The Cardano NFT Guides
MINTING

Breakdown of a Cardano Mint Transaction

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IN THIS LESSON

At first glance, a Cardano mint transaction might look complex. Let's break it down step by step. Understanding these components gives you deeper insight into the minting process and ownership tracking on the blockchain.

Breakdown of a Cardano mint transaction as seen in the Eternl wallet. The elements of the transaction color coded for clarity.

Pictured below is an example of a typical minting transaction on Cardano. It includes the minting of an NFT under a specific policy ID, using a script that controls the minting permissions, and it is accompanied by metadata that provides detailed information about the NFT. The metadata is stored on-chain, and it adheres to the standards set out by CIP-25, ensuring that it is compatible with wallets and marketplaces that support these standards.

Let's break down the components of the mint transaction.

  1. Transaction ID: At the top, you have the unique identifier of the transaction (TxHash). It's like a receipt number that can be used to track the transaction on the blockchain.

  2. Block: This indicates the block number in which this transaction was included.

  3. Fee: The total transaction fee that was paid to process this transaction, including writing the metadata necessary to mint this token to the blockchain.

  4. Native/Multi-Sig Script(s): This section lists the script(s) used to control the minting process. The script ensures that the minting complies with the rules set out in the token's policy.

  5. Metadata (Label 721): This is the metadata associated with the minted token according to CIP-25. The structure under the 721 label contains several fields:

    • Policy ID: The unique identifier for the policy under which the token is minted.

    • Asset Information: Within the policy ID, we have a nested JSON object that describes the minted asset. In this case this includes (will vary based on the preferences and desires of the artist/creator):

      • artist: The creator of the NFT artwork.

      • arweaveId: A link to an Arweave storage location where the back-up of the asset is stored (optional).

      • collection: The name of the collection to which the NFT belongs.

      • copyright: Copyright notice for the NFT.

      • description: A general description for the NFT.

      • image: A link to the main image of the NFT, stored on IPFS (InterPlanetary File System).

      • name: The name of the NFT.

      • traits: Various other characteristics of the NFT, color, emotion, eyes, and fur in this case.

      • links (site; site2; twitter; twitter2): Links to related websites & social media.

  6. Mint/Burn: This shows what was minted or burned in the transaction. In this case, 1 Trybbles SRE Cute 41/50 indicates that one unit of the "Trybbles SRE Cute" token, specifically number 41 out of 50, was created.

  7. UTxO Breakdown - Inputs & Outputs: The UTxO (Unspent Transaction Output) model is how Cardano tracks ownership of ADA and tokens. This field describes all parties involved in the transaction, their addresses and corresponding UTxO. The Input is where the ADA required for the transaction came from, in this case the minter of the NFT. The Outputs are where the ADA and any minted tokens are sent after the transaction. In this case there are 3 Outputs: one going to the wallet that initiated the mint, with the newly minted token, the second going to the minting service provider fee wallet and the third going to the artist/creator.