Part 1: A comprehensive beginner guide
Part 2: Non-Fungible Token Standards
Part 3: Distribution methods
Part 4: Metadata
Welcome back to the third part of our NFT series! This 4-part series will be published once a week and cover all you need to know about the technical underpinnings of NFTS.
In today’s article we will take a closer look at the different distribution methods available to NFT creators. Once you have the concept of your NFT collection worked out it is important to choose a distribution method which most closely aligns with your projects vision as well as the stakeholders expectations.
Minting
Minting is the process of publishing your NFT onto the blockchain, regardless of the distribution method this will always be the first step. When minting you are essentially uploading a picture as well as the corresponding metadata (characteristics) onto the blockchain.
Depending on the projects goal as well as the teams technical abilities there are different options on how to mint an NFT. For example if you are not familiar with how to deploy and interact with smart contracts, there are plenty of minting sites, such as Manifold, which offer a simple user interface and allow you to mint NFTs without any technical background.
Another consideration is on which blockchain to mint your NFTs on. For example, minting on the Ethereum network is costly but offers exposure to the largest potential user group and trading volume. Conversely, minting on the Polygon network is extremely cheap but has significantly less trading volume limiting exposure to new users.
As you can see each blockchain has its own benefits and drawbacks, you therefore must choose the blockchain and minting process which best meets the requirements of your project.
Distribution using minting
This is the most common distribution method and involves minting directly into the user’s wallet. The user connects to the minting site with his preferred wallet and can mint the NFT by signing a transaction, in this case the gas costs of minting will be carried by the user. Once the maximum supply of the NFT collection has been minted they can only be acquired via trading on the secondary market.
Minting is the process of publishing your NFT onto the blockchain, regardless of the distribution method this will always be the first step. When minting you are essentially uploading a picture as well as the corresponding metadata (characteristics) onto the blockchain.
Depending on the projects goal as well as the teams technical abilities there are different options on how to mint an NFT. For example if you are not familiar with how to deploy and interact with smart contracts, there are plenty of minting sites, such as Manifold, which offer a simple user interface and allow you to mint NFTs without any technical background.
Another consideration is on which blockchain to mint your NFTs on. For example, minting on the Ethereum network is costly but offers exposure to the largest potential user group and trading volume. Conversely, minting on the Polygon network is extremely cheap but has significantly less trading volume limiting exposure to new users.
As you can see each blockchain has its own benefits and drawbacks, you therefore must choose the blockchain and minting process which best meets the requirements of your project.
Distribution using minting
This is the most common distribution method and involves minting directly into the user’s wallet. The user connects to the minting site with his preferred wallet and can mint the NFT by signing a transaction, in this case the gas costs of minting will be carried by the user. Once the maximum supply of the NFT collection has been minted they can only be acquired via trading on the secondary market.
Further Considerations & Mechanisms
The process of minting can be designed and executed in many different ways, allowing for creativity and game theory to be integrated.
Restriction:
Minting can be restricted to only allow certain users to mint an NFT. This is done by whitelisting the user’s wallet addresses within the minting contract. For example, an already existing NFT can act as a mint allowance. In this case the user must have the specified NFT in his wallet when minting or before a specified date.
Burn:
The creator can also specify that one or multiple NFTs must be burned in order for the user to mint the new collection. In this scenario the user gives permission for the existing NFT to be sent to a “burn” address which is inaccessible, therefore permanently removing it from the ecosystem, in return he will receive the new NFT.
The above mentioned mechanisms are just a few examples of different minting options. Depending on your goals and resources you can keep the mint simple or make it complex by adding gamification or game theory aspects, creating a more engaging minting experience.
Auctions
Auctions are popular distribution method, especially for highly coveted NFT collections with limited supply. There are several different auction structures, some of the most popular include:
English Auction: This is the most well-known auction structure where participants place increasingly higher bids until the auction ends because there are no higher bids, or a time limit has been reached.
Dutch Auction: This type of auction starts at a high price which gradually lowers over time. Bidders will monitor the price and place a bid when it reaches a level, they are willing to pay. For example, a NFT collection might start at 10 ETH and lower 0.25 ETH every 10 minutes until a floor price of 1ETH is reached. The price will keep on reducing until all NFTs are sold.
There is also a reverse Dutch auction where the price starts low and increases over time.
Bid-to-Earn Auction: Similar to the English auction participants place increasingly higher bids. However, once a new bid is placed a percentage of it is redistributed to the last person who got outbid. For example, if person A bids $100 and person B bids $150, person A will receive his $100 back plus a percentage of the new bid (this percentage is determined before the auction begins). This auction structure incentivises participants to outbid one another, increasing participation.
Sealed-Bid Auction: Participants submit their bids secretly. Once all bids have been submitted the highest bid wins.
Airdrops
This distribution method refers to NFTs being airdropped (sent) directly into user’s wallets. This is normally associated with a user having to meet certain criteria such as being a member of a specific community of having a certain NFT in their wallet. Airdrops are a great way to reward early users for interacting with your project. Also, it is a common way to distribute new assets to users who already hold NFTs of the project’s ecosystem. Also the initial cost of minting the NFT as well as airdropping it is carried by the creator, a further benefit for the holders.
An example of this is Yuga labs which launched their own token ($APE) and airdropped it to all holders of the Bored ape Yacht Club or Mutant Ape Yacht Club. This not only rewards current holders but also incentivises people to not sell their assets in case of future rewards, increasing the overall asset scarcity.
There are several different ways to distribute an NFT to potential holders. Letting users mint their NFT is the most common method, here different minting mechanisms and restrictions can be used to make the minting experience more fun and add game theory aspects. Auctions are a great way to distribute NFTs which have a high demand and limited supply more fairly. Depending on the NFT collection and the expected demand different auction models can be chosen from. Lastly, Airdrops are often used to reward loyal participants of a project or distribute new assets to existing holders.