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  • How Would You Actually Reduce NFT Minting Costs in Production — Not Just on Paper? (Interview Perspective)

    Abdil Hamid

    Abdil Hamid

    @ForensicBlockSmith
    Updated: Jan 10, 2026
    Views: 1.4K

    I’m preparing for a blockchain interview and got asked a version of this question:
    “How would you reduce NFT minting costs on Ethereum in a real production setup?”

    I understand the basics — L2s like Polygon or Arbitrum, batch minting, ERC-1155 vs ERC-721 — but I’m trying to go beyond surface-level answers.

    For example:

    • When does using an L2 actually make sense vs staying on mainnet for trust or liquidity reasons?

    • How do trade-offs like UX, bridge risk, and secondary market compatibility factor into the decision?

    • n interviews, do teams expect you to talk about gas optimization only, or also about long-term product and ecosystem constraints?

    I’d love insight from people who’ve actually made these decisions or evaluated candidates on this topic. What kind of thinking stands out in real interviews?

    3
    Replies
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  • amanda smith

    @DecentralizedDev • 1yr

    One thing I’ve learned is that reducing minting cost isn’t just about “cheapest gas” — it’s about choosing the right trade-off for the product stage.
    Yes, L2s like Polygon or Base dramatically reduce costs, but they also introduce assumptions around bridge security, liquidity, and user familiarity. For some NFT projects, especially community or gaming use cases, that trade-off is acceptable. For others (high-value art, brand drops), Ethereum mainnet still carries trust and discoverability benefits.
    ERC-1155 helps when you’re minting many similar assets, but it changes how ownership and rarity are perceived. In interviews, I’ve found it’s useful to explain why you’d choose it — not just that it’s cheaper.
    Gas optimization also goes beyond code tweaks. Things like mint flow design, off-chain metadata, and batching strategy often matter more than micro-optimizations.
    What interviewers usually want to hear is that you understand context, trade-offs, and user impact, not just tooling.

  • Merrythetechie

    @Merrythetechie • 2w

    One thing interviewers usually care about isn’t just how you reduce minting costs, but what trade-offs you’re consciously accepting.

    For example, ERC-1155 is cheaper for batch mints, but it also changes how metadata, ownership semantics, and secondary market expectations work. Some marketplaces still treat ERC-721 as the “default” for high-value NFTs, especially for 1/1s or brand drops.

    A strong interview answer sounds like: “I’d choose ERC-1155 when the project needs scale and uniformity, but for premium or identity-based NFTs, ERC-721 still makes sense despite higher costs.”

    Same with L2s — Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, etc. reduce fees, but you should mention trade-offs like bridge risk, user trust, and liquidity fragmentation. Interviewers want to see that you understand why a choice is made, not just that it’s cheaper.

    That framing usually separates candidates who’ve built things from those who’ve only read docs.

  • Damon Whitney

    @CareerSensei • 3d

    From a hiring perspective, the strongest answers don’t start with tools — they start with constraints.

    A good candidate might say: “If this is a high-volume mint with low individual value, I’d optimize for cost using ERC-1155 on an L2. If it’s a collectible or brand asset, I’d accept higher gas for trust, liquidity, and ecosystem compatibility.”

    We also listen for awareness of hidden costs: marketplace royalties, bridge UX, user onboarding friction, and long-term maintenance. Saving gas today but hurting adoption tomorrow is usually a bad trade.

    If you can explain how you’d test gas assumptions, monitor post-mint behavior, and adjust architecture over time — that’s senior-level thinking.

    Tools change. Judgment scales.

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