Create nft whitelist

During the bull market of 2021, NFTs (non-homogenized tokens) exploded in the cryptocurrency space. As the frenzy for digital collectibles grew, NFT creators began to look for ways to better organize their token offerings. Instead of minting NFTs on the open market, many NFT projects have decided to “whitelist” some of their wallets to allow for a smooth distribution.

NFT whitelisting allows NFT artists to create a more fair and fraud-free environment when minting virtual tokens. Some say they create an unfair dynamic by rewarding insiders. So what are NFT whitelists and how do they affect NFT minting？

What is the NFT Whitelist？

An NFT whitelist is a select set of crypto wallet addresses that have special access to new NFTs. Typically, NFT projects award whitelist positions to the most senior and active members of their online communities. Whitelisted users have the advantage of being able to cast NFTs into their associated crypto wallets in the public eye. Minting an NFT means releasing a unique digital token on the smart contract blockchain; the person who mints the NFT becomes its first owner. Some NFT projects also use terms such as “permission list”, “mint pass” or “pre-mint”, which are often synonymous with whitelisting.

How do NFT whitelists work？

Each NFT project has a unique set of requirements when it comes to whitelisting, and NFT project leaders often share specific details about their whitelisting rules, accepted wallets, and important dates on their social media platforms. NFT developers also often use the promise of a whitelisted location to incentivize members of the community to promote upcoming NFTs. For example, people who join the NFT project's Discord group and share posts on Twitter and Telegram are often more likely to be whitelisted for NFT.

If you are selected for the NFT whitelist, the project founders will ask you to provide the address of a crypto wallet that is compatible with the NFT's corresponding blockchain. For example, if the NFT project is on Ether (ETH), you will need an Ether wallet, such as MetaMask, while the Solana NFT whitelist will need a Solana (SOL) wallet, such as Phantom. once the NFT team has your wallet address and the official NFT casting date arrives, you can connect your crypto wallet to the project's official website and cast the maximum allowed amount. Once the NFT team has your wallet address and the official NFT casting date arrives, you can connect your crypto wallet to the project's official website and cast the maximum number of NFTs allowed.

The project sometimes distributes NFTs for free, but usually, you will need to pay a nominal cryptocurrency fee to mint NFTs. You will also need to pay a gas fee on the blockchain before the NFTs will appear in your cryptocurrency wallet.

Learning how to create a whitelist for NFTs requires extensive knowledge of blockchain coding, which is why NFT developers need to be familiar with the technical details of any blockchain they use. They also need to know how to use smart contracts to provide automated and trustless crypto transactions. (At the time of writing, NFT is only available on smart contract blockchains such as Ether, Solana and Polygon).

The Benefits of NFT Whitelisting

From stopping scammers to causing a stir on social media, there are many reasons why NFT whitelisting is influential in Web3 - not just for NFT creators, but for buyers as well.

The benefits of whitelisting for NFT creators

Creates fairer distribution: only whitelisted wallets can mint a preset number of NFTs. these restrictions make it less likely that wealthy cryptocurrency investors (aka whales) will get an unfair advantage on minting day.

Helps avoid spammers: whitelisting helps projects block suspicious wallet addresses that may be associated with scams. Developers can use tools like Captchas or request KYC (Know Your Customer) to verify that each wallet has a unique human owner.

Reward Early Supporters: Whitelisting helps NFT creators build closer relationships with their most avid fans. Gaining a seat on the whitelist makes many NFT collectors feel welcome and appreciated, which often improves PR for the NFT program.

Encourage Free Advertising: In addition to rewarding supporters, whitelisting can help NFT projects expand their reach on social media. Often, people interested in NFT whitelisting are required to share tweets or invite friends to follow the program's online profile. The incentive of a whitelist position increases the chances that the NFT program will get noticed online.

Whitelisting Benefits for NFT Buyers

Avoiding Gas Wars: Cryptocurrency gas wars are common during the highly anticipated public NFT minting. During these wars, Web3 users continually increase the amount of cryptocurrency they are willing to pay for gas to guarantee their access to NFTs. This gives whales an unfair advantage on the day of minting. the NFT whitelist removes the need to “inflate” the price of gas when minting NFTs.

Reduced Competition and Network Congestion: Since everyone on the NFT whitelist has the right to mint at least one NFT, they don't have to worry about outbidding or outbidding other buyers. the NFT whitelist also helps to reduce congestion on the blockchain, thus eliminating the risk of sudden spikes in the average cost of gas.

Transparent minting prices: Users on the NFT whitelist can purchase these digital tokens for a fixed fee or for free. While there is no guarantee that these NFTs will appreciate on the secondary market, whitelisted wallets typically have a price advantage over the general public.

Bonus: Some NFT creators offer rewards for whitelisted wallets, such as access to VIP social media forums, merchandise, or meta-universe events.

Drawbacks of NFT Whitelists

There are not too many drawbacks to being part of a whitelist. But there are some disadvantages to the process.

Primarily, getting onto some whitelists can take time and research. It may be more complex than following the project on social media or signing up for Discord. The last thing you want is to put in the work only to find that a project differs from what it appears to be after being included.

The other drawback is that you could fall victim to scams if you do not remain vigilant. Like other fields, this is an unavoidable part of the NFT space.

Some of the most common scams you have to watch for include:

Thankfully, by educating yourself on some of the most common whitelist NFT scams, there is no reason why you should avoid joining a projects community.

How to Join the NFT Whitelist

The first step in joining the NFT whitelist is to find upcoming NFT projects. You can follow the NFT industry on crypto news sites like CoinDesk or price aggregators like CoinMarketCap to stay on top of major releases. Additionally, many NFT-focused websites like Rarity. Tools and NFTcalendar.io publish up-to-date NFT casting calendars.

While it is possible to find NFT release dates on social media, be sure to double-check this information; platforms such as Discord, Twitter, and Telegram are an integral part of the NFT landscape, but they are susceptible to scams.

Once you've researched upcoming NFT programs, you can ask the team how to apply for a whitelist. Some NFT teams list ways to improve your chances of getting whitelisted. Even if they don't specify what to do, if you're active in the dynamics of the NFT program, you have a better chance of getting a spot.

The NFT Whitelist Controversy

NFT whitelisting helps to simplify the casting process, but it is not without security concerns. Because the NFT market is still nascent and largely unregulated, many fraudulent projects use whitelists to deceive buyers. In a deception scam, developers steal each user's cryptocurrency but do not deliver the promised NFTs. for example, the U.S. Department of Justice arrested the developers behind the Frosties NFT series in 2022. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Frosties team deleted the social media accounts of whitelisted members after collecting cryptocurrency from them. The Frosties team also allegedly tried to trick its Embers NFT.

Unfortunately, there are many illegal NFT programs out there, which is why it's important to carefully research any NFT collection you're interested in joining. Many experts recommend focusing on NFT whitelists with transparent leaders, third-party audits, and official certifications.

In addition to canvassing, some analysts have criticized NFT whitelists for favoring program insiders at discounted rates. Given the excessive internet hype and the scarcity of these tokens, the NFT whitelist may give projects an excuse to artificially inflate prices. Since insider trading laws for cryptocurrencies are not as clear-cut as they are for stocks, there are concerns that some NFT projects are utilizing the whitelist for ill-gotten gains.

In addition, many people “game the system” by forcing themselves onto whitelists by engaging in behavior that appears to be beneficial to the project, when in reality, they have more selfish motives.

Is NFT Whitelisting the same as NFT Airdrops？

NFT Airdrops are similar to whitelisting, but not the same. In an NFT airdrop, the project mints NFTs and “puts” them in your crypto wallet. Unlike whitelisted NFTs, you don't need to log into the NFT project's portal or pay a transaction fee to receive an NFT airdrop.

NFT whitelisted positions and airdrops are usually given to people who are active on the NFT Project's social media. Therefore, despite the difference between airdrops and whitelisting, the way you receive these cryptocurrency rewards is usually the same.

How to Create a Whitelist for NFT？

There are multiple valid approaches, a coupon system is mainly used where wallet addresses are signed off-chain in a way that the smart contract can verify that it comes from a trusted source.

You will be able to add “whitelisting” functionality to your smart contract that will allow pre-approved wallets to mint a single NFT and architect a web solution that integrates with your smart contract's whitelist.

A Developer's Guide to Create a Whitelist

How will the system work？

Generation

Each coupon will be a JavaScript object containing a wallet address that is signed off-chain using a private key that's only known to the developer.

Retrieval

The coupons will live in a JSON file and will be exposed via an API.

Consumption

The resulting coupon signature can be used when calling the smart contract to prove that the data being received was generated.

Building the Coupon System

Generation

Use public-key cryptography to encrypt a wallet address inside the “coupon”. Create a coupon function that accepts an address and private and will return a coupon.

We'll need a key pair to work with — the same one used to deploy your contract will work, but if you still need to generate one you can quickly create a new wallet with Metamask and export the private key from there.

A small node.js script will generate coupons.

Make sure that you populate your .env file with the private key of the wallet that will be used for signing. Then, populate the address array in the script with a list of wallet addresses.

Run node generateCoupons.js to generate and save your coupons to a coupons.json file. Done!

-Retrieval

Since each coupon is only valid for a single wallet address, there is no risk if the coupons are exposed. However, for the sake of keeping the whitelist private, it's still a good idea to hide it behind an API endpoint that responds to a wallet address and returns the corresponding coupon if found.

The Next.js framework is an excellent choice for building the API and the remaining front-end minting website.

Consumption

In the smart contract, start by defining a struct to represent the coupon. This looks like the coupon generated with Javascript. In the smart contract, we need to do a couple of things to verify that the coupon is valid.

Create the same message digest (containing the wallet address) that was created in Javascript code. Use that message digest to recover the signer of our coupon.

Ensure that the recovered signer is you. In Solidity, we can achieve this by writing two internal functions. Then update the minting function to use the new coupon system:

It's important to keep track of the wallets that have been minted to prevent coupons from being reused. On the minting website, pass the coupon when calling the mint function.

How to Get on NFT Whitelist

Are you a collector or an NFT enthusiast looking to get onto a whitelist for the first time？

Everyone has their method for identifying worthwhile projects and having their presence known. Here are some steps you can follow to get onto your first whitelist.

Find the Right Project

Not every NFT project was created equal. It makes little sense to invest time and effort into getting onto the whitelist of a failed project. Likewise, you need to take your time to get your approach right. Trying to get onto an opportunity when its nearly complete is much more complicated than applying early.

So, what makes a good project, and how can you find new opportunities that have just opened their whitelists？

Once you have found a good opportunity, speed is of essence. As whitelists fill up and spaces become fewer, securing those remaining spaces becomes more difficult.

Join a Discord Community

Discord is the hub of most NFT projects. Its where you will hear about project updates, whitelist instructions, airdrops, and information from the founders. Most Discord channels will also provide information about what you must do to get whitelisted. Discord is the place where you can ask other members if this information isn't available.

Ensure you return to the project‘s Discord channel regularly, as eligibility requirements can change. You may also find contact information for the project’s Telegram channel. That can offer another avenue for integrating yourself into the community further.

Engage with NFT Project Communities

Project creators have total power over whom they add to their whitelists. They may add family members, friends, or prominent members while excluding those they do not feel add value to the community.

So, one of the best ways to get added to a whitelist is to make yourself a visible part of a project‘s community. Chat with members, provide helpful information, and share the project’s social media posts on your channels to increase your footprint.

Over time, youll become a more critical part of the community and increase your chances of being added to future projects.

Win Competitions

NFT airdrops are special events where participants can receive free NFTs. But some giveaways may offer limited spots on a projects whitelist.

Look out for these competitions on the project‘s social media channels and Discord hub. Participating in as many as possible will bolster your odds of winning a spot on the project’s whitelist.

Invite Your Friends

All businesses and industries have made liberal use of “Refer a Friend” programs to grow their bases and reward their most valuable members. NFT projects are no different

Lots of projects will even provide all new members with unique codes that they can use to invite their friends. Its also not uncommon for whitelist eligibility to hinge on the number of people you successfully invite to a project.

Just refrain from spamming, or you could harm the projects reputation.

Make Your Art/Memes

Do something to stand out from the crowd. Although getting whitelisted can be as as being a member for a specific period or inviting a certain number of friends, you can often skip the line by doing something that elevates the project.

Creating your fan art or building a viral meme can bring more attention to a project, and founders are likely to take notice.

Supporting a project this way is one of the best ways to get whitelisted. After all, 30% of 13-35-year-olds send memes daily, so if you can nail something funny, this is one of the most effective ways of drawing attention to a project.