To construct an NFT, project creators must understand the procedures of NFT initialization beyond creating work. High gas prices may impact this process. The more computing power is required, the higher the transaction volume on the blockchain and the higher the gas fee to be paid. This process also contributes to the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions. So, the new meta, which is a cheaper, more affordable, and accessible way to mint NFT, is called Lazy Mint.

What is Lazy Mint?

In the context of NFTs, minting (publishing) on the blockchain can be costly. The process is:

Create a smart contract that facilitates the creation of your NFT token (gas fees to publish the contract).
Mint your NFT to the blockchain using this contract (gas fee).
Have someone purchase your NFT and register it under their blockchain address (gas fee).

Lazy minting is similar to traditional minting, except that there are no additional fees, such as gas fees, and your NFT can be listed for sale at no cost. Even if someone purchases your NFT, they will pay all gas fees related to the transaction.

Instead of paying a gas cost to mint NFT, you just use your private key to generate a signature for the NFT and put it on the transaction. When purchasing a lazy-minted NFT, the customer pays both the minting fee and the purchase price.

Not only is this cost-effective, but this strategy also reduces wasted computing power by minting just the sold NFTs.

Lazy Minting Step-by-Step

Along with the trend, OpenSea or Rarible may be used for lazy minting of NFT.

On OpenSea.io

Before being able to sell on the OpenSea platform, sellers will be required to pay two fees. The first charge ranges between $70 and $300 for account activation. Then, you will be charged an additional fee to enter OpenSea, often between $10 and $30.

Connect your ETH wallet to your OpenSea account. There are several wallet options that you can choose from, such as MetaMask.
Create an OpenSea collection by clicking "Create the collection” in the OpenSea dashboard.
Set up your first NFT collection on OpenSea. Check the logo, banner, name, and description.
Next, select the blockchain of your choice. To make your minting process free from a gas fee, you can choose the Polygon blockchain for minting.
Start minting your NFT by clicking the “Collection” and “Add Item” options to get started.

On Rarible.com

Rarible provides every user with a lazy mining service. In addition, the site offers its sellers a paid minting service. Rarible will charge a 2.5% service fee on each transaction. However, users can also pay the whole 5% service fee.

Go to Rarible.com, click “Sign In,” then connect your wallet.
Click “Create” and fill in all the information about your NFT.
There are plenty of choices for NFT minting. Choose “Free minting.”
Click “Create item” and sign the free authorization with your wallet.
All set! Your NFT will be minted.

Pros and Cons

There are several benefits to lazy minting, including:

Muting the impact of gas fees: By passing the gas fee payment to the buyer, high gas fees will no longer be an obstacle for new artists getting started with the release of the NFT.
Lowering the barrier for entry: The removal of gas fees will encourage artists to experiment with NFT publishing as a new distribution channel for their work.
Encouraging liquidity: Lazy minting encourages liquidity since NFTs can only be transferred after being sold. This prevents sellers from being left with a stockpile of minted but unsold NFTs and ensures that purchasers are not forced to wait indefinitely for the NFT to be transferred to them.

There is also a disadvantage to lazy minting:

Loss of control: Lazy minting reduces up-front gas costs but gives up some control to the artist or developer. By selecting lazy minting, the seller has no control over who acquires their work and when it is transmitted.

Conclusion

Blockchains are beautiful. Essentially, they are large, hyper-secure databases that are accessible to everyone. They are a completely transparent, decentralized system that resolves several security challenges. Despite controversies around costs and carbon emissions during the process, new features such as Lazy Mint might be seen as contributing to the long-term sustainability of blockchain and NFT. This also encourages new artists to enter a new market without incurring expenses.

References: How to lazy mint on OpenSea, Free NFT minting

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