Goanna Documentation
Intro
From a creators perspective Algorand offers a unique opportunity with unparalleled tech and an engaged and welcoming community. We’ve put together these resources that have helped us as we’ve built our project in the hope they will be useful to other artists/creators looking to build on Algorand.
Algorand Standard Assets (ASAs)
Unlike on other chains, NFTs on Algorand are generally minted as Algorand Standard Assets (ASAs) An ASA is essentially a token on the blockchain, it can be a single 1/1 as in the case for an NFT or a fungible token.
The ASA primitive makes it very easy to create and launch NFT projects on Algorand. Taking the Goanna project for example, up until very recently the project had very limited developer support and the majority of the release required no code.
There are a minority of smart contract NFTs but they have yet to gain wide spread adoption. Platforms such as Dartroom have attempted to launch this as a standard.
The ASA standard does generally mean, NFTs are minted prior to being released in a primary sale. Creator Matthias Trinley has recently been pioneering on demand minting with the support of developer, RunVNC. Check out Meows github for various scripts for mass minting, adding meta data etc.
Minting NFTs
If minting a large number of NFTs then using a python based script is the easiest method. See Meows Github for more info.
If minting a smaller number and it is practical to do so manually there are various tools to do it. Traditionally it was done through the MyAlgo asset manager or Algodesk. If minting this way then you need to add:
Asset Name – what you want the NFT to be called e.g Al Goanna 001
Unit Name – What unit is associated with the asset e.g goan001
Total Supply – No of copies of this NFT (generally 1 unless a multimint)
Asset URL – IPFS link
Metadata Hash (meta data is generally added using Arc69 see below)
You also need to ensure the “advanced options” are toggled open
The reserve address and manager address are generally left to the default setting of your creator wallet address
The freeze address and Clawback address should be toggled off in most circumstances. Some marketplaces wont support NFTs that have freeze and clawback enabled.
IPFS Image Hosting
IPFS allows decentralised image hosting but it does require either the use of a Node to pin the items or a third party pinning service.
Pinata is the most popular but can be expensive for larger collections alternatives worth exploring include:
Sending NFTs
Outside of releases, you’ll often find that you need to send NFTs as a creator. While this can be done through a wallet, it is generally easiest and quickest to do this through a marketplace account/wallet page. The wallets are all still a little clunky when it comes to displaying a large number of NFTs visually and Shufl def makes finding the relevant NFT and sending it much easier.
When sending an NFT a wallet can only accept it, if it has “opted in.” Opting in does stop spam NFT sending and can be a useful guardrail but it does also cause some friction, particularly for airdrops etc when people have not opted in.
Deleting NFTs
We’ve all created NFTs by mistake or with a small typo that needed to be fixed. Generally I do this via Algodesk. Once you go over 100 NFTs MyAlgos Asset manager doesn’t support this. You can only “destroy” an asset using the same wallet as the manager address that is listed in the asset (generally the creator address unless changed)
NFT Standards
Currently there are several different standards for incorporating metadata. The most popular and widely used is a community developed standard Arc69 (72.6% marketshare). Others include Arc3 (3.8% marketshare), Arc18 (a new standard developed for allowing enforceable royalties, 0% marketshare) and the newly released Arc19 which allows the image associated with the NFT to be updated.
Arc69 is an updatable standard where the metadata is actually stored in a transaction rather than the asset itself. Arc69 also optimizes for loading media as quickly as possible for better UX. See Meows Github for how to add Arc69 metadata from a CSV file.
Drops
In the early days of NFTs on Algo it was common to see “drip” releases. Where creators would release a small number of NFTs over a period of time. This still happens to an extent, but is now mainly confined to more art focused projects, where the creator is releasing new work as it is created.
Generally for larger project style mints a “shuffle” is used. The shuffle originated as a release mechanism where buyers could register a wallet via discord. The entered wallets would then be “shuffled” and the selected wallets would be given access to blind purchase an NFT from the collection.
Projects have also been starting to explore conducting primary sales through their own custom created platforms.
Due to the small size of the community, unless it’s a drop by an established project most releases don’t use whitelists. As demand grows, this will likely change and evolve but currently it’s not the norm on Algorand, so you may find some resistance from parts of the community if they aren’t used to this.
Marketplaces
Algorand has a growing number of NFT marketplaces.
Shufl.app
Shufl is Algorand’s latest marketplace offering created by the Goanna Team that offers an inutitive design focused UI/UX that users from other chains may find more familiar. They share 7.5% of revenue generated via platform fees with the Goanna DAO and are therefore our recommended marketplace partner.
Rand Gallery
Initially operated by Kraken and now owned by the VC backed firm behind Zest Capital, Rand allows people to list NFTs from approved creators, much like Magic Eden. You can apply here. Initially it was popular as a drop site for Primary Releases but has become popular for secondary sales as well. Creators choose a royalty rate for secondary sales, between 1% and 7.5%. Generally creators go with 5%.
Rand offers buy it now listings, dutch auctions and offers.
AlgoXnft
AlgoXnft allows any seller to list their NFTs. They started off focused on being an auction platform and have expanded to offer other methods such as buy it now and offers. Secondary sellers can choose their royalty amount when creating listings.
Other marketplaces to explore include Zestbloom, Dartoom, Algogems, AB2 Gallery.
In addition to these marketplaces, Algorand is also home to a growing number of platforms focused on “Fine Art” NFTs such as Aorist.
Wallets
The most popular option is the official Pera, which offers a mobile and desktop version.
Pera Wallet: https://perawallet.app/
Defly Wallet: https://defly.app/
Exodus Wallet: https://www.exodus.com/
Whenever using a blockchain wallet, ensure you keep secure backups of your Mnemonic seed phrase and never reveal this to anyone. It is best practice to use a hardware solution such as Ledger.
For more info on hardware wallets and cold storage devices check out this piece by Algonaut Blog here
Data and Analytics Tools
NFTexplorer and Asalytic are the two main sources of analysing sales data and exploring NFT collections on Algorand. Creators can register to have their collection listed on NFTexplorer and Asalytic. Community member Andrew W also publishes a weekly NFT leaderboard on twitter.
Discord
There are a number of discord bots/services available. These allow different services such as verifying users are holding certain NFTs and allowing them to access gated channels. Displaying new secondary listings, sales etc.
Rand, AlgoXnft and NFTexplorer all offer differing bots.
Others have been created by different community members including discord user bykewel#5871 who recently launched https://www.algoverify.me/
Twitter Spaces
There are regular twitter spaces throughout the week. The longest running and most well known is by Jeff Malko on a Friday 6pm EST.
Influencers
Influencers
Jeff Malko – (hosts weekly NFT twitter space) https://twitter.com/Jeff_Malko
General Influencer (not just NFTs) https://twitter.com/AlgoFamily
Oysterpack – (not just NFTs) https://twitter.com/OysterPack
Fox River Dev Ops – (Tech focused commenter) https://twitter.com/foxriverdevops
The Mooch (huge algo investor) https://twitter.com/Scaramucci
Cooper Daniels (you tube vlogger) https://twitter.com/Coop_Daniels
Monty Allen (Krypto Nurd) https://twitter.com/RealMontyAllen
Sea Will (musician/youtuber) https://twitter.com/seawillpdx
Chris Swenor (Founder of Reach (coding language, active on twitter spaces and big part of community) https://twitter.com/chrisswenor
Ibu Karel (Tik Toker / paid community manager for projects (non nft) https://twitter.com/AlgoHQ
KK Honey https://twitter.com/KKHONEYNFT
Algopulse algorand news and marketing service https://twitter.com/algo_pulse