# The NFT skill tree 🎯 *Author: William M. Peaster* *Published: Nov 15, 2022* *Source: https://www.bankless.com/the-nft-skill-tree* --- Dear Bankless Nation, In some of my past posts, I’ve riffed on the idea of the “NFT skill tree.” It’s all the skill sets you can learn from advancing through all the main categories of NFT activity right now. I thought it’d be neat to map the branches of what a contemporary NFT skill tree could look like, so for today’s post I’ve come up with 21 main areas of interest as developed from Alex Gedevani’s excellent [NFT Verticals spreadsheet](https://twitter.com/alexgedevani/status/1549728443901923328). Can you max out your skill tree? You hardly have to — even just gaining competency in *half *these branches will position you well as NFTs become more important in the years ahead. All that said, let’s walk through what these 21 main skill branches are and some of the main projects you can explore in each of them! -WMP --- ## **Exploring the branches of the contemporary NFT skill tree** --- ## **1) Analytics** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/2024/02/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2332e513-2b72-4070-b921-c29aae6e9cbd_1600x627.png)**NFT analytics resources** provide easy-to-use interfaces for discovering actionable NFT insights, like mispriced listings, and for understanding NFT activity flows, like trade volume metrics. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Comparing 24 Hour, 7 Day, and 30 Day floor price stats for major collections on *[*Flips*](https://www.flips.finance/Dashboard) - *Setting up custom mint alerts for your browser on *[*icy.tools*](https://icy.tools/discover) - *Reading the Lucky Listings UI to find mispriced NFTs on *[*Lucky Trader*](https://luckytrader.com/live-listings) - *Reviewing a specific wallet’s history using the NFT Wallet Profiler on *[*Nansen*](https://www.nansen.ai/) - *Studying what specific NFT communities are collecting at any given time on *[*Watchtower*](https://www.watchtower.cc/) --- ## **2) Art** > ["Raised by Clones"curated by @merlina_rani 🤘Artworks by @estelle_flores_ @heaven_computer @mateoamaral @martnbruc @NanaSchlez @PedroJuann 🖤Displayed via 32 slots #mocaROOMs architecture by @untitledxyz_ from @MuseumofCrypto 🔥See for yourself 🕳️🐇](https://twitter.com/reneil1337/status/1591030719148888069)[hyperfy.io/raised-by-clon…](http://hyperfy.io/raised-by-clones) — reneil.eth 🕳🐇 (@reneil1337) [ 11:30 AM ∙ Nov 11, 2022 ](https://twitter.com/reneil1337/status/1591030719148888069)[](https://twitter.com/reneil1337/status/1591030719148888069) **Artist-focused platforms **now make up a major part of the NFT ecosystem. These projects provide infrastructure that make it easier for artists to mint and share their works with a growing global community of digital collectors. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Collecting digital art you enjoy on art platforms like *[*Art Blocks*](https://www.artblocks.io/)*, *[*Foundation*](https://foundation.app/)*, and *[*SuperRare*](https://superrare.com/) - *Generating art for large collections via *[*Async Art*](https://async.art/)* (Blueprints) or *[*Bueno*](https://www.bueno.art/) - *Minting your own 1/1 or editioned artworks with *[*Manifold*](https://manifold.xyz/home/)* or *[*Zora*](https://create.zora.co/) --- ## **3) Borrowing / Lending** **NFT borrowing and lending protocols** let borrowers get fixed-period loans against their NFTs while letting lenders earn yield or liquidated NFTs. At the crossroads of DeFi and NFTs, these sorts of projects have seen an explosion of interest in recent times. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Collateralizing an NFT to field loan offers on *[*NFTfi*](https://www.nftfi.com/) - *Depositing ETH into the reserve pool to earn yield on *[*BendDAO*](https://www.benddao.xyz/en/) - *Making a lending offer on *[*Arcade*](https://www.arcade.xyz/)* or *[*Sodium*](https://app.sodium.fi/lending) --- ## **4) Community resources** **Community resources** are projects that help streamline activities like community discovery and community management. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Automating membership management for your NFT community with *[*Guild*](https://guild.xyz/) - *Customizing a community treasury on *[*Juicebox*](https://juicebox.money/) - *Discovering the actions, like votes or mints, your wallet can do via *[*Daylight*](https://www.daylight.xyz/) - *Setting up a token-gated forum for your NFT community with *[*Collective*](https://collectivexyz.notion.site/Set-up-your-community-on-Collective-18d34a4e6ba94fb1afc7f0f639ecfd9a) - *Preparing an allowlist on *[*Premint*](https://www.premint.xyz/) --- ## **5) Content collectives** **Content collectives **are decentralized groups that coordinate creatively to propagate a brand, story, or narrative universe. For instance, Nouns DAO members vote on how the project’s treasury should be used to support “Nounish” brand efforts. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Submitting a proposal to create Nounish content for Nouns DAO via *[*Prop House*](https://prop.house/nouns) --- ## **6) Curation** **Curation platforms and protocols **help artists, collectors, curators, and casual users alike organize NFTs into galleries for events, scholarship efforts, and beyond. In elevating NFTs beyond merely financial concerns, curation generates cultural value for NFTs. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Curating an exhibition of your favorite NFTs via *[*Deca*](https://deca.art/)*, *[*Gallery*](https://gallery.so/)*, or *[*JPG*](https://jpg.space/)* (Disclosure: I contribute to JPG!)* --- ## **7) Gaming** **Gaming projects **in the NFT ecosystem use NFTs to facilitate asset ownership and in-game economies. While the main goal of any game is to be fun, many NFT games offer novel play-to-earn possibilities, too. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Battling Axies in *[*Axie Infinity*](https://axieinfinity.com/) - *Managing and competing with sports lineups in *[*Sorare*](https://sorare.com/) --- ## **8) Discovery** **Discovery projects **make it easy for users to quickly discover notable NFT happenings or information. Getting a feel for these tools will help you better navigate the on-chain landscape. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Creating a domain name for your wallet with *[*ENS*](https://ens.domains/) - *Finding trending mints with *[*mint.fun*](https://mint.fun/feed/trending) - *Making web3-friendly search queries with *[*Drifty*](https://www.drifty.xyz/) - *Tracking trending sales on *[*Context*](https://context.app/trending) --- ## **9) Display** > So cool! This is my first "claimed" digital frame and I love it! @bryanbrinkman @infiniteobjects — TJ | guywalkin.eth (@guywalkin) [ 8:28 PM ∙ Nov 4, 2022 ](https://twitter.com/guywalkin/status/1588629297157509120)[](https://twitter.com/guywalkin/status/1588629297157509120) **Display projects **help NFT owners and exhibitors showcase NFTs in physical settings. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Printing your NFT into physical form with *[*Infinite Objects*](https://infiniteobjects.com/products/nft-print-eth)* or *[*Tokenframe*](https://tokenframe.com/collections/nft-display/products/10-tbltp-tokenframe-nft-display) --- ## **10) Liquidity** **Liquidity protocols **help NFT traders access decentralized liquid markets around otherwise illiquid NFTs. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Creating a new liquidity pool on *[*sudoswap*](https://sudoswap.xyz/#/) - *Swapping like-kind NFTs on *[*NFTX*](https://nftx.io/swap/) --- ## **11) Marketplaces** **Marketplaces **are online stores where people can buy and sell NFTs. Marketplaces can be standalone operations, like Nifty Gateway, or aggregator platforms that make it possible to trade across multiple NFT marketplaces at once, like Gem. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Bidding on NFTs with WETH on large marketplaces like *[*OpenSea*](https://opensea.io/)* or *[*Nifty Gateway*](https://www.niftygateway.com/) - *Sweeping multiple NFTs at once across multiple platforms using aggregators like *[*Blur*](https://blur.io/)*, *[*Gem*](https://www.gem.xyz/)*, *[*Genie*](https://www.genie.xyz/)*, *[*LooksRare*](https://docs.looksrare.org/blog/coming-soon-looksrare-nft-aggregator)*, or *[*Rarible*](https://rarible.com/) --- ## **12) Metadata storage** **Metadata storage platforms** provide streamlined UIs for creators and to maintain their NFT metadata on decentralized storage solutions like Arweave, IPFS, or Filecoin. Since the metadata of many NFT projects are maintained off-chain, the importance of long-term metadata security cannot be understated. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Uploading the metadata of your NFT collection through services like *[*NFT Storage*](https://nft.storage/)* or *[*Pinata*](https://www.pinata.cloud/) --- ## **13) Metaverse** **Metaverse projects** in the NFT ecosystem use NFTs to facilitate the ownership of virtual land and in-world assets, thus bringing digital experiences to life. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Browsing digital art in *[*oncyber galleries*](https://oncyber.io/)* and *[*MOCA ROOMs*](https://app.museumofcryptoart.com/floor-auction) - *Creating your own virtual environments with *[*Webaverse*](https://webaverse.notion.site/User-Docs-3a36b223e39b4f94b3d1f6921a4c297a) - *Exploring Origin City in *[*Voxels*](https://www.voxels.com/play?coords=N@2W,2S) - *Playing poker in *[*Decentraland*](https://decentral.games/) --- ## **14) Multiplayer crypto** > PartyDAO builds multiplayer crypto software. New releases coming soon. — PartyDAO (@prtyDAO) [ 5:31 PM ∙ Nov 2, 2022 ](https://twitter.com/prtyDAO/status/1587860052236537856)[](https://twitter.com/prtyDAO/status/1587860052236537856) **Multiplayer crypto projects** make it easy for groups of friends and/or strangers to collectively own and use NFTs together. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Starting an NFT collector party on *[*PartyBid*](https://www.partybid.app/) --- ## **15) Music** **Music NFT platforms** help musicians connect with their fans in new ways via 1/1 or editioned collectible music releases. This scene is beginning to seriously bloom, which bodes well for the future of independent music! #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Creating your own song using the digital audio workstation (DAW) system on *[*Arpeggi*](https://arpeggi.io/) - *Developing custom playlists with *[*Spinamp*](https://app.spinamp.xyz/explore) - *Collecting collectible songs on *[*Catalog*](https://beta.catalog.works/)* or *[*Sound*](https://market.sound.xyz/) --- ## **16) NFTfi** **NFTfi**, a sector situated at the crossroads of NFTs and DeFi, facilitates complex NFT-based financial services in decentralized fashion, like on-chain NFT derivatives. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Creating an NFT call option on *[*Hook*](https://app.hook.xyz/) - *Depositing WETH to the capital vault on *[*MetaStreet*](https://metastreet.xyz/) - *Generating an on-chain credit score via *[*Spectral*](https://app.spectral.finance/) --- ## **17) Portfolio management** **Portfolio management projects **help NFT collectors create one-stop hubs for tracking their holdings, increasingly across multiple chains like Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Optimism. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Setting up your address books on platforms like *[*DeBank*](https://debank.com/)*, *[*Zapper*](https://zapper.fi/)*, or *[*Zerion*](https://zerion.io/) --- ## **18) Pricing** > [🔥 NEW LISTING: Punk #3373 🔥Listed for 79 ETH ($98,494.04) by lol.eth.DeepNFTValue: 85.2 ETH (7% discount)](https://twitter.com/deepnftvaluebot/status/1592644114172055552)[deepnftvalue.com/asset/cryptopu…](https://deepnftvalue.com/asset/cryptopunks/3373) — DeepNFTValue (@deepnftvaluebot) [ 10:22 PM ∙ Nov 15, 2022 ](https://twitter.com/deepnftvaluebot/status/1592644114172055552)[](https://twitter.com/deepnftvaluebot/status/1592644114172055552) **Pricing projects **are centered around helping NFT collectors and traders appraise their holdings. The pricing scene is very early but some promising efforts have started coming to fruition. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Reviewing NFT valuations through *[*DeepNFTValue*](https://twitter.com/deepnftvaluebot)* or *[*Upshot*](https://upshot.xyz/) --- ## **19) Protection** **Protection projects **help NFT creators or owners ensure the safety of their NFTs for the long term. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Backing up the metadata of your off-chain NFTs with *[*ClubNFT*](https://metaversal.banklesshq.com/p/how-to-backup-your-nfts) - *Testing the quality of your NFT drop beforehand using StealthTest on *[*nameless*](https://www.nameless.io/) --- ## **20) Rentals** **Rental platforms **help people rent out, or pay to rent, NFTs. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Renting a digital collectible on *[*reNFT*](https://v2.renft.io/) --- ## **21) Wallets** > [Ready to create an NFT vault using Safe? @WPeaster and @BanklessHQ show you exactly how👇And the best part is that the same pro-level security as @punk6529 and @VitalikButerin use only costs ~$10 at current gas prices 🤯 What are you waiting for anon?](https://twitter.com/gnosisSafe/status/1552230422494343170)[metaversal.banklesshq.com/p/defending-nf…](https://metaversal.banklesshq.com/p/defending-nfts-with-gnosis-safe-) — Safe | Gnosis Safe (@gnosisSafe) [ 9:52 AM ∙ Jul 27, 2022 ](https://twitter.com/gnosisSafe/status/1552230422494343170)[](https://twitter.com/gnosisSafe/status/1552230422494343170) **Wallet projects **allow people to streamline the process of self-custodying their NFTs. Wallets can come in various forms, like mobile apps or multi-signature vaults. #### **Examples of skills to learn:** - *Creating an NFT vault for long-term security with *[*Safe*](https://gnosis-safe.io/) - *Setting up a burner wallet for free mints via *[*Rainbow*](https://rainbow.me/)