Section A: I'm new to blockchain

Take it one step at a time. It's easier than it sounds ;)

You've probably heard the words , , or and you might have felt like they weren't meant for you. We are here to show you that they are, and that all you needed was a different entry point.

Any underlined word in this guide can be tapped for a quick definition, so you don't need to memorize anything.

More detailed instructions here →

Think about something you would want to keep for your future self, like a photo, a note, a collage, a screenshot of something that matters. Save it as a file because you'll upload it when you .

Not sure what to make? Think about where you are in your life right now, who matters most to you, what your home or city looks like today, or what you'd want your grandchildren to know about who you were in 2026.

More detailed instructions here →

A is like your passport to the blockchain. It's how you prove something is yours and connect to platforms where you can mint. For this guide we will show you how to use : It is free, simple, and works on your phone.

Visit phantom.app, create a new wallet, and save your 12-word somewhere safe and offline.

More detailed instructions here →

is the currency used on . You need a tiny amount to cover the when you mint (usually less than a cent).

The easiest way to get SOL is through , then transfer it to your Phantom wallet.

More detailed instructions here →

Go to , connect your wallet, and upload your capsule. Add a title and description, then click mint and approve the transaction.

That's it! Your capsule is on the blockchain. Copy your and keep it safe; you'll need it for the form.

More detailed instructions here →

Step 1

The evolution of communication is exponential

The internet has changed a lot since it started. Scroll to see where we are now.

Tap a node to explore.

A vintage computer monitor and keyboard
A smartphone with a hand pointing at the screen
A cube with cryptocurrency coins on each face

Web3 is not a place. It is a rising tide of technology to lift all boats. It offers new ways to connect, create, and participate, with greater transparency, permanence, and global access.

Step 1

Before you set up anything,
here's what you're working with.

Three ideas power the whole blockchain world. Tap each one to learn what it means, and why it matters for your capsule.

Tap a node to explore

Globe

Concept 1 of 3

What is Decentralization?

In most systems you use every day, one company controls your data and information. Instagram holds your photos. Google holds your documents. If they shut down, or delete your account, your things go with them.

In a decentralized system, information is stored across thousands of independent worldwide, powered by blockchain technology. That's what makes decentralized systems more permanent and resistant to alteration compared to their counterparts.

Concept 2 of 3

What is Blockchain?

A blockchain is a public digital record, built and maintained by many nodes to create little histories stored in blocks that are chained together. Think of each block as a historian who compares their version of history with many others around the world to certify that something happened. If they all agree, the transaction is validated, proving the exact events that took place.

Every transaction (like a capsule being minted) is assigned a block and becomes part of a public history that anyone can view but no one person can change. These entries link in order, creating a transparent and unchangeable timeline.

Concept 3 of 3

Wait, there's more than one blockchain?

Yes! Think of each blockchain like a different country that has its own rules, currency, communities, and strengths. You might have heard of blockchains like Solana, Ethereum, or Bitcoin. Each of these has its own strengths and characteristics.

This guide focuses on Solana because it is fast, affordable, and widely used for NFTs. Block Your Time is chain agnostic, so you can use whatever blockain you would like. If you are unsure, Solana is always a great place to start.

Your wallet is your passport
to the blockchain.

Passports and boarding pass

Now let's get your passport ready.

Before you can travel to any blockchain, you need a few things that prove who you are and where you've been.

Airplane

Your identity on every chain

Just like a passport confirms who you are and records the places you've been, your wallet confirms your identity and records every transaction on the blockchain. It's how you prove something is yours, receive and hold digital assets, and connect to platforms where you can mint.

Passport stamps

Think of your wallet like a keyring. It doesn't hold your capsule directly, but it holds the keys that connect you to it, and confirms your identity to use different blockchains.

In this guide you will set up a .

Your seed phrase master key.

When you create your wallet, you'll be given the option to hold the keys to your wallet. If you select this option you'll be shown a list of 12 secret words. This is your seed phrase, and the only way to recover your wallet if you ever lose your phone or device.

We recommend you write these words down on paper and store them somewhere safe and offline. Anyone who has them has access to everything in your wallet.

⚠️ No screenshots  ·  No sharing  ·  No cloud storage

Here's an example of what a seed phrase looks like. These are not your real words:

1ocean
2forest
3silver
4echo
5bridge
6candle
7radius
8flame
9draft
10anchor
11museum
12mirror

Think of your time capsule
as a souvenir from exploring blockchains

Every time capsule you mint lives on the blockchain, and is linked to your wallet. It is designed to last as long as the technology exists, and is nearly impossible to alter or take away.

Tap to learn


Tap a term to learn

NFT: Non-Fungible Token

It sounds technical but the idea is simple. It's a unique digital record on the blockchain that proves a specific thing belongs to you. When you mint your time capsule, an NFT is created and linked to your wallet. It stores details like who created it, when, and the full history of where it's been. That record is public and traceable. The technology makes it verifiable by anyone, and extraordinarily difficult to alter or erase.

Mint

The act of putting or uploading something on the blockchain. When you mint your capsule, it becomes a record on a decentralized network. The record is designed to outlast any single platform, company, or decision.

Learn some
new terms
Make your
capsule
Set up your
wallet
Get a small
amount of SOL
Mint on
Mallow
You are hereStep 2 : Make your capsule

Step 2

Make your
capsule.

Before anything else, reflect about the type of memories you wish to always remember. The format can be a photo, collage, letter, video, or anything your imagination can dream up. Just make sure to save the file in a format you can upload.

Not sure what to make?

Here are some things worth sitting with:

notebook
01 of 04
About this moment
  • Where are you in your life right now?
  • What are you building, learning, or letting go of?
  • What does your day-to-day actually look like?
people at dinner
02 of 04
About the people around you
  • Who are the people that matter most to you right now?
  • Who do you want your future self to remember?
lake and boat watercolor
03 of 04
About place
  • Where do you live, and what does it feel like to be there?
  • What does your street, your city, your home look like today?
paper plane in clouds
04 of 04
About what’s ahead
  • What are you hoping for in the next year?
  • What would you want your grandchildren to know about who you were in 2026?
paper plane
Less is more.

One file that actually means something right now.

people sitting together
Represent yourself honestly.

This is a record of who you are in 2026, so choose something real.

sunset with birds
Part of a global record.

Your capsule joins thousands of others from this moment in time.

airship
It will be public.

Anyone can see what you mint, so make sure you’re comfortable with it being there long term.

Learn some
new terms
Make your
capsule
Set up your
wallet
Get a small
amount of SOL
Mint on
Mallow
You are hereStep 3 : Set up your wallet

Step 3

Set up your
wallet.

There are many wallets out there, so you can use whichever one you prefer. This guide, will use Phantom

Other wallets that work with Solana

Jupiter
Solflare
MetaMask
Coinbase Wallet

Follow the steps : check each one off as you go

0 of 4 complete
01 of 04
Go to the official website
Visit phantom.app and download the browser extension or mobile app. Make sure you’re on the real site or official app store.
Optional
Seed Phrase (Further Security)
A backs up your wallet more securely than an email password, but requires setting up on a computer or laptop instead of mobile. For this guide, we'll use the simpler email method. Feel free to skip this.
02 of 04
Create Your Wallet
Open the Phantom app and tap “Create New Wallet.” Sign up with your email address. This creates your wallet on mobile.
03 of 04
Set up your log-in information
Create a strong password for your wallet and a username.
Make it something only you know. Do not use your birthday, common words, or information that’s easy to guess.
04 of 04
Your Wallet is Ready
Your Phantom Wallet is now set up on your mobile device. You’ll then see your public wallet addresses if you click on the 2 overlapping squares next to your account name. These are unique code you can use to receive funds or connect to platforms, and blockchains.
Wallet ready.

You now have a self-custodial wallet on Solana. On to the next step.

Learn some
new terms
Make your
capsule
Set up your
wallet
Get a small
amount of SOL
Mint on
Mallow
You are hereStep 4 : Get a small amount of SOL

Step 4

Get a small
amount of SOL.

▼ What is SOL and why Coinbase?

What is SOL?

You need to cover the minting fee. Think of it like a postage stamp that powers the action of putting your capsule on the blockchain. On , this fee is usually less than a cent.

Why Coinbase?

is a popular, regulated marketplace for buying cryptocurrency. It's reliable, secure (like traditional banks), and has better rates than Phantom's built-in buyer. You'll buy SOL here, then transfer it to your Phantom wallet.

Other ways to get SOL

You can also:

  • Buy SOL directly in your Phantom wallet (using Revolut, MoonPay, or Coinbase Pay)
  • Send SOL from another exchange like Binance or Kraken
  • Receive it from a friend or community platform

Follow the steps : check each one off as you go

0 of 5 complete
01 of 05
Create a Coinbase account & verify your identity
Go to coinbase.com or download the mobile app and sign up with your email and phone number. To meet legal requirements, you’ll need to upload a photo ID and answer a few personal questions. This helps prevent fraud.
Use only the official website or app store to avoid scams.
02 of 05
Where to buy SOL on the dashboard
Click on transfer, then deposit cash. Add your credit/debit card and enter the amount of your currency you want to deposit (in this example, euros).
03 of 05
Exchange to SOL
You still need to exchange your deposited currency for SOL. Click review order, then buy now. Now you have SOL ;)
Transferring SOL between wallets
Once you’ve bought SOL on Coinbase, the next step is to send it to your Phantom wallet. Think of this as when you go to a new country and exchange your home currency to the local currency. Coinbase is just like that: you exchange your money for SOL there, then move it to your Phantom wallet where you have full control.
04 of 05
Open Phantom & copy wallet address
In your Phantom wallet, click the plus sign, then “receive” A QR with a code with appear with a purple button that says copy address. Make sure you’re copying the one connected to the Solana network. A address looks like this: 4d7XFpKZx8mB9jiy...8dP6JNeR4
Always copy the address, never type it manually. One wrong character and your SOL could go to the wrong wallet.
05 of 05
Open Coinbase to send
In Coinbase, click “transfer” then “send crypto” and paste the wallet address you just copied. Select Solana as the asset to send. Enter how much SOL you want to send. For your first time, consider sending a small test.
When Coinbase asks “wallet recipient”, choose “self-custodial wallet” and “I’m sending to myself”. This confirms you own the Phantom wallet receiving the SOL. Once confirmed, the funds will arrive in your Phantom wallet within a few minutes.
SOL is in your Phantom wallet.

You’re ready to . On to the final step.

Learn some
new terms
Make your
capsule
Set up your
wallet
Get a small
amount of SOL
Mint on
Mallow
You are hereStep 5 : Mint on Mallow

Step 5

Mint on
Mallow.

Mallow is a -based platform where you’ll your time capsule as a record on the . Once your wallet is connected and funded, the process takes just a few minutes. Feel free to use any platform you would like.

Complete each step to unlock the next 0 of 4
01
mountain lake
Step 01 of 04
Connect your wallet
Go to mallow.art and click “Connect Wallet.” Choose and approve the connection when prompted.
Take a moment to set up your profile if you want (add a name and picture).
Wallet connected
🔒
Upload your time capsule : unlocks after step 1
02
notebook
Step 02 of 04
Upload your time capsule
Click “Create” and upload the file you made in Step 2. Add a title and a short description. This is the information that will be attached to your capsule on the blockchain.
⚠️ Public & permanent: Anything you upload will be publicly visible on the blockchain and cannot be removed or changed. Only upload content you're comfortable sharing permanently.
High resolution files are recommended. Make sure it’s the right file before you continue (you can’t change it after minting.)
Time capsule uploaded
03
airship
Step 03 of 04
Set your listing settings
Mallow will ask you to set a price and royalties. You don’t need to sell your capsule because it is yours to keep.
You can leave the capsule unlisted. You don't need to set a price. If you ever choose to sell it later, royalties determine what percentage you'll get from future resale.
Settings configured
04
paper plane in clouds
Step 04 of 04
Mint your capsule
Click “Mint” and approve the transaction in your wallet. Your capsule will be written to the blockchain within seconds.
There will be a small gas fee. usually a few cents worth of SOL. (Learn what a is.)
Capsule minted
After you mint
Find your .
Keep it safe.

Once minted, the blockchain generates a unique code for your capsule called a mint address (also called a ). It’s a string of letters and numbers that identifies your specific capsule permanently. You’ll find it on your piece’s page on Mallow, listed under details or on-chain data.

BYT2026xK9mPqR3z...7nWdLvA1
Copy it and keep it safe because you'll need it for the form below.
Florence, Italy
The most important step
Send us your
time capsule.

This is how we find your capsule on the blockchain in a year and send it back to you. Without your submission, we can’t keep our promise.

Go to the form →

Have your mint address ready before you open the form.

Our Service
FAQs

15 questions
No questions match your search.
Do I need to know anything about blockchain to do this?
No. The guide is built for three kinds of people : total beginners, people who have a wallet but have never minted, and people who already mint. Find the path that matches you and start there. Everything you need is in the instructions.
What should I make?
Anything that feels true to where you are right now. A photo, a note, a collage, a voice memo, a screenshot. There’s no right format. The only rule is that it feels like yours.
Can I make more than one?
Yes. You can mint as many as you want. Each one is its own capsule. Just make sure to fill out the form for each one so we know to send all of them back to you in a year.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the platform you mint on. If you wait for our free mint campaign with Mallow in August 2026, it costs nothing. If you mint on your own before then, you’ll pay a small network fee : usually a few cents on Solana, a few dollars on Ethereum. The cost of permanence.
What if I miss the free Mallow campaign?
You can still mint on your own at any time. Block Your Time is chain agnostic, which means you can use any platform and any blockchain you want. The guide walks you through your options.
Is my capsule public?
Yes. Anything on the blockchain is public by design : that’s what makes it verifiable. Anyone with the link to your piece can see it. So choose something you’re comfortable having out there. If it’s deeply private, this isn’t the place for it.
Can I delete or change my capsule later?
No. That’s the whole point. Once it’s on the blockchain, it stays exactly as you left it. No one can alter it : not us, not a platform, not you. Permanence is the feature, not a bug.
What if I make a mistake when I mint?
If you minted the wrong file or made a typo in the title, the original mint will stay on the blockchain forever. You can mint a new version and let us know which one to track. Just send us the mint address of the one you want us to send back to you.
What is a mint address and where do I find it?
When you mint your capsule, the blockchain generates a unique code that identifies it permanently. Depending on the platform, it might be called a mint address, token ID, or piece ID. You’ll find it on the page of your minted piece, usually under “details” or “on-chain data.” Copy it and put it in the form.
Can I share my capsule with other people now?
Of course. Send the link to anyone you want. Your capsule is yours to share or keep private as you choose. Some people post theirs on social media right after they mint. Some keep it to themselves until next year. Both are right.
Do I need to keep my wallet open or active for the year?
Not necessarily. Your capsule lives on the blockchain, not in your wallet. Your wallet is just the key that proves it’s yours. Even if you don’t open your wallet for a year, your capsule is safe and traceable. If you want to transfer the capsule to a new owner you will need your wallet.
What if I lose access to my wallet?
This is why your seed phrase matters. When you set up your wallet, you got 12 secret words : that’s the only way to recover access if you lose your phone or change devices. Keep those words written down somewhere safe and offline. If you lose them, you lose access to your wallet permanently. We can’t recover it for you. No one can.
What happens if I don’t fill out the form?
We won’t be able to find your capsule, and we can’t send it back to you. Your piece will still exist on the blockchain : that part is permanent. But the one-year follow-up depends entirely on you giving us your mint address. Don’t skip it.
Will I get notified when it’s time?
Yes. We have your email from the form. In July 2027, we’ll email you with your capsule : exactly as you left it : and a short note. Make sure the email you give us is one you’ll still be checking next summer.
Who is Wait & Hope Foundation, and why are you doing this?
We’re a US-based non-profit that uses creative practice as an entry point into emerging technology. We think blockchain is an important tool of our time, and we think more people should be part of building with it. Block Your Time is one way we’re inviting more people in.