4 ms·

Wait until you learn that an NFT doesn't even contain the 1s and 0s. It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken do

Wait until you learn that an NFT doesn't even contain the 1s and 0s. It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time.

bko 5y ago
> It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time. I don't think that's true. It contains an address that some centralized database says points to an image on someone's server. I don't think the URL or reference to the image sits anywhere on the blockchain, maybe some characteristics like the name. But I think its just a pointer to nothing. Is there any blockchain project that is effective at storing actual data, like a distributed file system?
- MacsHeadroom 5y ago
  Yes, Filecoin is the big one. The URI stored on the Ethereum Blockchain for an NFT is almost always an IPFS URI. IPFS is the cache layer on top of Filecoin. https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/ https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/
  - ipaddr 5y ago
    Which is a link to the image outside of the blockchain. "The data exists in the network as long as one user is storing it and can provide it to others when they request it"
    - ShamelessC 5y ago
      What happens if that person dies?
      - perl4ever 5y ago
        "Who would want to do that? It sounds unpleasant." https://xkcd.com/908/ https://xkcd.com/908/
- lazzlazzlazz 5y ago
  Many NFT projects store all the image data on Arweave[1], which stores it permanently on a blockchain built for this purpose. Unfortunately, you won't hear about the tech on Hacker News — just cynical takes. [1]: https://www.arweave.org/ https://www.arweave.org/
  - perl4ever 5y ago
    But that image data...is fungible, isn't it?
  - tata71 5y ago
    This is technically cool — as are other projects in the space I won't link here — but still misses the point of NFTs being way broader than art. They're just crypto-assets. Full stop.
doopy1 5y ago
Some NFTs are completely on-chain.

Wait until you learn that an NFT doesn't even contain the 1s and 0s. It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time.

bko 5y ago

> It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time. I don't think that's true. It contains an address that some centralized database says points to an image on someone's server. I don't think the URL or reference to the image sits anywhere on the blockchain, maybe some characteristics like the name. But I think its just a pointer to nothing. Is there any blockchain project that is effective at storing actual data, like a distributed file system?

MacsHeadroom 5y ago
Yes, Filecoin is the big one. The URI stored on the Ethereum Blockchain for an NFT is almost always an IPFS URI. IPFS is the cache layer on top of Filecoin. https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/ https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/
- ipaddr 5y ago
  Which is a link to the image outside of the blockchain. "The data exists in the network as long as one user is storing it and can provide it to others when they request it"
  - ShamelessC 5y ago
    What happens if that person dies?
    - perl4ever 5y ago
      "Who would want to do that? It sounds unpleasant." https://xkcd.com/908/ https://xkcd.com/908/
lazzlazzlazz 5y ago
Many NFT projects store all the image data on Arweave[1], which stores it permanently on a blockchain built for this purpose. Unfortunately, you won't hear about the tech on Hacker News — just cynical takes. [1]: https://www.arweave.org/ https://www.arweave.org/
- perl4ever 5y ago
  But that image data...is fungible, isn't it?
- tata71 5y ago
  This is technically cool — as are other projects in the space I won't link here — but still misses the point of NFTs being way broader than art. They're just crypto-assets. Full stop.

doopy1 5y ago

Some NFTs are completely on-chain.