I thought I’d post a quick update on our NFT project.
Firstly, to our delight (and somewhat surprise) our first block of 10 Origami Rhinos sold out in 4 days! We learned a lot a long the way and I’ll cover that below.
Announcing Origami Rhino Drop #2
![SitePoint NFT drop #2](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1636440162drop-2sm.png)
Our second release took place on Monday, 8th November.
– Once again, we’re offering 10 unique, one-off, crisp SVG NFTs via the OpenSea.io platform.
– Again, each piece contains a 12-month SitePoint Premium Membership – only redeemable once by the owner.
![A GIF animation of a rhino tail swishing](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/1636433339rhino-tail.gif)
Come on, lemme see you shake your tail feather!
There were also a few notable differences from Drop #1.
– Firstly, were offering these pieces for sale using the Polygon variant of Ethereum, which provides fast, secure Ethereum transactions minus the onerous ‘gas fees’.
– To make things easy, this block of ten are being initially sold as set-price sale (0.055ETH), rather than auctions.
– For the first time a very small number Rhinos include SVG animations, which to my knowledge are relatively uncommon on OpenSea (most animations are short video loops).
What have we learned so far?
As we said in the launch post, this project has been fast-track method for us to learn about the technologies and communities driving the NFT space. In no particular order, I’d note that:
– Transaction fees in Ethereum (i.e. ‘gas fees’) swing wildly between ‘kinda steep’ and ‘absolutely precipitous’ – depending on how many other transactions are being processed. Think Uber surge pricing.
– Choosing the optimal time to process your transactions will make a huge difference to your success.
– Polygon is fee-free but less commonly used than garden-variety Ethereum. Is that a disincentive for buyers? It’s a little early to tell.
– The NFT space currently has a really interesting mix of excitement, wild creativity, and gangbuster hype. Simply listening to the torrents of conversation going on every day takes a lot of energy. Be prepared.
– SVGs are an under-utilized format on OpenSea. The vast majority of animations are short video loops. While there are more technical demands in authoring SVG, there are options available using CSS, symbols and animation that aren’t possible in other NFT formats.
I’m developing a couple ideas that I hope will be quite unique. Stay tuned!