🚀New Launches
What is an NFT launch/drop?
An NFT launch (aka NFT drop) is the first release of an NFT collection where users are able to mint NFTs from a collection for the first time directly from the creator(s).
This can take place directly on the creator's website, or via a third-party launchpad, e.g. Kyzzen, Magic Eden, LaunchMyNFT, etc.
It may include a few phase:
Public Launch - where everyone has a chance to mint at a specific launch time.
Presale - happens before the public launch (usually with a fixed amount reserved for whitelist holders), typically exclusive to whitelist holders.
How do I find new launches?
Its simple - Kyzzen's Mint Calendar tool aggregates all upcoming NFT launches on Solana from various sources so that you will never miss a significant NFT drop!
It includes the project name, date & time of release, a brief description, as well as the relevant links (website, Twitter, Discord). We omitted the supply and price as it is not out of the ordinary for these details to adjust shortly before launch, so always check the project's website, Twitter and Discord to ensure that you have the latest information.
What do I need to participate?
To participate in a public launch, all you need is a wallet (ideally a separate minting wallet to minimize your risk) that is funded with the amount required for minting the NFTs with a little extra for gas fees (0.01 SOL should be enough).
To participate in a presale, users usually need to meet certain requirements to be whitelisted, e.g. being early members of the project's Discord, participating in Twitter or Discord giveaways that would require some tasks to be completed, holding specific NFTs from key partner projects, etc. A presale could sometimes extend a discount to qualified whitelist holders, and the presale itself could be executed in a number of tiers (for example Presale Group A & B, with each having different privileges and requirements).
There are two main types of whitelists, one requiring whitelist tokens and one without.
In presales where whitelist tokens are required, the minting page would require users to connect their wallet, and verify that the wallet holds a legitimate whitelist token issued by the creator to allow the user to mint. This can be useful for allowing whitelist holders to secure the whitelist, and to allow whitelist holders to monetize their whitelist spots as whitelist tokens can be sold. Whitelist tokens are typically burnt once used for minting, but it is possible for it not to be as well.
In presales where whitelist tokens are not required, the user's wallet address is basically added to a list that verifies which specific wallet addresses are allowed to participate in the presale.
Having a whitelist may qualify you for a significant discount to mint and thus increasing your reward potential for participating in a launch, so try your best to qualify for a whitelist spot for those NFT drops that you like the most where possible. However, do also note that sometimes creators grant more whitelists than the presale supply, so even though you may whitelisted, you should try to be as early as possible for minting.
Tips for participating in new launches:
Be sure to check out the previous section on "Evaluating NFT Projects", which contains a lot of useful information for ascertaining if a project may have good potential. Knowing yourself, your strategy and why exactly you want to mint is key here. For instance, if you are typically a long-term holder looking to invest in projects with good potential for the long run, you do not have to be too fazed if the floor price dips below mint price shortly after minting, which is typical for new launches with many NFT flippers in the space. If you are minting purely based on hype and looking to flip, you should determine your exit strategy (when you intend to sell and for how much) and understand the risks with flipping - it would likely be difficult to be a successful trader if you try to flip every single new launch, especially without a strategy.
The two most common metrics that minters have for gauging hype in an upcoming NFT launch is by looking at their number of Twitter followers and Discord members, but please do note that these can be botted or inflated using many ways. Four other metrics I personally prefer using is:
Interactions with the latest announcements in Discord - the number and variety of emojis
Number of ONLINE members in Discord - a lot more qualitative than total number of members, and you can note the percentage against total members here. For example, if the number of online members is less than 10% of total members, it could indicate that the Discord server is heavily botted. Separately, additional comfort could be derived when number of online members is more than the mint supply, meaning that there is a higher chance that the launch will be fully minted out - but this should definitely not be the only factor for consideration.
Quality of community conversations in Discord - it is common to see Discord channels being overwhelmed by over-hyped "community members", who could be paid to generate conversation and hype. Another good thing to try to get a better feel for a project's community is to ask any genuine questions you may have in the Discord, and observe the quality of responses you get from the team and other community members.
Quality of interactions with the project's tweets - a project's twitter is likely to be heavily botted if you see many consecutive spam comments that they "can't wait for this drop to come", "waiting to get 10 of these", "going to the moon", etc.
Set up a wallet specifically for minting new NFT launches, only with the funds required for that mint. Minting is an extremely risky activity with a high potential for scams, e.g. scam projects draining your funds after you connect you wallet, scam minting links prevalent in Discord or Twitter, etc. Once mint is successful, transfer the NFT into your cold wallet for safe storage.
There will likely be numerous scams surfacing leading up to a popular launch - do not ever click on any links you may see supposedly regarding the project on any social media platform (Twitter, Discord, Telegram, etc.) unless they are official announcements from the official project account. This is why many projects will mute all public Discord channels before and during their mint, to prevent their community from being scammed.
Twitter giveaways are one of the main tools projects would use to generate visibility and hype for their mint. Requirements for participation usually include following their Twitter account, liking their giveaway post, retweeting their giveaway post, and tagging a few friends in the comments. Be extremely careful if there are additional requirements such as going into a website and connecting your wallet. If its too good to be true or feels out of the ordinary, it usually is a scam.
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