The year 2023 kickstarted with a boom in NFT market sales then a sudden setback, giving mixed signals. If anything, it’s crystal clear the NFT market is in an ever-lasting bear market, to a point where NFT flipping activity decreased dramatically. However, don’t think that it’s the end for NFTs, they’re not dying YET. Basically, it just became a very small niche, and not many are interested anymore. However, if you’re still interested in the NFT trading game, or just heard about it, you can still make lots of money. But first, check out the different minting types you may come across when buying or creating an NFT.
NFT Minting : Quick Notes
First of all you need to be very familiar with what NFT minting is, and we got this guide for you. Now in a few words, NFT minting is the act of publishing an NFT onto the blockchain. Therefore you should understand it comes in two contexts when you say “I want to mint an NFT” :
- You can either be creating the NFT, thus minting it.
- OR be the person buying the NFT created by someone for this first time. This means you will be having an NFT in mint condition.
In most times, people who create an NFT collection prepare the NFTs for the buyers to mint them. You might want to check out how NFTs are created to have a deeper understanding. Now you are ready to learn the different types or mode of NFT minting out there, whether you are a creator or buyer.
8 Different Types of NFT Minting
1- Standard Mint
- A standard mint is one that is disclosed beforehand, meaning the mint address and other details are made available to the public.
- It enables you to “audit” or examine the smart contract prior to your NFT mint.
- This will make you confirm the reliability of the group and collection offering the NFTs.
- It also helps you confirm that you have your intended target audience before launching your NFTs.
2- Whitelist Mint
- In its initial term, whitelist is when a selection of VIPs have early access to an NFT collection.
- If you’re are on the whitelist, you have the opportunity to mint the NFT at a lower price before the collection even goes public.
- This usually happens for over-hyped projects.
- Note that it’s very hard to get whitelisted.
3- Raffle Whitelist Mint
- After the whitelist is chosen, a raffle usually takes place.
- Only a portion of the White listers are chosen in a raffle.
- A raffle is usually hard to get, that’s why some prefer to use raffle bots and increase their odds.
4- Public Mint
- This is the exact opposite of the whitelist mint.
- Here, the general public have the chance to mint the NFT without even having to be on a whitelist.
- It’s a very competitive option to get an NFT, where some opt to use NFT minting bots.
5- Stealth Mint
- stealth mints are used to restrict bots from accessing the smart contract and mint before the release date.
- It’s a minting type that promotes fairness.
- Some individuals would use bots to conduct a mass minting at launch, taking away others’ opportunity.
- Some initiatives use the term “stealth” as a marketing gimmick before really launching.
6- Sudden Mint
- Just like its name, it’s when an NFT collection suddenly drops on the market.
- No one knows about it beforehand, and sometimes it’s a scam.
- This is the case of Goblin Town , which came literally out of no where and grossed a great success!
7- Lazy Mint
- This is an option for beginner NFT creators on a budget.
- Lazy minting is when an NFT is accessible off-chain and only becomes minted after a sale occurs.
- As a result, the creator effectively pays the fees when someone buys a token.
- Marketplaces like OpenSea offers this feature.
- This will save the creator from paying any advance gas fees to mint their NFTs until someone actually buys them.
8- Free Mint
- Free mint is the ability to mint NFTs without any cost making them completely free to mint.
- Keep in mind that even if the NFT is free, you still have to pay the gas fee to mint it.
- For example, DigiDaigaku was the most exciting free mint of 2023.
Should You Mint NFTs in 2023?
Whether you want to mint an NFT you just created or mint from an upcoming collection, you should know that new NFT collections are not doing so well. However, we can’t deny the fact that minting your creations and turning them into blockchain-based assets is a promising step. It has the potential to ultimately alter how you, as a creator, are compensated through royalties. For example despite the cruel bear market artist Jackson Pollock managed to sell her NFT art work for $1.5K (0.5 Ether) for Art Pass holders and $1.8K (0.8 Ether) for non-members. You can know all about it here.
Keep in mind that you should always do your research on the NFT market, the type of NFT minting you prefer, or if you can actually afford it. The NFT industry is definitely worth investigating whether you’re an artist or simply a digital entrepreneur. So, start your journey here by knowing about NFTs and the cost to create one.