What Is An NFT Mint? (Explained)

Last Updated:
January 11, 2023
What Is an NFT Drop Feature Image

Learn what an NFT mint or claim is and discover why they're a great way to get in on the ground level of an exciting project.

Introduction: NFT Mints

NFTs are non-fungible tokens that exist on a blockchain. With the success of well-known projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and World of Women (WoW), NFTs have become embedded in the popular lexicon. For people who want to buy NFTs but who don’t have a lot (or any) capital, NFT drops are a great way to buy NFTs at a lower price or for free.

Picture caption: Bored Ape Yacht Club sticker on a beam (Unsplash, Markus Spiske)

What is an NFT Mint?

An NFT mint is the release of a new NFT project. The mint date is the exact date, time and mint price of each NFT in a collection. An NFT collection is made up of different NFTs that were created on a single principle or style. NFT drops are the web3 equivalent of a new product launch. 

NFT mints can limit the number of NFTs that one person can mint and also limit the maximum number of NFTs in that collection that can be minted. Examples of successful NFT drops include iconic projects like CryptoPunks (launched in 2017 and is one of the earliest NFT projects created), the Loot Project (generated $230M in sales at its peak) and Bored Ape Yacht Club (generated $164M in sales at its peak). 

Why are NFT Mints Important?

NFT mints are not just a powerful marketing tool for organizations, which can help generate buzz online that will attract new users to the project, they also present the opportunity to purchase the NFTs in that collection at an attractive price. NFT collections typically increase in price after the project is launched, but this is not always guaranteed.

Tips for looking for NFT Mints

Twitter and Discord are great places to stay updated on upcoming NFT mints when they’re advertised to the public. Websites like NFT Drops Today are a great way to access a consolidated list of upcoming NFT mints.

When considering which NFTs you want to buy at their NFT mint time, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.

  1. Be on alert for scams.

    Links shared through Discord or Twitter DMs can look legitimate but it’s important to do your due diligence on NFT drops, especially ones that look too good to be true. It’s also important to filter out projects that are a “pump and dump” exercise, where the founders try to extract as much value from the project as possible before abandoning it.

  2. Don’t give in to FOMO.

    When the NFT market is moving fast it’s easy to give into emotion and buy the first NFT that you come across. But the market is not guaranteed to keep growing and investing in digital assets like NFTs carries risks, similar to and sometimes greater than investment in traditional assets.

  3. Do your own research on an NFT drop before deciding to invest.

    Look at the team behind this project to understand the authenticity. Are the founders trustworthy with a good reputation? Or is there a lack of information available on this project? To do your own due diligence on an NFT drop, check out the community’s Discord and Twitter accounts for previous activity. Look at whether the project’s founders are active and assess whether they will be able to achieve what they said they would do in their project roadmap.

  1. Use a variety of platforms to find out about NFT drops.

    Twitter and Discord are popular platforms for the web3 community. Marketplaces such as OpenSea have daily NFT drops highlighted on their website. Podcasts are a great source of information about NFT projects and how to invest in NFTs.

Next steps…

NFT mints are a great opportunity to get in at the ground level of an exciting new project that you’re passionate about supporting. Popular platforms such as OpenSea and Rarible have made it easy to find and buy NFTs at the NFT drop date. 

As with any purchase, it’s vital to conduct your own due diligence before deciding to participate in an NFT release. 

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