How To Mint An NFT On Etherscan Using Smart Contracts?

The popularity rises the NFTs has attracted many companies, artists, businesses, and brands to adopt this amazing technology. Blockchain NFT development has become a trend among influencers, artists, and brands. Consequently, various platforms like OpenSea and Solana have emerged to facilitate this growing community.

NFT minting can be performed using several methods and sites. But, there is one specific problem with these platforms. Whenever the traffic on the minting website or forum increases, the site crashes, frustrating the whole experience. Ethereum provides a solution to this problem by allowing direct minting on Etherscan.

Do you know how to mint an NFT on Etherscan directly from the smart contract? This article will familiarize you with the step-by-step process of NFT minting using Etherscan.

What Does Minting an NFT Mean?

In simple terms, Minting involves the steps by which you can convert your digital file into a blockchain-based unique asset. The digital file you want to convert can be anything like digital art, music, tweet, video, real estate, or anything valuable. Most people use the NFT marketplaces to mint digital assets.

The most effective way to mint NFTs is using Etherscan because the website will not crash, and you don’t need to worry about any scams. Let’s look at the detailed guide on minting direct from the smart contract.

How to Mint an NFT on Etherscan Using Smart Contracts?

Following are the steps that anyone can follow to mint direct from the Etherscan:

1. Find Smart Contract Address

Etherscan is not an NFT marketplace; instead, it is a platform where the digital assets and activities of the Ethereum network are recorded. The record on the Etherscan is indexed using a unique ID. To mint any digital asset through this platform, you need a smart contract address or unique ID of the project. Most NFT projects provide their smart contract address on the NFT marketplaces like Opensea.

You can find this unique ID or address on the project’s official website, discord server, or the detailing section of Opensea. After you have either the smart contract address or the unique ID of the project.

2. Search on Etherscan Using Your Smart Contract Address

Once you have the smart contract address or the unique ID of the project, search for the official website of Etherscan. Copy and paste the address of the contract, and all relevant details like transactions, balance, and much more will appear. You need to look for the contract tab because it contains the functionality to mint NFTs.

If you have found the contract tab, we’ll further move to connect your wallet in the next step of minting NFTs through smart contracts.

3. Connect to a WEB3 Network Using Your Metamask Wallet

When you have located the “contract” button, click on it, and it will open a whole different tab. Below the “contract” button, you will spot a “write a contract” button.

When you click the “write a contract” button, it will open several options. You can perform any action using this smart contract. As we are here to mint NFTs, we will click on the option “connect to web3.” Clicking on the “connect to web3” button will activate the MetaMask extension in your browser. If you have multiple accounts, connect the right one with sufficient balance.

4. Mint NFT from Smart Contract

After the correct account is connected to the smart contract, we can move further to mint NFT by using the following steps:

The mint function or the claim function is the function we should look for in most smart contracts to mint NFTs. This is a project-specific name; you can distinguish the minting function with any preferred function name.

Expanding the “mint” function in the smart contract tab will show further options necessary for minting. In the first field, you need to add the minting price of the digital asset. You must put the number of digital assets you want to mint in the second field.

The transaction is sent to the blockchain by clicking the “Write” button. In some situations, the transaction may take some time to complete. By increasing the gas fee on our MetaMask wallet, we can pay a greater gas fee to expedite this process.

Factors to Consider While Minting on Etherscan

While minting NFTs on Etherscan, following factors must be considered:

1. Token Standards

NFTs are made on various token standards, and platforms support different token kinds. The most popular of which is ERC-721. This token standard was used to create the first NFT, and each token discovered on it is entirely unique, ensuring that whoever has one, owns an asset that cannot be copied. ERC-721 tokens can be found on the Etherscan platform.

Make sure your project uses the token standards available on Etherscan. If the project is using any other blockchain or standard, you can’t mint on Etherscan. If you intend to create an NFT marketplace, collection, or NFT launchpad, remember that this factor will play a critical role.

2. Wallet Compatibility

If you already have a favorite crypto wallet, finding out if Etherscan is compatible with it is critical. At the moment, Etherscan is compatible with 73 different wallets, one of which we highly recommend, MetaMask. If you don’t already have a crypto wallet, we recommend that you download and install MetaMask to the browser plugin.

Whatever wallet you want, use it, but check if it is compatible with the project or not. You must utilize the most popular platforms’ wallets to avoid crypto scams and frauds.

3. User Verification

Etherscan assures that all projects hosted on the platform have been validated using the Smart Contract Verification tool. Users go through the following two steps:

1. Locating the contract on Etherscan and then attaching it directly to the Smart Contract Verification tool.
2. Supplying the address and details about the environment in which the smart contract will be developed.
3. The verification of users and material contributes to the assurance that NFT collections are genuine and unique. This is required because virtually any virtual item can be stored on the blockchain and converted into an NFT.

4. Gas Fees

A gas or transaction fee is the cost associated with the transaction made on any blockchain. Each platform charges its users in one way or another. Each user must pay a gas fee to cover the cost of computational power consumed in transferring the transaction. Sometimes, the gas fee of the Ethereum network skyrockets due to network congestion.

The developers of the Ethereum network are launching a new update, “The Merge,” which is intended to shift the consensus mechanism from the Proof of Work (PoW) to the Proof of Stake (PoS). This new method will enable you to stake your NFTs and crypto coins to earn rewards without selling the assets.

What to Do If the Etherscan Transaction Gets Stuck in Pending?

Usually, it takes a couple of minutes for the transaction to go through, and you receive your minted asset without any delay. However, your Etherscan transaction can get stuck. You should use the following steps to avoid such situations:

• To avoid your transaction becoming completely stalled, use a browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Brave. Choosing the High gas cost option also increases the likelihood of your transaction success.
• Your transaction can also get stuck from a minor glitch that occurred during the transaction. You can resolve such a problem by using the browsers mentioned above.
• Clearing your browser’s cache is another excellent option! Clear the cache, history, and cookies. All logged-in accounts will be deleted. So save your passwords somewhere safe. If you want to be extra cautious, write it down in a notebook.
• These tips are pretty simple and may not work all the time. So, be extra careful while typing your credentials and try to offer high gas fees. High gas fees will help your transaction pass through quickly.

Risks of Minting an NFT Directly from Smart Contracts

Two major risks are associated with minting NFTs directly from smart contracts. These risks are as follows:

1. Your transaction for direct minting NFT can get stuck.
2. You might be charged with high gas fees.
3. When users put incorrect information, they are charged high gas fees, which no one can get back. So, be extra careful and double-check each piece of information you enter.

Tips to Deal with High Gas Fees for Mounting NFTs on Etherscan

The high gas fee is an issue for the Ethereum network, and as we have discussed earlier, it will be resolved soon. But if you see that the gas price is from 100 Gwei to 500+ Gwei, don’t mint NFT at that time. The gas fee is set by the miners depending on the network congestion. So, you should wait for the network congestion to decrease.

FAQs

1. Can I mint an NFT without a smart contract?

Technically almost all NFT networks except the Cardano network, have a smart contract on the backend. Whether you’re minting NFTs from marketplaces, minting websites, or directly from smart contracts, you’re using smart contracts.

2. Is Etherscan a wallet?

Etherscan is not a wallet; instead, it is an independent blockchain explorer that keeps the Ethereum Network’s track record. Each Transaction happening on the Ethereum network is listed and recorded here.

3. Can I connect Etherscan to MetaMask?

Yes, you can connect MetaMask to the Etherscan for accessing multiple functions.

4. How do I transfer money from Etherscan?

Users can utilize the withdraw functionality from the Etherscan. Etherscan will ask you to enter your private key. Once you have done that, ETH will be mined and transferred to you.