Make better trading and creative decisions in the volatile world of Non-Fungible Tokens–learn how to scrape NFT data.
Eminem, Justin Beiber, and Snoop Dogg have a BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club) NFT worth over $100M—about 500 times their original price. Imagine if you found out about that collection of digital art before the celebs got wind of them. Instant multi-millionaire.
So, it may be a smart move to look into this mysterious and technical niche. But how?
This guide briefs you on what NFTs are,
What are NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are a type of digital asset that is unique and distinguishable from other tokens. They are often used to represent digital collectibles, as the uniqueness of each token ensures that no two can be identical.
NFTs are created on blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum and Solana, and can be stored and traded on dedicated exchanges such as OpenSea. They offer several advantages over traditional collectibles, such as securely storing and tracking online. As the popularity of NFTs grows, we can expect to see more and more unique and interesting digital collectibles.
What is NFT data scraping?
Non-Fungible Token (NFT) data scraping is a process of extracting data from a given source to create a new, tamper-proof dataset. The data is often used to track the ownership and history of digital assets on a blockchain.
Why scrape NFT data?
NFT data scraping is often used to prevent fraud and ensure the security of digital asset transactions. By creating a tamper-proof record of NFT ownership, data scraping can help to prevent fraudulent activities and protect the interests of token holders.
You can also use NFT data scraping to collect data on specific NFTs from various sources. This can keep track of prices, total supply, or other information on NFTs.
In short, NFT data collection boils down to making money and preventing its loss.
Prevent Fraud
As with any industry, fraudulent activities are bound to occur in the NFT space. By publishing information on prices, total supply, or other information on NFTs, we can help to prevent fraud and protect consumers.
Some examples of fraudulent activities in the NFT space include:
1. Failing to disclose the total supply of an NFT—This can give the impression that a limited supply of NFTs is available, which can drive up prices.
2. Claiming to have created an NFT that does not exist—This can result in investors purchasing non-existent assets and losing their money.
3. Selling NFTs at hype prices—Many NFTs creators hype their digital art or falsely claim that their NFTs will be in a forthcoming project or game. While it can cause the NFT price to rise quickly, you don’t want to be holding it as the price returns to a real value.
4. Phishing and other scams—It seems that some of the first scammers when any new market gets attention. There aren’t many rules in place, and there’s no one to enforce them. It’s the wild-west. It’s not uncommon to receive fake links that take you to a mirror copy of the minting page. So instead of claiming or bidding on the right to mint an NFT, you’re depositing your Eth or Solana into the scammer’s wallet. Scraping NFT forums and social media can help you identify the real thing from the scams.
Smart Investing
NFTs offers a new way to invest your money. Savvy investors can see the potential in NFTs and use them to make intelligent investments. By buying low and selling high, you can make a good return on your investment. Many successful investors can make money by spotting trends in the market and buying stocks that are likely to increase in value as the trend continues.
For example, if you think that the market will start trending upward, you might invest in stocks that will benefit from this trend. Conversely, if you believe that the market will go into a downward spiral, you might sell stocks that are likely to be affected by this trend.
Trend Spotting
Artists are retiring from selling their NFT art. How did they know what would sell? Did BAYC and CloneX tap into some kind of secret information that would allow their art to trade for millions of dollars?
We all share artists have the human capacity to sense issues close to the heart and soul. All they need to do is express themselves and make it look good.
But there’s more to NFTs than expressing the human condition. Creators need to consider the functionality of NFTs. For instance, the BAYC NFT collection gives avatar holders access to private events that some consider highly valuable, if not priceless.
New and unique functions manifest themselves as the creative minds behind them adapt to a rapidly expanding NFT universe.
How to scrape NFT data?
Whether you’re looking for real estate listings or digital art, scraping data is the same process. The difference is the websites you target, the key terms, and the volume and frequency you scrape.
- Manual—The copy and paste method delivers results, but it takes forever. By the time you get to the analysis, your datasets are too old. NFT markets move fast. Even the most nimble mouse-clickers can’t keep up.
- Semi-Automatic—Open-source crawling, scraping, and parsing scripts help you scale data collection where the manual method cannot. You can load thousands of scripts and libraries that can cherry-pick NFT data en masse. However, you have to know a bit of coding and be comfortable using developer tools.
- Fully Automatic–Web scraping tools come in different shapes and sizes, but go with web scaping APIs if you’re looking for the least amount of effort. Software like ScrapingBee and Octoparse do all the heavy lifting and present you with an easy-to-use interface. They cost a more but save you time.
Tips for NFT data scraping.
You can determine your scraping strategy by the data you want to collect and your target websites. If you are not sure where to start, get an introduction to web scraping here. Also, check out some of the best free scraping tools. In the meantime, here are a few tips:
1. Use a web scraping tool such as Scrapebox, Parsehub, or Octoparse to crawl the target website and extract your data.
2. Pair your web scraping tool with rotating residential proxies to avoid IP bans and sluggish data collection.
3. Use keyword search tags to target specific data on the website.
4. Use regular expressions to scrape data formatted in a specific way.
5. Export your data to a CSV or Excel file.
We hope this at least sets you off on the right foot. Do you have a question for us? Share it in the comments below!
