What is an INO (Initial NFT Offering)?
An Initial NFT offering (also known as INO) is a relatively new and innovative mechanism used to gain traction for a new blockchain project. INOs are predominantly used for launching NFT projects and are becoming increasingly popular as a means to draw attention to new digital assets.
Initial NFT offerings usually involve giving out a set of limited-edition NFTs to users who meet certain minting criteria. INOs are often done through launchpads and other blockchain platforms. When a project that is trying to launch a digital asset needs to draw more public attention, an INO can be a great resource for gaining that added public approval.
Everything You Should Know About an INO
Digital assets have struggled to find effective means of getting in front of more eyeballs. As it stands, the mass adoption of digital assets seems like a pipe dream, and a lot of the public eye is still blinded to the benefits of digital assets and other blockchain products.
However, the innovation of INOs just might be the game-changer for many founders and creators of digital asset projects. The old ways of getting digital assets into the public domain have turned out to be either less effective than initially hoped or have now developed a bad reputation due to the actions of unscrupulous actors.
Today, INOs are being credited with a significant portion of the renewed popularity and spread of digital asset projects. But what is an Initial NFT Offering, and why do you need one?
What is an INO?
An Initial NFT Offering is a method used by blockchain projects to raise awareness for their ideas and products. An INO works by giving early adopters priority access to rare non-fungible tokens in exchange for the value they bring to the project.
As a way to incentivize early involvement in a project, an INO offers value in the form of these limited-edition non-fungible tokens. These NFTs would often carry additional value for holders beyond just their market price. These may include giving holders exclusive access to certain benefits on the platform, or granting them additional perks and priority access to things like events, merchandise, new NFT drope, and so on.
How Does it Work?
Now that you know what an INO is, here’s how it works:
Imagine there is a blockchain company trying to set up an NFT project. To get enough resources to grow the project, the creators offer up a small amount of early or first-generation NFTs for a limited time. Individuals can obtain their own units of these NFT at a set price during that sale window.
This explanation is the easiest to understand, but INOs are a bit more complex than that.
For starters, each project is unique in how they organize their INO. However, the general template for initial NFT offerings is similar.
Before the INO, the project would build a community on Discord and other social platforms. This community is important because the participants in the INO would usually come from there. Once the project is ready to launch its INO, It releases a whitelist.
A whitelist in an INO is a database of approved people who can participate in the INO. NFT whitelisting is as much a means to reward active community members as it is to avoid gas wars.
Getting into a whitelist is competitive, and selected participants see it as a chance to get in early on a project and reap the rewards of being one of the first holders of the NFTs. The whitelist gives each participant a time and date for minting their NFT. This scheduling is done to avoid excessing minting pressure that could adversely affect gas prices.
Note that the NFTs minted during an INO are rare and limited edition. Most participants earn considerable rewards when they are able to trade or exchange them. An example is the BAYC collection. Their NFTs were minted for approximately $125 in 2021, with a resale value that ran into thousands of dollars later on.
Apart from getting one of the rare limited edition NFTs, early participants in an INO are also eligible for other perks as decided on by the project’s creators.
How SOLARR Uses INOs
SOLARR takes pride in being the pioneer of the idea behind INOs, and SOLARR projects have leveraged INOs in many ways in the past. The first project to have used an INO was Torum, a project that raised nearly $50,000 through INOs.The success of this initiative has opened up a new world of possibilities and SOLARR believes that INOs will become a new trend among crypto launchpads.
In a bid to expand the available options for early adopters, SOLARR allows the trading of INO NFTs on the Solarr Marketplace. There is also a SOLARR NFT staking platform where INO organizers can host their INO programs and trade their INO NFTs.
How does this happen?
INOs start off with a goal in mind. This is usually a publicity goal that the project organizers believe is required to help grow the project and realize their vision for it. Exclusive NFTs are then offered up for sale by the project owners, and participants are allowed to mint these NFTs at different price points. For example, Torum’s INO NFTs were priced from as low as $200 to as high as $16,200 Per NFT.
To further incentivize participants, the more valuable NFTs are given higher multiplier values in the staking pool. The multiplier value of each NFT determines how quickly holders will earn their rewards for staking. The staking rewards and multiplier effect also encourage individuals to hold their NFTs for the long term, as opposed to burning or liquifying them.
SOLARR Launchpad
The SOLARR Launchpad is an initial sale platform offering priority access to genesis NFTs launched through Initial NFT Offering (INO). We empower innovators and project developers with access to backers, community building, marketing, partnership network, and a comprehensive platform to mint and list genesis NFTs.
Launch Your NFTs
The SOLARR launchpad is a one-stop solution for launching genesis NFTs.
INITIAL NFT OFFERING (INO)
An Initial NFT Offering (INO) is a new innovation that involves offering a set of limited-edition NFTs for sale. By offering a set of first-generation NFTs, or genesis NFTs, you can empower participating purchasers to benefit from the inherent supply scarcity of the NFTs.
INO SERVICES
SOLARR offers a one-stop solution for NFT projects looking to launch an INO. Our team of experienced digital asset advisors is well-positioned to help you create utility and devise the perfect strategy to maximize the success of your initial sale. After crafting the strategy, we help you to launch your INO on SOLARR Launchpad, our proprietary initial sale platform.
Bolstered by the personalized service of our in-house NFT experts, SOLARR offers you more than just a cutting-edge technology platform for minting and listing genesis NFTs but also access to backers, community building, marketing, and partnership network to ensure your project’s success.
INO SERVICES
Here are some of the initial NFT offering services offered by the SOLARR launchpad:
INO Advisory
We help you develop your NFT utility, use cases, pricing strategy, and the initial sale strategy to pave the way for a successful launch.
INO Minting & Listing
Get access to backers & partnership network through SOLARR Launchpad’s comprehensive platform to mint & list genesis NFTs.
INO Marketing
We help you craft a unique narrative through compelling storytelling to promote your project and help you establish a community of fans.
NFT Design
We can create unique NFT art collections in 2D or 3D based on your customized requirements on the number of base characters & traits.
INO Website
We help you conceptualize, design, and develop a customized INO website, optimized for your initial sale.
Metaverse Development
Whether it’s building a custom store in SOLARR City or other metaverses, we provide customized metaverse development services to meet your needs & budget.
Advantages of an INO
The benefits of initial NFT offerings include:
High Reward Potential
Early involvement in an INO gives users the chance to earn significant rewards off the NFTs they purchase during the INO. These NFTs are usually rare first-generation NFTs, and they often generate more value as time goes by.
Promotes Community Building
Community is very important to any project. It’s even more important during an initial NFT offering. After all, the whitelist is made of active community members who have met the requirements for being chosen. An upcoming INO almost always promotes the project and its community.
Low Transaction Costs
Initial NFT Offerings are known for having very low Transaction fees. Whitelisting also helps to ensure that minting costs a minimum amount of gas fees. This makes it easy for community members whitelisted for an INO to participate in the minting process. On its own, having low Transaction fees is great, but when coupled with the high ROI from INO NFTs, the low transaction fees are a magnified advantage for participants in the INO.
Easy to Launch
Unlike ICOs, INOs don’t require a lot of expertise and technical knowledge to launch. Projects can simply build a community and launch an INO, no matter how big or small they are. This simplicity also applies to the participant in an INO. The barrier to entry is low, and inexperienced community members can have the chance to be part of an INO.
Wide Reach
Initial NFT offerings are patterned after initial Coin offerings that have the same basic blueprint as initial public offerings. But INOs have a clear advantage over IPOs and that advantage is reached. Without the limits of geographic locations and the standard eligibility criteria, participants can come from anywhere in the world.
Disadvantages of INO
These are some of the potential drawbacks of initial NFT offerings:
Scams
This disadvantage is more of a word of caution than it is an outright disadvantage. Since the popularity and success of big INOs, the activity has been polluted with projects out to scam people.
While an initial NFT offering is a great way for both the public and project leads to get what they want, it can be a bad bet for some individuals. So, before getting involved in any INO, be sure to read the fine print and do your own research. If a deal looks too good to be true, it most likely is. Many people have lost their money to bogus INO claims, so it is always best to be cautious.
No Guarantee of Profit
Most people go around looking for the next “Ethereum” to get involved in early, but the truth is, there isn’t a guarantee. There’s a chance for a high reward margin but only if the project becomes very successful. This doesn’t always happen, and sometimes, the entire project just might never take off.
Conclusion
An Initial NFT Offering is a great marketing mechanism used to promote digital assets while also rewarding early adopters. It provides growth opportunities for projects while allowing users to be a part of those projects’ growth. The process would naturally get better as the NFT market expands in the coming years and more project creators begin to incorporate INOs into their functionalities.
