Soul Theory is opening a world of opportunities with the digital renaissance fueled by the Web3 Internet — a new place where decentralized, community-driven networks thrive. To connect with a global network where your creative gifts are valued, set up a wallet that holds a network’s native currency such as Ether (ETH) on the Ethereum network. If you’re wondering which wallet to choose, learn about the features every wallet offers to figure out what meets your needs. It’s also important to choose a wallet supported by Opensea and Foundation when using their marketplace as well.

While crypto wallets have a variety of features, many users choose Metamask — web3’s most popular Ethereum wallet that includes a dApp browser and allows users to purchase ETH using their credit card. You can download and install the Metamask browser extension or the mobile app. To learn more about Metamask and how to set up their wallet, check out this Step-by-Step Metamask Guide.

After your wallet is set up, you can fund it with Ether (ETH), the native currency of the Ethereum network. Here are two common methods to add ETH to your wallet:

• Buy ETH on a cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase or Binance and send it to your crypto wallet

• Buy ETH directly on Metamask using processing service providers such as Wyre, Transak, Moonpay, etc.

Keep in mind, all transactions completed on the Ethereum network charge gas fees. Remember to have enough ETH to process the transaction and the gas fee related to your specific transaction.

[Buy ETH on a cryptocurrency exchange]

Ether (ETH) can be be bought on reputable cryptocurrency exchanges, like Coinbase or Binance, and sent directly to your wallet. Once your crypto account has been approved and finalized on an exchange, you can buy crypto on their platform after a debit card or bank account is authorized.

To send crypto to your wallet from an exchange, use your wallet’s public address to receive the currency. You can follow the steps on how to send and receive cryptocurrency directly provided by Coinbase and Binance here.

Please be aware that these are third parties and we cannot guarantee their service.

[Buy ETH directly on Metamask using a processing service provider]

Depending on your geographical location, you may be able to buy ETH using a processing service provider such as Wyre, Transak, or Moonpay and deposit the cryptocurrency into your Metamask wallet.

To do so, simply click “Buy” on Metamask to be redirected to available service providers, where you can buy ETH with a credit card or bank transfer and deposit it into your Metamask wallet.

Minting an NFT is the act of publishing a unique token on a blockchain. There are two ways to mint a NFT:

• Manually write and deploy a NFT contract to a blockchain: check out this tutorial series to learn how to manually write and deploy a NFT contract to the Ethereum chain.

• Connect your wallet to a marketplace and follow their minting process

[Manually write and deploy an NFT contract to a blockchain]

Manually minting an NFT can be a bit challenging for people who haven’t coded much, however, that shouldn’t discourage anyone from learning something new today. Check out this tutorial to learn how to manually write and deploy a NFT contract to the Ethereum chain.

[Connect your wallet to a marketplace to mint an NFT]

All NFT marketplaces allow users to interact with NFT contracts and navigate their platform according to their independent web3 protocols. After you have created a wallet, you can connect it with a marketplace to create an NFT — following their protocol. You can refer to the FAQ for Opensea and Foundation here.

A wide selection of file formats for images, videos, and audio can be uploaded to a marketplace to mint an NFT — jpeg, png, gif, svg, mp4, mp3, wav, and more. The maximum file size supported by marketplaces usually range between 50MB - 100MB, but it’s often recommended to keep file sizes smaller for faster load times. You can learn what file formats are supported on Opensea and Foundation by checking out there FAQ page here.

You can buy and sell NFTs on secondary marketplaces that normally provide the following trade options to earn money or collect an NFT:

• Buy Now: set a fixed-price that’ll motivate collectors to obtain your NFT swiftly.

• Offers: give collectors the opportunity to obtain your NFT with an offer that may be worth accepting.

• Reserve Auctions: Listing your NFT in a Reserve Auction can be exciting as you watch the timer countdown while collectors bid on your NFT — the highest bidder wins after the countdown is completed and the minimum reserve price is achieved.

These features can be simultaneously included in a listing to fit what works best for you. For instance, you can incorporate the Buy Now and Offer feature for a collector to have the option to either instantly purchase an NFT at a set price or make an offer that you can choose to accept or reject.

All transactions that occur between your wallet and a web3 marketplace are recorded on a blockchain where your funds are secured and set for payment after every completed sale. You can view a transaction’s details on a block explorer platform that automatically records transactions that occur on a blockchain (ex. Etherscan).

Gas fees are mandatory transaction fees that you pay in order to process a transaction or execute a smart contract relative to the blockchain — these fees are paid directly to miners for maintaining the network.

Gas is determined by the relative network and fluctuates based on the level of network activity at any given time, along with other factors too. Soul Theory and secondary marketplaces do not control gas prices, nor do we receive gas fees and are unable to refund them as well. Gas fees may be charged if you:

• Mint an NFT • Purchase an NFT

• List/delist an NFT • Transfer an NFT

• Accept an offer • Cancel a bid

When you pay a gas fee, it ensures that the transaction will be processed, but it does not guarantee that the transaction will be completed successfully. This can occur when high demand is placed on the blockchain network during the time in which a transaction is requested. If gas prices rise around the time a request is made, the original gas fee estimated earlier may not be enough for miners to process and complete the transaction. That’s why it’s always recommended to have extra crypto in your wallet to cover increased gas fees and avoid transaction failures.

All transactions that occur between your wallet and a web3 marketplace are automatically recorded on the blockchain where they can be viewed using the relative block explorer platform.