# Mint

When rolling a snowball, it is essential to 'Start small and grow big'. 

Therefore, users need to pay 0.01 ETH to mint a cold kernel first and then roll the kernel to grow into a giant snowball. 

This kernel is actually[ the owner NFT of an A3S address](https://a3sprotocolcontact.gitbook.io/a3s-protocol/a3s-v1.0/what-is-a3s-v1.0). It not only acts as a mandatory NFT for participating in the game but also functions as a fully operational NFT-gated smart contract address.

You will be able to view this kernel NFT in your wallet, which includes the following traits:

1. **Token ID**: The sequence of minting this NFT (first minted NFT with the Token ID #1)
2. **A3S Address**: The unique smart contract address that this NFT can control (the address shows on the NFT pic and name)

<figure><img src="https://4282604279-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fl7Q0oCIusVC7JM7fzii5%2Fuploads%2FpaaKnm2hCiwGZ6jrNcUl%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=5a8b9b32-3352-4a55-8c06-f03a12607f32" alt=""><figcaption><p>#1000 kernel</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="success" %}
The NFTs with under 1,000 tokenID are all reserved for rewarding users ([0xAA Raffle](https://a3sprotocolcontact.gitbook.io/a3s-protocol/a3stokenomics/mint-and-roll-to-earn-usdaa/earn/raffle)).

&#x20;These 1,000 A3S smart contract addresses start with 0xAA.
{% endhint %}