Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have exploded in popularity over the last couple years. From multi-million dollar sales of blockchain-backed artwork to brand new models of digital ownership, NFTs represent a seismic shift in technology and culture.
However, the barrier to entry remains high. The average NFT sells for over $2,000 as of late 2022. Is there a way for curious newcomers to explore this space without breaking the bank?
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll cover all the methods for getting free and low-cost NFTs in 2023. The NFT world has plenty of room for growth, and free NFTs offer a risk-tolerant way to get your feet wet.
What are NFTs and Why Do They Have Value?
Before diving into getting free NFTs, let’s ground ourselves in what NFTs represent. NFT stands for non-fungible token – essentially a unique digital asset verified on the blockchain. This verification and traceable scarcity imbues them with inherent value.
NFTs come in all shapes and sizes, including:
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Artwork: From pixel art to 3D renders, blockchain artwork makes up the bulk of high-value NFTs. For example, the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection has a floor price of over $100k.
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Collectibles: Like digital trading cards, collectible NFTs derive value from their scarcity and demand within fan communities.
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Utility: Some NFTs offer additional benefits like access, ownership rights, discounts, etc. in different contexts.
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Metaverse: As virtual worlds like Decentraland expand, buying virtual real estate and avatar NFTs offers potential future utility.
So why are people spending real money on digital goods that have no physical form? There are a few driving factors:
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Scarcity: Each NFT is provably unique on the blockchain, adding prestige.
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Ownership: The buyer has full commercial rights to resell or license the NFT.
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Status: Much like luxury goods, ownership indicates belonging to an aspirational social group.
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Passion: NFTs enable fans to directly support artists, creators, celebrities, brands, etc.
Despite bubbles of overhype, NFTs appear to be here to stay as adoption spreads. Mainstream brands are taking note too…
Major Brands Are Embracing NFTs
Sports giants like the NBA and NFL mint new highlight reel NFTs after games. Musicians like Snoop Dogg rap about them. Even fast food chains like Taco Bell and McDonald’s have gotten in on the metaverse money party.
What do these brands understand that Web3 newcomers may still find confusing?
They recognize that the blockchain decentralizes ownership opportunities in our increasingly digital world. Marketplaces like NBA Top Shot built entire ecosystems around the model of limited edition packs of basketball highlights sold as NFTs.
They leverage people‘s passion for their brands. Diehard fans represent a ready customer base for things like exclusive virtual experiences and merch.
They normalize digital-first collecting and ownership. The younger generation especially values digital and virtual goods over physical goods.
And with billion-dollar companies leading the charge, NFTs feel destined to permeate many aspects of society and culture in the 2020s.
However, their high price point excludes many curious folks from entry. Which brings us to…
What Are "Free NFTs" and How Do They Work?
The average NFT coming with a four-figure price tag seems at odds with it being "free". But there are legitimate ways to get free and low-cost NFTs to kickstart your Web3 journey.
Free NFTs are given away by projects to build awareness, communities, and engagement. What they lack in purchase price they may recapture in secondary value if the underlying brand, art, or utility catches on in popularity over time.
But again, free doesn‘t inherently mean worthless! For example, one of the first NFT projects CryptoPunks gave away free punks early on. Those freebies later gained tremendous value trading for six and seven figures.
Now, no one is guaranteeing that level of return. But it illustrates why "free NFT" projects employ the giveaway model – to get scarce digital assets propagating through networks.
Here are some common methods for projects to build engagement through free and low-cost NFT drops:
P2E Gaming
Play-to-earn (P2E) games represent a fusion between gaming and crypto – where players can earn tradable crypto assets through gameplay. Competitive P2E games like Axie Infinity enable users to win rare NFTs and tokens through skilled gameplay and rising leaderboard rankings.
P2E economy construction often uses free and promotional giveaways to get assets circulating in their ecosystems. These free gaming NFTs offer utility and monetary value for their holders.
Some popular P2E games giving away NFT collections through tournament prizes, daily quests, or starter packs include:
- Splinterlands (earn Dark Energy Crystals)
- Alien Worlds (earn Trilium and NFT mining tools)
- League of Kingdoms (earn LOKA tokens)
- Aurory (earn AURY tokens)
For skilled gamers willing to put in hours competing, selling earned gaming tokens and assets provides a supplementary income stream. Top players can comfortably earn a full-time living through sweat equity and mastery of these games.
While newcomers likely won‘t earn as much starting out, getting a few free NFTs to begin through starter incentives helps bootstrap the experience.
Social Giveaways
Many NFT projects rely on viral social growth for building traction. The incentive for giving away free NFTs on platforms like Twitter or Discord is to rapidly spread awarenesss and word-of-mouth community excitement.
Here are some tips for keeping tabs on the latest giveaway opportunities:
- Follow official project accounts and turn on notifications so you don‘t miss any giveaway tweets.
- Follow NFT influencers and giveaway aggregators who retweet opportunities.
- Search crypto terms like "NFTGiveaway" and "whitelist giveaway" to uncover contests.
- Complete any requested steps like tagging friends or retweeting to enter drawings.
Discord
- Join official project Discords and be active there to get whitelisted for drops.
- Participate in special events like trivia contests to win specialty NFTs.
- Provide feedback on roadmaps and features for a chance to earn giveaways.
The more involved you are with Web3 communities on social, the better your chances to take part in free NFT programs!
Airdrops
In the cryptocurrency world, projects may "airdrop" free coins or tokens into the wallets of active users to gain attention and app usage.
Similarly, NFT creators leverage airdrops to distribute early collectibles or artwork to loyal community members. Usually, you need to register or complete qualifying steps to become eligible.
Owning other NFTs from the same project often forms the main requirement for eligibility. But you may also need to fill out access lists, share posts, invite friends, etc.
Actively trading NFTs on open exchanges like OpenSea also boosts your visibility to projects looking for proven collectors.
As with giveaways, staying active inside Discord groups and following the team on social media keeps you looped in on upcoming airdrop opportunities.
Open Minting
Creating NFTs on the blockchain as a new project requires paying sometimes exorbitant gas fees. So creators developed a technique called "lazy minting" to defer those onerous costs.
Lazy minting publishes the metadata representing an NFT without saving it directly to the blockchain initially. This keeps listing and transaction costs negligable until a buyer decides to purchase it.
Once purchased, the chain verifies the transaction, formally minting the NFT on-chain. The gas fee deduction from the payment means free listing for the seller.
For buyers, platforms like OpenSea allow filtering for lazily minted NFTs across numerous genres like art, domain names, photography, music, and more.
![nft-giveaway.jpg](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1671187139200/a1X9hNo5X.jpg align="center")
Since you can browse these categories and buy NFTs that catch your eye for literally pennies, it provides a fun way to pad an embryonic NFT portfolio on a microbudget.
Pros and Cons of Getting Free NFTs
Since getting free NFTs costs nothing but a few minutes of your time, it offers an exciting onroad to blockchain participation without financial risks.
However, while "free" lowers the barrier of entry, you should still apply critical thinking.
Pros
- Easy way to get started in Web3
- Can gain legitimate value if the project takes off
- Learn mechanics like wallets and exchanges
- Active community participation opportunities
- Chance to win rare limited editions
Cons
- Many free projects never build an ecosystem
- Overinflation limits value of giveaways
- Need to beware of scams, rug pulls, and cash grabs
- Don‘t expect to get rich quick off free NFTs
- Requires active participation for best results
Ensuring a project has a clearly defined roadmap, community activity, and transparent communication helps validate its legitimacy.
Without fundamentals like proven artwork, a ceative vision, sound tokenomics, passionate teams and engaged users, even free NFTs may prove worthless beyond the surface level perk.
NFTs in 2023 – Cautious Optimism Towards Mainstream Adoption
Given the cratering crypto valuations in 2022‘s bear market, it‘s fair to question whether NFTs will prove a passing fad. But certain indicators suggest they still may surprise in the years ahead.
Consider that even with record inflation and tightening monetary policies:
- Monthly NFT trade volumes doubled from $2B to over $4B during 2022
- Neglected Ape Yacht Club NFTs still resold for a minimum of $75k
- Meta (Facebook) lost $10B on building their metaverse…so far
- Brands keep expanding NFT use cases like virtual garments and video game skins
These data points illustrate resilience and reinforce that NFT interest runs deeper than get-rich-quick hype cycles.
Still, the road to mainstream adoption remains filled with hurdles…
Technologically challenged laws and regulations seek to catch up to decentralization innovations and complex fraud potentials opened by anonymity and blockchain immutability.
And socially, conservative perspectives may limit public acceptance, as even early Internet protocols faced before ubiquitous integration into society.
Therefore, retail investors should tread the NFT waters lightly rather than diving in headfirst…especially given the prevailing bear market.
But securing a few free NFTs through the methods above offers crypto-curious newcomers exciting yet risk-averse exposure.
Just pursue projects thoughtfully, absorb through first-hand experiences, get your basic access infrastructure (wallet, exchange account) setup – and participate actively at whatever level proves comfortable.
Who knows…maybe one of your free claims today grows remarkable value in the coming months and years as this Web3 revolution plays out!
Would love to hear your feedback and experiences around getting started with NFTs as a comment below. Feel free to reach out with any questions as well. Here‘s to the future!
