Purchasing an NFT on the Art for Our Sake website is easy. You can do it with either a credit card or with a cryptocurrency such as Cardano. We prefer Cardano because of its low environmental footprint. To make a purchase, just click on the “Purchase NFT and print” button at the bottom of each piece of art. That will guide you through the process of making a purchase.
If you are going to use a credit card, you will be asked to sign into Crossmint. Crossmint is a service that makes it possible to purchase NFTs with a credit card.
If you are going to use a cryptocurrency like Cardano, make sure you have a wallet, such as a NAMI wallet, on hand to transfer the cryptocurrency and the NFT. You will still see the Crossmint interface as the window for making the purchase. For more information about Crossmint, click here.
What happens to your NFT after you make a purchase depends on whether you have a cryptocurrency wallet or not. If you do not have a wallet, no problem. The company that handles the purchase, Crossmint, will hold your NFT for you in a wallet they will set up for you on their site. If and when you create a different wallet, you can transfer the NFT to it at that time. This is why you do not need to know much about NFTs in order to make a purchase on this site. Crossmint makes it as easy as buying something online on any other website.
If you already have a cryptocurrency wallet, you will probably be making your purchase with that.
To buy Cardano, you must go to an exchange to trade dollars or other cryptocurrencies for Cardano. The goal is to get some Cardano into a “wallet.” A good wallet for Cardano is NAMI. There are many types of wallets and many cryptocurrency exchanges. Each charges a very small fee for transactions, just like a credit card. Before you dive into the world of cryptocurrency, it is a good do some research to get a better understanding of how it all works. Don’t make your first purchase an expensive one. Start off small until your are confident your purchases are working the way you want them to.
Many exchanges will trade dollars for Cardano. A reliable one is Coinbase.com. If you do not have an account at a cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase already, you will need to set one up. The instructions for how to do this are fairly straightforward, but be prepared for a lot of security-related steps, since these exchanges are very concerned about protecting you. Be prepared to spend at least half an hour setting up a Coinbase account. This can be done on a smartphone or a computer. Also, be aware that it may take several days to transfer money from your bank or credit card to your exchange account. This, again, is for your protection.
Once you have an account, you will need to fund it by buying Cardano with dollars from your bank, credit card, or other sources. You need to fund your account with enough Cardano to cover your NFT purchase. It is a good idea to buy a little extra Cardano to cover any minor unanticipated costs. Virtually every transaction you make in the world of cryptocurrency costs something. Usually, it is very little. Sometimes these are called “gas fees.” You need a little gas to get things done. To use your account, you may need to verify it with further identification steps.
The next step is to move your Cardano/ADA to a “wallet.” A wallet is simply a place where your cryptocurrency can be digitally stored. You need a wallet to transfer your Cardano from in order to make your NFT purchase. A NAMI has a simple interface and works well with Cardano. A wallet can be loaded on your phone as an app or imported as an extension into Chrome or other browsers.
The steps of setting up a wallet are straightforward. You do not need any Cardano or other cryptocurrency to set one up.
In the NAMI wallet app, you will be asked to set up a new wallet. There will be some security-related steps. Keep a copy of this information in a safe place.
Next, you will see an option to receive or send funds. Since your wallet may be empty, you will want to receive funds. The funds you want to receive are the Cardano/ADA you bought in the exchange, such as Coinbase. This is basically like a bank transfer.
Click on “Receive” and you will see a string of letters. This is your public address and it is used to receive funds into your wallet. Copy the string of letters. Go to Coinbase. In Coinbase, click on “Send and Receive” in the top menu.
The next step is to send Cardano to your wallet from the exchange. In Coinbase, this is done using the “send” button under “Transfer funds.” When a prompt asks you where to send it, you should copy and paste the string of letters and numbers—your wallet’s blockchain address—into the space provided. It may take a few minutes for the Cardano to be transferred to the wallet.
