How To Launch Your First NFT Project on Cardano

Your guide to entering the exciting world of CNFTs ✨

4 min readMay 27, 2022

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have taken the world by storm, with the idea of a programable canvas leading innovators into new realms of possibilities. From art and images to digital identity and contracts, there isn’t much you can’t do with an NFT — and as the range of NFT use cases grows, so will their importance in our day-to-day lives.

If you’re looking for inspiration on some of the coolest NFT projects today, make sure you check out our recap on Cardano NFTs. In it, we looked at projects like Afrixx, which is not only leading the way on Cardano but making waves in the crypto and art worlds as well, especially in Africa.

The Cardano blockchain itself, with low fees and efficient transactions, is quickly becoming one of the most exciting ecosystems for NFTs in crypto. Unlike other popular chains like Ethereum, which are both expensive and energy-intensive, Cardano offers developers a cheap, scalable option for token deployment that falls on the right side of the ongoing debate about blockchain and the environment.

According to OpenCNFT, there are nearly 1 million CNFTs across more than 5 thousand projects (not including individual mints). These NFTs see about $4 million in daily transaction volume, which while small compared to Ethereum shows that the blockchain has a lot of room to grow.

In this article, we take a look at the options for deploying NFTs on Cardano and explore the different ways you can get started with your very own collection.

✨To code, or not to code?

If you’re looking to create an NFT of your own, the first thing you need to decide is whether you’ll code it yourself (or hire someone to code it for you), or if you’ll be able to use an existing NFT minting service with ready templates and tools.

The answer to this question depends on how complex your NFT project will be, and how much control you want over the intricate details.

Using an NFT minting service is great for simple projects — for instance if you wanted to mint a single image as an NFT. In this case, an NFT minting service makes the entire process quick and easy. Just upload your image, select some parameters, pay a small fee and then mint. No need to learn any code: the service does it for you.

If your idea is a little more complicated — for example, if you want your NFT to have unique interactions with other services, or you want to create generative collections— you may need to code it yourself. If you lack the technical know-how, this could also mean hiring a developer to do it for you. This option can be more expensive, but you do get more control over the final product. If you’re minting a large collection of images, this could also be cheaper than using a minting service in some cases.

Using a minting service

Using a minting service takes the stress out of creating NFTs on Cardano, although it does limit your options somewhat. Still, if you’re looking to mint artwork or some other image to simply transfer or sell on a marketplace, this option is usually more than enough.

The first step is finding a minting service like CardaHub or NFT-MAKER. These platforms make it easy to deploy all kinds of tokens on Cardano — both regular coins and NFTs. Regardless of the platform you choose, the process is the same. Simply fill in the proposed fields, upload an image that you have, pay the fee (which should be less than a few dollars) and hit the mint button. Your CNFT should now be on its way to your wallet!

This service is perfect if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to mint images as NFTs, but if you’re after something else, you might need a more comprehensive service.

Custom coded NFTs

If you’re looking to create an NFT with a bit more depth or want full control over how the NFT is produced, you’ll need to deploy it yourself. Deploying an NFT on Cardano is a little different from other blockchains — you require access to a full node to do so. If this sounds intimidating, don’t stress: there are lots of people out there who can do it for you.

If you’ve got a good command of Linux and know your way around the command line, you can try deploying an NFT on Cardano yourself. Check out the Cardano developer docs for a full walkthrough on how to manage this yourself.

If you’re not so confident around a Linux terminal, consider hiring a developer to work with you on your project. Because Cardano is a relatively new blockchain, and because the development side of things requires a solid understanding of some complicated programming languages, Cardano devs aren’t as cheap as their Ethereum counterparts. In general, though, you get what you pay for — if someone is developing on Cardano, they’re usually well versed in computer science, above and beyond what you’d expect from a junior programmer for other chains.

Check out marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork for experienced developers or introduce yourself on a forum and put out a request. Some engaged communities include r/CardanoDevelopers on Reddit.

Dive into CNFTs

Launching a CNFT for fun can be a simple process, but if you’re looking to turn your idea into a business, asking for help is the best way to go.

At Adaverse, we have the connections and know-how to take your idea from inception to success, including how to best go about development road mapping. If your startup is dedicated to NFT-based projects, and you require funding support, get in touch with us today.

Helpful Links:

Email — official@adaverse.co