What Was the First NFT Minted: The History & Key Milestones
Every time the words Non-fungible tokens are mentioned, it is common for people to immediately think of behemoth collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cryptopunks. In fact, in their popularity, the two NFT collections have often been seen as among the first NFT minted. But, such is not the case.
The first NFT minted was seemingly forgotten till around 2021, when it was publicly sold. But what was the actual first NFT? This guide takes a deep dive into the early days of NFTs, uncovering details about the first minted tokens in the crypto space.
Which blockchain claimed the first NFT? Was it Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana? Let’s find out.
Fungible vs Non-Fungible
Before Non-fungible tokens, there were fungibles. The term fungible means an asset is replaceable by another one completely identical to it. For instance, money is a fungible asset— $1 can be fairly and utterly replaced by another $1. The fungibility attribute makes asset exchanges a seamless process.
The opposite of fungibility is non-fungible, it cannot be replaced by another identical asset—In fact, there are zero assets identical to it. While the concept of non-fungibility has always existed, it was not until the emergence of blockchain technology that the idea was explored well through the birth of NFTs.
Non-fungible tokens are assets spanning art, digital content, or videos that have been tokenized on blockchain technology.
Colored Coins on the Bitcoin blockchain
Colored Coins, created on the Bitcoin blockchain in 2012, became the first known NFT project. The Coins intended to represent real-life assets on the blockchain, such as cars and real estate, but technical complications led to the end of its development.
Quantum: The First NFT Minted
While the history of NFT traces back to the birth of Blockchain technology, it was not until 2014 that we had the first NFT minted in the crypto space. The forgotten hero was named Quantum, that piece of art was created by New York artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy.
Quantum is a short looping animation created by American digital artist Kevin McCoy and his wife Jennifer. It was minted on the Namecoin blockchain in May 2014, depicting a pixelated octagon changing color and shape. The minting of the piece marked the actual birth of the world of Non-fungible tokens.
But what led to the creation of Quantum as an NFT?
Let’s trace back.
Kevin McCoy and his wife Jennifer created the generative piece of art and wanted to sell it in a digital form. However, a conundrum befell them—it was impossible to establish the right way to prove the authenticity of a digital piece of art.
By then, digital art still lacked a way to prove authenticity truly. This led to problems like plagiarism, and collectors would end up buying counterfeits. It was next to impossible to establish the provenance of any digital art.
So, how did Kevin McCoy solve this?
Through a collaboration with software developer Anil Dash, Kevin McCoy created the NFT concept, called the “Monegraph” at the time. The duo explored blockchain tech, employing its unique properties that enable not just buying and selling but also proper provenance.
After the creation of the concept, the duo minted Quantum into an NFT. Furthermore, they publicly presented how the exchange of this asset would happen, with McCoy selling a unique digital image to Dash for $4 using blockchain technology.
Over a decade later, The McCoys and Dash, despite creating revolutionary technology, their names are still not popular. However, their hard work and innovation set the groundwork for what we now know as the billion-dollar NFT industry.
What Blockchain did they use?
By 2014, a good number of blockchain networks were already available, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and even Namecoin. To mint the first ever non-fungible token, McCoy and Dash opted to work with Namecoin. According to reports, the exact date Quantum was minted on Namecoin is May 5, 2014.
Quantum: The Rediscovery
For years, Quantum remained forgotten until its sale at auction at Sotheby’s in June 2021 for more than one million dollars. The sale brought the NFT into mainstream awareness.
After the sale, experts questioned the legality of the sale because of a quirk of Namecoin. On Namecoin, users need to renew whatever is minted every 250 days to retain ownership. Before the sale, McCoy had not renewed Quantum for years.
First NFT Minted on Different Blockchains
So far, you have seen a small history of NFTs, especially focusing on Quantum, the first NFT in the world of blockchain technology. But what about the first NFTs minted in different blockchains like Ethereum and Solana?
Terra Nullius: First NFT Minted on Ethereum
Of course, Cryptopunks, BAYC, and Cryptokitties are the most famous non-fungible NFT collections in the world. But they are not the first.
A long time before the existence of those behemoths, Terra Nullius was minted on Ethereum. In fact, Terra Nullius was minted on August 7, 2015, by a user called Semiel. This project was created as an interactive smart contract tracking ownership of 4,000 blocks on the Ethereum blockchain.
Kreechures: First NFT Minted on Solana
Mad Lads, Degods, and y00ts are some of the most popular NFT collections in the realm of Solana. But, long before their existence, Kreechures were minted on Solana. In fact, Kreechures is an NFT collection with funny-looking creatures.
While the collection originally planned to release 20K NFTs, the lack of demand led to the reduction of the supply to only about 5K. Kreechures consists of 49 species of creatures and three levels of rarity.
Additional key milestones in NFT history
We already know about the first minted NFT, but what about the whole collection of NFTs or NFT games?
Blockchain games
2015 – Spells of Genesis, a trading card game, becomes the first known blockchain game. Its developments were the first to create on-chain in-game assets, and a blockchain-based in-game currency called BitCrystals.
Smart contracts
Etheria, a virtual game world, also launched in 2015 on Ethereum, and introduced smart contracts – executable blockchain-based code – to the world. In Etheria, players could own hexagonal tiles, farm them for resources, and build assets on them.
First widely-known NFT collection
Rare Pepe became one of the first widely-known NFT collections, opening the door for NFT Art with the first Rare Digital Art Festival in 2016.
The most valuable NFT PFP Collection
CryptoPunks, the most valuable NFT PFP collection, was launched in 2017, setting the trend of 10,000-piece generative NFT art collectibles.
CryptoKitties also launched in 2017, becoming the first widely-known blockchain game. Built on Ethereum, players can own, adopt, breed and trade their virtual cats.
Conclusion and the future of NFTs
It is clear that Quantum, the long-forgotten digital art, was the first NFT minted in the world of blockchain technology. A few years later, the asset was sold for over $1 million in a public auction. Terra Nullius and Kreechures were the first NFTs minted in the Ethereum and Solana blockchain networks, respectively.
Quantum, Terra Nullius, and Kreechures are all now in the past. While they still exist in the crypto space, they are not among the most popular or even valuable collections.
As of February 2025, the NFT space is valued at about $4.86 billion. CryptoPunks is the most dominant collection according to live heatmaps, with its market cap standing at $954.7 million. Infinex Patrons follows closely with a market cap of $504 million, while BAYC takes a close third with $367 million in market cap.
The future of NFT space already looks big. The development of hybrid NFTs, fractional NFTs, NFT-based mortgages, and more make the world of Non-fungibles a high-potential realm. In the future, we will continue to see major evolution in the world of non-fungibles, with the impact of this world being impossible to understate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the first NFT ever created?
Quantum, a product of Kevin and Jennifer McCoy, was the first-ever piece of digital art to be minted as an NFT on the Namecoin blockchain in 2014. Although it was forgotten for some years, the NFT today thrives with high value.
What does it mean when an NFT is minted?
NFT minting refers to the process of creating a unique digital token based on blockchain technology. You begin by creating a digital asset and uploading it to the Blockchain, which assigns an identifier to the asset. The NFT is stored, sold, and traded on the Blockchain.
Was OpenSea the first NFT marketplace?
While Quantum was the first NFT minted in 2014, it remained behind the curtains for the better part of its early years. This was majorly because of the lack of a good NFT marketplace. However, in 2017, OpenSea was founded as the pioneer NFT marketplace, bringing opportunities to sell NFTs.