NFT Project – Pastel

What Are NFT Smart Contracts & How Do They Work?

Posted on February 21, 2023March 21, 2023 by Andrew Amarosa

NFTs, wouldn’t exist without smart contracts, and digital agreements written with computer code and deployed on a blockchain. Their main function is to execute one or multiple actions if conditions are met, often following simple “if/when-then” statements, e.g., if X is true, then Y will happen.

These programs automate execution, and workflow, and streamline the outcome of an agreement between one or multiple parties without the need for an intermediary. These actions, for example, could be the transfer of funds from one wallet to another, storing an NFT, locking deposited funds into a liquidity pool, and more

NFT smart contracts have an important role in keeping the NFT ecosystem healthy and honest Some of their most important functions include handling royalties, ensuring the NFT is unique and non-replicable, verifying ownership rights, and enabling access to exclusive NFT merchandise or events (NFT projects usually throw around exclusive benefits to those who buy a specific NFT from their collection).

What are NFT Smart Contracts?

The versatility of NFT smart contracts plays a key role in the development of the metaverse and the Web3 industry.

NFT smart contracts are smart contracts specifically designed to create the relatively complex requirements of NFTs, such as provenance, non-fungibility, authenticity, and the hosting on a blockchain network.

First, let’s have a quick refresher on what a smart contract is. Then we’ll explore how they’re used in the NFT world.

Smart Contracts: Benefits and Main Functions

Smart contracts are being applied to a wide variety of industries –home sales, supply chain, data sharing between multiple institutions, digital identity, banking —the list is long.

For example, blockchain supply chain solutions counter the typical setbacks within this industry (data disparity, labor shortage, reliable shipping source, etc.) using smart contracts to automate the shipping process by keeping track of items, administrating and structuring important data, and performing specific tasks if conditions are met.

Some of the main benefits of smart contracts are:

Transparency and trust: they facilitate transactions for multiple users in a network without them having to know or trust each other. Everything is carried out by the smart contract and not the user, and participants in a private and public blockchain can see them.

Speed, lower costs, and accuracy: by eliminating intermediaries and paperwork and only executing actions they’re programmed to do when terms and conditions are met.

Versatility: smart contracts can be programmed to perform a wide variety of tasks, and can be reprogrammed after being deployed on the blockchain to fix bugs or eliminate vulnerabilities.

Security: smart contracts are highly secure programs since transaction records are encrypted.

Creating an NFT with Smart Contracts

Minting an NFT refers to the process of converting digital files, like jpegs, videos, and sounds, into an NFT recorded on the blockchain, making it available for everyone to see and purchase. When you mint an NFT, you’re playing with the underlying smart contract that defines the properties of your asset.

Most people experience minting an NFT through a designed, user-friendly website where all you do is press a button that says “MINT NOW” after connecting a wallet, but you can actually mint an NFT directly from its smart contract.

The smart contract assigns the ownership of the NFT to the buyer, but if they decide to sell it at some point, the smart contract of the NFT will automatically transfer ownership rights to the new owner —if conditions and terms are met.

If an NFT is minted, NFT marketplaces like OpenSea would use another set of smart contracts to carry out the auction. For example, a popular auctioning method is a Dutch auction, which is usually created using an ERC721 NFT smart contract (explored below).

Minting NFTs has become much simpler than when they were introduced in Ethereum’s early days. SmartMint by Pastel Network, for example, is a no-code way to design and deploy an NFT smart contract.

NFT Smart Contract Standards

There are several types of smart contract standards for creating NFTs; ERC-721 and ERC-1155 are the most widely common. ERC stands for Ethereum Request for Comment, and they refer to a set of technical guidelines for creating smart contracts or digital assets to run on the Ethereum network.

ERC-721 is the first standard designed for the creation of non-fungible tokens, and it strictly requires all tokens to be non-fungible and have their own unique metadata. ERC-721 only supports NFTs, and each NFT can only be transferred in a single transaction, which tends to cause congestion if network activity is high.

On the other hand, ERC-1155 supports the transfer of multiple batches of NFTs and supports the conversion of fungible tokens (such as ERC-20) into non-fungible tokens, and vice versa. Typically, projects building blockchain games will use ERC-1155 to move their NFTs due to the higher level of versatility.

Ethereum is the most popular option for creating or using NFT smart contracts. Other blockchain networks can have their own set of NFT smart contract standards. Still, a small problem is that, by not having a universal standard, NFTs created on different networks, such as TRON, for example, cannot be traded on marketplaces that support Ethereum, or Ethereum-related chains only like Polygon.

The Role of NFT Smart Contracts in the Metaverse

The metaverse refers to a digital ecosystem in which creators, artists, players, and anyone can explore virtual landscapes, play, socialize, interact with other users, buy and sell NFTs —and much more.

The metaverse, popularized by Web3 projects like Decentraland and The Sandbox, is, therefore, an opportunity to bridge the financial world with the digital world, but the physical world also jumps in on the equation; physical real estate can be purchased as NFTs, using an underlying smart contract to carry out the process.

NFT smart contracts in real estate eliminate the burden of intermediaries and hefty paperwork by granting (and verifying) the ownership and rights of a property to the respective party. One famous example of this is Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and Arrington Capital, who sold his apartment in Kyiv as an NFT.

Final Thoughts: NFT Smart Contracts and You

NFT smart contracts are the technical backbone of the digital collectible industry. There are several NFT smart contract templates from different blockchains, each competing to provide the best technical guidelines and feasibility to users, NFT projects, and marketplaces.

That being said, NFT smart contracts are already playing a key role in the development of Web3 beyond PFPs of Bored Apes or digital samurais like Azukies.

NFT smart contracts underpin a trustless and efficient pathway for everyone in the decentralized world to interact with NFTs. Blockchain gaming projects, companies and corporations from traditional industries such as fashion and food and beverage, and financial entities have taken a stab at what might be the next iteration of the internet —and smart contracts are the main pillar of the ecosystem.

Why Are NFTs Valuable? Attempting to Explain Why Some Cost So Much

Posted on February 14, 2023February 11, 2023 by Andrew Amarosa

If you’ve seen headlines of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) selling for millions of dollars then you may be asking yourself: why are NFTs so valuable?

The following dialogue might ensue: Is this just a really rich people thing? Are they laundering money? Is this just fake news biting on click-worthy headlines?

The answer most people will give you is that they’re pieces of art, making them intrinsically valuable.

But, this doesn’t really give you the full picture of why someone would pay millions for essentially a .JPEG of a monkey.

While some NFT art pieces like Pak’s ‘The Merge’ have sold for a shockingly high $91.8m, this doesn’t accurately explicate the value of collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), both of which have sold for upwards of six figures since their initial release.

With that in mind, here’s why NFTs cost so much.

What Are NFTs?

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a digital image, video, or sound recorded on the blockchain and used to certify authenticity. These assets are 100% unique from one another and cannot be physically changed once minted. Ownership, however, can be seamlessly transferred when the token is sold.

There are many types of NFTs, including profile picture NFTs, such as those used by Cryptopunks, music NFTs that show proof of ownership of a music piece, and NFTs used for play-to-earn (P2E) gaming, which can be used for trading, gameplay, and passive income.

In 2022 over 101 million NFTs were sold on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible, with collections covering a range of niches such as art, gaming, fashion, sports, music, domain names, and text-based NFT collections.

Why Do NFTs Curate Value?

NFTs can be both extremely valuable or completely worthless, with one in three collections “retiring”, with little to no trading activity.

What makes an NFT valuable is its ability to introduce scarcity to the digital marketplace. When buying an NFT you’re not just overpaying for a digital image, you’re buying a digital token recorded on a public ledger, known as a blockchain.

Ownership of the NFT is completely irrefutable, which limits the total supply and “inflates” its price, thus justifying its value. While this sounds like a great way to profit from what could essentially be digital junk, that’s not exactly how NFTs work. They need to have some kind of appeal to increase their value, which we’ll cover below.

Artistic Value

NFTs started as digital art, with the first NFT art piece “Quantum” being created by digital artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy in 2014. The value of NFT art is similar to that of traditional art, in which artists sell their pieces for millions at art auction houses like Christie’s. The concept of such art is often difficult for everyday people to get their head around, particularly when it comes to art pieces like the “Banana art” which sold for $120,000 only to be eaten by a “hungry artist.”

Other pieces like the Untitled [Bolsena] collection by Cy Twombly, which sold for $38,685,000 in 2020, can also be a little difficult to process, considering it looks like a few scribbles on the page.

Cy Twombly, Untitled [Bolsena], 1969. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2020.

What makes these particular pieces valuable is the fact that there is only one kind in existence and usually, the art piece has been created by one of the most artistic minds within a generation.

This can explain why the majority of expensive NFT sales have been one-of-works. Similar to Untitled [Bolsena], they are the only kinds to exist. For example, Clock, which sold for $52.7 million in February 2022 is a truly unique piece. This is because it functions as a digital counter for the days Assange (the activist who founded WikiLeaks) has been in London’s Belmarsh Prison for espionage.

NFT Utility

Another crucial factor that impacts the value of an NFT is its utility — essentially how beneficial or profitable it is. As NFTs develop, they’re being used to create new business models and revenue streams.

For example, a musician can sell NFTs that represent a stake in their new record. This would allow a musician to increase their initial revenue, while the NFT holder receives royalty every time the record sells. The value of the NFT will therefore rise based on the number of sales a record makes or the fame level of the musician. This potentially allows the NFT holder to make passive profits on their initial purchase or sell it for one lump sum.

The concept of utility is also important in the gaming space, in which play-to-earn gamers are using NFTs to generate passive income.

Within the world of gaming, players can make in-game purchases for skins, emotes and other unique features, however they don’t actually own them. With NFTs, these in-game purchases can be owned, which gives them greater value and the option to be resold. Considering the in-game purchase market is set to surpass $74.4 billion by 2025, NFTs could disrupt the entire market, allowing players to generate from in-game items instead of them being a liability.

Community

Some NFTs grant users access to exclusive clubs, similar to real-world clubs like Soho House. Within these clubs NFT holders can network with like-minded investors, as well as celebrities and business owners. A great example of this is BAYC. BAYC hosts thousands of investors and celebrities such as Mark Cuban, Eminem, Shaquille O’Neal, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Jimmy Fallon, making it the most socially valuable NFT collection worldwide.

What Is the Future of NFTs?

There’s no way of denying it, blockchain technology is changing the future of digital assets. What were once just pictures on the internet have become unique tangible assets with the potential to generate revenue and create entirely new business models.

Early adopters of NFTs have slowly started to dabble in the technology, with Taco Bell selling an NFT collection in 2021, and Nike selling an NFT collection known as Cryptokicks in 2022. The NBA has also started to capitalize on NFTs to create a deeper fan connection with NBA Top Shot, which sold over $800 million in NFTs in 2021.

As blockchain technology continues to grow and evolve, NFT assets will only become more valuable, with early stage assets being more valuable due to being created early on in a new trend. In the future, it’s more than possible that you could own an NFT for your favorite movie, record or clothing, all being just as (or more) valuable than the real-world assets you currently own.

The 25 Best NFT Memes Will Make You Cry Laughing

Posted on December 27, 2022December 8, 2022 by Anthony Georgiades

With the NFT market experiencing one of its first bear runs, it’s a great time to look at the funny memes NFTs have given us.

You know, a “laugh through the pain” sort of thing.
Memes play an important part in NFT culture, influencing collections like BoredApeYachtClub and Crypto Punks, as well as creating hype around new projects.

And best of all, they make you realize just how crazy NFTs may appear to ordinary people, especially the older generation who think resetting the WiFi box makes you an internet genius.

Whether you’ve lost an NFT gas far, minted a recent rug pull, or your portfolio is getting rekt, here are 25 of the best memes to hopefully put a smile on your face.

When your dad ruins career day

Picture NFTs gurus in 10 years. They turn up at their kids’ career day. Every other parent is talking about their office job, being a firefighter, working in a hospital. But not NFT dad… No. He turns up with his Trezor wallet ready to show off his NFT collection.

Mental health isn’t real… right?

We’ve all fallen down the NFT rabbit hole.

“I’ll just buy one,” you told yourself.

Six months later you’re on your 672nd NFT, your LinkedIn profile picture is an a monkey and you spend 20 hours a day on OpenSea.

Ready for the next bull market?

Pixelmon Kevin

Pixelmon is an NFT project that promised a Pokemon-style Metaverse where you could train and collect Pixelmon. In its initial release video, users saw a stunning world full of beautiful terrains and unique creatures. But on release, they got Kevin… Kevin was so laughably bad that he became a meme.

NFTs are art, right?

NFTs have been described as modern art. But art seems to have taken a new form. Instead of stunning mosaics and beautiful paintings, we prefer pixelated figures on a screen. Even as an NFT lover, you have to admit it’s a little odd.

Who needs the world when you have monkeys?

Post 2020 the world has been a little hectic. Global lockdowns. Economic collapse. The threat of war. But if you just spend a few hours on OpenSea everything looks good. A few monkey pictures here. A few pixelated profile pictures there. Take a deep breath and relax.

Is your job really worth it?

You work hard for 20 years, get a promotion and eventually, you can buy a house and settle down. Or you can just sell a JPEG for half a million dollars. The choice is yours.

But why don’t you just right click and save?

When NFTs first made the mainstream media, everyone was asking the same thing: why can’t you just save them? Although more people now understand the blockchain technology behind an NFT, it’s still amusing to see how frustrated owners get when someone saves the image they paid $10k for.

If only they knew…

BoredApeYachtClub is arguably the most famous NFT collection in the world, being collected by celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. Collectors are known for continuously talking about their apes in a cult-like manner. But outside of the NFT world, nobody knows who they are. You definitely wouldn’t call it party talk.

I’m building the collection for its utility…

According to Into The Block, the number of NFT collections created on Ethereum increased by 104.5% in 2022. While some of these collections had great utility, many were just looking for a quick profit.

Mum, I swear I’ll be a millionaire in 5 years

Some people took NFT investing a little too far. You see horror stories of people who lost their life savings in rug pulls, sold assets to pay debt and spent 90% of their time looking for new collections. They’ll be rich soon though, don’t worry.

Parents in their 30’s vs me in my 30’s

It’s crazy to think that an NFT could be worth more than a house. But many collectors spent more than a house payment on their collection. Collectors such as Starrynight have collections worth over $15 million. That’s several houses and a mansion.

If only it were that easy

During the peak of the bull market just about everyone was getting involved in NFTs. Unfortunately, very few actually knew how hard it was. With gas fees at an all time high and scams around every corner, a lot of newbie investors got learnt the hard way.

But mine has different eyebrows, it’s definitely unique

Imagine painting the Mona Lisa, changing her hair color and selling it as a whole new piece. This is kind of how NFT collections work. A little bit of paint, a change of color, and a new accessory- that’s an extra $300 in the bank.

Why would they ever screenshot?

This meme plays on the screenshot joke and showcases one of the world’s most expensive NFTs. Known as the COVID Alien, it sold for $11.75 million and as you might have guessed, thousands of users simply took a screenshot and used it on their own profiles.

Christmas is coming

Explaining anything online to family is a little complicated- especially as you go up a generation. Explaining NFTs? Almost impossible. Try explaining to your dad that the monkey you own is worth $50k and he’ll look at you like you’re crazy.

Where’s my Lambo?

New investors worldwide thought they’d make millions with NFTs. They saw a 10 year old do it, so why couldn’t they do it too? Turns out there’s actually more to making money than just minting.

Mum, I’m an artist

According to the Social Media Examiner, around 98% of all NFT projects will ultimately fail. For every Bored Ape Yacht Club, 98 other projects won’t take off. There’s a multitude of reasons why, but this meme certainly puts a funny spin on it.

How do you make money on every project?

Here’s a little secret. If you want to win big on NFTs then you need to get in on the whitelist. Whitelists let you get in on a project before it increases in value, which helps you save and profit simultaneously.

Hi boss, yeah, I quit

Everyone’s seen this classic Wolf of Wall Street moment. At the peak of the NFT market, many investors may have had the same idea. Let’s hope we see an NFT remake of this in 20 years.

Here’s the bill

It’s great having an NFT worth $150,000. But it’s a bit like having a $150,000 sports car. You can’t use it to pay the bill.

Hope These NFT Memes Made You Laugh!

The great thing about NFTs is that the market’s just getting started– the ups and downs will fuel a creative cohort of meme creators. As the use cases for NFTs grow, we’ll see more memes to laugh at in the future.

Let’s just hope some of the memes aren’t too relatable.

How to Buy NFTs on Coinbase

Posted on December 20, 2022December 8, 2022 by Andrew Amarosa

Coinbase is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, with over 73 million users. It’s best known for its easy to use interface and in-depth educational resources, making it the perfect exchange for new investors.

Now, Coinbase has entered the NFT market with Coinbase NFT. Coinbase NFT works as an extension to the traditional Coinbase platform and requires users to re-sign in with their crypto wallet.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can buy NFTs on Coinbase.

How To Buy An NFT On Coinbase

Start by heading to https://www.coinbase.com/ and creating a Coinbase account. On the login page, enter your email address and “Get started,” or click the Sign In button on the right side of the page.

Once logged in, click on the NFT tab on the bottom left hand side of the page. This will open a new tab for the Coinbase NFT platform.

From here you’ll need to sign in again. Click on the “Sign In” button on the top right and select your wallet. MetaMask and Coinbase are the two most popular options.

After signing in, look at the current trending NFTs or alternatively search for the collection you want to buy an NFT from.

Click on your chosen collection and select the NFT you want to buy. After clicking on an NFT, you can view its unique attributes, offers, and recent activity. You’ll also be able to see its “Buy Now” price.

If you want to buy the NFT instantly, click “Buy Now.” Alternatively, you can make an offer slightly lower than the Buy Now price to bag a bargain.

After placing your bid, the NFT owner will need to accept your offer. Once accepted, the transaction will be made, and the NFT will be sent to your wallet.

Congratulations! You’ve now purchased an NFT on Coinbase.

How To Connect With Your Friends On Coinbase

As well as buying NFTs, the new Coinbase market is also introducing a social side to NFTs. Through the Coinbase extension, you can follow friends, look at their recent activity and show off your latest purchases. Here’s how.

When logged into Coinbase NFT, click on the “Following” tab at the top of your screen.

Search through the different accounts to follow, or use the search tab to look for your friend’s account.

Click on the account to look at the NFTs they own or look at their most recent activity to see what they’ve been up to.

Coinbase NFT: The New OpenSea?

With Coinbase dominating the cryptocurrency industry, could it overtake current NFT exchanges such as OpenSea when it comes to NFT sales? At the moment, it’s a little hard to say.

Coinbase NFT is still in its Beta phase, and it definitely feels that way. It uses a similar interface to Coinbase, but doesn’t quite have the usability of OpenSea. It lacks the different categories offered by OpenSea and seems a little limited in its offerings, with the main focus being on popular collections.

That being said, it definitely has the potential to influence the NFT market, especially if Coinbase can successfully convert its new crypto user base to NFTs.

Coinbase NFT FAQs

Does Coinbase Sell Solana NFTs?

No. As of December 2022 Coinbase only offers Ethereum NFTs.

Are There Any Selling Fees On The Platform?

Coinbase is currently running an early phase sale program where there are no fees for sales. Fees will be a part of the platform after its Beta phase, though no official date has been released.

I Have No Experience With NFTs. Can I Still Use Coinbase To Buy NFTs?

Of course. Coinbase makes it easy to buy NFTs with their dedicated wallet. This wallet will already be used as part of your cryptocurrency account, which makes it easy to adapt. You can also learn more about NFTs through the Coinbase Learning Portal.

What Wallets Can I Use To Buy Coinbase NFTs?

Current wallets include MetaMask, Coinbase, and WalletConnect.

I’m Experiencing An Issue With My Coinbase NFTs. Who Can I Contact?

You can contact the Coinbase team directly here. Using the support center you can report issues about the product you’re having issues with or contact the support team directly.

Can I Buy Music NFTs on Coinbase?

No. As of December 2022 music NFTs are not available via Coinbase.

What Are The Most Popular Collections On Coinbase?

Coinbase offers some of the most popular NFT collections, including BoredApeYachtClub (BAYC), CryptoPunks, Otherdeed For Otherside, and More Loot.

Does Coinbase Offer New Collections?

Yes! Drops are a part of the Coinbase NFT platform and can be found on the “Drops” tab. Each drop has its own countdown and a “Remind Me” button, where you can sign up with your email to be the first to hear about any project updates. You can also view comments from other investors underneath each drop.

What Does Minting Mean When It Comes to NFTs?

Posted on December 13, 2022December 8, 2022 by Anthony Georgiades

Minting is the process of creating an asset on the blockchain. It’s the process used to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs,) which are blockchain-based tokens that prove ownership of an item such as a piece of music, profile picture, or image.

They first grew in popularity in 2021, with collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks making international headlines for their huge price tags. Since then, brands such as Nike and Adidas have created their collections, doubling the number of collections in just one year.

So what exactly is minting an NFT? How does minting work, and what does it cost? In this article, we’ll answer each of these questions: how long it takes to mint an NFT, the most famous mints, and how an NFT gas war can impact the minting price.

What Is Minting An NFT?

Minting an NFT is the process of creating an asset stored on the blockchain, where its authenticity and ownership are proven. The blockchain itself can’t be edited, which makes ownership indisputable.

Minting an NFT is usually completed on platforms like OpenSea, which provides users with the tools to mint their collection. In addition to these tools, creators will also need the art they plan to use and details of unique accessories and features. Some general knowledge about blockchain technology is also useful but not essential.

To mint a collection, creators will need a crypto wallet with the cryptocurrency needed to put their collection on the blockchain. Most NFTs are created with Ether (ETH), though Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) are also popular options.

After paying all fees and uploading the necessary files to create a new token, the platform you use will register your new asset on the blockchain, which can be listed on exchanges to generate a crypto income,

How Does NFT Minting Work?

Minting For Creators

As a creator, minting an NFT lets creators create scarcity, secondary earnings, and verified ownership. Creators can create limited edition pieces, specialized collections, and more, all of which are validated on the blockchain.

Minting also lets creators build communities and perks for collectors who buy their NFTs and generate a passive income through “creator fees,” which charge a small percentage of each secondary sale.

Creators can complete the process on platforms like Solsea and Opensea, which cover all complex coding, allowing creators to focus on the art.

Minting For Collectors

As a collector, minting allows you to become part of a community. When minting from a new project, collectors become the first-ever owner of a particular NFT. Minting from a new collection is like buying a pack of collectible cards; you never know how rare the NFT will be.

Minting as a collector requires you to go to the developer’s website. On the website, there will be an option to “Mint.” Connect your wallet, pay all fees, and your NFT will arrive in around 30 minutes.

How Much Does Minting Cost?

The cost of minting depends on the “gas price” (transaction fee.) This is paid to the blockchain and will vary depending on the time of day and overall activity. Minting an NFT can cost as little as $0.01 but can go as high as $500 to a few thousand dollars. If gas fees are particularly high when minting an NFT, you can always return later to mint at a lower price. Just make sure the collection won’t sell out before then!

How Long Does It Take to Mint an NFT?

Minting an NFT can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3-4 hours, depending on how experienced you are with the platform.

The actual minting process is the stage at which your NFT is published. Before minting, you need to create the art for the collection and decide how many NFTs you plan to create and how you plan to promote the collection.

Most Famous Mints

CryptoPunks

CryptoPunks was first released in June 2017 and became the most popular NFT collection of all time. What makes this mint famous is that it was completely free. Anyone with an Ethereum wallet could claim a CryptoPunk.

Following its release, many collections replicated the 10k profile picture trend, and CryptoPunks went on to sell for millions. As of December 2022, CryptoPunks remains the most valuable NFT collection on the planet.

Quantum

Quantum is commonly cited as the first NFT ever minted. It was minted in May 2014

(May 2014) on a site known as Namecoin. After its initial mint, Quantum was forgotten about for years until going on auction at Sotheby’s in June 2021, where it sold for over $1 million.

The Eternal

The Eternal is the fastest-selling NFT collection to be minted, selling out in just seven minutes. It was released by Anthony Hopkins, who partnered with NFT company Orange Comet. It was sold on 13th October and showcased 1000 NFTs consisting of 10 unique animation NFTs and 990 unique images.

What Is an NFT Gas War?

An NFT gas war is a bit like a bidding contest with too many bidders. It starts when the demand for an NFT is higher than its supply- for example when a popular new NFT collection is released. This increase in demand causes the blockchain to slow, and consequently, some investors tip blockchain validators to speed up the transaction. As a result, the gas fee increases based on the tip.

To beat other bidders, investors will keep paying higher fees until most investors can’t afford the gas fees. This causes the overall traffic to decrease and prioritizes the highest bidders, which can be frustrating for investors with smaller budgets as it could price them out completely.

It’s important to note that gas fees will also differ based on the platform and the time of day. In some situations, the gas fee can be higher than the listed sale price of the NFT. Therefore, it’s important you research the gas fee before selling or buying an NFT.

Final Thoughts: Minting Isn’t As Complex As You May Think

Minting an NFT isn’t quite as complex as it’s made out to be. While you need to consider factors such as gas fees and the platform to mint, once you have the designs in place, most platforms will take care of everything for you. Be diligent with your research beforehand and ensure that the gas fee is within your budget- the last thing you want to do is bid for an asset only to realize you can afford the gas.

Minting is a great way to make money as a digital creator. As NFT technology advances, its use cases and widespread adoption will also increase, making it a great time to get involved in the market.