MINTING
IN THIS LESSON
NFTs on Cardano are directly embedded into the blockchain – no need for third-party smart contracts. This approach brings enhanced security and a straightforward minting experience for artists and developers. In this lesson, we'll unpack why Cardano's approach makes a difference for creators and collectors.
Cardano's approach to minting is distinct from other blockchains. On Cardano minting assets does not require a smart contract, unlike on almost all other blockchains. Instead, Cardano's protocol allows for direct registration of assets onto the blockchain. The information about the newly created asset is stored natively on the chain in the data included in the mint transaction (in the CIP-25 standard, the most common). This streamlined process not only ensures that each asset is immediately part of the Cardano ledger but also simplifies the minting process, offering a level of security and reliability that creators and collectors value.
From the point of view of the ledger, a mint transaction is a base transaction like any other. The data in the mint transaction is a form of metadata that is read by wallets, marketplaces, and blockchain explorers to display information about the token(s). The token metadata on Cardano is formatted in JSON, JavaScript Object Notation, a standard data format.
In practice this means that NFTs on Cardano are on the base layer of the blockchain from the moment they are created and don’t rely on a third party entity (a smart contract).