How to mint a Drifter

Never used crypto before? No problem. This guide walks you through every step with pictures. It takes about 15 minutes the first time.

You will set up a free wallet app called MetaMask, put a little money on the Base network, and then buy your Drifter on our mint page.

99 USDCper Drifter. USDC is a digital dollar: 1 USDC ≈ $1.

~$1–2 of ETHon Base, for the network fee. One mint costs only cents.

MetaMaska free wallet app for your browser or phone.

Install MetaMask

MetaMask is your wallet: it keeps your money and your Drifters, and asks you before anything is paid.

On a computer: go to metamask.io and add the MetaMask extension to Chrome, Brave, Edge or Firefox.
On a phone: install the MetaMask app from the App Store or Google Play. Later you open our mint page inside the MetaMask app (it has its own browser).
Tap Create a new wallet and choose a password.

Your Secret Recovery Phrase (12 words) is the master key to your wallet. Write it on paper and keep it safe. Never type it into a website or send it to anyone. No real Drifter team member will ever ask for it.

Switch to the Base network

Drifters live on Base, a fast and cheap network built on Ethereum. Good news: when you connect on our mint page, it asks MetaMask to add and switch to Base for you. Just tap Approve and Switch network.

Want to add it by hand? In MetaMask open the network menu → Add a custom network and enter:

Network name	Base Mainnet
RPC URL	https://mainnet.base.org
Chain ID	8453
Currency symbol	ETH
Block explorer	https://basescan.org

Get ETH and USDC on Base

You need two things in your wallet, both on the Base network:

USDC to pay: 99 USDC per Drifter.
A little ETH for the network fee: about $1–2 is plenty for several transactions.

Option A: buy in MetaMask

Tap Buy in MetaMask, choose Base as the network, pick ETH or USDC and pay by card (Apple Pay or Google Pay where available).

Option B: from an exchange like Coinbase

Buy USDC and ETH on the exchange, then Send / Withdraw them to your MetaMask address (it starts with 0x; copy it from the top of MetaMask).

When sending, choose the Base network. Double-check the address, and send a small test amount first. Money sent on the wrong network can be hard to recover.

Open the mint page and connect

Open the Drifter mint page. On a phone, open it inside the MetaMask app's browser (tap the menu → Browser, then type drifter-999.vercel.app/mint).

Tap Connect wallet and approve in MetaMask.
If asked, let it switch to Base.
Choose how many Drifters you want (1 to 20). The page shows the total in USDC.

Approve the USDC

MetaMask first shows a spending cap request. This gives the Drifter contract permission to take exactly the price (for example 99 USDC for one Drifter), nothing more. Nothing is paid yet.

Check that the amount matches what you are minting.
Tap Confirm and wait a few seconds.

The payment goes straight from your wallet to the project wallet when you mint. The app never asks for an unlimited amount.

Mint and meet your Drifter

Now tap Mint on the page and Confirm in MetaMask. After a few seconds your Drifter is yours. Each one gets a random number between 10 and 999.

The mint page shows your Drifters right away, with links to their encyclopedia pages.
In MetaMask: open the NFTs tab. If it does not show up, tap Import NFT and enter the contract address and your Drifter's number (token ID).
You can also see it on OpenSea.

⚠️ Stay safe

Only use links on drifter-999.vercel.app. Bookmark it.
Never share your Secret Recovery Phrase or private key. Not with support, not with "the team", not with anyone.
Ignore direct messages offering help, free mints or "urgent" fixes. They are scams.
Read every MetaMask popup: the amount should be 99 USDC per Drifter, never "unlimited".

Questions

Why USDC?

USDC is a digital dollar (1 USDC ≈ $1), so the price stays the same no matter how crypto prices move.

Why do I also need ETH?

Every action on Base costs a tiny network fee, paid in ETH. On Base it is usually less than a cent, so $1–2 of ETH lasts a long time.

Is it safe? MetaMask shows a warning.

Wallets sometimes warn about new websites or contracts they do not know yet. Check that you are on drifter-999.vercel.app and that the amount is right. If anything looks off, cancel and ask in our official channels.

Where does my money go?

Straight from your wallet to the project wallet, in the same transaction that mints your Drifter. The contract itself never holds your money.

Can I choose which Drifter I get?

No. Each mint gets a random number from 10 to 999. Numbers 1 to 9 belong to the creator.

Troubleshooting

"Wrong network"

Open MetaMask and switch to Base (step 2), or reconnect on the mint page and approve the switch.

"Insufficient funds" or "not enough ETH"

Add a little ETH on Base for the fee (step 3). Make sure your USDC is on Base too, not on Ethereum or another network.

The transaction failed

Nothing is charged for a failed mint except a tiny fee. Wait a moment and try again. If the approve step went through, you will not need to approve again.

I minted but don't see it in MetaMask

Use Import NFT in the NFTs tab with the contract address and token ID, or check the "your Drifters" list on the mint page.

Go to the mint page