Over the last several years, NFTs have exploded in popularity and become the focal point of the cryptocurrency industry. Consequently, NFTs have garnered the interest of people, corporations (such as Nike, NBA, Mercedes,…) and even organizations. The majority of NFT projects are built on Ethereum, and the blockchain dominates the NFT ecosystem. Nonetheless, alternative blockchains have developed and have started to lure NFTs away from the Ethereum blockchain by providing much greater efficiency and cheaper prices.
Solana, one of the most recent blockchains, provides consumers with an alternative to Ethereum by providing much faster transaction rates, reduced transaction fees, and shorter block times. While Solana is a relative newcomer to the NFT market, the blockchain’s reduced transaction fees are progressively shifting the NFT ecosystem in its favor, with a number of younger NFT enterprises opting for Solana over Ethereum. This article will explore Solana’s NFT ecosystem, its leading NFT markets, and the ecosystem’s most significant NFT initiatives.
Solana is rapidly gaining recognition in the NFT market. While Ethereum controls the majority of the ecosystem, the Solana ecosystem has witnessed tremendous growth, including the addition of new investors and projects. OpenSea. The biggest NFT marketplace in the world has announced that it would add support for Solana-based NFTs. In addition, Solana is one of the quickest and cheapest blockchains in the cryptocurrency industry, and it is potentially capable of processing about 50,000 transactions per second. The speed and absurdly low transaction fees of the network have given the blockchain a major advantage over Ethereum, prompting market observers and fans to dub it the Ethereum killer.
For the aforementioned reasons, the Solana blockchain is an incredible beast. Additionally, your experience building on Solana will be enhanced by QuickNode.
QuickNode overview
QuickNode is a globally supported blockchain development platform. It offers end-to-end blockchain services to developers and decentralized applications (dApps). QuickNode allows you to quickly build, test, and scale blockchain applications through elastic APIs and potent analytics and tools. With QuickNode, you will have access to everything via a simple, user-friendly dashboard.
QuickNode was established in 2017 with the goal of being the most performant blockchain development platform. Since its founding, QuickNode has been an industry leader, creating products to suit the current needs of Web3 developers, while also building solutions for the decades to come.. Currently, QuickNode is happy to provide lightning-fast connectivity to sixteen blockchains and over thirty networks, including Solana.
QuickNode saves crucial time bringing Solana dApps to market — while reducing maintenance and node synchronization problems. This is an important component of QuickNode’s dApp development tools.
The platform is positioned to become the market’s leading blockchain infrastructure supplier. As a consequence, assisting enterprises in the development of dependable, low-latency infrastructure. And accessible worldwide to service billions of people during the next 5 to 10 years.
In addition, QuickNode has been entrusted by the leading companies in the technology industry, like Twitter, PayPal, Coinbase, Opensea, Chainlink, and many more.
What Solana issues does QuickNode solve?
The proliferation of NFTs and the skyrocketing values of cryptocurrencies have increased interest in blockchain-based applications. However, cloud service platforms are not yet prepared to meet the requirements of these aspiring developers.
Therefore, QuickNode was created to give developers the quickest and most reliable blockchain APIs and nodes. QuickNode simplifies and scales the operation of blockchain applications. From adaptable APIs and specialized nodes to robust analytics and tools. All available via a simple dashboard.
Benefits of QuickNode for Solana
Your Solana endpoint will boot in seconds, not days.
QuickNode is one of the few teams in the market that has an archive setup for Solana and makes it quite simple to interact with! From elastic APIs to sophisticated tools and analytics, everything is accessible through an intuitive control panel. QuickNode is a comprehensive method for gaining access to the Solana blockchain!
Super quick
QuickNode, like its name, is very fast — on average 2.5X faster than competitors. Plus, QuickNode’s worldwide network is tailored to decrease latency and is 8X quicker than public endpoints.
In addition, one-click add-ons for even quicker development cycles are available to users.
Instantly launch your Solana node
QuickNode supports as many networks as feasible for Solana to facilitate a quick start to development and a smooth transition to production.
- Mainnet is a durable, permissionless cluster for early token holders and launch partners. Rewards and inflation are currently disabled.
- Devnet: Devnet is a sandbox for anybody who wants to test-drive Solana as a user, token holder, app developer, or validator.
- Testnet is where they stress-test recent release features on a live cluster, concentrating on network performance, stability, and validator behavior.
So, are you prepared to begin? Join the blockchain revolution with QuickNode. Sign up now.
Setting up QuickNode for your Solana NFT project
How to Mint an NFT on Solana
We will demonstrate in detail how to establish an NFT on Solana. Non Fungible Token, abbreviated NFT, is a cryptographically unique and unreplicable hash. Producing an NFT is comparable to creating an ERC20 token, with the key distinction being that only one token is ever produced. In this article, we will programmatically create two distinct wallet accounts, one to mint the NFT and the other to receive it. Then, we will write the code that will enable the minting and transmission of the NFT on Solana.
You can also bookmark or visit QuickNode’s guide on How to Mint an NFT on Solana.
Prerequisites:
- NodeJS installed
- Terminal/CLI familiarity
- A Text editor
- TypeScript installed
Establishing the Project Locally
Launch Terminal and browse to the directory where you want to build your project. Execute the following instructions in the following order:
mkdir SolanaNFT
npm install –prefix ./SolanaNFT @solana/web3.js @solana/spl-token
cd SolanaNFT
touch index.ts
The first command creates a new project directory called SolanaNFT. With npm install –prefix ./SolanaNFT @solana/web3.js @solana/spl-token, we’re installing Solana’s JavaScript API, @solana/web3.js and a TypeScript library @solana/spl-token, for interacting with the SPL Token program. Finally, with touch index.ts, we create a Typescript file, index.ts, where we’ll be writing all of our code.
Connecting to Solana
Open the SolanaNFT project directory in your preferred text editor and let’s begin creating code to connect to Solana!
Within the index.ts file, we’ll want to start by importing all of the functionality we’ll need from @solana/web3.js and @solana/spl-token. Add the following two import statements:
import { clusterApiUrl, Connection, Keypair, LAMPORTS_PER_SOL } from “@solana/web3.js”;
import { createMint, getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount, mintTo, setAuthority, transfer } from “@solana/spl-token”;
> Note: If these lines of code generate problems, then you likely do not have the required libraries installed. Verify that you are in the proper directory and reinstall them.
Below the import statements, add this function:
(async () => {
// Connect to cluster
const connection = new Connection(clusterApiUrl(‘devnet’), “confirmed”);
})
Here, a new instance of a connection is created. This takes two parameters, the first of which is a Solana Network-pointing URL endpoint. clusterApiUrl(‘devnet’) is a handy technique for pointing to the public endpoint of the Solana Devnet, which will be used in this tutorial. Solana has three distinct networks: mainnet, testnet, and devnet. The devnet is a low-risk environment in which you can “airdrop” yourself SOL tokens.
Now that a connection has been created, we can generate the NFT and complete the remaining related procedures.
Note: From this point on, each code block should be inserted right underneath the preceding one, all inside the curly brackets of the async function’s top-level body. At the conclusion, we will offer you the whole code to compare with your own.
Creating a New Wallet and Airdropping SOL
Creating a wallet account and financing it will be the first action we must do. Additionally, we will have to check that each step has been done successfully before proceeding to the next. Here is how this code will appear:
// Generate a new wallet keypair and airdrop SOL
const fromWallet = Keypair.generate();
const fromAirdropSignature = await connection.requestAirdrop(
fromWallet.publicKey,
LAMPORTS_PER_SOL
);
// Wait for airdrop confirmation
await connection.confirmTransaction(fromAirdropSignature);
Don’t forget to include this code within the async function. Now, let’s break it down line by line.
Line 2: We’re using the Keypair class we imported earlier to generate a new keypair by calling on a generate() method. This creates a new pair of public and secret keys and stores it in fromWallet.
Line 4: We’re requesting an airdrop into our wallet. The requestAirdrop() method takes a public key and the amount of lamports in SOL you would like to receive. Lamports are Solana’s equivalent to wei, the smallest amount that a SOL can be broken into. Most methods that require a number will default to the lamport measurement. In our case, the LAMPORTS\_PER\_SOL is a constant that represents 1 SOL worth of lamports.
Line 9: To confirm that the airdrop has been successful, we’re utilizing the confirmTransaction method and awaiting its success. This call allows us to pass in a signed transaction as an argument and have the program wait until it has been confirmed before moving on to other portions of the code. This is important as our next step will have to pay a fee, and we will require the airdropped funds.
Creating a New Token Mint
Now we must establish a new token mint and access our token account.
const mint = await createMint(
connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction
fromWallet.publicKey, // Account that will control the minting
null, // Account that will control the freezing of the token
0 // Location of the decimal place
);
The createMint function will be what creates our actual token. It takes 6 arguments:
- The connection to the Solana Network. (connection)
- The account that will pay the fee. (fromWallet)
- The public key of the account that has the authority to mint tokens of this type. (fromWallet.publicKey)
- The public key of the account that has the authority to freeze tokens of this type. This argument is optional. (null)
- The location of the decimal place for the token.
Once the token mint has been generated, the token account must be retrieved from the fromWallet Solana address. If something does not exist, it must be created. Here, we’ll use the getorCreateAssociatedTokenAccount() method, providing in the majority of the previous data, and saving the result in fromTokenAccount:
// Get the token account of the “fromWallet” Solana address. If it does not exist, create it.
const fromTokenAccount = await getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount(
Connection,
fromWallet,
Mint,
fromWallet.publicKey
);
You can conceptualize the chain of custody as follows: the NFT lives in the account, which is owned by your wallet.
> Keys -> Wallet -> Account -> NFT (top to down)
Creating an Account with a Wallet to Send the NFT
Now that we have an account from which to send the NFT, we need an account to which to send it. We’ll use the same methods and variables to build a new wallet and get the token mint as we did earlier, so the resulting code should appear fairly familiar.
// Generate a new wallet to receive the newly minted token
const toWallet = Keypair.generate();
// Get the token account of the “toWallet” Solana address. If it does not exist, create it.
const toTokenAccount = await mint.getOrCreateAssociatedAccountInfo(
Connection,
fromWallet,
Mint,
toWallet.publicKey
);
Now that we have an account from which to send the NFT, we need an account to which to send it. We’ll use the same methods and variables to build a new wallet and get the token mint as we did earlier, so the resulting code should appear fairly familiar.
Minting the NFT and Sending It
Now is the moment to mint and send an NFT! Examine the following code that does this and read the comments to understand what each function does.
// Minting 1 new token to the “fromTokenAccount” account we just returned/created.
let signature = await mintTo(
Connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction fees
mint, // Mint for the account
fromTokenAccount.address, // Address of the account to mint to
fromWallet.publicKey, // Minting authority
1 // Amount to mint
);
await setAuthority(
Connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction fees
mint, // Account
fromWallet.publicKey, // Current authority
0, // Authority type: “0” represents Mint Tokens
null // Setting the new Authority to null
);
signature = await transfer(
Connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction fees
fromTokenAccount.address, // Source account
toTokenAccount.address, // Destination account
fromWallet.publicKey, // Owner of the source account
1 // Number of tokens to transfer
);
console.log(“SIGNATURE”, signature);
})();
We will speak quickly about the setAuthority() method, since it is one of the most important components. This function will remove minting permissions and prevent the creation of new tokens of this kind. Note that this action is irreversible.
To execute the program, sequentially perform the following commands:
tsc index.ts
node index.js
These two commands will execute the TypeScript file, produce a JavaScript file with the same name, and then execute the JavaScript file. After some time, a signature should be registered in the terminal.
If you visit the Solana Explorer, your signature should be present. It will seem roughly like this:
Here’s the complete code you should have:
import { clusterApiUrl, Connection, Keypair, LAMPORTS_PER_SOL } from “@solana/web3.js”;
import { createMint, getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount, mintTo, setAuthority, transfer } from “@solana/spl-token”;
(async () => {
// Connect to cluster
const connection = new Connection(clusterApiUrl(“devnet”), “confirmed”);
// Generate a new wallet keypair and airdrop SOL
const fromWallet = Keypair.generate();
const fromAirdropSignature = await connection.requestAirdrop(
fromWallet.publicKey,
LAMPORTS_PER_SOL
);
// Wait for airdrop confirmation
await connection.confirmTransaction(fromAirdropSignature);
// Create a new token
const mint = await createMint(
connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction
fromWallet.publicKey, // Account that will control the minting
null, // Account that will control the freezing of the token
0 // Location of the decimal place
);
// Get the token account of the fromWallet Solana address. If it does not exist, create it.
const fromTokenAccount = await getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount(
Connection,
fromWallet,
Mint,
fromWallet.publicKey
);
// Generate a new wallet to receive the newly minted token
const toWallet = Keypair.generate();
// Get the token account of the toWallet Solana address. If it does not exist, create it.
const toTokenAccount = await getOrCreateAssociatedTokenAccount(
Connection,
fromWallet,
Mint,
toWallet.publicKey
);
// Minting 1 new token to the “fromTokenAccount” account we just returned/created.
let signature = await mintTo(
Connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction fees
mint, // Mint for the account
fromTokenAccount.address, // Address of the account to mint to
fromWallet.publicKey, // Minting authority
1 // Amount to mint
);
await setAuthority(
Connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction fees}
mint, // Account
fromWallet.publicKey, // Current authority
0, // Authority type: “0” represents Mint Tokens
null // Setting the new Authority to null
);
signature = await transfer(
Connection,
fromWallet, // Payer of the transaction fees
fromTokenAccount.address, // Source account
toTokenAccount.address, // Destination account
fromWallet.publicKey, // Owner of the source account
1 // Number of tokens to transfer
);
console.log(“SIGNATURE”, signature);
})();
Congratulations, you’ve learnt a few things from this tutorial and the previous Solana tips if you’ve reached this far. You have successfully generated an NFT on the Solana blockchain after completing this step. The next step is to associate this unique, one-of-a-kind token with an asset. Currently on the market, it is often a randomly produced image with diverse features or a unique work of art.
QuickNode’s Highlights
Analytics
QuickNode Analytics will provide valuable data on your product and its usage, including immediate and potent insight into the node smart contract mechanism that is most commonly invoked.
Monitor your incoming traffic
Detects hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly patterns in node traffic using hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly trendlines.
Gain essential insight into mistake rates
Analytics liberates powerful tools for troubleshooting production-ready DApps or APIs. Helps to recognize that your web portals are down when Web3 calls fail.
Security
Assist in locking (or unlocking) the endpoint and, if needed, utilize a custom domain.
NFT Tools
Obtain NFT data with a simple API request (available on Ethereum and Solana).
The NFT API provided by QuickNode enables users to locate any NFT, verify ownership, and get transaction history. In addition, the key is collected without sifting through specific smart contracts.
Conclusion
Reading the evaluations, it becomes clear that QuickNode offers a robust environment for Solana programmers. Blockchain applications are therefore simple to develop, test, and scale.
Therefore, if you are looking to build your own NFT project quickly, strongly and securely, give Quicknode a try!
Disclaimer
Opinions stated on CoinWire.com do not constitute investment advice. Before making any high-risk investments in cryptocurrency, or digital assets, investors should conduct extensive research. Please be aware that any transfers and transactions are entirely at your own risk, and any losses you may experience are entirely your own. CoinWire.com does not encourage the purchase or sale of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, and it is not an investment advisor. Please be aware that CoinWire.com engages in affiliate marketing.
