Explainer / How to make an NFT, a step-by-step guide: from picking your content, marketplace, blockchain and crypto wallet, to uploading your non-fungible token – but is the long, costly process worth it?

Aug 30 , 2022

Metaverse and NFTs: from Gucci to Starbucks, luxury and consumer brands are rushing into the virtual world for their pots of gold. Photo: Lau Ka-kuen

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have become a multibillion-dollar asset class, with companies like Starbucks, Prada, Adidas and Nike getting in on the action too

Prospective NFT creators should take fees, marketplaces (like Rarible or OpenSea), and blockchain networks (like Ethereum) into consideration before ‘minting’

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have become a market mainstay. Although they’re not necessarily new, NFTs have gained steam as artists use them to sell digital artwork, and traders jump on board to make millions of dollars. Large corporations are even getting in on the NFT action, with companies such as Starbucks, Nike, Adidas and Prada planning NFTs of their own.

A visitor looks at NFT (non-fungible token) works featured in Tomorrow, a digital multimedia exhibition at Ramat Gan stadium in Israel on August 24, combining the works of Claude Monet, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Gustav Klimt and Aubrey Beardsley among others with digital, multimedia art from the NFT and virtual reality realms. Photo: AP Photo

NFT trading topped almost US$18 billion in 2021, up more than 21,000 per cent from 2020, according to a report from analytics firm NonFungible.com. Though the NFT market took a hit in 2022 with the onset of “crypto winter”, people are still eager to get into the NFT market.

Here’s how you can get started if you’re interested in entering the NFT market …

What is an NFT?

Amid the ongoing hype, it seems that NFTs are here to stay. Photo: Shutterstock

While the numbers surrounding the NFT market can be dizzying, it’s important for anyone interested in getting into the space to understand what, exactly, an NFT is.

Broadly speaking, an NFT is a one-of-a-kind digital asset. It’s been assigned a specific cryptographic identifier that allows its holder to prove ownership. The data related to its ownership and transaction history is recorded on a blockchain network – typically, Ethereum. The important thing to know is that NFTs are digital, irreplaceable and tradeable through online marketplaces and exchanges.

NFTs can be used to “tokenise” things like collectibles. Photo: Shutterstock

While most people may be familiar with NFTs as they relate to digital art, they can potentially be used to “tokenise” a number of other things, such as collectibles (think baseball cards), music and even personal information like medical records.