How to mint an NFT on Solana SolSea?

Published at: Oct. 8, 2022

The allure of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) has been growing in popularity recently, and for a good reason. Nonfungible tokens are a new form of asset that can represent anything from digital art to game items and are stored on the blockchain ledger. This implies that NFTs are unique, immutable and transparent.

People collect NFTs for a variety of reasons, including art appreciation, value speculation and as part of playing games like Decentraland or Cryptokitties that are based on blockchain technology.

There are many possible reasons that NFTs have become popular, and different people will have different reasons for investing in them. Ethereum has become the go-to network for creating these tokens, with the ERC-721 token standard being the most common in the space. However, this led to severe network congestion, heavy fees, and slow transaction processing times. Consequently, other blockchains have begun to offer their own solutions for NFTs.

One such solution is the Solana blockchain, which provides a high throughput that can process thousands of transactions per second. Solana launched its own NFT standard, called SolSea, which allows for the quick and easy creation of NFTs. This guide will show you how to mint NFTs on Solana — specifically, on SolSea, the network’s largest NFT marketplace.

What is NFT minting and how does it work?

NFT minting refers to the process of converting any sort of digital data into a blockchain-based virtual collectible. Almost any digital file can be converted into a token — MP3, WAV, GIF, JPEG, etc. The digital products or files will be kept in a distributed ledger or decentralized database and cannot be modified, updated or deleted.

The process of adding an item to the blockchain is known as minting. It is similar to how a coin is created in real life. So, how long does it take to mint an NFT? It’s difficult to give an exact number because it depends on the file’s intricacy and the blockchain network’s speed. Nonetheless, most NFT platforms, tools and NFT marketplaces simplify the process of NFT generation.

How does NFT minting work? Minting an NFT usually begins with the creator selecting a marketplace or platform on which to mint their NFTs. In this post, let’s look at how to mint an NFT on Solana SolSea.

How to mint NFTs on Solana SolSea?

Before we dive into how to mint NFTs on Solana, let’s quickly go over what Solana SolSea is. Solana SolSea is a decentralized open market for nonfungible tokens that is less costly, faster and more user-friendly than established markets like OpenSea. It is more appealing to nonfungible token creators due to its low costs, quick transaction times and user-friendly interface.

SolSea NFTs are significantly less costly to mint compared to Ethereum-based NFTs since they do not incur the high transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain.

Guide to minting a SolSea NFT: Step by step

Install Phantom

Phantom is a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet and browser extension. It is often referred to as the MetaMask of Solana due to its similar features and functionality. Go to the Phantom.app and download and install it as an extension for your preferred browser.

Create a new wallet

After installation, the Phantom icon will appear on the top right Extension button. Click the icon and follow the prompts to create a new wallet. The icon redirects the user to a new page to continue the wallet creation process.

The user is given a secret recovery phrase that can be used to restore their Phantom account if they need to reinstall it on another device. If this phrase is lost or written down incorrectly, the wallet cannot be restored and the user may lose their funds, making this step the most important part of creating the wallet. As a result, it’s critical to keep a recovery phrase in a safe and secure location. Phantom will be added to the Browser after completion. It may be accessed by clicking on the Phantom logo in the menu bar.

Funding the wallet

To be able to create NFTs, you must first acquire Solana (SOL), the native cryptocurrency of the Solana blockchain. There are two primary methods for obtaining SOL:

Stake other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) in a validator to earn SOL rewards.Use an exchange that supports SOL trading pairs to buy SOL with other cryptocurrencies.

Once the wallet is funded, the minting process on Solana can begin.

Creating a new account on SolSea

The next step is to create an account on SolSea by connecting the wallet to the SolSea platform. Click on the “Connect Wallet” option at the top right and choose Phantom from the drop-down menu.

A message will appear on the screen asking if it’s okay for Phantom to connect to the wallet. If approved, SolSea will be able to access the funds held in the wallet and any activity related to it and request permission to authorize transactions.

After connecting, users will be redirected to SolSea’s sign-in page. They must enter a valid email address on this page and create a strong password. Users are required to agree with SolSea”s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy before proceeding.

After the account agreement, SolSea sends an email to verify the new SolSea account. The wallet will be linked to the SolSea platform automatically after completion. Now it’s time to mint the NFT using the process below!

Create an NFT Collection

Initially, all NFTs must be created in a collection. Go to the “Create” tab and click on Collection to create a new collection.

Select a title and provide a description of the collection.Please upload both the header image and the icon.Add social media accounts and websites (if any). This is important for engagement and marketing purposes.When ready, click “Create Collection” and sign the transactions to mint the collection. If a message appears saying that your mint transaction failed, don’t fret! It’s likely just a glitch on SolSea’s end. Be patient and the transaction will hopefully go through in due time.

To be sure if the mint was successful, go to the wallet and view the SOL transaction history. If the minting transaction is listed, it means that the NFT collection was successfully created! After the transaction has been verified, go to Wallet and select My Collection.

Minting a SolSea NFT

Follow the steps below to mint a SolSea NFT:

After creating an NFT collection, head back to the Create page and, this time, select “NFT.”From there, upload the image, video or audio file you wish to mint as an NFT. Make sure to read the requirements for each file type before uploading to avoid any issues. The accepted file formats include MP4, MOV, 3GP, JPEG and PNG for videos and images.Provide a title and description for the NFT.Determine the royalty payments. This is the percentage the creator will earn each time THE NFT is resold on the secondary market. The percentage range is from 0% to 50% and may be customized based on the owner’s strategy.

The subsequent sections are optional, but one can complete them, such as a link to the artwork’s page on another site – if there is one – so people may learn more about the work. Choosing the appropriate tags is crucial since they’ll be used in searches.

SolSea is also the first NFT marketplace to embed licenses on NFTs. These licenses ensure that the original creator is always attributed and that they receive royalties from future sales, no matter where the NFT changes hands.

Prior to minting, confirm that all the information is accurate. After an NFT is minted, its attributes can't be revised. Subsequently, after hitting “Mint,” sign the transaction on Solana to finalize the minting process. Congratulations, now check out the newly minted NFT by clicking “See your Mint.”

The new NFT will be automatically added to the Phantom wallet, which you can view next to the $ icon. Once it is listed on SolSea, it will no longer be visible in the wallet.

The next step is to list the NFT.

Simply go to Wallet, and select “NFTs In My Wallet” from the drop-down bar.Click on “List NFT” and choose a price.After finishing, return to My Wallet and explore the newly-listed NFT.

Finally, it’s time to market the NFT.