NFTs have taken the world by storm as the new preferred asset class over the traditional system. There are many reasons for it, out of which getting recognition for digital art and earning millions of that are just at the forefront of all the advantages it promises. For that very reason, users are getting curious about this asset class and want to try to earn value for their skill with it. But the first question is how to mint an NFT? What even is an NFT?
This article will list a detailed step-by-step guide on how to mint an NFT (get it hosted on the blockchain network) on a marketplace in the easiest way possible. If you are new to this ecosystem of web 3.0 and are not aware of any terminologies whatsoever, don’t worry as this article will be in-depth, explaining every aspect of minting an NFT.
What Are NFTs?
NFTs stand for Non-Fungible Token, which translates to tokens that can not be replicated. It has a unique identity and hence has a unique value associated with it. In common terms, NFT is a certificate stating the ownership of an asset. So possessing an NFT of the Mona Lisa painting means that you are possessing an ownership certificate of Mona Lisa painting.Â
These NFTs reside on the blockchain, which is essentially a decentralized (Not controlled by anyone) network. Blockchain is a system that runs on a wide and seemingly infinite number of computers and hence is often regarded as indestructible.
This guarantees the safety of NFTs as they won’t be tampered with and will continue to exist on the network.
These NFTs can be traded from one investor to the other, over the blockchain network with the help of the NFT marketplace. Think of them as eBay or Amazon. They are a service where you can list your NFTs (Products) and where buyers can buy them.
Popular NFT Marketplace?
There are a lot of marketplaces that are functioning today. Each have a different aspect to it and different priorities. Like some marketplaces are theme-based and follow a particular theme of sports/music/art and list only those NFTs.
While some don’t follow any theme and host any type of NFTs on their marketplace. Some of the popular examples of NFT marketplace are,
As can be seen in the picture above, Opensea has dominated this space till 2021. It still is regarded as the best marketplace out there as it was one of the oldest and offers a lot of advantages compared to other marketplaces. So in this guide, we will be talking about Opensea and the minting process of Opensea.
How To Mint An NFT Step-By-Step:
Step 1: Buy Cryptocurrency
You will require some cryptocurrency in your account. The investor can buy it from any recognized exchange like coinbase, binance, etc. The cryptocurrency is required for minting charges which are levied by some marketplace. Thankfully, Opensea doesn’t charge any minting charges for its users. It, however, will charge a certain fee, called the gas fee for transaction purposes. Hence it’s always beneficial to have some extra crypto in your wallet.
Since Opensea is based on the Ethereum blockchain, you will require cryptocurrencies supported by the Ethereum network and Opensea.
So you can hold currency like Ether and Polygon in your account. Also, as it resides on the Ethereum blockchain, you will require a Crypto wallet residing on the Ethereum.
Step 2: Integration With Wallets.
There are many wallets supported on the Ethereum Blockchain, out of which the most famous one which is widely accepted by the ecosystem is Metamask. However, other wallets are also accepted by Opensea, which are listed below.
The wallet is essential to invest in any digital asset including Crypto and NFT. It is responsible for storing these assets safely on its network. There are many essential things to look at while selecting the wallet and keeping it safe. You can learn more about it here.
Source: Cryptomaniaks.
The wallet can be used to directly buy crypto like Ethereum’s Ether, however, it will cost more. For investing/listing an NFT on the marketplace, you will have to add crypto you bought in the 1st step to this wallet.
You can do this, by going to exchange (in our case either to coinbase or binance) and clicking on withdrawing and pasting the wallet address from Metamask. Learn more about it in detail here.
Step 3: Connecting Metamask To Opensea.
The great thing about Opensea is that it has a very user-friendly interface. So it is very easy to connect your wallet (Metamask in our case) to Opensea. This will enable Opensea to take crypto from your wallet for all necessary transactions and also store NFTs in that personal wallet of ours.
Go on https://opensea.io and click on create for creating an NFT. You can also go to the profile section to create an account.
Then you will be prompted to connect one of your wallets to opensea. If you already have a wallet linked it will open your wallet or else it will take you to the site for installing that wallet.
When the wallet gets accessed by the opensea, connect it to the opensea network by simply accepting the terms and conditions and clicking on connect. After that, you will be prompted to add your digital asset to the network.
The file type accepted by opensea are JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, MP4, WEBM, MP3, WAV, OGG, GLB, GLTF and the maximum size of the file accepted is 100 mb. Â You will have to fill in the details as shown below.
Then click on create a button which is present on the bottom-most part of the page. Remember to select on which blockchain you want to mint (host/list) the NFT.
Prof Tip: Polygon Blockchain involves no gas fees which is involved with Ethereum Blockchain. Learn more about it here.
And then that about it. You will have your NFT minted on the blockchain of your choice and available on opensea. My NFT is live as shown below. You can check it here.
Without any further doing, users can make an offer for your live NFT now and you will get a notification for that.
Step 4: Selling An NFT
After the NFT is listed on opensea, you can select how to sell it. By how I mean to say whether to sell it in an auction or at a fixed price. Just click on the sell button which is also visible in the above picture to select the mode. After you learn how to mint an NFT, selling an NFT will of course be the next thing on your mind.
After selection, click on the complete listing and sign the transaction with your wallet, if you are doing this for the 1st time.
