Whitelists are the golden ticket to buying NFTs for cheap. Here’s how to get on one.

In the NFT space, one of the best ways to buy cheap is to purchase (AKA “mint”) the NFT as soon as it is released (AKA “dropped”) on the project’s website to avoid price hikes after it reaches secondary marketplaces.

However, when you try to mint, two problems can arise:

Problem #1: All the NFTs in the project can get sold out before you get a chance to buy

The NFT space is constantly growing, and good projects attract a lot of interested buyers who rush to mint as soon as the project drops. There is a high chance that someone else will get their hands on an NFT before you do. 

Problem #2: You may experience the wrath of gas wars

A “gas fee” is basically a transaction fee in the NFT space. The catch is that the more gas you’re willing to pay, the faster your transaction will be confirmed. With so much competition to mint, a lot of people increase the amount they’re willing to pay for gas. This leads to “gas wars” resulting in ridiculously high transaction fees going for thousands of dollars.

To solve these issues, NFT projects have introduced whitelists. 

A whitelist in the NFT world is a list of people who get early and guaranteed access to mint at a specific date and window of time. 

So, how exactly are you benefiting from being whitelisted?

1. You get guaranteed access to mint

This eliminates problem #1

2. You can get an NFT for an ‘early bird’ price or even for free

This is especially great for people who are new to the space and want to give it a go, but don’t want to risk their hard-earned money. This is also beneficial for NFT pros. A low buy means a higher profit margin when flipping. Who doesn’t want that?

3. You avoid gas wars

When you are added to the whitelist, you can choose a specific time you’d like to mint your NFT within the window provided. This allows the transactions to be spaced out, which means less competition, less traffic on the network, and low gas fees, eliminating problem #2. 

For example, The Prime Ape Planet NFT project launched at a mint price of 0.25 ETH excluding gas fees and jumped to a floor price of 2.3 ETH on the secondary market within 48 hours of launch. So, a person who got hold of an NFT from that project at mint almost 10xed their investment within 2 days!

To give you a better idea: 0.25 ETH is around $700 and 2.3 ETH is more than $6000. 

Given the benefits, whitelists are like a golden ticket in the NFT world. They are wildly sought after and sometimes difficult to get on because of the competition. 

Here are the basic steps to get your name on the coveted list:

1. Find a good project early

A whitelist only works if the project has not been launched. You must find a good project before its drop and before it accumulates a mass following. You can use Rarity.tools to find upcoming projects or follow NFT experts and influencers on YouTube and Twitter to stay on top of the game. 

2. Join the project’s Discord group

Discord is where most of an NFT project’s activity takes place ie. introduction to the founding team, major announcements, giveaways, project’s roadmap, instructions to getting on the whitelist, etc. Links to the Discord group can usually be found on a project’s Twitter bio. 

3. Follow the eligibility requirements

Each project has its own set of unique requirements to qualify for a whitelist. All you have to do is make sure you meet their criteria. 

Once you are eligible, you will provide your crypto wallet address to get pre-approved for minting. You will then select a time of your choice to mint from the options they provide. Just remember to mark your calendar for the time and date you selected so you don’t forget!

Never forget or give out the seed phrase/password to your crypto wallet. 

Whitelists are mutually beneficial to both founders and buyers of an NFT project. A common requirement on most whitelist eligibility criteria is for people to “stay active within the community.” This is because founders need help from supporters to promote the project in order to ensure it successfully sells out on launch day. 

Here are some strategies to stay ‘active’ and get yourself on the whitelist:

1. Stay engaged

Most projects offer a whitelist spot to supporters who are genuinely interested in the project and add value. To really get noticed by the founding team and earn your spot, you must actively engage on the Discord chat and have meaningful conversations about the project with other community members. You can tweet, retweet, and talk about the project on your social channels to show your support. 

Be mindful not to spam! Keep it authentic.

2. Invite people

A lot of NFT projects appreciate it when supporters bring in more interested buyers. You can send out your unique invite code to your friends and other Discord servers to invite people to the NFT project you’re trying to promote. 

Each Discord server has multiple chat rooms that are used for different purposes. When promoting an NFT project on other NFT Discord servers, only post in the “shill” chat room of the server. “Shill” means to show off in the NFT world. 

3. Make fan art

Take inspiration from the project and make your own fan art to show your support. This is free marketing for the project and more brownie points for you. 

4. Participate in giveaways

Most NFT projects host giveaways on Twitter and Discord where they ask their followers to share, retweet, etc for a chance to earn a whitelist spot. Take part in as many as you can. 

5. Get in early

To create initial demand for the whitelist itself, most projects easily give away spots on the whitelist to early supporters without too many asks. The key here is to identify a project at an early stage and become one of the first few members of their Discord channel. 

Getting on a whitelist is a bit of work, but a few days of effort can go a long way in landing you a chance to mint an NFT and flip it for a high-profit margin. You can potentially earn thousands of dollars within a few days just by investing your time and not too much of your money. 

Please note that this is not financial advice. You should always do your own research before going forward.

Good luck!