What is NFT minting?

NFT minting is the purchasing of an NFT from the creator through a web application. In order to “mint” an NFT, you typically need to spend some crypto, if not for the purchase price then at least a portion of the transaction cost or system rent costs. [1]

How do I mint an NFT?

The starting point for every Web3 explorer is downloading a wallet extension and creating a wallet such as Phantom or Metamask. It is here that we see many people making crucial mistakes by underestimating the importance of being diligent with their cyber security. During the wallet creation process, every user is given a recovery phrase that is to be treated like the password to a safe, yet even more precious. It is imperative here that you NEVER write this down on a PC [2]. Instead store this on paper in a secure location with one backup partitioned between multiple parties.

Why so serious?

Cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of crypto, with just one simple slip up you can erase hundreds of thousands of dollars instantaneously.

I have a wallet now what?

Congratulations, you are now halfway through your journey of becoming richer than you could ever dream. You now are going to need to fund your wallet with your Solana or Eth from your favourite and most trusted centralised exchange, depending on your network. Doing this for the first time can be scary due to risk and uncertainty [3]. One key principle I always recommend adhering to, ensure no funds are ever carelessly lost is to send a test transaction of 0.001 sol or dollars worth to check the wallet ID has been copied over correctly. Your wallet is now loaded and you are ready to connect it and mint your first NFT [4].

Different Types of mint

Mints can take place in various types on various platforms with wildly different tactics employed to gain marketability, traction and deployment onto the blockchain. The three key methods of minting are: Launchpads, Custom React Apps and Airdrops, with three types of mints being: Standard Minting, Stealth Minting and Degen Minting

Launchpads are sites and platforms specifically focused on delivering new projects to the ecosystem. These platforms typically assist with the delivery of the tech stack required for minting. This method of minting is preferred by most projects due to its various forms of marketing assistance provided by the platforms for projects at a small fee. The leading launchpads of Solana are Magic Eden and Solport.

Projects can mint via their own website through their own custom React web app. This method is typically riskier for the end user and results in a higher average loss of funds per mint due to phishing, fake domains and domain redirection. This method was favoured during the earlier days of the ecosystem, however, is now rarely adopted due to the aforementioned additional marketing assistance.

Finally, projects may also complete a mint via an Airdrop. This typically happens for second mints or for wildcard projects. This method has resulted in some very successful projects but lacks the obvious initial cash injection for the start up.

Degen mints typically have little to no marketing and are aimed at degenerates who want to just spin the wheel and take a punt on a project with little to no roadmap. The price for a degen mint is typically <.1 sol and usually 0.069, because who doesn't like the number 69.

Stealth mints are projects that don't announce their mint date or mint time and keep their community on their toes and hungry for information. This type of mint usually succeeds and has spawned some of the most prolific successful projects in this space such as Boryuku Dragons.

A minters brief guide to safety

• When connecting your wallet to DApps or signing transactions for wallets to interact/ be read by marketplaces, ALWAYS read the instructions prompted by the interaction you are about to approve, even if this means spending an extra 30 seconds.
• Do not follow links from anyone in DM’s or from discord. Only use the official links given to you on Twitter via the official project pages. This may seem like overkill but it is the best way.
• Create multiple wallets, one for cold storage of NFT’s that only interacts with your hot wallet. Your hot wallet should be empty with just enough funds to mint your desired NFT or buy X from Y. This is the best risk mitigation tactic you can employ to ensure your funds and assets remain safe.
• Buy a Ledger. A Ledger is a hardware wallet that adds in a secondary layer of authentication. This is the only way to have safe assets on any blockchain.

For more info on how to blockchain safely and diligently head over to our #intro-to-cybersec series.

Congratulations on successfully learning how to safely mint your first NFT. Now you can decide what to do with it, how to use it and how to use your shovel to dig for gold.

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