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Help! I need to create an NFT. Where do I start? A Step-by-step guide.

21 June 2022 04:05


Authored by: Alison Cripps, Greg Dickason, Peggy Wong, Michael Cole & Jody Sha


LexisNexis® is giving you a chance to be the very first owner of the first ever non-fungible token (NFT) (that we know of) of “Practical Guidance on NFTs”. Yes, we are going to NFT the guidance note on NFTs!

So, how much would you pay for an NFT of practical advice on NFTs?

You might be wondering why LexisNexis would embark on such an unusual project? After all – we are known for our extended range of quality, market-responsive and practical content for legal professionals – not tokens, of any sort, on the blockchain! But the answer is this:

Crypto and the blockchain technology that underpins it is one of the most exciting technological developments of our time and no less for the legal sector. We’re seeing a growing number of firms now offering legal advice in this space, however there is still a lack of consistency or accepted best practice. In short – the legal profession needs practical training in crypto including in NFTs and what a better way to do this, than to invite all our colleagues to join us in our journey as we create and sell our very own NFT of practical advice!


How did we dream up this idea?

In late 2021, LexisNexis recognised that legal people need to understand the implications of digital tokens and the digital economy, and how these interact with the ‘real’ economy and its laws. Aware that a robust module within Practical Guidance covering all things crypto was a must, we took it upon ourselves to develop practical content to assist legal professionals in advising in the digital economy. Of course, no topic on crypto currency is complete without an analysis of tokens (including non-fungible tokens) and how their use would impact the everyday work of legal advisors and their ability to confidently advise in the digital economy, how to understand ownership, the intellectual property implications, and the tax treatment of tokens.

Following on from this thinking, we turned to Bishop & Fang to dive deeper into the market trends and quickly saw a need for more NFT-related practical advice and practical experience among Australian law professionals. We wanted to create a robust framework that provided the comprehensive learnings needed, and what better way to do this, then create our own NFT.


What is an NFT?

Using blockchain technology, NFTs are unique tokens that can be used to represent ownership of virtually anything - images, video, membership of a club, music or even trading cards. By using the same technology that backs cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, these digital objects can be bought and transferred for a transmission fee on the blockchain.

While conversation surrounding NFTs have undoubtedly spiked in recent months, the concept dates back to 2013 when ‘coloured coins’ or ‘meta coins’ were first developed in Bitcoin, where the coin could still be used as money but also represented ownership of another asset. NFTs have taken the same concept, transferability on the blockchain, but are now typically ‘minted’ specifically using a smart contract on a blockchain such as Ethereum. They can be stored in the same wallets that store crypto.

Being non ‘fungible’ means the data added is also inherently unique and this reinforces the sense of independent ownership.

In this sense, NFTs are not the only tokens embedded into the modern economy. Land title certifications, public company shares and club memberships are other examples used to represent tangible, sometimes non-fungible, value.


Why would you buy the NFT?

Good question!

To learn? Bragging rights maybe? To be the proud owner of the first ever NFT of practical advice on NFTs?

We don’t know where this experiment will end up. We don’t know how much value will be assigned to an NFT on Practical Advice on NFTs or even who will want to buy it. But we do know this - as we embark on this journey - we will be answering these questions and many more. We will be learning alongside all of you.

Looking to the future

Future blogs will go into the challenges for a large multinational to engage in crypto and NFTs, the importance of uniting top legal tech minds and supporting specialist crypto firms, and the insights we have on the future implications.

Come and join us in this journey. For the next blogs in this series, we’ll cover:

  • Setting up the NFT. What decisions needed to be made about the format, platform and distribution of the NFT?
  • The financial and legal questions to answer for a large multinational, including how to set up a Crypto Wallet, the process of setting up an NFT auction and how to allocate the funds to a charity partner.

You never know. By the end of this series you may actually find yourself the proud owner of your very first NFT of practical advice on NFTs.

READ NEXT: NFT Blog 2

Related Articles

  • NFT Part 2: It’s all about what to create!
    You may recall that a couple of weeks ago LexisNexis announced a creative and we think ambitious project – we are going to launch the first ever NFT of one of our Guidance Notes.
  • Blog 3: Wallet creation
    If we were to journey back in time to the birth of the crypto wallet, perhaps we would discover someone employing ‘poetic license’ behind their creation because, despite the name, crypto wallets do not contain crypto (which is kept on the blockchain) and nor are they ‘wallets’ in the traditional sense of the word.
  • Blog 4: NFTing* – the act of creating a non-fungible token
    We have all been there: That moment in a meeting when someone announces: “We should get our external lawyers to have a look at this”

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