Floor - NFT Portfolio App

As I started to get more involved in the world of web3/NFTs, one of the areas I started to play around with was related to applications that let you see your portfolio of NFTs and wallet activity.

- Some apps would show the NFTs you own, and the total value of ETH but no activity.  If you had multiple wallets, you had to go into each one to see your view.

- Other apps did a good job of pulling all your collections into a single view or even showing collections, but not showing activity.

- I really like the Ledger Live app because I can see activity across multiple wallets on my Ledger, but it didn't really do a good job of showing my NFTs and it was limited to the Ledger wallets.  Most users that have a Ledger also have a software wallet, which was true for me.  So while I really like Ledger Live, I couldn't use it for my non-Ledger wallets.

So one day, in Discord (if your into web3/NFT chances are you hang out in many different servers) someone was sharing information on an app called Floor.  I like to try new things, and it seemed like it might work my goals so I decided to give it a shot.  For this app you actually have to have a pass, in the form of a NFT, so the person that shared the info actually send me a NFT to unlock the app.  This was already starting off to be pretty interesting!

So, how is the app?  Here is a quick walk-through (NOTE - I used a demo wallet address, these are not my NFTs.  Screenshots based on Android version 0.21.4) with some of my thoughts:

Portfolio - Owned

Once you have the initial setup done, the app will open up to your Portfolio view.  Not only does it show you an estimated portfolio value for your NFTs, it also shows your ETH balance.  You can add multiple wallets.

As you can see above, you can sort you collections by Floor Price, Average Price, Volume and % Change which is a great way to keep an eye the collections which you own NFTs for.  You can also watch any collections that you don't own NFTs for, just to keep an eye on them.

Portfolio - Owned ( Collection )

If you click on a collection, you get 4 tabs at the top (note if you are only watching a collection and do not own NFTs you get the same tabs except "Assets".

Overview: This shows some high level information, details about the collection and various links such as "View on OpenSea" to look at the collection.

Assets: This shows the NFTs you own in the collection.

Activity: This shows recent activity in the collection including listing and sales which is a great way to keep an eye on things.

Listings: If you are looking to add more to your collection, or buy an item from a collection you are watching, this view gives you a quick look at what is available.

Activity

In this view you can see all the NFT activity across your multiple wallets.

Discover

In the Discover view, you get useful information.  Two of the main items you use see are Biggest Movers and Highest Volume.  This is a great way to keep an eye on what new collections might be worth keeping an eye on.

Settings

Nothing too crazy here, you can add wallets and adjust a few display options to your preference.

What else?

One of the things I like about this app/project is that the developers seem very open to feedback.  I have submitted multiple tickets with ideas/suggestions, and they respond often asking for clarification to ensure they understand my request.  I doubt you will get that with many other tools.

So back to where I started, the person who granted me access was actually part of a program they have where people who want to share this app can share it with others.  If you read this far, then maybe you are interested in trying the app?  It doesn't cost anything - you don't even have to pay gas to get the NFT!

If you want my help, all I ask is that you sincerely have an interest in this type of application and that you plan to use it.  As far as I know, I don't get any sort of "kick back" for bringing a new person in - I just really like sharing useful information, which is really what drives me to post on my blog.

If I sent you this link, just let me know if you are interested.  If you ran across it randomly, keep an eye on this page and I will add a way to contact me.  You can also post a comment to let you know you are interested.  Let me know your twitter handle, and I will message you.

ENS Subdomains

Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about Web3 identity.  At the time I touched on ENS, but didn't really dive into it much.

I finally decided to register my own ENS name, and one of the features I found pretty cool was the ability to create subdomains.  So let's say you register "example.eth" as your domain.  You could create a subdomain (in the format subdomain.example.eth).  You don't have to pay another registration fee, just a little gas.  You can even assign ownership of a subdomain to another person.

So why would you do this?  Here are a few reasons

• You can make a .eth subdomain specific to a project ( blokpax.example.eth )
• You can make a .eth subdomain specific to your Discord ID
• You can make a .eth subdomain for friends/family
• You can make a .eth subdomain for each wallet/purpose ( freemint.example.eth, vault.example.eth )
• Each domain can have a different address and even different controller.

If you already have an ENS domain, you can create a subdomain by doing the following:

1. Go to ( https://app.ens.domains/ )
2. Click "My Account" top right
3. Under either "Registrant" or "Controller" find the domain you want to add a subdomain to and click it.
4. Click "Subdomains" and click "Add Subdomain"
5. Put in the name you want and click "Save"
6. Pay the gas and that is basically it.  You can now manage the subdomain like your main eth domain.

One heads up / warning.  If you get a subdomain from someone else (person or project) just keep in mind they have the ability to take the domain back.

I hope this information is useful!  I will revise/add info if I get any questions.

Ledger Nano S Plus - Setup and initial thoughts

I recently obtained a Ledger Nano S Plus.  It was custom branded for Tribe X, one of the NFT projects that I am participating in.  The packaging was very nice and simple, it included the device itself, paperwork, a USB A to C cable and a keychain loop.

Setup - Initial setup

I went to www.ledger.com/start to get the process going.  For my first test/setup, I was just going to create a new wallet like a normal new user would.  The process went pretty smooth, and I was up and running on my Ledger pretty quickly.

A few recommendations:

• Make sure you pay attention to the setup screen information, it is useful especially for a new user.
• Make sure you write down your recovery phrase on a paper, do not store it in a file on your computer - that would defeat the entire purpose of an offline/cold wallet.

Setup - Recover prior software wallet

First, let me say that my next test was just a test and you should NOT do this for actual long term use of your device.  I already had a prior software wallet, so I decided to recover that wallet onto my Ledger.  This is a HORRIBLE idea from a security perspective since it defeats the purpose of a hardware wallet but for testing it was fine.  As expected all my old stuff showed up fine, so I plan to use this setup for testing to see how it impacts things for me.  Most of the services I deal with support WalletConnect, which is supported by Ledger Live (the desktop/mobile app that interfaces with the Ledger device).  I had one site that doesn’t support WalletConnect, but MetaMask did work.  The only thing I don’t like is you can’t get to the point of using Ledger in MetaMask if you don’t have a MetaMask account setup.  However for most users, they likely have a MM account so this shouldn’t be a problem.

FIDO U2F Support

While the Ledger is mainly focused on crypto, it does have a feature that users should look into a security capability for their online accounts.  The Ledger can support FIDO U2F (two-factor authentication).  You can read up on Ledger’s info on this feature here ( https://www.ledger.com/fido-u2f/ ).  If you read my blog, you know that I have tested Yubikey hardware tokens.  For the Ledger implementation, two things stood out as interesting:

• The Ledger is PIN protected, so someone can’t use your hardware token if they don’t know your PIN.
• You can restore your recovery phrase on another Ledger wallet and get access to your FIDO U2F again.

From a security standpoint the ability to recover your key onto another device means that if someone gets your crypto private key, they can restore onto a Ledger and also get access to your FIDO U2F so depending on how paranoid you are that might be a bad thing.  However it also means that, as long as you know your crypt recovery info you can always restore your FIDO U2F access on a Ledger device.

Thoughts so far

The increased security adds some complexity to the process.  If you are used to just having a software wallet like MetaMask, you now have to remember to keep your Ledger nearby.  However the increased security, keeping your key on a hardware device and not in your software, is worth it for anyone in the crypto/NFT world in my opinion.  Remember, this helps to secure your private key but you still have to be careful with the sites you interact with.  Ideally you keep your hardware wallet for “trusted” sites and never use it for minting and maybe do your minting type activities on a software wallet to keep some separation.  If you already have a software wallet, just move your valuable NFTs to your Ledger and keep using the software wallet for minting.

Displaying your NFTs

Once you get into the world of web3/NFTs, sooner or later you are going to have at least a few NFTs that you want to let others see.  For a little background, as of right now my NFTs are on Ethereum and Polygon so my tests only consider those networks.  Note, I made sample galleries on each option but as time goes on I could end up no longer using certain options.

Unstoppable Domains (UD)

UD has two ways you can show off your NFTs:

• On your UD profile, you can set your avatar/profile pic as a NFT.  Unfortunately, it seems the NFT must be from a verified collection so this might limit your options.  You can read more about the limits here ( https://support.unstoppabledomains.com/support/solutions/articles/48001203741-add-an-nft-pfp-to-your-domain ).
• Using this link ( https://unstoppabledomains.com/nft-collection ) you can create a NFT gallery.  Unfortunately there are no real options on which NFTs to show or hide, which immediately makes this option lower on my list.  I also noticed that my Polygon NFTs did not show up.  I reached out to UD support on both items.

One interesting thing about the NFT Gallery is that the gallery is created on a decentralized website, so this is also a chance to see a real example of how that works.  However, due to lack of Polygon NFTs or controls over which to show/hide, this isn’t an option I plan to use.

My UD Sample:

UD Profile: https://unstoppabledomains.com/d/bigboystoys13.888

UD NFT Gallery: Go to the profile above and then click “Go” under “Website”

If you plan to set up your own UD domain, use my referral link to get $10 off with a purchase of $40 or more.  UD referral: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=8dc35e49ca2d4a7

Nametag.org (NT)

Right now, Nametag is one of my favorite options for showing off NFTs because it is right on my NT profile which is sort of my web3 profile page.  There are a few ways you can show off your NFTs:

• Your profile/avatar on your NT profile can be set to a NFT, and it doesn’t have to be from a verified collection.
• You can select a NFT to be your profile background
• You can pick multiple NFTs to show (or hide) so you can control which NFTs you share.

As of right now, NT doesn’t support Polygon but I believe it is in the works.  Additionally NT isn’t open to public minting, so you have to be part of a collaboration project to mint your Nametag.

My NT Profile: https://nametag.org/u/Engineer/

Lazy.com

Unlike UD and NT which are more of a “profile” page with additional information, the Lazy.com option is just for NFTs.

Key points

• Supports Ethereum and Polygon NFTs
• You can hide certain NFTs so they don’t show up, and you can also “pin” a NFT so it shows up at the top of your page with a caption.
• Not all my NFTs show up, so I think there might be an issue with my account or some limit of NFTs that it can pull in.  I reached out to support with no response, if they do respond and fix the issue I’ll update this post.

My Lazy Portfolio: https://lazy.com/vojimen

OnCyber

This one takes a unique approach compared to the other options I looked at.  Basically you are setting up a 3D/VR gallery to show off your NFTs.  I guess I like simple things so I wasn’t a huge fan, but the concept is cool and feels like an art gallery/museum.  I just don’t know if people will actually move around and look at everything, but maybe people are more patient than I am.

Key points:

• Uses a 3D/VR style gallery, feels like an art gallery.
• Supports Ethereum and Polygon NFTs
• You pick which NFTs you show off, but it is a one by one process.

My OnCyber gallery: https://oncyber.io/bigboystoys13

Bottom line: Ultimately there are many options to display your NFT collection, and the decision on which is best will probably be driven by personal preference and features that are important to you.  Don’t forget you can always just share your OpenSea profile if you don’t like the options above.

If you haven't seen my blog post about web3 identity make sure you check it out ( https://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2022/03/web3-identity.html ).

Links for the various options:

UD: https://unstoppabledomains.com/

Nametag: https://nametag.org/

Lazy: https://lazy.com/

OnCyber: https://oncyber.io/

Web3 Identity

As I keep digging into the world of crypto / web3 / NFTs, I have started to run across various products that focus on giving you a username / presence online.  The basic idea seems to be that you own your username / web3 identity, and in some cases you can use that as a login to various services.  Of course due to the nature of web3 there is no true single standard approach / solution.  Most of the options I found tie to your crypto wallet, but they have their own features and capabilities.

ENS

I ran across one called ENS ( Ethereum Name Service ), and they have a really good explanation of what they provide ( https://docs.ens.domains/ ).  The concept behind ENS is very similar to DNS in the current day (web2?  legacy web?) technology.  Even if you don’t know what DNS ( Domain Name Service ) is, chances are you use it.  Anytime you visit a website name ( for example bigboystoys13.blogspot.com ) there is a DNS lookup in the background to get the server’s IP address.  Think of ENS as a similar service, but for mapping a friendly name to your web3 presence / crypto wallet.  Just like DNS, ENS has a yearly cost for registration plus you have to pay ETH gas fees so just 1 year could cost you about $100 but you could do 10 years for just $136.

ENS seems to be a main contender in this realm, but just to play around and learn things I also looked at other options out there.

Unstoppable Domains (UD)

After digging around, I found out that you can get a free test domain which really helped me test things out.  I registered my custom domain ( uns-devtest-vic-the-engineer.crypto ) and started to play around with the interface.  The domain is actually issued as a NFT that you can see on OpenSea and even sell if you want.  Here are a few things I was able to do:

• Setup a profile page ( https://unstoppabledomains.com/d/uns-devtest-vic-the-engineer.crypto ) which was pretty cool.  While you can link to certain social media sites it doesn’t let you put your own links, it would be nice to list my own blog on my profile.
• Put up a simple web page on web3 ( decentralized web ) that can be seen here ( https://gateway.pinata.cloud/ipfs/QmbRhHDgyahihXaxuL1ZZqEQkCemsNWWKMuSfFyiw3fYb3 )
• I couldn’t get sending crypto to work, but from what I read that is because my domain is on the Polygon side and only a small set of wallets support it.  Not a major issue, but good to be aware.

One other interesting feature is that UD can be used to login to other sites, similar to how you can use Google or Facebook for that same purpose.  I ended up actually getting two domains (not just test ones) but I will also keep the test one for, well, testing.  With UD, you only pay a one-time cost for the domain itself - no minting fees.  While every record change normally would cost gas, that cost is covered by Unstoppable Domains for the domains on the Polygon network.

Use my referral link to get $10 with your first $40+ purchase: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=8dc35e49ca2d4a7

.hmn Domain

I ran across this on Twitter.  Basically you can go to ( https://www.hmn.domains/ ) and it will give you the steps needed to claim a “username.hmn” domain where the username is your twitter username.  You end up getting a NFT sent to your wallet, but right now there isn’t much you can do with it as-is.  The company is working on adding some features down the line.

Once I got the NFT, I decided to click the “Claim on ENS” option which cost me gas.  On the plus side, apparently now I can manage it on ENS.  Any change you make seems to cost gas, but mine was already tied to my wallet.  So in theory someone could send money to me using my .hmn.eth address instead of my wallet address.

So I didn’t really plan to dive into ENS, but this gives me an END sub-domain which is pretty cool.  I think ENS domains can also have other features, I just haven’t set aside time to try them.  If I do, I will update this post.

Nametag (NT)

This one is different from the options above.  It is less about a domain name, and more about claiming your identity on web 3.  While the basic idea sounds similar to what I already have seen above, I think their landing page for users looks better than what I saw with Unstoppable Domains.  Ultimately, it seems like their goal is to support using your Nametag as a single user ID across various sites - which I think is a common goal for ENS and Unstoppable Domains.

I wasn’t sure what username to pick, so I decided on “Engineer” as something generic enough that I could sell if I wanted or keep and use.  You can list your own custom links, and you can give them custom names.  You can also display NFTs, as long as they are on the Ethereum side (not Polygon - but they are working on it).  Here is the page I have:

https://www.nametag.org/u/Engineer/

For now, regular users can’t get a name but they do open up opportunities so if you are interested make sure you follow them on Twitter and/or Discord.

Bottom line: There isn’t going to be a single “best” option for everyone - I plan to keep using all of them, and looking for other options in this space.  Depending on your needs and preferences, one of these options might float to the top of your list.  Just decide what your goal is, then figure out which one aligns the best.  Most, if not all, of these offerings are working on additional features so always check out their sites to see the latest information.

One of the coolest part of all 3 of the options (UD, NT and .HMN) I looked into, the name you obtain belongs to you as a NFT.  They all show up in OpenSea, and you can transfer/sell/trade your name if you want to.

Product links:

ENS: https://ens.domains/

UD: https://unstoppabledomains.com/

UD Referral link: https://unstoppabledomains.com/?ref=8dc35e49ca2d4a7

UD Documentation: https://docs.unstoppabledomains.com/

Human (.hmn): https://www.hmn.domains/

Nametag: https://www.nametag.org/

Nametag on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nametagtweets