With the surge in popularity of NFT projects, the number of NFT users has also increased. This rapid increase in NFT users has created problems for NFT creators and platforms. Many of these problems arise when an NFT creator makes an NFT available to the public for the first time, also called “NFT Minting.” To solve these issues, NFT creators now use NFT whitelists.
NFT whitelists are becoming increasingly popular in the world of NFTs, providing a means for NFT creators to control access to their sales and auctions.
An NFT whitelist is a pre-approved list of individuals or entities who are permitted to participate in the sale or auction of an NFT. By implementing a whitelist, you can limit the number of participants and ensure that only those who meet certain criteria are able to participate.
This can help prevent bots, scalpers, and other illicit actors from participating in the sale and potentially devaluing the NFT. In this article, we explore what NFT whitelists are, their benefits and downsides, and how you can get on one. Let’s dive in!
What is an NFT Whitelist?
An NFT whitelist is a list of approved or authorized addresses that are allowed to participate in a particular NFT sale or auction. In essence, creators use an NFT whitelist to restrict access to a limited number of individuals or entities. That means selected users are able to mint with ease before the public mint or at a particular time.
For example, when a popular artist or musician releases an NFT collection, they may use a whitelist to limit the number of buyers and ensure that their fans and supporters can purchase the NFTs before they are made available to the general public. Thus, the NFT whitelist is also a means through which creators reward loyal users.
Aside from the exclusivity, the NFT whitelist also helps users avoid crazy public mint transaction fees that are called “gas wars”. A public mint could attract thousands of people, depending on the popularity or hype behind the project. Thus, when the mint goes live, all those users try to mint at once, causing network congestion and driving up transaction fees.
A good example is the Otherdeeds by Otherside launch, where a user spent over $44K to mint two NFTs from the collection. Other users also averaged thousands in transaction fees. However, spending that much on transaction fees doesn’t mean one is certain to get an NFT. In extreme cases, a user could pay huge transaction fees and not be able to mint an NFT.
Benefits of NFT Whitelisting
As mentioned earlier, NFT creators use a whitelist to give exclusive access to an NFT project before it goes live. In addition to that, there are other benefits that come with NFT whitelists. Let’s check them out.
Guaranteed mint
NFT whitelist gives users a chance to mint with ease. Compared to struggling with thousands of other users, they are given exclusive access to the mint. That also helps them avoid the high transaction fees that happen during minting, which, despite their high prices, don’t guarantee a successful mint.
Gas wars
By limiting the number of buyers and ensuring that only approved addresses can purchase the NFT, creators can have better control over the pricing of their NFTs. Also, this can help prevent speculative buying and selling, which leads to gas wars and price volatility. In instances where gas wars happen, users sometimes pay double the price of the NFTs in gas prices.
Spam
In order to mint as many NFTs as possible, some desperate users often resort to spamming or bots to participate in the mint. This sometimes leads to network congestion and leaves most participants without an NFT at the end of the day. Thus, NFT whitelists can help prevent spam and ensure a fair distribution of the NFTs between NFT whales and ordinary users.
Community fame
NFT creators often use NFT whitelists to reward specific groups of individuals or entities, such as loyal community members, supporters, or investors. This can help generate more interest and excitement around the NFT release, potentially leading to higher sales and revenue. In some cases, NFT issuers may use a whitelist to ensure that their most loyal customers or supporters have a better chance of obtaining the NFTs they want.
Downsides of NFT Whitelisting
As promising as NFT whitelists are, they are not without downsides, which may discourage some users. They are:
Waste of time
NFT projects often require users to perform certain tasks to get whitelisted. These requirements could include holding a particular token or investing in the project. But most times, the NFT project may ask users to like posts, talk about projects, convince people to join, etc. For users not wholly invested in the NFT project, carrying out these tasks could be a turn-off.
Scams
Malicious actors who use fake or stolen wallet addresses can exploit NFT whitelists to gain early access to NFT sales or auctions. Likewise, this can undermine the security and fairness of the NFT sale or auction and damage the reputation of the NFT creator.
Complexity
Setting up and managing an NFT whitelist can be a complex and time-consuming process for NFT issuers, requiring them to review and approve each potential buyer’s wallet address. This can be challenging, especially for high-demand NFT releases where the number of applicants may be very high.
Favoritism
NFT whitelists may also be seen as a way for NFT issuers to show favoritism or preference toward certain individuals or entities. Interested users may perceive this as unfair and undermine the credibility and integrity of the NFT sale or auction.
Likewise, NFT whitelists can create a sense of exclusivity and potentially contribute to an already elitist environment in the NFT space. This can be a turn-off for potential buyers who feel excluded or overlooked.
How to Get on NFT Whitelists?
If you are wondering how to get on an NFT whitelist, it is easy and straightforward. Here is a step-by-step process of how it’s done:
Finding the right project
The first step in getting on an NFT whitelist is finding the right project. This step is also the most important, as it determines whether it will be worth it in the end. At this stage, a user does some research on the project to learn more about it, the founders, and the NFT roadmap.
Join the project’s Discord server
After choosing a project, the next step is to follow them on social media. That way, you stay updated on their activities and plans. Discord is the go-to social media platform for most NFT projects. Thus, you should join the project’s discord server.
Engage with the community
After joining the discord server, you should follow the project on other social media platforms, especially Twitter. Twitter is where most projects create buzz around upcoming NFT collections and try to build an active community. In addition to that, you should engage with the community and ask questions about the project. If the answers are forthcoming, that could be a sign the project is legit.
Participate in giveaways
Giveaways are a marketing strategy used by NFT projects to reward loyal users. Thus, from time to time, they would put out challenges or tasks. That could be asking users to get likes on a post or some other form of engagement.
Invite your friends
One of the ways to get noticed by an NFT project is by inviting your friends. This could be part of the project’s referral program or a personal endeavor. Either way, if you invite people to join the project, then that could you get you recognition as a loyal fan.
Make fan art and memes
Finally, making fan art and memes is one way to show interest in the projects. These fan arts and memes sometimes get massive attention on social media pages.
NFT Whitelist Management Tools
Since NFT whitelists are an important part of the NFT ecosystem, there are tools that help creators better handle all the stress that comes with them. NFT whitelist management tools are software applications or services designed to help NFT issuers manage and automate the process of creating and maintaining NFT whitelists. These tools can provide a range of features and functionality.
Here are the top NFT whitelist management tools to use:
Magic Eden List
Magic Eden List is an NFT whitelisting platform that helps collectors gain access to exclusive NFT drops and sales. The Magic Eden List is a community-driven platform that aims to create a fair and transparent process for NFT sales.
By being on the Magic Eden List, collectors have the opportunity to participate in exclusive NFT sales that are not available to the general public. In addition, the platform is designed to ensure that dedicated collectors have a fair chance at acquiring rare or coveted NFTs and provides a secure and safe environment for buying and selling NFTs.
OpenSea
OpenSea is a popular NFT marketplace that allows NFT creators to mint and manages their NFT sales and auctions. It is the largest NFT marketplace, with one of the biggest monthly trade and sales volumes.
Due to its popularity, the platform features several tools that support both user and creator use. Opensea provides a built-in whitelist management system that allows NFT creators to restrict access to their NFTs based on specific criteria. Creators are free to decide what these criteria are and when users can access their projects.
Premint
Premint is among the most popular platforms that top NFT artists and creators use. It allows users to build access lists and randomly select collectors and community members to win a spot. Since its start, over 800,000 collectors have joined lists without spending any gas. Unsurprisingly, creators and brands have taken a liking to the platform.
888 Inner Circle
888 Inner Circle is a tokenized NFT community. The project collaborates with leading NFT projects and creators to provide members with airdrops and whitelist access. The community is a closed group where members can interact, support NFTs, and receive NFT airdrops first. This includes NFTs from well-known brands and artists like BT and Steve Aoki.
Metakey
Metakey is an NFT used across partnered platforms to unlock avatars, game assets, course materials, discounts, etc. Holders of the NFTs get access to these benefits in addition to early access to every project, game, or website Metakey partners with. The project currently has 6110 unique holders who enjoy these benefits.
Metakay has partnered with several brands and digital artists in the past. One of such is the partnership with the Australian Open NFT, which gave Metakey holders exclusive early access to an early minting of the AO Art Ball NFTs.
HUG
Last on our list is HUG, a community review platform that helps you discover “hug worthy” NFT projects. Its platform is easy to use, and NFT projects are thoughtfully curated for creators and third parties.
One of the exciting things about HUG is the platform’s dedication to helping women, BIPOC, and other underrepresented groups. That way, the platform helps channel them into the new digital revolution.
FAQs
- Why are there NFT whitelists?
NFT Whitelist is a way through which creators give exclusive access to their project before it launches publicly. In addition, it is also a way for users to easily mint NFTs without the stress that comes with public mints.
- Is it worth the effort to get on NFT whitelists?
Definitely, aside from early access to the project, it is also one of the easiest ways to get your hands on rare pieces within a collection. These rare pieces often exceed 10 times the price of ordinary NFTs within the collection.
