4 ms·

IPFS only enables decentralization, it doesn't guarantee it. I'd be willing to bet most NFT content is only pinned by the exchange.

web4 4y ago
maybe but this is still better than a centralized server URL for something that is designed to be owned by the commons. if the marketplace goes down users can just re-pin the asset. even if the asset has been completely garbage collected, if it is truly valuable (like Punks) probably at least one computer in the world will have the asset on-disk, and can just re-pin it to revive the IPFS url.
kkielhofner 4y ago
Most NFT content is hosted with HTTP(s). Many NFTs that reference an IPFS url point to a specific IPFS gateway run by the creator as opposed to a “standard” IPFS url with ipfs:// I know this because I have a product that indexes various blockchains and the referenced content.
- Karunamon 4y ago
  Wow, the situation is even more dire than I thought. So by and large, the decentralization benefit is completely off the table for most NFTs. Would you be willing to share some numbers on what you're seeing? This is valuable information.
  - kkielhofner 4y ago
    We'll be providing these kinds of stats in real time when we launch!
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- web41 4y ago
  how many of those are minted with OpenSea? and how many are high value - not spam? OpenSea engineers should be shamed for their use of HTTPS URLs in contracts, but it is not the norm outside of their minting platform.
  - kkielhofner 4y ago
    Many are minted with OpenSea (of course). In any case across the 70 million or so NFTs I have indexed HTTP is definitely the majority.
    - web41 4y ago
      good to know! it would be worth taking a sample of higher value tokens that are not minted by OpenSea. probably the vast majority of those tokens are spam or bots trying to capitalize on existing web content like DeviantArt database. better platforms like Manifold, Foundation and Zora are already using IPFS or Arweave
trainsarebetter 4y ago
i think that’s the point. if effective storage proofs ever become a thing, then the later half (decentralized storage) will be standard

web4 4y ago

maybe but this is still better than a centralized server URL for something that is designed to be owned by the commons. if the marketplace goes down users can just re-pin the asset. even if the asset has been completely garbage collected, if it is truly valuable (like Punks) probably at least one computer in the world will have the asset on-disk, and can just re-pin it to revive the IPFS url.

kkielhofner 4y ago

Most NFT content is hosted with HTTP(s). Many NFTs that reference an IPFS url point to a specific IPFS gateway run by the creator as opposed to a “standard” IPFS url with ipfs:// I know this because I have a product that indexes various blockchains and the referenced content.

Karunamon 4y ago
Wow, the situation is even more dire than I thought. So by and large, the decentralization benefit is completely off the table for most NFTs. Would you be willing to share some numbers on what you're seeing? This is valuable information.
- kkielhofner 4y ago
  We'll be providing these kinds of stats in real time when we launch!
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
web41 4y ago
how many of those are minted with OpenSea? and how many are high value - not spam? OpenSea engineers should be shamed for their use of HTTPS URLs in contracts, but it is not the norm outside of their minting platform.
- kkielhofner 4y ago
  Many are minted with OpenSea (of course). In any case across the 70 million or so NFTs I have indexed HTTP is definitely the majority.
  - web41 4y ago
    good to know! it would be worth taking a sample of higher value tokens that are not minted by OpenSea. probably the vast majority of those tokens are spam or bots trying to capitalize on existing web content like DeviantArt database. better platforms like Manifold, Foundation and Zora are already using IPFS or Arweave

trainsarebetter 4y ago

i think that’s the point. if effective storage proofs ever become a thing, then the later half (decentralized storage) will be standard