Although the WAX blockchain makes it incredibly easy to create and sell your own NFTs, it also offers much more functionality. In today's post, I want to cover some "intermediate" features of the WAX blockchain and show you how (and why) to burn an NFT, back an NFT with WAX tokens, and how to set up a multi-asset NFT trade with your friends.
Burning
Many people know that "burning" an NFT is a way of permanently taking that NFT out of circulation by sending it to an unusable account, but the bigger question is why would someone want to burn an NFT. Burning an NFT can serve at least two purposes. First, burning an NFT decreases the total available quantity which can make the remaining NFTs rarer. Let's suppose that I create 100 Part Time Economist NFT cards and realize that they are selling for a price far below what I wanted. I can burn some/several/a lot of them to decrease the quantity remaining which would make the remaining cards more valuable.
From a user perspective, "burning" tokens is also useful because it can unlock the crypto that back the card. For example, some NFT creators will choose to back their NFTs with a certain amount of tokens. Those tokens travel with the card, but they can only be "claimed" when the card is burned. Suppose that I gift you a Part Time Economist NFT that is backed with 1 WAX as a thank you for helping my channel. Even if you can't find a buyer for that card on the market, you can still burn the card and retrieve the 1 WAX.
In either case, burning an NFT on WAX is incredibly simple, and all you have to do is select the item from your inventory, click "more" on the drop down menu, select burn, and sign the transaction. In a few seconds, the NFT will be burned and you will see the WAX tokens arrive in your wallet.
Backing
Backing NFTs with WAX can be thought of as the opposite of burning an NFT. When we back an NFT with WAX tokens, we are basically collateralizing an NFT with a promise that it will never fall below the value of the backed tokens. Suppose that I am an artist creating new digital art or that I am creating a blockchain game that uses NFTs. If I am launching a new project, people may be hesitant to purchase my art or cards as they don't know what the price of those assets will do. When I back my NFTs with WAX tokens, I am guaranteeing that the holder will always be able to redeem the card for that underlying WAX. In the ideal situation, the price of the NFT would appreciate far beyond the value of the WAX tokens backing the card, and they would never need to burn the card. But, simply having some WAX backing the card can be a bit of a "safety net" or "price floor" that will reassure people that their NFTs will never be worthless.
As with burning, backing a card with WAX is incredibly simple and all that a user needs to do is find the item in their inventory, select "more", then click "back tokens" and entered the amount of WAX (or PGL) that they want to back the token with. After the token is backed with WAX, this will only be recoverable when the card is burned, so think carefully before backing a token as you won't be able to get that WAX back unless you destroy the NFT.
Trading
Although it is possible to easily buy and sell NFTs on WAX, there may be situations where trading is the better option. For example, suppose that I need one very specific Alien Worlds mining tool. I don't want to sell some of my tools as I don't really need WAX. What I really need is to find that one specific tool to complete my mining set. With a trade, I can make sure that I get exactly the cards that I want.
Setting up a trade on Atomic Assets is quite simple and you simply select an NFT and click "new trade". Select the items you are willing to give up and then enter the other person's wallet address. Once you do this, Atomic Assets will display all the items they have in their wallet. You can simply click on whatever items you want from them and submit the trade. Once you submit the trade, they have the option of accepting, declining, or making a counteroffer.
Summary
Overall, I think the WAX blockchain has done a fantastic job of making NFTs accessible to everyone both from a price standpoint (low transaction fees) as well as an ease of use perspective. It is incredibly easy to create or sell an NFT, and it is also easy to burn, back, or set up a multi-asset trade without any advanced blockchain knowledge.
As always, I'd like to thank you for reading and nothing is financial advice.
Reference
https://wax.atomichub.io/
