Having developed a reputation as an “Ethereum killer”, Solana is one of the biggest players in decentralized finance today. Because of its excellent functionality, Solana has become a natural network to facilitate the purchase of non-fungible tokens more efficiently and cost-effectively than Ethereum.
But how easy is it to use Solana to buy NFTs online? And how can your non-fungible tokens be stored with easy access? Let’s take a deeper look at one of DeFi’s most promising blockchain networks.
What is Solana?
In a nutshell, Solana is an open source public blockchain aimed at hosting a high volume of scalable decentralized applications (DApps). Due to its high levels of functionality, Solana comfortably supports the smart contracts used to verify ownership of assets such as NFTs, making the network one of the crypto landscape’s best options for buying, selling and holding non-fungible tokens.
Why is Solana great for buying NFTs?
Solana was designed to eliminate the high costs and slow transaction speeds that plague older blockchains like Ethereum. Given that Ethereum gas fees can rise to phenomenal levels, Solana offers a solution to the problem when it comes to buying and selling NFTs.
With the average cost per transaction on the Solana network around $0.00025 and the ability to host tens of thousands of transactions per second, many expect Solana to overtake Ethereum as the star of decentralized finance.
Despite the fact that the value of SOL, Solana’s native currency, dropped significantly after the initial market crash, the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization remains at around $5 billion at the time of writing.
Despite SOL struggling against the backdrop of crypto winter, its functionality remains superior to many of its rivals when it comes to buying NFTs, and investors can build their collections efficiently and cost-effectively through the Solana network. But how easy is it to buy NFTs with Solana?
How to buy NFTs with Solana
Solana behaves similarly to other blockchain networks throughout the crypto ecosystem. Still, while many of the steps involved in buying NFTs may be familiar to those of us who have bought on the Ethereum network, some differences are worth highlighting.
1. Set up a Solana wallet
The first thing you need to do is set up a wallet that supports SOL transactions. The two most popular Solana wallets compatible with leading NFT marketplaces are:
While both have different benefits, Phantom is a leading option and works similarly to Metamask.
To install Phantom, navigate to the website and click download. You will then be asked to select your browser, which can be Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Brave, and start the process by clicking Create new wallet.
One of the most important parts of creating your wallet is setting up your recovery key. Be sure to keep a record of your recovery phrases in case you are ever unable to log into your wallet. If you don’t remember login details or recovery phrases, you risk losing access to your NFTs.
2. Buy SOL
To buy NFTs on the Solana blockchain, you must first add funds to your wallet. SOL, the native currency of Solana, is available for purchase on many exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. By purchasing your SOL through your favorite exchange, you can withdraw them to your wallet by copying the address when setting up the transaction. This can be done by using the Phantom browser extension and clicking on the wallet name to display the address.
Alternatively, you can buy SOL directly in your wallet. By clicking on the amount you are interested in depositing and selecting Nextyou will have the option to buy via Coinbase Pay or MoonPay.
3. Go to an NFT Marketplace
Now that you have money in your wallet, you need to find an NFT marketplace that contains the artwork or collectibles you are interested in purchasing.
There are many NFT marketplaces available that support Solana. For example, Solanart sells curated collections such as Degenerate Ape Academy, Aurory, SolPunks and Galactic Gecko Space Garage, which are among the market leaders when it comes to popular collections.
Other specialist Solana marketplaces such as DigitalEyes and Solsea offer different types of NFT artwork to buy, so it’s worth doing your homework on what you’re looking for and where to find it in the Solana ecosystem.
4. Connect to the SOL wallet
Fortunately, connecting your wallet to your chosen NFT marketplace is usually difficult, and platforms can detect all SOL wallets embedded in the browser you access the platform from.
In the case of Solanart’s marketplace, you will see an option to “connect wallet” at the top right corner of the screen. Click and follow the prompts to automatically connect to your wallet and start browsing collections to buy.
5. Buy your NFT
Once you have linked your wallet to your chosen marketplace, you can browse the menus to identify NFTs you are interested in buying.
Because your wallet is linked to the marketplace, the payment process is very intuitive and easy for users. Select your chosen NFT, double check the costs associated with it and click Proceed to check-out (these instructions are for Solanart users, although other marketplaces have similar purchase processes).
During the checkout process, you will be offered the opportunity to view the final price of your artwork, along with associated transaction fees. So, as long as you have enough SOL in your wallet, you can click to buy your NFT to start the transaction.
6. Add the purchase to the wallet
If you make the NFT purchase with the wallet you plan to store your token in, your new NFT should automatically arrive in your SOL wallet within moments of the transaction processing.
But if you need to transfer NFT to another wallet, you can click to Receive collectible in the Phantom wallet to securely transfer your token using a QR code.
The cost effective way to collect NFTs
Although much of the NFT frenzy of the 2021 boom took place on Ethereum’s network, with the likes of Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks stealing the limelight, Solana remains a highly functional way to build your NFT collection without having to shell out expensive gas fees to make transactions work.
With this in mind, setting up with the Solana network to buy and sell NFTs is a great way to take your first steps into an exciting digital collectibles landscape full of potential.
