Currently, NFTs are one of the most precious things in the digital world, but do you know what an NFT is? NFTs or Non Fungible Tokens are unambiguous representations of assets, both digital and physical, on the blockchain network. They use the same technology as cryptocurrencies, but unlike them, NFTs cannot be divided or exchanged because they are unique and can’t be replaced with something else. However, they can be bought and sold.
So, the value of an NFT is in the certificate of authenticity and originality, plus of course the context. For example, if the NFT is from some famous franchise or if it was made by some renowned designer or artist.
A famous tweet or meme becomes an NFT if the original file is block chain certified, which is equivalent to a celebrity’s autograph. For instance, the first tweet by Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey was acquired at auction for more than US$2.9 million in the form of NFTs.
Not only celebrities can have NFT pieces, you can also create your own NFTs on the OpenSea platform where famous artists create and auction their own NFTs and you can also sell them there. With over 20 million works, the decentralized platform operating since 2018, uses the Ethereum blockchain to create, sell, buy and exchange NFTs. Creating your own NFT or your collection of NFTs on OpenSea is free of charge.
The first step to go through the process is to create an account on Opensea for free and link a wallet. The platform works with several wallets. MetaMask is the main one, but you can link others such as CoinbaseWallet, Bitski and Dapper.
Once the wallet is linked, you will be required to enter a password, sign your work digitally and you will be able to create your first NFT.
Then, you have to look for the “Create a Collection” option and a page will open to build your collection of NFTs, where you will have to give it a name and a logo, or cover/profile photo, and you can upload the file you want to convert to NFT. An NFT can be any digital file, as long as it is your creation and you have the rights.
Once the file is uploaded you will have to complete the form with the name, a description and some other things to better identify your NFT, such as external link, properties and level and stats.
The most important field of this form is Blockchain, since you will be able to select which blockchain your NFT will be enrolled in. If you choose Ethereum, to publish for sale your NFT you will have to pay a fee (gas fee) that is set according to the network congestion. In order to publish and sell your NFT for free you will have to select the Polygon blockchain. In both cases, in case of a sale, Opensea charges a 2.5% commission.
And that’s it! When you click on the Create button your NFT will be born. This is the moment to put it up for sale. On the same screen you will see the Sell button.
A new window will open with the options to list the NFT and set a selling price in ETH. When you click on Complete listing a pop-up window will appear to sign your NFT. This step serves to give authenticity and authorship to the NFT and tell the system that the non-fungible token is for sale through the signature with your wallet. Your NFT will appear in the OpenSea marketplace, ready to receive offers.
