What Is Minting NFTs: The Best & Easiest Explanation

This article was last updated on June 7, 2022

The NFT market’s been on fire the past year. Although it currently began slowing down due to the crypto market crash, there are many people who are still making money off of NFTs. However, there are also many looking to join this sector of the industry and learn more. For this reason, we dedicate this article to the process of minting NFTs, how it works, minting fees, and more.

There is nothing wrong with not knowing how NFTs and their magic work. Although the learning curve might be a bit steep, we make sure to always boil down the processes to easy bits and pieces. This allows our audience to easily understand difficult matters within the crypto industry.

If you are completely new to cryptocurrencies and NFTs, we suggest going through another one of our dedicated articles – “Crypto For Beginners”.

Aside from that, let’s get into what minting NFTs is, how the process works, the fees, the best crypto wallets that can hold NFTs, and is it worth getting into the NFT market space right now.

Key Points (TL;DR)

What Is NFT?

NFT is the abbreviation of Non-Fungible Token. This essentially means it is one of a kind. To give a better example let’s look at Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is the opposite of NFT, it is a fungible token. Why? Because there is no difference between any of the Bitcoin tokens.

For example, if you hold 1 BTC and I hold 1 BTC, and we exchange them, nobody will notice and it won’t make a difference in what we get in value. Of course, each of these tokens also has a serial number, but it is more of a tracking feature than anything else.

When people say NFT, they usually mean a piece of art in the crypto space. Whether it is an image, video, GIF, or audio file, it doesn’t matter.

NFTs are sold in different marketplaces around the web. They can then be re-sold for a greater price, depending on the demand. For example, we can take a look at one of the most popular collections right now. That is the Bored Ape Yacht Club or BAYC.

A collection’s importance is decided by its floor price, in other words, the cheapest single NFT art piece from the collection. In the case of BAYC, the floor price is 97.5 ETH. With the current price of ETH being a little over $2000, this results in a price of a little over $195,000.

If you are wondering why NFTs are so expensive and what their utility is, let us explain. NFTs’ main purpose is status. That’s right. If people are writing hundreds/thousands of articles about you buying an NFT for $6.9 million, that could bring you a lot of success afterward as well, making the purchase “profitable” indirectly.

What Is Minting NFTs?

Minting is the process of tokenizing your digital art, essentially making it unique and irreplaceable. This allows you to store it within a crypto wallet. From thereon after, you can choose to either trade it or send it to someone, to hold it, or list it for sale on a marketplace such as Opensea.

If you’re thinking about minting your own NFTs, there are a few things you should know first. For starters, you’ll need to create your artwork in a format that can be stored on the blockchain. This means using a vector graphics editor like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape.

Once you’ve created your artwork, you’ll need to upload it to a cryptocurrency wallet that supports NFTs. From there, you can choose to mint your NFT on a variety of different platforms.

Each platform has its own fees and requirements, so be sure to do your research before choosing one. Once you’ve minted your NFT, it’s up to you whether or not you want to sell it.

If you do decide to sell it, you can list it on an online marketplace or auction site, including the aforementioned Opensea. Alternatively, you can hold onto it as a collector’s item or use it to represent ownership of certain digital assets.

However, let’s explore each of these steps one at a time. First, we need to know how exactly to mint an NFT.

The Process Of Minting An NFT

Let’s assume you already have an art piece ready, and you want to mint it and sell it for profit. Well, first of all, that will most likely happen on the Ethereum blockchain. Although there are other blockchains that host NFTs, Ethereum is the biggest one.

The reason you need a blockchain to mint your NFT is because, at the end of the day, NFTs are still tokens, so they need a blockchain to remain on. Once an NFT is minted, it is stored in a decentralized database. This ensures the NFT is impossible to be modified, edited, deleted, etc.

Minting itself happens usually in a marketplace, although it is possible to write your own code. The easiest way of minting your NFT is through the biggest NFT marketplace – OpenSea. The platform itself allows users to mint their NFTs for free, unlike some of its competitors.

Finally, if your NFT is minted on the Ethereum network, it will only be possible to hold it within a crypto wallet that supports both Ethereum and NFTs. An example of such a wallet is MetaMask.

The reason why people suggest minting on Ethereum is that this way more people will come across your NFT, which means a higher chance of buying. If you want to learn more about the process of creating an NFT, we suggest checking out our dedicated article covering everything you need to know up to the point of selling your first non-fungible token art piece.

How Long Does Minting Take

Although minting might sound like a lengthy process, it actually takes no longer than a couple of minutes for images up to 1MB. However, things can change depending on the marketplace you wish to mint your NFT on, as well as the network (Ethereum, Solana, etc.).

Some users report having to wait up to 12 hours to mint their 30MB video NFT. If anything, this should give you an idea of how volatile the waiting times are.

Overall, the smaller the size of the NFT, the less time it will take to mint it.

Minting Fees

Minting fees are fees that marketplaces apply whenever you mint an NFT through their platform. There are marketplaces such as OpenSea which require an initial “gas fee” when minting on the Ethereum network. There are others such as Rarible that have no initial “gas fee”, or as they call it “gas-less” minting.

If you are unfamiliar with gas fees, these are payments that users make during a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. This happens in order to compensate for the computing energy consumed to complete the given transaction. The current gas fee is around $10 per transaction on most crypto exchanges.

Aside from gas fees, most marketplaces nowadays do not have a minting fee. For starters, both OpenSea and Rarible do not have any fees for minting your NFTs. They only require 2.5% of each buy/sell of NFT that happens on their platform, nothing else.

Best 5 Crypto Wallets For NFTs

Choosing the most suitable crypto wallet for your NFT needs is just as important as everything else. This is where your NFTs and the cryptocurrency you will buy and mint NFTs with will be stored.

For this reason, you need to make sure the crypto wallet supports NFT storage and Ethereum if you wish to mint and sell on the Ethereum blockchain.

Here are the top 5 crypto wallets that support NFTs.

MetaMask

MetaMask is a cryptocurrency wallet that allows you to store, send, and receive digital assets, including NFTs. It also allows you to access decentralized applications (dApps) on the Ethereum network.

The wallet is available as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Brave. In addition to Ethereum, MetaMask also supports tokens based on the ERC-20 standard, which is perfect for the NFT space.

Aside from that MetaMask is inarguably the most used crypto wallet on the market right now. It is free, easy to use, and supports numerous networks and their tokens. Not only that, but it supports all types of NFTs.

This is definitely the first wallet you need to try out if you want to dabble in the NFT market.

Trust Wallet

Trust Wallet is a mobile wallet that supports Ethereum and multiple other cryptocurrencies. It is available for iOS and Android devices, and it is also possible to use Trust Wallet on desktop by downloading the app.

The wallet was created with security in mind, and it provides a number of features to help keep your coins and NFTs safe. For example, the private keys are stored locally on your device and are never shared with any third party.

You can also use Trust Wallet to send and receive payments, and to manage your crypto and NFT portfolio.

In addition, Trust Wallet uses industry-standard encryption to protect your data. Overall, Trust Wallet is an easy, secure, and convenient way to store your cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

Exodus

Exodus is a desktop crypto wallet that supports over 100 different assets, including NFTs. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. It is a light wallet, which means it does not require you to download the entire blockchain of each asset supported.

Instead, it relies on third-party servers to provide information about the blockchain. Exodus is also a Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) wallet, which means that it generates a new address for each transaction to increase privacy.

Exodus also has built-in ShapeShift support, which allows you to exchange between supported assets without having to create an account on a separate exchange. In conclusion, Exodus is a user-friendly and feature-rich crypto wallet that is well-worth considering if you are looking for a place to store your NFTs and cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase Wallet

Coinbase Wallet is a digital wallet that lets you manage your cryptocurrencies and NFTs. As the name suggests, it is owned by the major crypto exchange – Coinbase. You can use Coinbase Wallet to buy, sell, and hold hundreds of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, of course.

It is available in the US, UK, Canada, Singapore, and Europe. It has exceptional security since it is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Not only that, but it is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

This is yet another pretty popular crypto wallet, mainly because it is part of the Coinbase ecosystem. If you already have a Coinbase account and it is your primary crypto exchange, we suggest sticking with Coinbase Wallet for NFT storage.

AlphaWallet

AlphaWallet is a digital wallet that allows users to store, receive, and send cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The wallet is available for both iOS and Android devices, and it supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum.

The wallet also offers a range of features, such as the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrency, a built-in exchange, and support for multiple languages. In addition, the wallet is highly secure, with a number of features designed to protect users’ funds.

It is the perfect wallet for investors who have experience with trading and for those who have no experience whatsoever.

Is It Worth Investing In NFTs

These days, it seems like everyone is talking about NFTs. They are digital assets that are stored on a blockchain. Unlike traditional assets like stocks or real estate, NFTs can’t be replicated or counterfeited. This makes them unique and collectible, which has made them incredibly popular in recent months.

Celebrities and brands have jumped on the NFT bandwagon, selling everything from digital art to tweets for millions of dollars.

So, is it worth investing in NFTs? That’s a difficult question to answer.

On the one hand, the popularity of NFTs means that they could potentially be incredibly valuable in the future. On the other hand, the market is still very new and volatile, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll make a profit.

If you’re thinking of investing in NFTs, it’s important to do your research and understand the risks involved. But if you’re willing to take a gamble, investing in NFTs could pay off big time.

We actually have a great in-depth article about the best NFT marketplaces.

The key here is to understand how a specific NFT can be upsold, marketed, and what makes it valuable. Is it a specific community, does it bring a “royalty” status, or it maybe has great utility?

Closing Thoughts

By now, you probably know what minting is without reading it back. That’s the point here. However, we really hope you leave with much more than just information about the specific term.

The NFT market is a space in the crypto industry that grows by the day. It is really interesting to see where it goes, how influential it becomes, and what further utility it is going to bring.

After all, even if you believe NFTs do not deserve attention, they are here to stay. Whether the market continues to grow for years to come or it gradually stagnates – we will know when the time comes. Just like anything crypto, it is completely unpredictable.

Keep a close eye on our NFT section as we are going to be covering a lot more in the near future.