NFTs, DAOs & Web3

What does it mean to mint an NFT?

Minting an NFT is the act of publishing a new token to a blockchain, creating a permanent on-chain record of the item and its first owner. The process runs through a smart contract that assigns the token a unique identifier and links it to metadata such as an image or file. For example, a creator who mints a digital artwork turns the file into a tradable token recorded on-chain. Minting usually requires paying a network fee, sometimes called gas, to process the transaction.