I am endpop and I am an artist.
Collecting digital artifacts from artists (NFTs) is quite a bit like collecting tokens in video games. It's fun, the art is fantastic, and the use cases are just beginning to surface in our modern world. Besides that, Tezos, the medium of exchange to collect these tokens, is also MONEY and has real-world value all on its own. In this article, my aim is to teach you about a specific type of NFT and its culture (which I am a very proud part of). It is my intention to teach you about the emerging crypto world, and its vital importance to your financial liberty, as well as a springboard for collecting art from truly talented artists.
I often talk about "wallets" and buying Tezos (XTZ / ꜩ) with Abox fans on the stream, and so I put together this How-To that begins here. You are going to learn how to buy Tezos, set up a wallet, etc. So if you want to collect Tokenized Art and Music (coming soon) otherwise known as NFTs using Tezos... This is the way. It's also a newbie primer in crypto in general for Abox fans who want to know what it is I'm doing with this stuff. So... Let's start with the most important thing you need to know:
Tezos Wallets are 100% free if all you will be doing is having an address for #Abox to send YOU an NFT. This is a fact. You needn't buy anything. If I send you a digital artifact such as a piece of art or music, you just need an address, much like an email address (with monetary benefits) for me to send it to. Mine, for example, is tz1SpzwhCKNKE5vDiEweAeHVvAwpi4djHyUh or shortened endpop.tez.
So the first step is the most obvious. Get your Tezos Wallet: https://templewallet.com/download (I use this one myself) or perhaps this one https://wallet.kukai.app/ (very popular as well).
Once you have your wallet set up, it is what you will use to receive and also buy/sell the digital artifacts. The type of 'money' used by these wallets is Tezos.
Why Tezos?
I love NFTs, and there will be some that don't understand their true functionality. There are many blockchains, but I invite you to check out the art (and music) that can be found on Tezos platforms. I myself became a collector on Objkt.com ... check it out!
All this aside, I like the green aspect of Tezos, and I especially love the artist community built around it. The artists are among the most talented in the world, and it is gaining ground on Ethereum-based NFTs (which I will cover in a future post). This does not mean I will be exclusive to Tezos, but you can rest assured I will not abandon this blockchain as it is highly scalable, decentralized, and fully supported by artists, galleries, and curators worldwide. I LOVE Tezos, and will fully support it as part of its community. I'm here to stay.
How to Buy Tezos
There are many ways to do this once you set up a wallet. The easiest, of course, is to buy the Tezos using USD (credit card) directly in the wallet, and that's that. However, I don't like this method because it forces you to spend specific amounts. Plus, you don't learn about crypto-currency in the process. And there is an ulterior motive for my wanting to teach you about crypto. It is the future of money, and the more decentralized it gets, the better this is for our world. So learning about it while doing something fun like collecting art and music is a great way to get into the future.
I prefer SENDING Tezos to my wallet via an Exchange, such as Coinbase. What I like about Coinbase, is that I can buy, convert, trade, and even use all of my cryptos as money. On exchanges like Coinbase, you can safely connect your bank account and buy as little as 3.00 worth of Tezos. I'm on Coinbase, so if you use my link, you and I both get $10 worth of crypto... so use it! https://coinbase.com/join/strili_z (and you can exchange what you earned into Tezos).
But as you can see, buying Tezos on Coinbase is easy, and then sending an amount to your wallet is a piece of cake. You copy the address from your wallet and paste it into the "TO" field and that's it.
Now let's move on to one of the sites I use for "minting", or creating digital artifacts...
Objkt.com
This is where I mint most of my work on Tezos, although as you will soon find out, there are other sites that support Tezos and I will mint on them too. But for the most part, I like this one because it indexes wherever else I mint my pieces, so in a way, it is a one-stop to where my work is. I totally hope you will explore this space and enjoy it as much as I do. It's fun, and believe me when I tell you that the full potential of this new art form is yet to be realized worldwide. You are in fact, a pioneer following me into this realm. We are going to be explorers together! And I emphasize, there will be exclusives here that will exist nowhere else. Don't believe me? Poke around my profile on Objkt. There's a mix tape there...
How to connect your wallet with objkt.com (assuming you already have a Temple or Kukai wallet)
Go to objkt.com website
Click synch
Choose your preferred wallet
Enter your password to login
Click login
Click the ‘Connect’ button
Click the ‘Sign’ button (there is no transaction fee associated with signing in).
The process is identical if you are using a Kukai wallet.
Temple or Kukai wallet? Which one is better? I know. I asked these questions too. The answer is that honestly, they are both great. It all depends on what you like. You could have both if you like and send your tokens from one to another. At the start, I would recommend sticking to one or the other. I personally use Temple Wallet and I'm quite happy with it.
How to Create and Set Up Your Temple Wallet
Temple Wallet is a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet for the Tezos blockchain. That's a complex way of saying that YOU own your own keys and your own funds. You will hear this phrase often in the crypto world: Your keys, your data. What it means is that essentially there is no one controlling your funds but you. In a sense, you will become your own bank! And, in this bank, you will hold money and tokens in the form of Tezos. Let's get right into it...
Go to: https://templewallet.com/
Depending on whether you are using a computer or mobile device, choose either the WEB EXTENTION or MOBILE APP (I personally use the web extension)
For the computer users: Click on WEB EXTENTION, choose your browser, and click on INSTALL and Download to your browser
After downloading the wallet extension, a new window will open up to either Import an existing Wallet (if you have one) or Create a new Wallet. Click on Create a new Wallet.
After clicking: Create a new Wallet, you will need to set a password. Remember to set a strong password and retype it in the Repeat Password field. Select the checkbox after reading the terms and privacy policy. Keep this password safe. With all things crypto, losing your password and key phrase is like losing your wallet in real life. No one can get it back for you. So write them down in a notebook, and keep them handy. I myself have written it down in three separate places that are safe.
You will be moved to the Backup and Verify the Seed Phrase. Click on the box under the Seed phrase (hidden under the PROTECTED lock). The seed phrase will be revealed. It is crucial to keep this seed phrase in a safe place. You can write it down on a piece of paper and keep it somewhere private. Afterward, select the checkbox and click on the Continue button. Remember that you could only recover your account via the Seed phrase. If you lose it, you will lose your assets. I cannot stress this enough. Do not lose your seed phrase, and NEVER EVER GIVE IT TO ANYONE. EVER. :)
Once clicking on the Continue button, you will see the Verify Seed Phrase screen. Fill in the missing words according to your Seed Phrase and click on the Finish button.
After you click on the Finish button, a note about data gathering will appear. Follow the instructions accordingly. You can always choose to opt-out of analytics.
After you click on the Finish button, a note about data gathering will appear. Follow the instructions accordingly. Once you confirm, the wallet will display four steps of onboarding instructions. You can see them by clicking on the Next button or you can skip them. At the end click on the Start button. And you just created an account on Temple Wallet.
You can now get some Tezos into your wallet. One option is to use Moonpay, which I believe lets you buy 30.00 worth of Tezos. This is fine if you are going to be collecting larger pieces, rare editions, etc. Instead of this option, I would get a Coinbase Account (this is how I do it), and buy any amount of XTZs that you want. Then, just send them to your Temple wallet. It's fast, easy, and is a good way to explore crypto outside of Tezos, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.
How to Set Up a Kukai Wallet instead...
Kukai is also wallet for your browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge). There is no Kukai mobile version. It's very straightforward to install and seems very popular. So here we go...
Go to this website https://wallet.kukai.app/
Click the button ‘Create New Wallet’
Click text ‘Click here to reveal your seed words’
These seed words are your backup. There are VERY IMPORTANT.
If your computer breaks down, you need them to log into your wallet on a different computer.
Don’t send them to anyone, and don’t show them to anyone.
Don’t take a screenshot on the computer or mobile phone.
Writing on paper is much safer.
Write them down on 3 different sheets of paper and hide them.
Do you get the idea here? SAVE THESE WORDS IN ORDER.No one can recover your wallet if you lose them.
Write the word from seed words in the gap as shown
Click the ‘Next’ button
Create your password, and make it a good one.
Click the ‘Next’ button
Congrats! You created your new Tezos wallet!
Click the button ‘Download’ to download your HD-wallet info
Click the button ‘Open Wallet’
You see your wallet dashboard
About Tezos Wallet Addresses
Your Tezos wallet address is similar to an email address, and generally speaking, it is quite safe to post it or show it. The endpop wallet address, for example, is:
tz1SpzwhCKNKE5vDiEweAeHVvAwpi4djHyUh and you can look it up on the Tezos blockchain explorer freely. But, you can also get yourself a short Tezos name. Mine for example, is endpop.tez which allows for easier access to things.
To get your name, such as AboxFan.tez just head on over to https://tezos.domains/ and reserve it, just as you would a web domain. It's cheap, but you pay for it using (you guessed it) Tezos.
I guess that's it for now. Happy collecting!