NFT Mystery Boxes are the latest trend in the non-fungible token industry. But what are they exactly and how do these mysterious boxes work? Today’s article we will lift the curtain and reveal the mystery behind these digital boxes.
NFT mystery boxes are digital boxes that contain random NFTs (non-fungible tokens). When you purchase an NFT mystery box, you don’t know what NFT you will get until you open the box. The NFTs inside can vary in rarity and value. The appeal is the surprise element and chance to get a very rare and valuable NFT.
What Is an NFT Mystery Box?
An NFT mystery box is similar to a physical mystery box, filled with the thrill of surprise. For people who played Call of Duty, remember the mystery box as a gamble. Sometimes you get good gear and sometimes not.
Well for mystery boxes we see the same kind of gamification with inside each box there is a similar random structure. The contents of these boxes are a mystery until they are opened. They could contain anything from digital collectibles to virtual real estate, and digital artwork. The users of this box get a random non-fungible token (NFT), mostly from a specific NFT collection. There’s no way to find out what’s inside until you mint and open one.
Whereas the surprising element of the mystery box lies in the varying rarity levels of the NFTs. So the truly lucky ones may find a super rare NFT worth thousands or even millions of dollars, which already happened but not very much, as you can imagine. Most of us might end up with a regular and bleak NFT. It is kind of the same in the odds of playing in the lottery, isn’t it?
Why Do People Buy NFT Mystery Boxes?
Buying an NFT mystery box is similar to buying a gift without knowing what awaits inside. You can become the lucky one! That is what attracts many eager buyers because they are thrilled with anticipation and curiosity. Much like the joy of opening a surprise chocolate egg in your childhood. Except in this case, instead of a toy, you might find a precious NFT and could retire.
Learn step-by-step guides to start investing in NFTs from funding wallets to choosing marketplaces.
What’s the Buzz Around NFT Mystery Boxes?
With the rise of the NFT market into the mainstream in early 2021, the concept of mystery boxes settled itself in the cryptocurrency realm. Knowing that NFTs where the things everybody wanted, smart marketing departments of international companies started issuing these limited-edition mystery boxes containing NFTs of different rarity levels. This was a smart move because everyone wanted in on the hype. This resulted in currently having more than thousands of NFT mystery box series available in the market.
What Can You Expect From an NFT Mystery Box?
So, we know that if you open a box, you never know what you are going to get. Well, know that when you purchase a mystery box, you have to look at what could potentially be in it. The collections all have their box description and odds of obtaining their most rare NFT type.
Be sure to check this out before purchasing a mystery box. Know that blockchain games such as Axie Infinity offer players rare in-game items through mystery boxes, no rare NFTs but characters, virtual lands, skins, or other collectibles.
How do NFT Mystery Boxes Work?
The workings of NFT mystery boxes are plain and simple, we’ll take a look at the specific process:
How Is the Purchase Process for NFT Mystery Boxes?
Anyone who wants to buy a mystery box has to browse to the right and official websites. Then you select your preferred NFT mystery box on the trusted platform or marketplace. Before buying, you can check your costs and the potential content of the boxes, which are generally mentioned upfront. If this is not the case, be cautious to proceed.
How Are the Contents Randomized?
Well, the code behind the randomizing of the NFTs is mostly only known by the issuers. So the underlying algorithms are unknown to the buyers. You can rest assured the odds of getting a rare one are low and the odds of getting a standard one are high. But this adds a layer of excitement to your ‘mystery’ buy.
What Happens When You Open the Box?
Once you have decided which collection you want to buy from, and made your purchase (minting), you as a customer can digitally open the mystery box. While more common NFTs might quickly lose value after the initial sale, rare NFTs can skyrocket in value given enough demand.
What Determines the Value and Rarity of the Items?
Well, the first that decides which one of the NFTs is valuable and which ones is not are the issuers of the NFT collections. Some boxes might contain rare or limited-edition NFTs, while others could offer a mix of common and uncommon items.
But the second one is always the market, if the NFTs are becoming a collectible due to unforseen circumstances, count yourself lucky, because anyone wants to get their hands on it. Vice versa, you got a super rare limited edition NFT, but the market decides it is not worth the code it was printed on, you are out of luck and stay behind with a not-so-precious jpeg.
What Can You Do With the Items in an NFT Mystery Box?
Once you get your (super rare) NFT, it belongs to you and you gain full ownership. You can opt to store these in your wallet or transfer it to another wallet you’d like. Probably you want to hold onto it dearly and sell it when prices rise to outproportional heights. The bottom line is that you can choose what to do with it.
Where Can You Purchase an NFT Mystery Box?
If you want to surprise yourself digitally several NFT marketplaces offer these mystery boxes, these include Binance NFT Marketplace, OpenSea, Rarible, and SuperRare.
You even have some platforms that collaborate with renowned brands to release their mystery box series. For example, Louis Vuitton launched an NFT mystery boxes feature.
The only thing you need is a crypto wallet that can connect to the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) or Ethereum networks, which are all the most used and popular ones, such as; Metamask, and Trust Wallet. Also, do not forget to add the native currencies of the chain to make the purchase. If you aren’t into self-custody it is possible to buy mystery boxes on centralized exchanges.
How to Buy and Sell NFT Mystery Boxes on Binance?
If you want to buy or sell mystery boxes, Binance NFT is one of the best choices to do so. If you want to learn more follow our step-by-step guide:
- Log in to your Binance NFT Marketplace account. If you don’t have one, create a new account.
- Click on “Explore” in the top navigation bar, then select “Mystery Box.”
- Use the “Unopened” filter to find unopened NFT Mystery Boxes.
- Click on the NFT to learn more about it and the Mystery Box.
- Check details such as the title, cost, contract address, and others.
- Click [Series Content] to check the NFT rarity ranking.
- Click “Buy Now” to purchase the Mystery Box, confirm your order information, and complete the transaction.
We explain using peer-to-peer exchanges to directly buy and sell NFTs between users with fiat payments in our guide.
What’s the Most Expensive NFT to Date?
The thing that attracts the most eyes, is the potential to get rich. Just as with all stories in crypto and the survivor bias that comes with it, people only look at the success stories. But they are nonetheless remarkable. If we look at the world’s most expensive NFT the artwork “Everyday: The First Five Thousand Days” by Beeple, we see the insane amount for which it was sold for $69.3 million. The NFT was a collage of 5,000 images created daily since 2007 and set the milestone for all the gold seekers in the NFT ecosystem.
Risks of NFT Mystery Boxes
The risks of NFT Mystery Boxes include the uncertainty of the items you’ll receive, which could be the low quality and common features. Not super rare. But on top of this, the lack of transparency and oversight in the randomization process is something we cannot comment on.
If there are ‘reputable’ issuers like the big centralized platforms we can rest assured we have a chance, even if they are small. But with small projects, we could get scammed more than often. So it’s important to buy these boxes from reputable marketplaces to avoid risks of getting scammed or phished.
Conclusion
NFT Mystery Boxes are attracting much attention around the globe for their excitement and surprise but most of all for their possibility of dropping high-value rewards such as very rare NFTs. But like any investment, they come with risks. Many crypto bros have lost value in the process of buying these mystery boxes or were completely scammed. So always do your research and buy only from secure and reputable marketplaces that offer these mysterious boxes.
