Decoding NFTs: Future Of Art Or Just Another Blockchain Fad?

| Updated: Thursday, October 14, 2021, 10:43 [IST]

Non-fungible tokens or NFTs, as they are popularly known, have taken the world of art by storm. Artists across the globe have found a new digital means to monetize their work and amplify their reach. The market has witnessed such exponential growth that even celebrities have started minting their work on the new Blockchain technology. As per some recent reports, the NFT market is now over $3 billion strong and is growing at a much faster rate as one would have thought.

Decoding NFTs: Future Of Art Or Just Another Blockchain Fad?

To put things in context, a collector recently paid $600,000 for a GIF at an auction. And to be honest, this is just the beginning. The best is yet to come as the world of fine art has just started realizing the potential of NFT. However, like any Blockchain technology, you must understand NFTs before riding the hype train.

That said, here's everything you need to know about the NFTs- the hottest technology trend in the Blockchain world.

What Are NFTs?

NFTs are essentially 'Non-fungible Tokens' that are created through blockchain technology and attached to a piece of art (Or any original content) that can be anything ranging from a painting, a photograph, video, music, to even a GIF. An NFT token linked to a piece of art determines its authenticity and ownership to the creator. Anyone can create an NFT of their art form but it doesn't guarantee a sure-shot sale on the NFT marketplace. The art form has to be unique and should appeal to the masses of the digital spectrum.

If you are a known photographer, a digital illustrator, or a music composer, things are going to be much easier for you in the NFT space.

How To Mint Your NFT?

I minted my first NFT on a smartphone. Yes, you read that right. You don't need a high-end computing machine and long hours to get started with NFT minting. A little knowledge about the crypto world, wallets, and platforms are more than enough to start the NFT journey; however, as I mentioned earlier, the artwork should be original and unique or you must have some reputation in the community as an artist.

Platforms To Mint NFTs

Several platforms facilitate NFT minting but the first step is to create an Ethereum wallet. The content/art-form also needs some evaluation as not anything and everything can be tokenized. If you have an art form ready that meets the criteria, the below steps can help you mint the art form.

I will refer to the OpenSea platform as it is one of the most widely used and user-friendly NFT platforms. You can use the 'Metamask' wallet as it is easy to connect to OpenSea and supports the Google Chrome extension.

• Set up an Ethereum wallet and purchase some Ethereum.

• Connect the wallet to an NFT marketplace (OpenSea, Rarible, Decentraland, Enjin, Zora, etc.)

• Once the wallet is linked, you can create your first NFT.

• Click on 'Create' and add your art form. The maximum size supported on OpenSea is 100 MB and you choose from JPG, PNG, GIF, MP4, etc. formats.

• Enter the item name and put a description to give some details about your art form. A good description and naming of the art form will give better visibility in the NFT marketplace.

• Hit on Create and voila, you just created your first NFT.

Make Some Bids For Good Karma

You can check out my most recent minted NFT on OpenSea by clicking on this link. It is worth mentioning that OpenSea does not charge a fee for minting NFTs; however, you are bound to pay a small fee (2.5%) based on the final sale price of your artwork. Another widely popular platform to mint NFTs is Rarible. It is also free but you will have to pay some GAS fees to mint any art form.

Should You Invest In NFTs?

NFTs are undoubtedly the future of digital art and are bound to grow multifold in the coming years; however, like most Crypto assets, the NFT marketplace also has a volatile nature and won't always give you profits. If you are a budding artist and not a serious collector, the chances of you losing your hard-earned money are less.

You must sign up and start minting NFTs for better visibility among the community and to monetize your art form. The more unique and appealing is your art, the more benefit you will make in the longer run.