Behind the HYPE scenes of creating my first NFT, By Amir Raveh

Reading time: 5 minutes.

The story behind creating my first Digital Asset, and a 3 simple step guide of how you can create your own, from A-Z.

First, let me tell you a quick story behind the creation of my first NFT. I believe there are great insights you can learn from during the process.

It all started one day in the office, a few months back, when my good friend from UEFA sent me a message that had a link to the NBA Top Shot website suggesting that I have to take a quick look.

At first, I was shocked. My first reaction was “why are people buying NBA match highlights when they can watch the exact same highlights everyday on Youtube?”. I remember what my friend’s answer was when I finally realized the true value and purpose behind NFTs. His answer was: “people love owning assets, it gives us a sense that we are significant and important which is one of our most basic needs”.

Later that month, the team and I were starting to work on an article for the PWC’s global sports tech report, the article was about 6 executive predictions for the future of sports-tech.

While creating the content for the article, a thought came to my head and I decided to combine the 2 ideas, and create an NFT video about the sports tech predictions in 2031.

At that moment, I called my content and marketing team and we started HYPE’s first NFT project. After 3 months of brainstorming, recording and editing, we are now happy to release our first digital asset on OpenSea, it might not be sold for millions of dollars but the value and insights we learned from the process are a big first step in this important digitized revolution.

After listening to my story, now it’s time for you to create your own story. These are 3 simple steps that will save you time and money, we hope you enjoy it.

3 SIMPLE STEPS OF HOW TO CREATE YOUR FIRST DIGITAL ASSET

Step 1: Brainstorming session.

While reading this article, you have already started your first step, this is the time to explore and decide what you would like to create.

Is it a digital piece of art, a digital collection or maybe a valuable video for your company.

• How is your company related to NFTs?
• What value will your NFT have in your targeted market? 
• What makes your NFT unique and?

Answering these questions will help you focus and decide. This step might take a few days, but don’t worry, we all know that the best ideas might take some time.

In addition, NFTs are quite a wide topic so I have attached a few interesting NFT examples from 5 different sports topics that can help you with your brainstorming session:

• The Dazn Boxing Collection.
• Zed Run Horse Betting Collection.
• Sports Sneakers Collection.
• HYPE Future Predictions Collection.
• F1 Delta Time Collection.

Step 2: Creation and taking action.

After having the NFT product in mind, it’s time to take action and create.

• If you decide to create a video, record it.
• If you decide to create an art collection, design it.
• The same structure goes for any digital product you choose to create.

You can always outsource for this stage, there are many great designers and artists in Fiverr for example, that can contribute with this stage.

This step does not require any special blockchain technology or knowledge, you can just create the product as if you didn’t know that blockchain technology exists (the blockchain technology will be minted and applied in step number 3). 

One important note, at this stage you must be 100% sure that you are the sole owner and creator of this digital piece, if there are any doubts, you should get advice from an authentic IP lawyer that has experience and knowledge around NFTs.

Step 3: Minting time

This is the stage that most people think is complex but actually it is quite easy, bare with me.

First you have to create a digital wallet for yourself or your company, we recommend using the Metamask app to create your wallet, this app integrates well with most NFT marketplaces and with the Ethereum currency which is used to trade most NFTs (this is as simple as opening a facebook account).

For the first stage, I highly recommend creating a 2 step security verification for your digital wallet and funding your Metamask wallet. In addition, funding your wallet with a small amount of crypto currencies is essential for the next stage.

The next step will be to connect to your NFT marketplace. I suggest using OpenSea as your first NFT marketplace, Opensea is the largest NFT marketplace and has a wide choice of NFTs on their platform.

After creating an account at OpenSea, connect your Metamask wallet with the platform, this can be done easily using the settings at OpenSea -> “my profile” -> “wallet connect”.

The last step will be to upload your NFT, this is also done easily by using the “create” button, and following the clear steps for creation. After uploading the piece of art and writing an intriguing description, press “save” and this is the stage where OpenSea will automatically create the Blockchain minting process for you. 

At the end of this stage you will have to take your NFT to the selling page using the “Selling” button and your NFT will be officially for sale on the platform.

Congratulations, you have created your first NFT!

Summary and additional solutions:

While creating your first NFT is not a complex process, when creating a collection of NFTs as a sports enterprise there are many important points that need to be taken into consideration. 

Examples to these problems include, enterprise solutions for wallets, seamless experiences for users, legal implications with IP, building a unique solution as a marketplace, and more.

To help solve these problems, HYPE has created a unique NFT startup vertical with over 25 startups that are currently solving these problems for the top brands in the sports tech sector.

Feel free to reach out to the HYPE team and I for any additional guidance around this topic.

This is the link to the NFT video your can purchase on OpenSea

Stay tuned, with love for sports and Innovation.