NFTAPPLICATION

The Challenge of NFTs: Artwork's Identity is On the Blockchain, but Where is the Essence of Beeple's Artwork?

share
The Challenge of NFTs: Artwork

London-based tech figure Jonty Wareing recently sparked a discussion on Twitter about NFTs, prompting an interesting conversation that encourages people to contemplate the significance and development of "blockchain digital art."

At the core, an NFT is essentially a URL address from the internet or an IPFS hash value, serving as a form of digital fingerprint. In most cases, it represents an IPFS gateway of the issuing company on the internet.

Where Are Beeple's Artworks?

Jonty Wareing used Beeple's artwork "CROSSROAD" on the digital auction marketplace Nifty as an example. The NFT actually represents a file on the Nifty server, as seen in Nifty's server.

Jonty Wareing explained that what the buyer actually acquires is the visual image or video in this case, stored via Cloudinary's CDN and served by Nifty's server. If Nifty were to go down, the NFT might become worthless as it wouldn't display anything.

Another way NFTs present themselves is through the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralized file system. For instance, the NFT representing the high-priced Beeple artwork auctioned at Christie's represents a hash value on IPFS, which redirects users to the file through a public gateway.

Hash value on IPFS

Image sourced from IPFS:

Jonty Wareing mentioned that while the IPFS hash value can point to a specific file and not a potentially broken URL, there are still risks involved. If the IPFS gateway leading to the original data and metadata of the artwork, like this one, operated by a company named makersplace, were to go down, the files might disappear from IPFS.

In March of this year, a digital artist even swapped all their created NFTs, hoping to provoke thoughts on what truly holds value:

Opinion: Long-term Risks with NFTs? Hard to Say

Jonty Wareing believes that those issuing NFTs seem to have a lot of control, which could potentially lead to issues with NFTs sold in the next decade. However, does this render NFTs completely worthless?

Jonty Wareing discussed an interesting concept: "NFT startups are extortionists playing the long game." Of course, this is a joke. Some speculate that buyers of high-priced artworks like Beeple's might inject funds or acquire the startup issuing the NFT to ensure the longevity of their collection if the company faces closure. He suggests that one could potentially purchase a bankrupt NFT startup and charge NFT owners for providing the files.

He mentioned that while some might suggest providing files from their own IPFS nodes, the metadata points to a specific IPFS gateway URL address, not just an IPFS hash value. Therefore, only the gateway controller can manage the outer data provided by the NFTs.

In fact, instances of some NFTs already being broken have been observed:

Jonty Wareing clarified that this is only a partial observation and not all NFTs will encounter such issues. However, improvements are indeed needed in the application of NFTs and IPFS.

Discussion on Decentralized Cloud Storage

A Twitter account, Check My NFT, investigating damaged NFTs, suggests that metadata, URLs, and image files should be maintained by a storage provider that is secure, invulnerable to hacks, and permanently available.

Amid the booming NFT market, concepts of decentralized cloud storage in cryptocurrency projects can also play a role, offering solutions integrated with IPFS to ensure file permanence.

Recent data from the past week also indicates that "Blockchain Storage" projects have seen the largest growth among the top cryptocurrency project types:

Currently, among the related cryptocurrencies able to make it into the top 100 by market capitalization, only five companies have achieved this: