About NFTs
A digital asset often refers to information or data that is stored electronically.
Every asset on the internet represents a digital asset. However, when talking about non-fungible tokens digital assets often come in the form of digital currencies, digital files, and most commonly digital art or collectibles.
What is an NFT?
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a type of digital asset used to represent ownership or proof of authenticity of something — often a unique item or content.
The ERC-721 and ERC-1155 token standards were created by the community to bring uniformity to the non-fungible token ecosystem. The 721 standard was proposed first with the goal of creating a standard API for non-fungible tokens.
The 1155 standard was introduced second with the goal of creating a more dynamic token that could have both fungible and non-fungible assets apart of the same contract.
In both cases, the definition of non-fungible can be a bit broad, however, the key is that all tokens both fungible and non-fungible when used in conjunction with an Ethereum-like public blockchain, enables consistent and straightforward proof of ownership.
How are NFTs a type of digital assets?
NFTs are unique and one-of-a-kind and cannot be exchanged for something else of identical value. This differs from fungible assets, such as cryptocurrencies, where every unit is equal in value & can be exchanged at a 1 to 1 ratio with itself.
NFTs have become a common way for creators to monetize their digital content and for collectors to own a unique piece of media — such as a piece of art — of collectibles — such as in-game items or avatars.
While non-fungible tokens can appreciate or depreciate in value depending on various factors such as popularity & rarity, the key factor behind them is the provable ownership. As tokens are generally owned on a 1 to 1 basis — except for fractional ownership situations — non-fungible tokens have opened up a new way for individuals to engage with creators and truely own art, collectibles, and unique assets that interest them.
Why would someone use an ERC-721 contract versus ERC-1155?
Both the ERC-721 and the ERC-1155 standards cover a broad spectrum of use cases. ERC-721 is a common standard for 1:1 collections where each asset only has one copy such as art. ERC-1155 on the other hand is common for in-game assets where many players can owner the same asset.
See the table below for a great understanding of the differences between these tokens standards.
| ERC-721 | ERC-1155 | |
|---|---|---|
# of Assets per Token Id |
0 or 1 |
0 - uint256(-1) |
# of Owners per Token |
0 or 1 |
0 - uint256(-1) |
Use Case: Art Collection |
Yes |
No |
Use Case: In-Game Collectibles |
Yes |
Yes |
Use Case: In-Game Starter Pack |
Yes |
Yes |
Use Case: Fractional Ownership |
No |
Yes |
Use Case: Fungible Token |
No |
Yes |
Why SKALE?
Zero Gas Fees
One of the biggest reasons to mint your NFTs on SKALE is because the gas utilized has no fiat value. This gas token is called sFUEL and represents a "fee-less" transaction model.
The gas token exists to provide an additional security layer to the network, however, enables no cost transactions to users.
This means minting is always free with no excpetions.
Near Instance Completition
Blockchains use the term finality to represent how long it takes a transaction to be full confirmed. Finality varies greatly across the ecosystem and projects and businesses often have to take this into account when buliding.
The time to completition — or TTC — is really just the time to finality. Building on SKALE, block times have a small, but consistent average variation between three (3) and five (5) seconds.
This means when minting NFTs, transactions can be confirmed — or denied if they fail — in a time period so small and consistent that your users will barely notice a delay. You’ll notice this when you mint your first NFT.