
What Exactly Is An NFT?
An NFT, in relation to art and collectibles, is a token containing information stored on the blockchain about the asset (image, video, etc) that a collector has purchased. With few exceptions, the NFT contains a link to a file location where the underlying artwork file (image, video, etc) is stored.
What does it mean to say your NFT is stored “On Chain” versus “Off Chain”?
An NFT, in relation to art and collectibles, is a token containing information stored on the blockchain about the asset (image, video, etc) that a collector has purchased. With few exceptions, the NFT contains a link to a file location where the underlying artwork file (image, video, etc) is stored.
What does it mean to say your NFT is stored “On Chain” versus “Off Chain”?
In rare cases, an NFT can truly be said to be stored entirely on the blockchain (“on chain”.) This is the case, for example, for NFTs that are generated from small bits of code, such as autoglyphs. However, the artwork associated with the vast majority of NFTs is stored off-chain, typically either on a server using the IPFS protocol or a centralized server like AWS.
Why aren’t the underlying NFT files themselves stored on chain?
The blockchain is not efficient at storing even relatively small files. Some recent estimates put the cost of storage on the Ethereum blockchain at $17,100 per 1MB of data. Even a short video of 10 seconds can easily require 15-20MB of storage, so it’s not hard to see why on-chain storage of assets is cost-prohibitive.
What is IPFS and why use it?
IPFS is a decentralized (peer-to-peer) solution for finding content stored on servers called IPFS nodes. IPFS itself is not a storage system like AWS, but rather a protocol for finding files stored on individual (distributed) storage devices running the IPFS protocol.
There are a number of advantages to storing NFT files using IPFS:
- The content stored using the IPFS protocol (whether JPEG, video file, music file, etc) cannot be altered in any way. It can only be the exact artwork the collector purchased, or nothing.
- The file can be restored by anyone possessing the exact original version of the file. In practice, no one cares more about a given NFT than the owner, so the owner would be the most likely person to restore it.
- Because IPFS is decentralized, this eliminates the risk of a single centralized storage provider going out of business with the resulting loss of all stored files.
Why not store your NFT assets on the web?
Storing any file in the cloud (e.g. AWS) or some individual’s web server represents a centralized model of storage. Centralization refers to the fact that a single entity or person controls all aspects of storage, including access and maintenance.
Remember that an NFT is not the actual image or video file associated with the artwork, but rather a token containing a link pointing to where the artwork is stored. If the artwork itself is stored on some individual’s web server, and if that individual decides to shut down the server or swap in a different image, the NFT may either end up pointing to nothing or to some other file (not the artwork the collector purchased!). The collector has no control over the fate of their NFTs in this scenario.
While storing files on a service like AWS seems less risky, the NFT owner nevertheless is still dependent on a 3rd party to pay AWS storage fees to maintain the files. If whoever is responsible for paying those fees fails to do so, your stored files may disappear. There have been a number of instances of NFT marketplaces going out of business and leaving storage fees unpaid, with the resulting loss of huge numbers of NFT artwork files.
With IPFS, anyone possessing the exact original art file can ensure that the NFT is linking to it, thus securing the value and integrity of the NFT.
Why You Should Download Your NFT Files
As noted above, the IPFS protocol ensures that at the file location denoted by your NFT, only the exact image you purchased will be found, or the location will be empty. We believe it is ultimately the collector’s responsibility to ensure that the purchased image is what is found at the location.
As long as the collector downloads the correct art file related to his or her NFT purchase, along with some file parameters required to successfully reupload via the IPFS protocol, then the collector can ensure this artwork never disappears from IPFS.
Note that if NFT artwork is stored on some individual’s web server, then downloading the files becomes meaningless. If the web server goes down, or the owner of the service swaps in a different file, the NFT owner has no say in the matter.
In short, if you aren’t downloading your NFT artwork files, then you aren’t making use of the power of IPFS, and you might as well use a centralized service, with its associated drawbacks. Why bother purchasing NFTs if you aren’t going to have provable ownership and protection around your assets.
Can’t I Just Use A Pinning Service Or Other Forever-Storage Solution To Store My NFT Files Instead of downloading them?
Pinning services such as Pinata and Infura are companies that collectors pay to host their NFT artwork. These services will run IPFS nodes and make sure your files are available through the IPFS protocol. Other decentralized storage solutions, such as Arweave and Filecoin, also provide mechanisms for storing and pinning your NFT artwork.
One issue with all such services is that collectors are now paying a recurring or lifetime storage charge for their NFT artwork, a sort of tax in addition to the cost of acquiring the NFT.
We believe the bigger issue at stake is the notion that the collector is still relying on some other entity (ie a pinning service or decentralized storage platform) to ensure their artwork remains secure on IPFS. There is no guarantee that these services will not suffer some sort of outage or other technical calamity, or that the service will even remain in business, and we believe collectors should still download their artwork files as the ultimate assurance. Even if a pinning service disappeared overnight, a collector who had the foresight to download their files could simply run an IPFS node and make the file immediately available again.
If a collector chooses to only rely on a pinning or storage service, he/she still needs a mechanism to pull together dozens or maybe hundreds of NFT artwork files, along with the associated upload parameters, so that the artwork can then be pinned to IPFS.
Can’t I Just Right-Click-Save-As To Download My NFT Artwork?
The short answer is ‘no.’ Due to the nature of the IPFS protocol, in order to successfully upload a file to the address referenced by the NFT, the collector must have both an exact copy of the original file, and, importantly, some specific upload parameters which IPFS requires. The ClubNFT download service provides both the exact, original artwork file, as well as these parameters.
A Quick Summary Of Key Points
IPFS is a decentralized solution for finding content (your NFT artwork in this case), and prevents this content from being altered.
The value of having NFT artwork stored via the IPFS protocol is to both prevent inadvertent or intentional alteration of the original artwork, and also to avoid having a single point of storage failure due to centralization.
The benefit of downloading NFT artwork is that an NFT collector becomes completely self-reliant. Regardless of what happens to a pinning service, distributed storage solution, or AWS server, the collector will always be able to restore his or her valuable artwork.