If you've been paying attention the past couple of years, you've probably heard the term
non-fungible tokens or NFTs. In 2021, the NFT market soared to over $25 billion and according to
Collins Dictionary, NFTs was the most searched word of the year.
NFTs are unique digital assets that can be traded, bought, and sold on blockchains like Ethereum,
Solana, and Tezos. And so far, 2022 is shaping up to be another record-breaking year for the
nascent technology. Once dismissed as overpriced JPEGs, popular NFT collections like CryptoPunks
and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) have proven that digital assets can provide real value to owners.
And for some early adopters of NFTs who got in on these blue-chip collections when they dropped,
the rewards have been life-changing.
Luckily for the rest of us, there's still time to learn about NFTs and how to get involved in new
projects. And there's no better place to start than with understanding NFT drops (NFT Drop
Calendar).
What is an NFT Drop calendar?
Being the first on the scene has always been important when it comes to collecting any rare asset,
and the case is no different with NFT collectibles. That's why it's critical to understand NFT
drops when building a collection of NFTs.
A good way to think about an NFT drop is the way the music industry talks about an album drop. An
album drop refers to the date when a brand-new piece of art, a musical album, is hitting the
public market. But in the case of an NFT drop, the art-in-question is usually a piece of digital
art from a generative NFT collection.
If you know when an NFT or NFT collection drops, then you know the date and time the digital
artwork goes on sale. You also know where it will go on sale and the price it will cost in
cryptocurrency to mint the NFT.
Most NFT drops limit the number of NFTs that can be minted, and some have whitelists that reward
community members with early drop dates and discounted minting prices. However, to get on a
whitelist you normally have to join the project's Discord channel and participate in the community
in some way.
For collectors and investors, getting in on an NFT drop the moment it occurs or by earning a spot
on an NFT project's whitelist can lead to handsome rewards.
Knowing the Types of NFT Drops
There are several different types of NFT drops or NFT Calendar, and understanding them before you
begin investing or collecting NFTs is important.
Listed below are some of the most common types of NFT drops:
- First come, first serve. Here an artist will mint an NFT collection, and the public
sale is open to whoever purchases the NFTs first. Sometimes collections sell out in seconds and other
times it takes weeks or they don't sell out at all. Normally, NFT project creators limit the number
of NFTs an individual wallet can purchase.
- Open edition drops. This type of drop means an NFT creator can mint as many NFTs
in a collection as they want within a set time. Once the time is up, the number of minted NFTs is
the amount of NFTs that the collection will contain and the rest of the NFTs that were not minted
are destroyed.
- English auctions. This type of auction usually happens on curated marketplaces such
as Foundation and SuperRare. Creators offer 1/1 exclusive NFTs and auction them off in a manner that's
similar to traditional art auctions.
- Dutch auction. This type of auction uses a declining price format. Before the auction,
bidders are informed of a high starting price. When the auction begins, the price is reduced until
someone makes a bid. Art Blocks has experimented with Dutch Auctions in NFTs.
Most generative NFT collections like CryptoPunks, Cool Cats, and BAYC, are minted on a first-come,
first-serve basis. These OG collections, which are now worth thousands, even hundreds of thousands
of dollars per NFT, were originally minted for a few hundred bucks or the price of Ethereum gas
fees.
For the early investors in these projects, it wasn't so much about the price, but the timing that
was important. The minters were in on a successful NFT drop – something all NFT collectors
and investors shoot for.
Rarity Sniper: How to Find an Exclusive NFT Drop
There are several ways to learn about NFT drops, and since new NFT projects are being released
every day, there's no shortage to choose from. One good way to check for upcoming NFT drops is to
check marketplaces such as OpenSea, MagicEden, SuperRare, and others.
You can also look on social media (especially Twitter), pay attention to NFT news sites, and talk
to friends who are interested in NFTs and cryptocurrency to find upcoming projects.
However, the best way to find out about upcoming NFT drops is by using a tool like Rarity Sniper's
Upcoming NFT Drops Calendar. This calendar regularly lists nearly 500 NFT drops of NFT collections
on Ethereum (Eth), Solana, Polygon, Tezos, Binance, and other blockchains.
Clicking on an NFT collection in the Upcoming Drops Calendar section will link you to the
collection page where you can explore the important fundamentals of the NFT collection, such as
the artwork, community, utility, and rarity chart.
You can also check out the project's roadmap and research who the developers and artists are
behind the project. Finally, the collections can be filtered by sales date, sales price, supply,
and blockchain.
For beginner collectors, checking out the Upcoming NFT Drops Calendar on Rarity Sniper is a great
place to get started.
Caveat: Although Rarity Sniper is an excellent resource for finding upcoming NFT drops,
some upcoming collections may not be fully verified. That means it's crucial to do your own research
before investing in an NFT drop.
Avoiding Scams in the NFT World
Not all NFT collections are created equal, and sadly there are still a lot of scams, hacks, and
fraud in the NFT space.
Make sure you investigate every NFT project yourself before you buy an NFT, and never give away
your NFT wallet or account details from links sent to you in DMs or emails from suspicious
addresses.
Also, beware of NFT projects that are promising rewards that sound too good to be true. In most
cases, if the project seems suspicious in any way, then there's a good chance it's not worth
investing in.
Lastly, rug pulls refer to when a creative team takes their sales from a drop and pulls the rug
out from under the project, leaving their investors with value-less NFTs. Unfortunately, rug pulls
are still far too common in the NFT space.
Because NFT technology is still evolving, not all the security details have been worked out.
That's why it's so important to do ample research into the NFT project's team and roadmap before
you invest your hard-earned money, and as with any investment, take your time and only invest
money you are willing to lose.
What to Look for in an NFT Drop
Avoiding scams and rug pulls is important, but you also need to know what to look for to find a
potentially successful NFT drop.
Listed below are a few tips from Rarity Sniper about what to look for in a successful NFT drop:
- The roadmap. This is basically the plan the NFT project has for the future. Are
the plans interesting, original, and well-thought-out? Do they seem realistic or like they could
bring value to NFT holders?
- Community. Check the project's Twitter and Discord channels to get a sense of
whether the community is active. Ask the project developers a question to see how they respond.
Be aware that some projects pay for followers, so their Twitter and Discord numbers don't always
accurately reveal community participation.
- Website. Any potentially successful NFT project should have a professional
website.
- The team. Look into the team behind the project to see if they have the
experience and skillsets necessary to pull off the project.
- Utility. Some NFTs can be used in play-to-earn games and others open doors to
exclusive real-life memberships. Does the NFT project you're interested in have any real-world
utility?
- Artwork. Finally, if you're going to invest in an NFT project, you should love
the artwork and be proud to hold onto it for a while.
- Endorsements. If a project is endorsed by a major brand or celebrity it could
have more of a chance of being popular.
If an NFT project contains all or most of these components, then you can be confident that it has
a chance to be successful. However, there's no guarantee when it comes to buying an NFT at a drop
that the digital asset will rise in value, so use your best judgment when you buy NFTs.
Steps for a Successful NFT Drop
For creators, knowing how to create a successful NFT drop is critical. NFT drops should generate
excitement and enthusiasm for fans in the same way that a successful album drop does.
Unfortunately, for every successful NFT drop, there are dozens that fall flat.
Furthermore, as NFTs become more mainstream, competition is increasing and projects that aren't
carefully planned and properly funded are likely to fail.
Below are some tips for creators to keep in mind when creating a successful NFT drop:
- Tell a compelling story for your exclusive collection
- Build a strong team
- Create a solid smart contract
- Decide on a blockchain and NFT marketplace
- Build community through different channels
- Understand your audience
- Distribute your NFT drop fairly
- Make sure your website can handle the traffic that a successful drop will bring
- Create a strong roadmap that shows potential customers the utility your NFTs will bring to
owners
- Create an incentive for people to want your NFT
Also, make sure to consider and anticipate all the problems that could potentially occur and work
them out before it's time for your NFT drop. Website crashes, technical difficulties, and being
exploited by bots, are just a few things that creators should be prepared for when dropping their
NFT projects.
Upcoming NFT Projects
Whether you want to purchase, invest, flip, or create your own NFT Art projects, research and
preparation are the keys to success. Fortunately, Rarity Sniper's Upcoming NFT Drops Calendar
which also features daily NFT news and educational articles is a great tool to get started in your
search and find exciting upcoming NFT drops.
While it's possible to make mistakes, especially as a beginner, the more you research NFTs, the
more you'll understand how to identify potentially successful drops and avoid frauds and scams.
And though sometimes FOMO fear of missing out can make it seem like you need to get involved with
NFTs immediately, the truth is it's better to be patient and take your time to learn as much as
you can about an NFT drop before you invest.
Glossary of NFT Drops terms
NFT Secondary Market:
There are two main ways to purchase NFT. The primary market is similar to the stock market, where
you can buy and sell stocks. The secondary market consists of multiple marketplaces, typically
dedicated to one blockchain. The price of NFTs can be found in both the primary and secondary
markets. The primary sale price is a good predictor of its future value. The secondary sale price
has a lower correlation. It is important to consider the price fluctuations in each of the two
markets when comparing prices.
The primary and secondary market volume of NFT has been dominated by Art since mid-July 2020.
Games and collectible assets have contributed 12% of the total transactions. The main NFTs
exchanged on the market are in the Collectible and Games categories. While Art dominated the
transaction volume in the past year, the share of its transactions has slipped in recent months.
In general, NFTs are worth more on the secondary market if they are valuable and can be sold.
NFT Floor Price:
The NFT Floor Price refers to the lowest price among all NFTs within a category. It does not mean
that you should buy the cheapest one in the entire project. The lowest price does not always mean
that it's the best buy. Rather, you should aim for the cheapest NFT in the category to get the
most value for your money. Some NFTs are rare, which means they are extremely expensive, and you
should seek out these for your projects only when they have a floor price.
An NFT's floor price is an important indicator for investors. Cheaper NFTs are less expensive,
which makes them more approachable for new people joining the project. The cheaper price ranges
fit better into the budget of a larger number of potential buyers and thus benefit from increased
visibility. Moreover, cheaper NFTs tend to have higher demand, as they are more affordable.
However, investors should consider that their investment should be judged based on market prices
and not solely on listing prices.
NFT Pre-sale Price:
Pre-sale price is for the whitelist member of the network and guarantees to the whitelist members
the ability to mint their own NFTs before the general public sale, Pre-sale price can represent an
amazing reward for those digital-tokens that are the Art NFT.