The popularity of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) seems to be just growing and growing. In 2021, trading in NFTs hit more than $17 billion, and it’s thought that the NFT market could grow to $231 billion by 2030.
That’s how far NFTs have come. As an investment, NFTs haven’t been around a long time, having really only gone mainstream around 2017 through to the present day. It was in 2014 that the world saw the first NFT, when digital artist Kevin McCoy produced “Quantum,” a digital image of a pixelated octagon that changes color and pulses in a manner that reminds observers of an octopus. This development triggered lots of experimentation, and the Ethereum blockchain began to start to dominate in the world of NFTs.
Below is a look at how to create an NFT, plus a discussion of the different themes on the market and some of the most popular ones around.
How to create an NFT
There are several different steps to creating an NFT. Here’s a run through them:
Understand what an NFT is
The first step is to understand what NFTs actually are. In a nutshell, NFTs are a digital token stored on the blockchain. Unlike cryptocurrencies, of which each unit is the same, NFTs are unique. They can be sold as a type of proof of ownership of a digital file.
Choose a platform to sell the NFT on
There are lots of different platforms on which you can create and sell NFTs. If you’re looking to keep your costs down and avoid some fees, you may consider minting (the technical term for creating NFTs) on a platform such as OpenSea, which allows you to create your NFTs for free without putting them on the blockchain. The platform then writes it to the blockchain when someone buys it, and bundles the fees for this with the fees for transferring the NFT to the buyer.
Set up a wallet and connect it
Your wallet is your application for storing cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The important thing is to store your NFT in a wallet compatible with blockchain. The Coinbase wallet is one to consider if you’re planning on getting into crypto more broadly.
When you’ve set up your wallet, the next step is to connect it to the NFT marketplace you’re using. OpenSea, if you’re using it, will provide you with a list of options and you just choose one. The platform will take you through the connection process from there.
Create your NFT
Now that the wallet is connected, you can start creating your NFT. All you have to do is hit the image box ‘Create NFT’ option, or even ‘Create collection’ if you want to produce a series of NFT, on your platform and you can go about producing your item(s).
From there, you should go to the image box option on the platform, and this will allow you to upload the file you wish to sell as an NFT. You can then give your file a name or a title. You can also add a description and add an external link that points to your website, Twitter URL or other URL that serves you.
Popular themes in the NFT world
Perhaps one of the most exciting things about creating NFTs or even investing in them is the wide amount of variety. There are so many different types of NFT you can create: art, tweets, video games, viral videos, memes, artificially intelligent NFTs, self-destructing NFTs and more.
Not only is there variety in the types of NFTs it’s possible to buy, but also in the different themes. There are NFTs in themes to suit all tastes.
Sport
Sport NFTs are a popular choice and some of sport’s biggest names have gotten in on the action, such as American footballer Tom Brady and former professional ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky. Trading cards are a common NFT when it comes to sports and evoke a sense of nostalgia. Clips are another everyday item in sports NFT marketplaces, in which a memorable sporting moment is captured on film and then transformed into an NFT.
Music
Music is another popular theme in the NFT space; so popular that even Spotify is getting in on the action. A music NFT can be an individual track or an album, or even a mix of tracks. Artists, at present, are making indie albums and transforming them into NFTs. If a buyer happens to purchase an NFT track that later becomes a major hit, they could make a lot of money from the NFT.
NFT marketplaces are busy spaces, and new NFTs are dropping on them all the type. NFT have really become popular in the last few years. If you’re in the right place at the right time, you could buy one that becomes valuable in future years.
