NFTs have been the talk of the internet this year.

As supply chain issues continue to cause shipment delays, gifts may need to take a digital form to arrive on time.

This article is an overview of everything you need to know to successfully purchase and then transfer an NFT to your kid.

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First things first, get some ETH

Since most NFTs and marketplaces are Ethereum-based, you need to have ETH (Ether) to transact.

Why, you may ask?

Well, it’d be like if eBay had their own currency and you had to purchase their currency to use their marketplace. Transacting on an NFT marketplace isn’t possible with traditional currency because different technologies are being used.

To purchase and transact with crypto, you need two main things: a wallet and crypto.

A wallet allows you to transact with crypto just like a credit card lets you transact with USD and you must set up a wallet before purchasing an NFT.

Now, there are 3 main ways to purchase crypto, but you're going to need a wallet in each scenario.

MetaMask is one of the most popular wallets and what I generally recommend using. If you haven’t set one up yet, I wrote a guide on how to do so:

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Metamask Wallet

Note: When setting up your MetaMask wallet, you MUST write down and securely store your seed phrase. Failure to do so could result in losing access to any crypto in that wallet.

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Once you have your wallet set up, to purchase ETH (the crypto you need to buy NFTs) there are a few different options:

1. You can either buy it directly in your MetaMask wallet

2. Directly on the NFT marketplace using a payment processing service (which allows you to use a debit card)

3. Or on a crypto exchange (like Coinbase or Gemini)

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The easiest way is to buy ETH is either:

Option #1 - You can buy ETH through a MetaMask wallet and can use a Visa debit card via Wyre to purchase.

I have tried this option and it worked, but the fees are higher than normal because you're paying for convenience. However, it’s much easier to do than setting up an account at an exchange and linking bank accounts and waiting for transfers to clear.

Option #2 - To purchase ETH directly on OpenSea, which is the easiest option, you need to connect your wallet, have an account on OpenSea, and then follow these steps:

How to Open an OpenSea account

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Those two options are the easiest way to get ETH, but the proper way to purchase ETH is a little more complex and you need two things:

• An account at an exchange (where you buy crypto)
• A wallet (what you'll use to transact with)
  

So for the exchange, a few of the most common ones right now are Coinbase, Gemini, and BlockFi - I personally use Gemini for most things. Opening an account is similar to opening a bank account and will only take a few minutes. After opening your account, you can link a bank account and fund it. After funding, you can then go into your exchange of choice and purchase ETH.

Here's an in-depth guide (with screenshots) showing how to set up an account and purchase ETH

After purchasing ETH on the exchange, you need to have a wallet set up so you can transfer the crypto so you can transact with the currency. When you have your MetaMask wallet set up, you can send the ETH from the exchange to your wallet address.

MetaMask has a guide on how to send crypto and locate your wallet address here

✅ Once you have ETH in your MetaMask wallet, head on over to an NFT marketplace such as OpenSea.

Now purchasing the NFT

Once on OpenSea, you'll need to connect your wallet. If you do not have ETH at this step, you can connect your wallet and purchase ETH directly on OpenSea through MoonPay.

Here’s a guide on how to create an OpenSea account and connect your wallet.

Now that you’ve purchased ETH, it’s in your wallet, and you have an OpenSea account, the fun part begins.

Start browsing the site and checking out the art and the different designs. Take a look at the costs - it’s going to be listed in ETH but if you click on any of the NFTs and go into the details, you can see the USD price.

There are thousands of NFTs that cost anywhere from $30-200 so you don’t need to spend thousands (or even millions 😳) trying to get them a Bored Ape or CryptoPunk.

But for example, I live in Kansas City so I just searched 'Chiefs' and 'Patrick Mahomes' and found these two - both under $250. I actually like both of those and think they'd be cool gifts for a Chiefs fan - especially because the one on the bottom right is 'replica' CryptoPunk, one of the most valuable NFT projects in the world.

They're basically digital sports cards.

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But you can genuinely search just about anything on OpenSea and you'll find an NFT somewhat related to what you're looking for or what your kid may like.

All you have to do once you find the one you'd like to purchase is:

1. Click 'Buy now'

2. A pop up will ask you to confirm the purchase

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3. Another window will pop up with your MetaMask information to confirm the transaction.

4. After confirming, you are now an NFT owner 🎉

Note: There will be 'gas fees' on the transaction before you confirm it. Think of them like taxes. Where it says Buy Now for $141, chances are you'd end up paying $200-$250 for the NFT because of gas fees. There's no way around it, but don't pay more than $300 in gas fees. If they're high, wait a little bit and try again until the number goes below $300 (gas is based on how busy and how many people are using the ethereum network - you can track it here)

And quick, random crypto tip: always hover over links to see the URL first before clicking on them when reading and interacting with crypto content. There are a lot of scams out there so ensure that you trust the source providing the link and understand where it's pointing.

Gifting the NFT

Now that you own the NFT, the next thing is to transfer it to your child.

They may already have a MetaMask wallet set up if they spend a lot of time online, so check with them first. If they don’t have one, you can walk through that same guide with them to set one up.

It’s going to be hard to make this a complete surprise because you’ll need to get their wallet address to be able to send the NFT, but they’ll be blown away that you’re even involved in this space in the first place.

After purchasing an NFT on OpenSea, you can directly transfer it with just a couple of clicks.

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After transferring, the gifting is complete 🎉

Why would you want to do any of this?

Well, you may not. Your kid(s) may not care about NFTs one bit.

But if they’ve talked about them or asked for them before, they’ll never forget how cool their parents were for buying an NFT and giving it to them for Christmas.

It’s a modern-day Stretch Armstrong. Or a pet rock.

Disclaimer: This post is for education purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. Consider talking with your financial advisor before implementing any financial strategies.