How to create an nft

what does it mean to mint an nft

Minting an NFT is the process of creating a unique digital asset so that it can be bought, sold, and traded.

Once you have created your digital content, you can mint an NFT by uploading it to a blockchain platform. The platform will then assign a unique identifier to your NFT, which will be stored on the blockchain and cannot be altered or deleted. This unique identifier acts as proof of ownership for your NFT, and it will be tied to your digital content forever. You can then sell or trade your NFT with others, and the new owner will also have proof of ownership through the unique identifier.

Minting an NFT is straightforward. All you need is a blockchain platform that supports NFTs and some cryptocurrency to pay for the transaction fees.

If you have decided to buy a Born To Mix3D NFT, you will need to mint it. But before minting you will need to have a wallet and fill it with the cryptocurrency needed for the transaction.

What is minting an NFT, exactly？ Whereas cryptocurrencies are considered fungible, similar to fiat currencies — one U.S. dollar being exchangeable for any other dollar — NFTs are non-fungible. Each one is a unique cryptographic entity, recorded on the blockchain, and therefore one NFT cannot be exchanged for another NFT.

The Ethereum blockchain started as a leading platform for NFTs, but Tezos, Avalanche, and Flow are among the many other blockchains that support NFT creation.

While NFTs may exist in the crypto realm, and some are digital-only products, many NFTs represent real-world assets: e.g. art, music, collectibles, property, and so on. In that sense, NFTs can help remove the need for intermediaries around the exchange of certain assets.

And because NFTs are truly unique, it‘s possible to use these tokens to create new forms of investment. For example: By tokenizing a property or a work of art, it’s possible to sell uniquely identifiable “shares” or fractions of those assets, thus potentially increasing the value of a certain asset.

How Does NFT Minting Work？

Whether you want to preserve an asset of your creation — like a work of art — or create NFTs to sell or trade, learning NFT minting can be easy with the right tools. One other thing youll need: some background in the crypto space or general knowledge of blockchain technology.

Once you have a crypto wallet and have acquired the funds you‘ll need to pay for the creation of your NFT on the blockchain, you need to create your profile. This establishes what you’re selling, and how you plan to sell it.

Then, simply upload the necessary file and mint or create your new token. Once its created you can begin the process of selling your NFT. As with all things, there are fees to consider.

How Long Does It Take to Mint an NFT？

Depending on your familiarity with crypto platforms, it can take less than 30 minutes or several hours to mint an NFT.

Remember, that‘s just the minting or publishing process. Before you mint an NFT, you have to spend the time to create it. And then there’s the time you need to promote and sell your product. Here are the basic steps to follow.

How to Mint an NFT

While aspiring NFT minters have some decisions to make regarding which specific tools to use, the basic steps of creating NTF are largely the same.

1.Create a Unique Asset

The first step in minting NFTs involves deciding what type of unique asset you want to create. Theres an entire world of digital assets out there, ranging from in-game weapons to digital trading cards to songs, videos, books, animations, and more.

As an example, say you want to create an NFT that is a piece of digital artwork. You will need to turn your digital art into data that lives on a blockchain.

2.Buy Tokens

You‘ll need to buy crypto that is used on the blockchain you’ve chosen. In fact, the blockchain will influence the wallet services and marketplace that you choose as well, since some only work with certain others.

In our example, you would buy some Ether (ETH), which is Ethereums native cryptocurrency, to pay for transactions on Ethereum. The easiest way to do that is to hit up a crypto exchange.

3.Deposit Crypto Into a Non-Custodial Wallet

Youll need a hot wallet, connected to the internet, in which to store your funds. A crypto wallet is an application that lets users interact and connect with the crypto network and their accounts.

For NFT minting, its important to get a non-custodial crypto wallet so that you have full control over your funds — with no third-party involvement. You own private keys to your wallet.

(A custodial wallet may be assigned to you by a crypto exchange. They‘re more convenient, but you don’t have control of your private keys.)

4.Choose and Add Assets to an NFT Marketplace

Next, youll need to choose an NFT marketplace; there are many to choose from. OpenSea, Mintable, Holaplex, Objkt, and Rarible are all marketplaces suitable for NFT minters.

Some marketplaces charge users minting fees, and there may also be costs associated with firing up your account (for example, Ethereum gas costs), listing an NFT, and transacting on the platform.

5.Add Your Assets to the NFT Collection

While each marketplace has specific instructions for creating an NFT from your account, the gist is the same: Choose the piece of artwork you want to mint, fill in the details (collection name, description, etc.), and execute the minting process by adding the asset to your collection.

With your NFTs in your collection, you can get started listing, marketing, and selling them.

What Are the Benefits of Minting an NFT？

While each potential NFT minter will have their priorities, there are generally a few benefits to creating an NFT:

Democratize ownership: Creating an NFT allows numerous parties to own a stake in the digital asset.

Sell unique digital assets: Not only can you trade, buy, or sell stakes in assets, but its also possible that in the future artists might even receive a cut of the sales.

Store and preserve value: You can tangibly store the assets value — similar to how a physical coin can be minted with a specific precious metal concentration. Plus, preserving value digitally is generally considered safe, thanks to the security of blockchain and the built-in scarcity of NFTs.

how much does it cost to mint an NFT？

Want to create your own non-fungible token but don't know where to begin？ Before you dive into the world of selling NFTs, you should know that there are usually some upfront costs. The cost to mint an NFT will vary depending on the marketplace you use and the blockchain you mint on. To mint on Ethereum, the most popular blockchain for NFTs, you'll usually have to pay gas fees, which can get costly. Along with listing fees and commissions, your costs could range anywhere from $0.01 to $1000. However, thanks to a process called “lazy minting,” as well as gasless marketplaces, there are now ways to mint NFTs for free! This wikiHow guide will break down the costs associated with creating and minting NFTs, and cover your options for having NFTs for free.

Gas fees vary by blockchain. Ethereum has the highest gas fees, while blockchains like Solana and Cardano are cheaper.

Marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible allow you to list an NFT without minting until it's purchased, which means you won't have to pay gas fees.

To make an NFT for free, mint it on the Polygon network, or try a marketplace that offers gasless or lazy minting.

Gas fees.When you mint an NFT on a blockchain, you'll often need to pay transaction fees known as gas. Gas fees are determined by how busy the blockchain is at the moment you mint your NFT. The higher the demand, the higher the gas fees. Additionally, the larger the transaction, the more gas you'll need to execute it.

To reduce upfront costs, mint your NFT to a blockchain that has lower fees. Ethereum, the most popular blockchain for NFTs, has higher gas fees than blockchains like Solana and Cardano.

Due to the increasing popularity of NFTs, many marketplaces now offer a way to mint NFTs without paying for gas fees. Check out our list of options for having an NFT for free.

Listing fees.Some marketplaces charge a fee to list your NFT for sale, though the most popular marketplaces generally don't do this anymore. Instead, popular marketplaces take a percentage of your sales (typically around 2.5%) instead of charging a flat listing fee up front.

Account fees.While this isn't as common as it used to be, some NFT marketplaces charge an initial setup fee when you create an account. Most of the most popular NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea, Rarible, Nifty Gateway, Magic Eden, and MakersPlace all offer free accounts to NFT creators.

How to Mint an NFT for Free

Publish your NFT on a marketplace that allows “lazy minting.”Lazy minting, a feature offered by some popular NFT marketplaces, allows you to list NFTs with no up-front costs. Instead of paying gas fees to mint your NFT, you can upload the NFT to the marketplace without minting to a blockchain right away. The NFT won't be minted until someone buys it, and at that point, the buyer will pay the gas fees.

Opensea offers an option to mint and list NFTs, as well as entire collections of NFTs, without paying anything up front. To publish NFTs for free, you'll need to use the Collection Manager.

Rarible also offers a lazy minting option, which you can select when uploading your NFT. After connecting your wallet, just click Create, fill out your NFT details, and choose the Free Minting option.

Try another gasless marketplace option. Lazy minting is the most common way to list NFTs for free, but it's not the only way. Instead of listing an NFT without minting it until the sale, you can add your NFT to your cryptocurrency wallet, which makes it available on the Ethereum blockchain immediately. Neither the seller nor the buyer will ever have to pay gas fees.

Mintable was one of the first “gasless” NFT marketplaces, offering a completely free publishing experience on the Ethereum blockchain. When creating your NFT in Mintable, just select Gasless to publish it for free.

Curate is another gasless platform that offers free NFT minting on Ethereum. They plan to support Solana, Algorand, Binance Smart Chain, and Avalanche blockchains in the future.

Create your NFT on the Polygon network. If you choose a marketplace that allows you to mint your NFT on the Polygon (Matic) blockchain, you won't have to pay any gas fees upfront. The easiest way to do this is to use Polygon's MintNFT NFT maker. Once you mint your NFT, you'll have the option to save and view it in your MintNFT profile or list it on OpenSea.

You can also choose a different marketplace that supports the Polygon blockchain. Just make sure to research any marketplaces you learn about thoroughly before signing up.

selling nft art

1. Create a digital wallet

If you do not have a wallet offline, it doesn‘t matter. A pocket would suffice to carry your cash around. In the digital world, it’s another matter.

Wallets are essential in digital transactions because this is where your cryptocurrency is stored. Digital wallets offer several convenient features that let you earn and pay for them. One crucial factor is that each crypto marketplace supports different wallets.

Do your research before deciding which one to use. If you are new to cryptocurrency and the blockchain, it would be a safe bet to open a wallet with Ethereum, the most popular currency used in NFT exchanges. It makes sense to create your digital wallet at the very beginning to speed up your online purchase process as a buyer and seller of NFT art.

2. Choose an NFT marketplace

Now that youve picked your wallet, you can proceed to choose a marketplace. Many marketplaces are available for NFT buyers and sellers. Here are some of the most popular ones:

OpenSea.io

Among the first platforms to open up on the blockchain is OpenSea.io. It is free to sign up here (not all crypto marketplaces offer free sign-ups). The platform does not restrict the sellers it has, meaning you can sell here whether you are a large enterprise or a tiny grocery store.

One does not require any coding knowledge while working with OpenSea.io. It allows “lazy minting,” a feature where you can mint an NFT only after it has been sold. It protects artists from paying up-front for gas fees.

Rarible.com

Rarible offers sellers the option of lazy minting. It is also considered one of the most cost-effective yet well-reputed NFT marketplaces. Buying products on Rarible is quick and easy, as they are priced at ETH. Sellers on Rarible are trusted because they receive a verified badge from the platform.

The process of obtaining the badge takes a few days. Some users choose to skip this step at their peril.

3.Buy cryptocurrency

If you are new to the world of cryptocurrencies, then the first one you should go for is Ethereum. It is among the most widely used cryptocurrencies and will be supported on any marketplace you choose.

You may wonder why you must buy money before having money. Transactions on the blockchain cost money. Even as a seller, listing and minting cost a fee. Having sufficient funds in your crypto wallet will help you avoid any hiccups.

4.Connect your wallet to an NFT marketplace

Now that you have your crypto wallet and marketplace, you must prepare to make a big splash with your art. As soon as you set up your wallet and store cryptocurrency, you can connect it with your NFT marketplace. Each marketplace has its own process for connecting your digital wallet with its services.

Platforms like OpenSea.io have a interface that doesn‘t take up much of your time. You can click ’Create and fill in the requested details via the form. Be elaborate and detailed in your description because this is what your prospective buyers will research before buying your art.

Check if your marketplace offers the option of royalty. OpenSea.io allows you to set royalty amounts and gives you a percentile payout every time your NFT art is further sold in the future.

There is no fixed cost for this, as the value of cryptocurrencies fluctuates regularly, as do the prices on the marketplaces. It would help if you were wary of the gas fees you may have to pay when you mint your NFT.

5.Upload the file you want to turn into an NFT

Heres the big moment you have been waiting for: unleashing your art on unsuspecting potential buyers.

Now that you have made all your payments, filled out the forms, and prepared your art in the best possible shape and format imaginable, it is time for you to hit the upload button.

Make sure you check that your file is in perfect condition, just as you intended it to be, before uploading.

6.Set up an auction or fixed price

There are two types of pricing structures you can adopt when you sell NFT art. You can put your art up for auction, where bidders will keep pushing for a higher price to get hold of your art, or you can set a fixed price.

If you're wondering how to make money from NFT art, this is it. In the case of an auction, you get to set the minimum selling price for the product. The auction begins from there. In the case of a fixed-price NFT, you know just how much money your art will fetch.

having this choice is a function of a thorough analysis of how your art is appreciated and basic human behavior. Set a fixed price if you know the art does not stand a chance of being valued higher than your chosen price. It could be terrible having to realize that your art could retail for way more than it did just because you fixed its price.

7.Add a description to sell your NFT

Remember when we spoke about creating a detailed description earlier？ Art exhibitions often have descriptors that talk about the artist and the piece of art: what inspired them to make the art, how they interpret its message, and how they advise viewers to appreciate the art.

On the blockchain, the only description your humble piece of art will have is the one you give it at the time of uploading.

Be as detailed as you can be. This description can make or break a possible sale. It is art, so buyers love the work of someone profound in their thoughts.

At the same time, being a digital piece, the attention span of buyers isnt as great as it would be in an art gallery. It would help if you detailed your expressions and came to the point soon. The title of your NFT should be mentioned and explained in your description.

Some of the most popular NFTs are the ones that have a story behind them. Even NFTs that feature an animal in some form, meaningful moments, or key characters from films do pretty well.

8.Pay the listing fee to sell your NFT

There‘s a fee for everything. Even selling your own NFT will require you to make an initial investment, and no, this isn’t the time and effort you put into honing your craft. Listing fees are pretty significant, given how highly-priced your art can be.

This payment has to be made as soon as you click ‘Create Item.’ Your wallet will be connected to the marketplace, and the money will be deducted. You will be prompted to add more money to your wallet if you do not have sufficient funds.

The listing fee isnt the last fee you will be paying. If your art sells, you will have to pay a commission fee on the sale and a transaction fee. The challenge is that these fees are never fixed value.

Blockchain technology is unpredictable, with fluctuations plaguing it throughout. It is best to stay prepared for a hefty price if you are foraying into the exciting world of cryptocurrency and asking ‘how to sell NFT art in 2023.’

eth wallet

Ethereum wallets are applications that give you control over your account. Just like your physical wallet, it contains everything you need to prove your identity and handle your assets. Your wallet allows you to sign in to applications, read your balance, send transactions, and verify your identity.

Solana wallet

Download and install Trust Wallet.

Add Solana (SOL) to your wallet.

Access wallet features like buy, sell, swap, and more.