How to Buy Your First NFT
NFTs are unique digital collectibles on the blockchain. The market peaked at $25 billion in 2021, crashed 90% in 2022, and stabilized around $8-12 billion by 2026. Here's how to buy your first one with realistic expectations.
Most NFT projects have failed. Trading volume down 90% from 2021 peak. Blue-chip collections like CryptoPunks ($80k-300k floor) and Bored Ape Yacht Club ($35k-80k floor) maintain value, but most NFTs bought in 2021-2022 are now worthless. Buy NFTs you genuinely like, not as investments.
- MetaMask or compatible wallet
- ETH for purchase + gas fees ($10-50)
- About $50-100 minimum to start
- Realistic expectations about value
Understanding NFT Costs in 2026
Before buying, understand all costs involved:
| Cost Type | Amount | When Paid |
|---|---|---|
| NFT Purchase Price | $10 - $100,000+ | At purchase |
| Gas Fee (Ethereum) | $10-50 | Each transaction |
| Marketplace Fee | 2.5% (OpenSea), 0.5% (Blur) | Included in purchase |
| Creator Royalties | 0-10% (now optional) | If you pay them |
NFT Market Timeline: What Happened
2021: The Boom Year
Beeple's "Everydays" sold for $69 million at Christie's in March 2021. This triggered mass speculation. CryptoPunks and Bored Apes became status symbols. Monthly trading volume hit $5 billion. Celebrities bought NFTs. Everyone thought they'd get rich.
2022: The Crash
Reality hit hard. Trading volume dropped 90%. Floor prices collapsed. Projects that sold out at 1 ETH ($3,000) were now worth 0.05 ETH ($75). Major hacks occurred:
- Bored Ape Instagram Hack (April 2022): $2.8 million stolen when hackers compromised the official Instagram account and posted fake mint links
- OpenSea Phishing (February 2022): $3.2 million in NFTs stolen through email phishing
- Evolved Apes Rug Pull: Developer disappeared with $2.7 million, game never launched
2026: Current Reality
Market has stabilized at $8-12 billion annually. Blue-chip collections maintain value. Most projects from 2021-2022 are dead. New projects launch weekly, most fail within months. Wash trading made up 83% of NFT volume in 2022, now better detected but still happens.
Thousands of NFT projects have completely failed. Collections that sold for thousands are now worth $0. Projects include: Pixelmon (terrible art reveal), Blockverse ($500k rug pull), Frosties ($1.1M rug pull). Do not expect your NFT to increase in value.
Set Up Your Wallet
You need a crypto wallet to buy and store NFTs. MetaMask is the most popular choice.
- Install MetaMask (see our MetaMask guide)
- Create a new wallet
- Secure your seed phrase - Write it down, never share it!
- Enable 2FA on your browser/device for extra security
Other Wallet Options:
- Phantom - Best for Solana NFTs
- Rainbow - Beautiful mobile wallet
- Coinbase Wallet - Good for beginners
If someone gets your seed phrase, they can steal all your NFTs. Never share it, never type it on any website, never store it digitally.
Add Cryptocurrency
Most NFTs are priced in ETH, though some use other currencies.
How to Get ETH into MetaMask:
- Buy on exchange (Coinbase, Kraken)
- Withdraw to MetaMask - Use your MetaMask address
- Wait for confirmation - Usually 5-10 minutes
Or use MetaMask's built-in buy feature:
- Click "Buy" in MetaMask
- Choose payment method
- Higher fees but more convenient
How Much Do You Need?
| Network | NFT Price Range | Gas Fees | Reality Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | $10 - $10,000+ | $10-50 per transaction | Blue-chips only |
| Polygon | $1 - $100 | $0.01-0.10 | Best for practice |
| Solana | $5 - $5,000+ | $0.01-0.10 | Fast, cheap mints |
| Base | $5 - $500 | $0.10-1 | Growing ecosystem |
Real Gas Fee Examples (January 2026)
- Mint NFT: $10-50 (Ethereum), $0.01 (Polygon)
- Buy NFT: $15-30 (peak hours), $5-15 (off-peak)
- Transfer NFT: $5-30 depending on network congestion
- List for sale: Free on OpenSea (lazy listing)
Polygon has almost zero gas fees. Perfect for buying your first cheap NFT to learn the process before spending more on Ethereum.
Choose an NFT Marketplace
2026 Marketplace Comparison
Marketplace fees changed dramatically. OpenSea cut fees 50% in February 2023 to compete with Blur's 0% fees.
| Marketplace | Fee | Volume 2026 | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSea | 2.5% | $2.8B/month | Beginners, variety |
| Blur | 0.5% | $1.9B/month | Pro traders |
| Magic Eden | 1.95% | $850M/month | Multi-chain |
| LooksRare | 2% | $420M/month | Staking rewards |
Top Marketplaces Detailed:
OpenSea (Recommended for Beginners)
- Largest marketplace - 2.5% fee
- Supports Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Base
- Huge selection, easy to use
- Suffered $3.2M phishing attack in 2022
- Made royalties optional in 2022 (creator controversy)
- opensea.io
Blur
- Pro traders platform - 0.5% fee
- Launched 2022, disrupted OpenSea dominance
- Advanced features: floor sweeping, portfolio bidding
- Airdropped BLUR tokens to early users
- blur.io
Magic Eden
- Started on Solana, now multi-chain
- 1.95% fee across networks
- Strong Solana NFT community
- magiceden.io
Royalty Controversy 2022-2026
Major shift in NFT economics. Creators used to earn 5-10% royalties on secondary sales automatically. In August 2022, OpenSea made royalties optional. Blur followed. Result: Most buyers stopped paying royalties. Creators lost millions in potential earnings. Some collections enforce royalties at contract level, but most cannot.
In April 2022, hackers compromised Bored Ape Yacht Club's Instagram (141k followers) and posted a fake mint link to "opensae.io" (note the spelling). Users who connected their wallets lost $2.8 million worth of NFTs in hours.
ALWAYS type URLs directly or use bookmarks:
✓ opensea.io
✓ blur.io
✓ magiceden.io
Check EVERY character. Scammers use: opensea.com, opensea.app, opensae.io, opensea.org
Buy Your First NFT
On OpenSea (Example):
- Go to opensea.io
- Click wallet icon → Connect MetaMask
- Browse or search for NFTs
- Click on an NFT you like
- Check the price and collection authenticity
- Click "Buy now" (or "Make offer" for lower price)
- Review the transaction in MetaMask
- Confirm and pay (NFT + gas fees)
- Wait for confirmation - NFT appears in your wallet!
Blue-Chip Collections (January 2026 Floor Prices)
Only a handful of collections maintained or gained value from the 2021 peak. These are considered "blue-chip" NFTs:
| Collection | Floor Price 2026 | Peak Price 2021-2022 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| CryptoPunks | $80,000-300,000 | $200,000-500,000 | Still prestigious |
| Bored Ape Yacht Club | $35,000-80,000 | $150,000-400,000 | Down but stable |
| Mutant Ape Yacht Club | $8,000-15,000 | $30,000-60,000 | Following BAYC |
| Azuki | $12,000-18,000 | $40,000-80,000 | Controversial team |
| CloneX | $3,000-6,000 | $15,000-30,000 | RTFKT/Nike brand |
Before You Buy, Check:
- Blue checkmark - Verified collection (but not guarantee of value)
- Floor price - Lowest available price in collection
- Volume - Real trading activity, not wash trading
- History - Previous sales and ownership changes
- Unique holders - How many different wallets own it
- Project activity - Is team still building or abandoned?
Detecting Wash Trading
In 2022, research showed 83% of NFT trading volume was wash trading (same person buying from themselves to fake activity). Red flags:
- Same wallets trading back and forth
- Trades at exact floor price repeatedly
- High volume but few unique buyers
- New wallets with only one transaction
Scammers create pixel-perfect copies of popular collections with different contract addresses. In 2022, a fake Bored Ape collection stole $620,000 from buyers who didn't verify the contract address.
Always:
- Look for the blue verification checkmark
- Check contract address matches official (from project Twitter)
- If price is suspiciously low, it's probably fake
- Verify on Etherscan that contract is correct
- Start with a cheap NFT ($5-20) to learn the process
- Only buy what you genuinely like and want to keep
- Most NFTs lose 90%+ of value - don't expect profits
- Never rush - scammers create fake urgency with "last chance" claims
- Budget for gas fees (can be $20-50 on top of NFT price)
Common NFT Scams With Real Losses
- Evolved Apes (2021): Developer "Evil Ape" disappeared with $2.7 million after selling out 10,000 NFTs. Promised fighting game never launched.
- Frosties (2022): Founders vanished with $1.1 million minutes after sellout. Both arrested later.
- Blockverse (2022): Minecraft metaverse project rug pulled $500,000, deleted all social media overnight.
- Pixelmon (2022): Raised $70 million, revealed terrible 3D art. Floor price dropped 90% instantly. Not technically a scam but massive disappointment.
Why Most NFT Buyers Lost Money
Being honest about what went wrong in 2021-2022:
Speculation Replaced Collecting
People bought NFTs solely to flip them for profit, not because they liked the art. When new buyers stopped entering, prices collapsed. Projects that promised roadmaps and utility rarely delivered.
Celebrity Endorsements Were Paid
Celebrities promoting NFT projects were often paid or given free NFTs. When they stopped promoting, projects died. Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton showing Bored Apes on TV was peak hype, right before the crash.
Most Projects Had No Real Value
10,000 generated PFP (profile picture) collections flooded the market. Without genuine community or utility, they're worth nothing now. Holding a JPEG doesn't grant you anything valuable in most cases.
Gas Fees Ate Profits
Buying an NFT for 0.05 ETH ($150) with $40 gas, then selling for 0.06 ETH ($180) with another $40 gas = net loss. Small flips were impossible to profit from.
Should You Buy NFTs in 2026?
Good Reasons to Buy
- You genuinely love the art and want to display it
- You want to support a specific artist
- You're interested in a community/project long-term
- You can afford to lose the money
- You want to learn about blockchain technology hands-on
Bad Reasons to Buy
- You expect to get rich quick
- Everyone is talking about a project (probably too late)
- Influencer told you to buy
- FOMO from seeing others make money
- You're buying with money you need
NFT Alternatives to Consider
If you're interested in digital ownership but uncertain about NFTs:
Digital Art Platforms
Buy digital art as files from artists on platforms like ArtStation, DeviantArt. You support artists directly without blockchain fees.
Gaming NFTs With Utility
Some games use NFTs for actual in-game items you can use. Gods Unchained (card game) and Axie Infinity (if it still exists) give you playable items, not just collectibles.
Domain Names (ENS)
Ethereum Name Service domains (yourname.eth) are NFTs with real utility. They simplify crypto addresses and work across wallets.
NFTs are not a path to wealth for most people. The market peaked in 2021 and has never recovered. However, if you want to own a piece of digital art you love, support an artist, or experiment with blockchain technology, NFTs can be interesting. Just don't invest money you can't afford to lose, and never expect returns.