By Elizabeth Kerr, a financial journalist/London
The rise of NFTs on the market is fascinating, and they have joined the ranks of the most Googled words in 2022. You've undoubtedly heard about the millions of dollars in sales these digital arts generate. But have you ever wondered how much it costs to mint an NFT in the first place?
According to an analysis by CryptoMonday, over 1 million unique wallet addresses spent 963,227 Ether (ETH), worth $2.7 billion, minting NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain in the first half of 2022. The majority of minting took place on OpenSea.io.
In the same period, $107 million worth of NFTs were minted on BNB Chain and $77 million on Avalanche. The two blockchains produced a total of 263,800 unique wallet addresses during NFT minting.
The number of unique NFTs is up significantly. Sixty-nine new NFT collections were launched on May 22 alone, resulting in a daily minting volume of over 120,000 ETH. During the first six months of the year (January 1 to June 30), 28,986 distinct NFT creations and sales were recorded. More than two-thirds of NFT projects raised less than 5 ETH, with 140 collections raising over 1,000 ETH. The top five NFT collectives on Ethereum accounted for 8.4% of overall minting. Pixelmon-Generation 1, Moonbirds, VeeFriends Series 2, Genesis Box, and World of Women Galaxy are just a few examples.
What is NFT Minting?
According to CryptoMonday CEO Jonathan Merry, NFT minting requires "a significant upfront investment." He added, "For example, an artist who wants to mint their work as an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain would first have to acquire some Ether to pay for gas fees. They would also need to create an Ethereum wallet address and have basic knowledge of how to use smart contracts."
The process of minting an NFT might vary from one blockchain to another, but the basics are usually the same. First, you must create the digital content you want to mint as an NFT. This could be an image, video, piece of music, or anything else that can be stored digitally.
Next, you need to find a marketplace that supports the minting of NFTs on the selected blockchain. Some examples of blockchains that support the NFT token standard are Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot, WAX, and Avalanche. Once you've found a suitable marketplace, you can create an account and follow their instructions to mint your NFT.
What is the Cost of Minting an NFT?
You should know that the blockchain you select might significantly influence the cost of production. In most cases, the cost of creating a regular NFT may range from $1 to $1,000. The price can be even higher for more sophisticated or popular NFTs.
Minting an NFT is usually not difficult, but it can be costly depending on the blockchain you use and the marketplace you select. You should be aware that the value of an NFT can fluctuate greatly. Before you mint an NFT, make sure you understand the risks involved.
Written by Elizabeth Kerr of BanklessTimes
