Lessons Learned: Creating my first NFT

There’s been alot of hype about NFTs, both from critics and supporters. I decided to sell nine copies of my first digital artwork, “I Would Spend 9 Lives With You,” on Rarible for 0.005 ETH each (~$15 ATTOW). This learning process taught me a few things I would never have learned by reading articles or watching lectures to better understand the potential for NFTs for individual creators and artists.

1. NFTs are more than JPEGs.

In addition to the finished product, I uploaded my original Procreate files (with individual layers, some hidden) and a time-lapse video in .mp4 format to NFT.storage using IPFS protocol. Now, anyone who buys my NFT will be able to see step-by-step the original process.

2. I receive royalties every time the NFT resells.

Instead of giving the platform a significant cut (only a 2.5% transaction fee) and then receiving nothing afterward, creators are rewarded the more times their NFT exchanges hands.

3. Anyone can sell an NFT.

After reading one article about listing art on Rarible, I could connect my Ledger wallet with ease and build a profile quickly. The upload process was intuitive and straightforward, similar to creating an eBay listing.

4. Update your wallets!

I ran into issues right when I was about to publish everything: I couldn’t sign the transaction. I used a different browser; I used Ledger Live instead of Metamask; I uninstalled and reinstalled my Ethereum application. It took updating the Ledger Live software and the Nano X firmware to get to Ethereum 1.9.17 and resolve the error.

5. There are still barriers to exchanging USD for cryptocurrencies.

Coinify (even with a $4.99 + 4.5% fee) couldn’t verify my identity when their face recognition failed. Kucoin’s third-party exchange (Banxa, Simplex, BTC Direct) couldn’t find a matching trade for me. I also couldn’t verify my billing address when it did since the New York legislature still hasn’t caught on. Coinbase, the only platform where I could successfully trade USD for ETH, would place a T+5 day hold until I could withdraw. Paypal’s “buy crypto” is pretty much Robinhood but worse, charging a fee AND not having a withdrawal option. After all the hassle, I left the responsibility of minting my NFT to future buyers (having this “free mint” option available increases the accessibility for creators substantially).

Looking Forward

I probably won’t be making any noticeable money from selling NFTs. Still, first-hand experience has shattered my expectations of how easy (or hard) it can be to take advantage of the NFT boom. Also, here’s a link for those interested in checking out my listing.