The NFT market is exploding. To make a fortune on the blockchain, you can buy some, wait for the price to rise, then resell them. But if you don’t have the funds to acquire them, you can create your own NFTs. How do you go about it? We explain in detail.
What is NFT?
NFT stands for non-fungible token. From this, we can already perceive its unique character, as the NFT cannot be copied, replaced or substituted.
The example most often used to explain the principle of the non-fungible token is the difference between a banknote and a work of art. A €10 bill has the same value as another €10 bill. It doesn’t matter whether you’re holding one specific bill or another. They are exchangeable. The NFT is more like a masterpiece: The Mona Lisa and The Lady with an Ermine, for example, although both painted by Leonardo da Vinci, are absolutely not exchangeable. This is the principle of non-fungible tokens.
The NFT is a kind of unique virtual certificate used to certify the authenticity or ownership of a real good or digital work. It is most often applied to digital works (photography, video, audio recording, tweet, animation, etc.) and digital art.
Like a cryptocurrency, NFTs are stored on a blockchain(Ethereum, Solana, Tezos, Polygon, etc.), and their owner can sell or trade them on a crypto marketplace.
Buy NFTs
Creating a crypto wallet
To start with, you’ll need to create a cryptowallet, i.e. the account into which you’ll pay and receive cryptocurrencies when buying or selling. It’s free to create, but bear in mind that compatible wallets may vary from one NFT platform to another. The NFT platform will be the place where you can create your NFTs (more on this below).
For beginners, we recommend Metamask, an easy-to-learn wallet that’s also the most widely used to date. It’s compatible with all platforms. Install the wallet and create your account.
Once logged in, you’ll need to create a collection, into which you can add your digital works.
Metamask mobile
Creating a work and adding it to an NFT platform
To create an NFT you must first create the work that will become a unique digital asset. It can be a photo, a video, a sound, and you need to put it in JPEG, PNG, GIF, MP3, MP4 or other formats, depending on the platform on which you’re going to register your NFT.
Once you’ve created your work, add it to your NFT platform. Among the most popular are OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare and Mintable. This step allows you to register it on a blockchain and may entail a fee, unless you opt for a solution allowing free NFT creation such as OpenSea.
When you register with your chosen platform, you’ll be asked which wallet you’re using(Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, Phantom, BitKeep or others depending on the platform).
You can then link your NFT creation account to your collection. Here, you’ll be asked to provide the metadata associated with your NFT, i.e. title, description, rarity, copies available, price and any other related information. When you subscribe to your NFT, the platform will also ask you to pay the “gas-free” fee. Please note, however, that some gas-free platforms, such as Rarible, do not charge these fees to the seller (i.e. you).
OpenSea
Signing blockchain contracts and selling NFTs
Now that everything’s in place, all you have to do is sign the various blockchain contracts, which will certify the existence and authenticity of your NFT.
Your brand-new and beautiful NFTs will then appear in your wallet as a collection, as long as they haven’t been sold. After that, they’ll be transferred to the buyer’s wallet and collection. The NFTs you buy will also be added to your collection.
All that’s left is to start selling your NFT creations on a marketplace, and this isn’t necessarily the easiest step.