Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have changed the world forever by offering creators of all industries and mediums a new way to transfer and authenticate their creations.
Not only did the 2021 NFT craze result in billions of dollars being generated and put the spotlight on the world of digital art but it also democratized art in a way never seen before.
Now NFTs promise to continue revolutionizing not only the art and gaming industry but the world in general.
If you are a creator looking to join the NFT space and facing the challenge of launching your own NFT collection or project, you might be struggling with the technical aspects of it.
As NFTs are based on blockchain technology, it is not unusual for creators to find themselves overwhelmed by the amount of technical information they need to deal with.
In fact, the terminology can be so confusing that many opt to use concierge services instead of doing it themselves.
Worry not!
Just like buying or selling an NFT, minting an NFT on OpenSea is a process anyone can do by themselves. In this guide, we will be showing you the process and explaining some of the basic terms and tools you will require to do it.
When it comes to the crypto, blockchain, and NFT spaces, doing your homework and researching is the most important thing.
You are already reading this guide, which is a testament to you being on the right road. Having said that, let’s get straight to the topic and discuss everything you should know to mint an NFT on OpenSea.
How to Mint an NFT on OpenSea: Step-by-Step
If you decided that an NFT is just what you need and will be minting one, it’s time to get started. We will be providing you with instructions for each of the steps required to mint an NFTs.
However, we might refer you to specific sections of our selling and buying NFT guides as we have already explained some of them in the past.
It is also important to note that while we will provide you with as much information as possible in this guide and try to keep it up to date, OpenSea may make changes at any given moment.
As such, if something seems out of place, always refer to the official documentation as it will surely be up to date. That being said, let’s get started!
Step 1: Pick and Create Your Asset
As we explained before, NFTs are not digital assets themselves but are used to prove ownership over a digital or physical asset. The first thing you should do is choose what that asset will be.
Are you trying to share digital paintings, videos, songs, memberships, or licenses? No matter what it is, as long as its authenticity or ownership is relevant, an NFT will do the work.
While this might sound obvious at first, you will find that there are a lot of possibilities when it comes to what you can do with NFTs.
For example, an influencer sold her love as an NFT for $250,000 back in July of 2021. Other NFTs out there have been used to grant their owners access to exclusive restaurants, or digital toys for dogs.
As long as you can imagine it and there is an audience for it, you can use NFTs to represent anything you want.
However, be careful with breaching your audience’s trust, copyright, or any other elements that can result in legal difficulties. NFTs are all about ownership and authenticity, after all.
Once you have decided what the asset to back with NFT is, create it. Be wary that in every case, you will need to upload a file in one of the following formats in order to mint the NFT on OpenSea:
- JPG
- PNG
- GIF
- SVG
- MP4
- WEBM
- MP3
- WAV
- OGG
- GLB
- GLTF
If you plan to offer something “intangible” such as a membership, you should also ensure to have a way to demonstrate to possible buyers the benefits of acquiring it. It is up to you to entice your audience and pick people’s interests.
Step 2: Set Up Your Wallet
If you are thinking about minting an NFT, you are more likely to already have one than not. This means that you already should own a crypto wallet in which your NFTs are stored.
Anyone who is already and NFT owner can forget about this step as long as the crypto wallet where you have your NFT is compatible with OpenSea. At this time, these wallets are:
- MetaMask
- Coinbase Wallet
- TrustWallet
- Portis
- Fortmatic/Magic
- Venly
- Authereum
- Bitski
- Dapper
- Kaikas
- Opera Touch
- Torus
- Phantom
- Glow
If your wallet is not on the list, make sure to check the official article on the supported wallets or if your wallet of choice offers WalletConnect, which is also supported by OpenSea.
Important Note: Make sure you are on the correct Metamask website as they are lots of scams around. Never click a link from email or messages on social media platforms. The correct URL is https://metamask.io
WalletConnect is a protocol used by many wallets to connect to decentralized apps and platforms. Make sure to check if your favorite wallet offers this feature.
If you don’t have a wallet, on the other hand, we recommend you use MetaMask. This is one of the most, if not the most, popular crypto wallets in the NFT space.
Step 3: Connect Your Wallet to OpenSea
Now that you have a wallet, you will need to connect your wallet to OpenSea. This is as easy as going to OpenSea’s Login page and clicking the “Metamask” button.
A “Connect With Metamask” prompt will pop up once you do so. Click “Next” after making sure the right wallet is ticked.
Your MetaMask is now linked to OpenSea. Click on “Accept and sign” to finish the process by clicking on “sign” in the window that will pop up. This is basically the same as clicking on “Sign up” on any other website and implies the acceptance of the terms of service.
You now have an OpenSea account which will use your wallet as the key. Just add funds to your MetaMask wallet as you will require them to start the minting process. Once this is done, you are ready to create the NFT itself.
Step 4: Create an NFT
Once you have set up your account, you are ready to create an NFT. This is as easy as clicking on “Create” at the top menu. A new page will show up now for you to provide all the data required for the minting of your new NFT.
First, you will be required to upload an asset using one of the file formats we listed previously while making sure it doesn’t exceed 100MB.
You will also be asked to provide additional information which will depend on your specific projects, with the name of the NFT being the only mandatory field.
An extremely important setting you will find here and should consider is the supply. This will determine how many of your NFTs can be bought in total.
You see, OpenSea won’t mint the NFTs until the moment when they are bought by your audience, which is why the supply option states “The number of items that can be minted.”
As you are not minting an NFT at this time, you won’t have to pay any gas at this time.
Another aspect to consider is which blockchain will be used for your NFT. If you are not familiar with NFTs, you will want to go with Ethereum as it is not only a solid choice but the most popular in the space.
While networks like Polygon and Solana will result in lower fees when transacting with the NFTs, Ethereum has a wider audience and has survived the pass of time.
Once you have filled all the data, just click on create. The NFT will be available in your profile and ready for you to sell!
Step 5: List Your NFT
Now that you have an NFT in your inventory, you are ready to offer it to the world. Doing this is as easy as listing it and waiting for your audience to acquire it.
Good luck and we hope your NFT is a big success!
NFTs 101
While launching an NFT project (no matter if it consists of only one NFT) is not especially harder than buying or selling one, it requires a better understanding of the technology.
It isn’t because you are going through platforms or tools that make it especially difficult but because by understanding NFTs, you will also better understand their capabilities.
Despite what the media has depicted, NFTs are more (or less) than videos, pictures, and other types of assets in the blockchain.
NFTs are in fact, a digital certificate of ownership and authenticity that lives in the blockchain and can or cannot contain the asset it backs. Take Bored Ape Yacht Club as an example:
When you look at a token’s metadata you see there is a link to the image, which shows that the token and the image are different.
While this might seem irrelevant from a practical point of view, it makes a huge difference. This trait of NFTs is what allows them to be used in innovative ways such as when TechCrunch Founder Michael Arrington sold his apartment in Kyiv by minting an NFT.
Other examples are Black Manta Capital Partners’ “Real Estate Token Offerings” and Auroboros’ s Augmented Reality clothing projects,
This also means that dynamic art projects can be created as the underlying asset can change with time by having it updated, which wouldn’t be possible if it was stored in the NFT. Examples of this are Beeple’s first physical sculpture and Pak’s Merge.
By understanding that NFTs are not digital assets by definition but just digital representations of ownership, you will be free from the limitations other creators will face in the future.
It will also help you ensure the permanence of your NFT in the long term by ensuring the proper storage of the asset it represents.
