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No, NFTs technically have nothing to do with images, or files at all. The way it works is that you write a random string and save it on a blockchain, which beco

No, NFTs technically have nothing to do with images, or files at all. The way it works is that you write a random string and save it on a blockchain, which becomes the NFT. From there, you can use a lookup table to map the NFT to a URL that links to an image that's stored on the owner's server. NFTs are truly the worst of all grifts.

thrwy_918 3y ago
AFAIK it is often perfectly possible to actually encode image data on-chain, it is just much more expensive (and much less common as a result)
- TaylorAlexander 3y ago
  Perhaps but the standard NFT is a URL encoded in the chain. Yes this is as absurd as it sounds.
  - wyldfire 3y ago
    It seems to me that cryptocoin adjacent things somehow attract well meaning people who just don't understand what parts of the technology are critical to its functionality. Maybe they understand one use case for a signature but don't really understand what signature is and more importantly what it isn't. And sadly enough - several cryptocoins themselves are also this way. I used to think cryptocoins were truly revolutionary. But the tech space is so rife with abuse, theft, scams that it doesn't feel worth it.
- astrange 3y ago
  People get upset when you do this because storing data on-chain is, possibly, infinitely expensive, since you can never get rid of it.
  - thrwy_918 3y ago
    >since you can never get rid of it if you're an actual believer in NFTs, isn't that kind of the point?
codetrotter 3y ago
> you write a random string and save it on a blockchain, which becomes the NFT. From there, you can use a lookup table to map the NFT to a URL that links to an image that's stored on the owner's server The way which they are mapped to images vary from NFT to NFT. But let's look at Bored Ape Yacht Club specifically. Collection https://opensea.io/collection/boredapeyachtclub https://opensea.io/collection/boredapeyachtclub Pick a random bored ape. For example #1337. https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061c2e118a18a936f13d/1337 https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061... From there we can see the bored ape Ethereum "smart contract" https://etherscan.io/address/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061c2e118a18a936f13d https://etherscan.io/address/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061c2e118... This contract is responsible for minting all of the original Bored Ape NFTs Click on "contract". And then click "read contract". Scroll down. There is a method named "tokenURI". It takes an integer as parameter. Let's query it with value "1337" (the id of the bored ape we are interested in knowing about). Result: ipfs://QmeSjSinHpPnmXmspMjwiXyN6zS4E9zccariGR3jxcaWtq/1337 Let's visit that URL via an IPFS gateway. https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmeSjSinHpPnmXmspMjwiXyN6zS4E9zccariGR3jxcaWtq/1337 https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmeSjSinHpPnmXmspMjwiXyN6zS... It contains JSON data. {"image":"ipfs://QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXjV86mP7kPEaTeP5bohae","attributes":[{"trait_type":"Background","value":"Yellow"},{"trait_type":"Fur","value":"Dark Brown"},{"trait_type":"Clothes","value":"Bone Necklace"},{"trait_type":"Mouth","value":"Bored Unshaven"},{"trait_type":"Hat","value":"Horns"},{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Bloodshot"}]} We make note of the IPFS URL for the image from here. ipfs://QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXjV86mP7kPEaTeP5bohae And visit that one via our chosen IPFS gateway. https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXjV86mP7kPEaTeP5bohae https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXj... So there you have it. Via the Bored Ape smart contract we retrieved the JSON data and image file for Bored Ape #1337 from IPFS.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  {"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Bloodshot"} is a particularly well-chosen example here.
- qingcharles 3y ago
  Retrieving that image relies on someone continuing to pin the file indefinitely, though, right?

thrwy_918 3y ago

AFAIK it is often perfectly possible to actually encode image data on-chain, it is just much more expensive (and much less common as a result)

TaylorAlexander 3y ago
Perhaps but the standard NFT is a URL encoded in the chain. Yes this is as absurd as it sounds.
- wyldfire 3y ago
  It seems to me that cryptocoin adjacent things somehow attract well meaning people who just don't understand what parts of the technology are critical to its functionality. Maybe they understand one use case for a signature but don't really understand what signature is and more importantly what it isn't. And sadly enough - several cryptocoins themselves are also this way. I used to think cryptocoins were truly revolutionary. But the tech space is so rife with abuse, theft, scams that it doesn't feel worth it.
astrange 3y ago
People get upset when you do this because storing data on-chain is, possibly, infinitely expensive, since you can never get rid of it.
- thrwy_918 3y ago
  >since you can never get rid of it if you're an actual believer in NFTs, isn't that kind of the point?

codetrotter 3y ago

> you write a random string and save it on a blockchain, which becomes the NFT. From there, you can use a lookup table to map the NFT to a URL that links to an image that's stored on the owner's server The way which they are mapped to images vary from NFT to NFT. But let's look at Bored Ape Yacht Club specifically. Collection https://opensea.io/collection/boredapeyachtclub https://opensea.io/collection/boredapeyachtclub Pick a random bored ape. For example #1337. https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061c2e118a18a936f13d/1337 https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061... From there we can see the bored ape Ethereum "smart contract" https://etherscan.io/address/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061c2e118a18a936f13d https://etherscan.io/address/0xbc4ca0eda7647a8ab7c2061c2e118... This contract is responsible for minting all of the original Bored Ape NFTs Click on "contract". And then click "read contract". Scroll down. There is a method named "tokenURI". It takes an integer as parameter. Let's query it with value "1337" (the id of the bored ape we are interested in knowing about). Result: ipfs://QmeSjSinHpPnmXmspMjwiXyN6zS4E9zccariGR3jxcaWtq/1337 Let's visit that URL via an IPFS gateway. https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmeSjSinHpPnmXmspMjwiXyN6zS4E9zccariGR3jxcaWtq/1337 https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmeSjSinHpPnmXmspMjwiXyN6zS... It contains JSON data. {"image":"ipfs://QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXjV86mP7kPEaTeP5bohae","attributes":[{"trait_type":"Background","value":"Yellow"},{"trait_type":"Fur","value":"Dark Brown"},{"trait_type":"Clothes","value":"Bone Necklace"},{"trait_type":"Mouth","value":"Bored Unshaven"},{"trait_type":"Hat","value":"Horns"},{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Bloodshot"}]} We make note of the IPFS URL for the image from here. ipfs://QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXjV86mP7kPEaTeP5bohae And visit that one via our chosen IPFS gateway. https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXjV86mP7kPEaTeP5bohae https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmWjXFUVNjavM4hDzXeQYGXGCXj... So there you have it. Via the Bored Ape smart contract we retrieved the JSON data and image file for Bored Ape #1337 from IPFS.

ceejayoz 3y ago
{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Bloodshot"} is a particularly well-chosen example here.
qingcharles 3y ago
Retrieving that image relies on someone continuing to pin the file indefinitely, though, right?