There was a frantic rush in early 2021 to mint NFTs at the launch of projects when NFTs, especially PFP NFTs, began to take off. When contracts were available for minting, everyone rushed to get their hands on NFTs as quickly as possible.

To get one of the last few NFTs, customers upped the maximum price they were ready to pay for gas (the more you are willing to pay, the faster your transaction will get confirmed).

Consequently, minting costs skyrocketed, leading to the term “gas war.” The transaction costs alone in these gas battles were in the hundreds of dollars, making them epic.

However, as we neared the end of 2021, the gas war scenario grew so dreadful that more and more projects began releasing their NFTs using a “whitelisting” strategy.

Whitelisting

Whitelisting is a phrase used in information technology and cyber security to describe a “allow” or “safe” list. However, it has a broader meaning in the NFT community.

Obtaining a crypto wallet address whitelisted for a future NFT mint (also known as a “drop”) is the process of getting pre-approved for a future NFT mint.

Since most NFTs are launched on the Ethereum blockchain, your public Ethereum (ETH) address would be the one that is whitelisted.

What exactly does it mean to be on a whitelist?

Having your ETH address pre-approved to mint NFTs at a certain day and time implies that you’ve gone through the procedure of obtaining your ETH address pre-approved by the NFT project team.

Typically, this date and time are provided as a window for whitelisted addresses. NFT minting may be allowed at any moment within a predetermined 48-hour window in certain projects.

What is the purpose of whitelisting?

As a rule, whitelisting is utilized for two purposes:

• To recognize early supporters of an NFT project
• To avoid a “gas war,”

Whitelisting as a Means of Recognizing Early Adopters

NFT project teams need to discover strategies to reward early supporters in light of the increasing number of NFT projects being launched each week

For example, early backers may gain priority placement on a whitelist for the pre-launch minting of their NFTs.

Not only does the whitelist ensure that a supporter will be able to mint, but it also has the potential to lower the NFT’s purchase price (or even a free NFT).

Early on in the project’s lifespan, supporters are encouraged to remain involved and spread the word about the effort.

If an NFT influencer learns about your project and spreads the word to their extensive network, this may be a powerful tool for your campaign.

Anti-gas-war whitelisting

Congestion on the Ethereum blockchain might result in very expensive transaction costs.

When popular NFT releases and hundreds of individuals attempt to mint simultaneously, the problem becomes significantly worse.

NFT transactions may cost several times more than the coin’s mint price in these instances because of transaction fees.

Known as “gas war” because people are racing to mint the NFT before it sells out, this scenario is a race to the bottom (the more gas you are willing to pay, the more likely your transaction will go through before others).

Many projects have used a whitelisting strategy to alleviate this problem.

The project team may set a window of time in which their NFTs can be minted by whitelisting supporters before a launch (for example, a 24 or 48-hour window of time on a particular date).

People may avoid a gas war by spreading their transactions across the whitelisted addresses, which can mint at any point within that timeframe.

How does one get whitelisted?

Whitelisting for an NFT project is a three-step process:

Identify a project before it becomes public.

To be included in a project’s whitelist, you must first locate projects already under development.

An entirely new project, or an existing one releasing an entirely new collection, may be the subject of this discussion.

One way to check the forthcoming projects on such similar initiatives is to follow NFT influencers on YouTube and Twitter to stay up to date on the newest developments in the sector. This will take more time and effort but may provide greater returns.

Please be cautious and research before deciding on a course of action. There are several frauds in this industry.

Finally, a word of caution. Scammers may be found anywhere. You should be wary of any direct communications you get from strangers. Also, be wary of any links you get through email.

To be whitelisted, just follow the steps.

Once you’ve done your homework and are confident in a project, you may choose to join their whitelist.

Last Words

NFT is a fast-paced environment. When NFT projects exploded in the summer of 2021, many individuals hurried to get their hands on NFTs.

When NFTs became so popular in the last few years, gas prices skyrocketed due to the increased demand.

Whitelisting evolved as a reaction (and fairly fast) and has become ubiquitous. Whitelisting has helped alleviate some of the Ethereum network’s gas expenses, but they’re still a problem.

The idea here is that the NFT world is always changing and adapting. This is a brand-new market, and if you’re reading this, you’re among the first (well ahead of the majority). It’s never too late to learn something new… get engaged…

And best of luck in your efforts to get a spot on your favorite team!