What is an NFT whitelist and how can you join one?

Crypto-based scams are constantly sweeping the non-fungible token (NFT) space; Therefore, staying up-to-date is the most important way to prevent both new and existing NFT scams. Apart from fraud, intense rivalry for newly minted NFTs can cause prices to rise and transaction fees to skyrocket, making them unaffordable for early supporters.

Nevertheless, these problems have been solved by NFT vendors by establishing whitelists or approval lists, which grant special privileges and access to a newly minted non-fungible token. Before public minting begins, non-fungible token projects use permission lists to limit who can mint NFTs. For example, one can mint NFTs without worrying about gas wars if they are whitelisted.

This article will discuss the concept and process of NFT whitelisting, why NFT whitelists are used, and how to get on an NFT whitelist.

What is an NFT whitelist?

Whitelisting is a concept used in cybersecurity that refers to approving a list of IP addresses, email addresses, and applications while rejecting all others. Having said that, it is about giving special rights and access to a certain object.

In the NFT space, non-fungible token approval lists are a list of wallet addresses with exclusive coin rights, ensuring the ability to mint one or more NFTs before their planned release to the general public, often at a lower cost.

Related: How do you assess the value of an NFT?

A pre-mint, often done via a mint card or approval list, gives community members and early backers a shot at the mint before the public sale opens. However, the difference between a mint pass and a permission list is that a mint pass costs money to mint a certain amount of NFTs before the general sale.

How do NFT whitelists work?

After compiling digital wallet addresses, early access is granted to newly minted non-fungible tokens. Getting your address approved for whitelisting is the first thing you need to do as a potential buyer. Most projects will have their NFTs available to real fans and early backers, and they evaluate users’ accounts before whitelisting them.

Related: Non-fungible tokens: How to get started using NFTs

Selected wallet addresses receive a minting date and time of a new token when it is added to the NFT whitelist. Each project has a different time slot length; However, many approval lists offer a two-day window. Users have to wait for the fixed date and they will be able to access their account at the specified time and make an NFT as agreed.

Benefits of NFT whitelists

Whitelists provide many benefits for investors, collectors and project creators. For example, allowing devoted fans to create NFTs before the public can avoid a gas war. Additionally, being whitelisted will usually result in a lower coin price than the public coin price.

This means that whitelisted users will have a free time to complete the purchase and they can spend extra money on actual NFT purchases by saving on gas fees. Furthermore, collectors can be rewarded with airdrops if they are able to mint a high value NFT project. For example, Bored Ape Yacht Club holders received free Mutant Ape NFTs, allowing existing users to mint new apes for free.

Similarly, project creators save upfront marketing fees and benefit from the promotion of early backers, who are financially incentivized to remain active in the project and attract new backers. In addition, project creators can stop spam from non-whitelisted addresses by creating whitelisted users, which is important, since shady accounts can increase gas prices and reduce network performance.

Disadvantages of NFT whitelists

Getting whitelisted is time-consuming, as it requires consistent engagement on the project’s Discord server and other social media sites. Nevertheless, it may happen that you do not end up on the whitelist if the project fails to gain traction.

Also, fraudsters can conduct a phishing attack and lure investors into clicking on random links. As a result, users should exercise caution and only communicate with legitimate project representatives.

In addition, unpopular NFTs can end up as illiquid assets that are challenging to sell on the secondary market. So, always do your own research before minting non-fungible tokens and only put up money if you are happy with the future of the project.

How to get whitelisted for NFTs?

By contributing to a project via the Discord server, Twitter, Telegram group, etc., one can get the attention of the project’s founders to get whitelisted. Here are the basic steps to get whitelisted for NFTs:

Look for an NFT project before it launches

In the early stages, the majority of NFT initiatives seek community members who can help raise awareness and reward participants in return. One can search for projects on Twitter and YouTube or use platforms such as Rarity.tools to keep up to date with the latest trends.

Join the NFT project’s Discord server

After choosing a project, join the Discord server to interact with other members of that project and contribute to its development. Additional useful information, such as the background of the project’s founders, roadmap and latest announcements, is available on the server, which can be used to assess the credibility of the project before joining the whitelist.

Follow the instructions to be whitelisted

The application process to join a whitelist varies from project to project. Follow the instructions from the selected project to apply to join an approval list. Once you’ve met the prerequisites, you’ll need to provide your cryptocurrency wallet address, which, if accepted, will grant you access to the whitelist. After being whitelisted, you will be given a time slot to mint your token.

How to get whitelisted on Binance NFT

As long as they satisfy the NFT or BNB requirements – e.g. maintains a certain amount of BNB holdings – in order to commit their tokens to the sale, customers can get exclusive access to the latest non-fungible token sales using Binance’s NFT subscription mechanism.

Users have the opportunity to buy NFT during the sale with participant tickets. The probability of your tickets being selected increases as you subscribe to more tickets. In addition, each user has a subscription cap, and the final NFT will be allocated impartially.

Preparation, subscription, calculation and distribution are the four stages in the process of the subscription mechanism. They are all essential to ensure that the participants have an equal chance in the sale. These phases are explained below:

The steps to participate in the Binance NFT sale through the subscription mechanism are listed below:

• Go to the Binance NFT website after logging into your Binance account.
• To participate in the NFT sale, click on the banner.
• You will be taken to the subscription page, where you can see information about the project, including the total number of NFTs issued, the number of tickets that can be purchased by each user, the cost of the participant tickets, the subscription limit for participant tickets, and the subscription countdown.
• Meet the necessary prerequisites set by each sale.
• By selecting “Subscribe to ticket(s)”, one can enter the number of participant tickets they wish to purchase.
• Users can track the progress of the NFT purchase once the winning tickets have been selected. Successful buyers will discover their non-fungible tokens on the Binance NFT User Center, while users with unsuccessful purchases will receive a refund from Binance.

How to spot an NFT whitelist scam?

Since the NFT industry is still in its infancy, fraudsters use fraudulent means to wipe funds from victims’ wallets. Therefore, being informed about certain warning signs helps to stay protected. As mentioned, getting whitelisted involves a few basic steps. But if a project representative or a random user asks for a bribe to get your name whitelisted, it’s a scam because real non-fungible token creators don’t control their community.

Also, if you are asked to share your private key or bank details to get on the approval list, consider it a red flag and avoid sharing such information. Additionally, if you have received an email, text or phone call from an unverified source about your whitelist selection, perform due diligence on the project before committing funds. Only trust official links posted to the project’s Twitter account or Telegram or Discord channels.

Is it worth trying to get on an NFT whitelist?

Getting whitelisted involves a lot of effort, including researching NFT pre-sales, continuous contributions to the NFT projects, and engagement with project team members. However, one may still fail to be whitelisted, as each project or platform has specific selection criteria. For example, users must meet Binance’s BNB and NFT prerequisites to participate in the non-fungible token sale using Binance’s NFT subscription mechanism.

In any case, the opportunity to get early access to exciting initiatives is usually worthwhile, as one can buy NFTs for a low price and avoid costly gas wars and expensive secondary market trades. Furthermore, users can use whitelists to strengthen their investment portfolio if they have the right plan and are willing to put in the effort.