NFTs have become one of the hottest crypto trends of 2021, with overall sales up 55% already since 2020, from $250 million to $389 million. Here’s how you can create, purchase and sell these popular digitals assets.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are unique collectible crypto assets, have been around as early as 2012 when the concept of Bitcoin Colored Coins first emerged.
These coins were simply satoshis – small fractions of a bitcoin – marked, or “colored in” with distinct information that could link the coins to real-world assets, such as “this satoshi represents $500 of John Doe’s New York office building.”
For the most part, however, Colored Coins were used to create and trade artwork like “Rare Pepe” digital cards on Counterparty, a peer-to-peer trading platform built on top of Bitcoin’s blockchain.
These cartoon frog images adapted from a viral internet meme were some of the earliest examples of unique digital artwork tied to crypto tokens. This paved the way for the ideation and creation of new non-fungible token standards – a set of blockchain building blocks that allow developers to create their own NFTs.
NFTs are used to represent any intangible or tangible item virtually, including:
Music
Collectibles
Virtual Land
Artwork
Tokenized real-world assets
Virtual items within video games, for example, weapons, avatars and skins.
NFTs offer a certificate of ownership of a digital object to the buyer and protect its value for future transactions. Using NFTs, an artist can sell their art virtually to a broad audience globally, allowing them to leverage a huge profit and manage royalties.
How to create NFTs?
Creating your own NFT artwork, whether it be a GIF or an image, is a straightforward process and does not need extensive knowledge of the crypto industry. Before you start creating NFTs, you need to decide which blockchain you want to issue your NFTs.
Development of NFTs began with the Ethereum blockchain; however, a wide range of blockchains are available that are becoming popular for NFTs, including:
Tron
Tezos
Cosmos
Binance Smart Chain
WAX
EOS
Each blockchain platform has its own NFT token standard, compatible wallet services, and marketplaces to list the token. As Ethereum has the largest NFT ecosystem, we have demonstrated how to create NFTs on Ethereum in this article.
Creating Non Fungible Tokens on Ethereum Blockchain
Following are the prerequisites that you will need to mint your NFT music, video or artwork on the Ethereum blockchain:
An Ethereum-based wallet that is compatible with ERC-721 standards such as MetaMask, Coinbase or Trust Wallet.
$50-$100 in Ethers (ETH). If you want to use a Coinbase wallet, you can buy ether from the platform with US dollars and other fiat currencies. Otherwise, you will have to purchase ETH from a cryptocurrency exchange.
Once you have the above prerequisites, you need to select NFT-centric platforms to connect your wallet and upload an image of the file you want to convert into an NFT.
Some of the top Ethereum NFT marketplaces include:
Rarible
Mintable
OpenSea
All the above platforms have a “create” button in the top right corner.
The image represents the position of the “Create” button on the OpenSea platform.
The image represents the position of the “Create” button on the Rarible Platform.
The image represents the position of “Mint an item”, i.e., creating an NFT on the Mintable platform.
Let’s look at how the process works on OpenSea, one of the largest Ethereum-based NFT marketplace.
1. Click on the “create” button in the top right corner of the website. It will take you to a screen that asks you to connect your Ethereum-based wallet.
2. Once you enter the wallet password when requested, it will connect your wallet with the marketplace. You may need to digitally sign a message in your Ethereum-based wallet to prove you own the wallet address. Signing a message digitally does not incur a fee. It is only for showing that you own the wallet.
3. After the wallet is connected, it will take you to a screen of “My Collections,” where you can access your existing collections or click the blue “Create” button to create a new collection.
6. By clicking on the “Create” button, you will see a window that asks you to upload your artwork’s logo, add the name of the artwork, and a brief description of your work.
7. Once you upload an image and add the required information, it will appear as shown below. You can also add a banner image by clicking on the pencil icon in the page’s top right corner.
8. After this step, you are ready to create your first non-fungible token (NFT). Click the “Add new item” button and sign another message with your wallet.
9. After you sign another message, it will appear a new window where you can upload images, audio, video or 3D model.
OpenSea also allows you to include unique attributes and traits to increase the uniqueness and scarcity of the NFT. As a creator, you also have the option to include unlockable content that the buyer can only view.
Unlockable content can be anything from passwords to access specific services to contact information and discount codes.
Though it costs nothing to make NFTs on OpenSea, some NFT platforms charge a fee that is known as “gas” with Ethereum-based platforms.
Ethereum gas is an amount of ether needed to execute a specific function on the blockchain. The gas cost varies depending on network congestion. The more the number of people transacting value over the network at a given time, the higher the gas fees and vice versa.
NFTs issued on the blockchain eliminate intermediaries from the traditional art market by allowing buyers to get immediate access to a global market. Therefore, by creating non-fungible tokens, artists can earn money from their art easily, create and grow global supporter communities.
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