun and learn. People are generally very light-hearted and welcoming in this space (with some notable exceptions). If you’re getting in now, you’re still early. Explore, ask questions, make (small) mistakes. This is just the beginning.

Twitter handle is @themonarch00