Issuing Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs): A How-To Guide
Sergey Baloyan
Entrepreneur, X10.Agency Founder
Why are we all so entitled to the Blockchain industry? For the high development pace? Of course. For the number of appearing opportunities, growing like a weed under the sun and rain? Surely. For building up an alternative financial and tech sphere? You name it.
What is NFT?
Let's go from the top. Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are a type of cryptographic tokens that standalone. Speaking in other words, non-fungible tokens are not interchangeable by their individual specification in the way that crypto-assets such as Bitcoin is. Non-fungible tokens can be used to create verifiable digital scarcity.
NFTs can be useful for industries that require some kind of unique items, let's say for identification of the piece of art or any other unique achievements of a user.
If you have two bitcoins on different wallets those would be completely the same. If you swap them nothing would change.
Two NFTs are not equal to each other or any third NFT even in their inner value or token specificity individually. The distinction lays in the hash that assigned to each separate Non-fungible token. If we turn this whole construction around we would see that basing on token provenance we can determine it and distinguish from tons of other tokens. Where does that lead us to?
The financial system that is being built in the Blockchain world has significant disadvantages that obstacle it from conquering the world. As an example, real estate assets often cannot be fully represented in blockchain because of assets specific complexity and security requirements set up based on industry requirements.
The same can be said about the difference between traditional fundraising processes (IPO) and innovative methods in Blockchain industry (ICO, IEO, STO). NFTs also can make investment procedures and processes in blockchain more like their precursor - IPO. Implementation of NFTs might help us to feel more secure about investments and provide with additional value - an opportunity to act as a shareholder with the full right to participate in the project's life.
NFTs can be useful for industries that require some kind of unique items, let's say for identification of the piece of art or any other unique achievements of a user.
If you have two bitcoins on different wallets those would be completely the same. If you swap them nothing would change.
Two NFTs are not equal to each other or any third NFT even in their inner value or token specificity individually. The distinction lays in the hash that assigned to each separate Non-fungible token. If we turn this whole construction around we would see that basing on token provenance we can determine it and distinguish from tons of other tokens. Where does that lead us to?
The financial system that is being built in the Blockchain world has significant disadvantages that obstacle it from conquering the world. As an example, real estate assets often cannot be fully represented in blockchain because of assets specific complexity and security requirements set up based on industry requirements.
The same can be said about the difference between traditional fundraising processes (IPO) and innovative methods in Blockchain industry (ICO, IEO, STO). NFTs also can make investment procedures and processes in blockchain more like their precursor - IPO. Implementation of NFTs might help us to feel more secure about investments and provide with additional value - an opportunity to act as a shareholder with the full right to participate in the project's life.
Trends in Blockchain switch one another and each trend leaves us with a new reliable product that is implemented into the whole industry as it was there for the whole time. What is coming next? What should we expect next? As you might have heard NON-FUNGIBLE Tokens are on the way. So, what is it and how NFT can change the world?
As I get more and more clients that are issuing NFTs, I decided to write about it for more people to undesrtand how it works.
Tech side and how to issue NFT.
How NFT implement the features that are mentioned above? The answer is in the Standards on which Non-Fungible Tokens are issued. Chosen Standard allows developers to program assets specific behavior and set up strict and detailed guidelines on how to interact with features of assets build on NFTs.
ERC-721
This Standard firstly used by CryptoKitties. ERC-721 was the first one for non-fungible digital assets creation. The greatest benefit of the mentioned Standard is that it allows developers to write ERC-721-compliant contracts by simple OpenZeppelin import.
ERC-721 also provides a permission way to transfer these assets, using the transferFrom method.
You can learn more (including tech specification) about ERC-721 here.
ERC-1155
Enjin team, that developed ERC-1155 brought the idea of semi-fungibility to the NFT world. The Standard allows representing several groups of assets, not a single asset.
You can learn more (including tech specification) about ERC-1155 here.
Non-Ethereum Standards
Surely, no one would argue, that Ethereum is the most convenient and developed platform for token creation. However, other chains might be useful as well. I'm speaking about DGoods, which is working on the implementation of feature-rich cross-chain and COSMOS, who dedicated their efforts to building up an independent NFT module, that will be a significant part of COSMOS SDK.
Also, one of the newest blockchains - FLOW are open to NFT projects and already partnered with NBA, UFC and other big names to create a joint exclusive NFT items for the fans of these brands. You can learn more about how to create NFT with the FLOW blockchain here.
ERC-721
This Standard firstly used by CryptoKitties. ERC-721 was the first one for non-fungible digital assets creation. The greatest benefit of the mentioned Standard is that it allows developers to write ERC-721-compliant contracts by simple OpenZeppelin import.
ERC-721 also provides a permission way to transfer these assets, using the transferFrom method.
You can learn more (including tech specification) about ERC-721 here.
ERC-1155
Enjin team, that developed ERC-1155 brought the idea of semi-fungibility to the NFT world. The Standard allows representing several groups of assets, not a single asset.
You can learn more (including tech specification) about ERC-1155 here.
Non-Ethereum Standards
Surely, no one would argue, that Ethereum is the most convenient and developed platform for token creation. However, other chains might be useful as well. I'm speaking about DGoods, which is working on the implementation of feature-rich cross-chain and COSMOS, who dedicated their efforts to building up an independent NFT module, that will be a significant part of COSMOS SDK.
Also, one of the newest blockchains - FLOW are open to NFT projects and already partnered with NBA, UFC and other big names to create a joint exclusive NFT items for the fans of these brands. You can learn more about how to create NFT with the FLOW blockchain here.
NFT Market.
There are still lots of challenges ahead for NFT and the market is only in its starting position. Market capitalization is quite small at the moment. Because of the lack of spot prices for assets, it is more difficult to measure it comparing to the cryptocurrency market. If we take into account secondary trading volume (peer-to-peer) as a basis, then monthly figures are close to $2 - 3 millions.
After the 2018 CryptoKitties hype, the number of new users somehow interacting with NFT is growing at a low pace, but sustainably.
Exciting, isn't it? If the blockchain community will fully accept and adopt Non-Fungible tokens in a short time, we would have a future on our doorstep right away.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about NFY or you are a NFT/DeFi/crypto project and want to know more how to promote you project, you can always contact me via Telegram (@baloyan) or LinkedIn.
After the 2018 CryptoKitties hype, the number of new users somehow interacting with NFT is growing at a low pace, but sustainably.
Exciting, isn't it? If the blockchain community will fully accept and adopt Non-Fungible tokens in a short time, we would have a future on our doorstep right away.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about NFY or you are a NFT/DeFi/crypto project and want to know more how to promote you project, you can always contact me via Telegram (@baloyan) or LinkedIn.
Check out my previous articles at HackerNoon:
How China's New National Cryptocurrency Changes Everything
Sergey Baloyan
Entrepreneur, X10.Agency Founder
China is launching a national cryptocurrency. In this article, we'll tell you what information is already known about the project at the moment as well as how it may change the financial world.
A bit of History
In October 2019, Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, said that the development of blockchain technology is one of the priorities of the state and called for accelerated growth of the industry. By that time, it was already known that China had been developing its own cryptocurrency since 2014.
News about this periodically surfaced, although most crypto enthusiasts know China more for their strict regulatory actions — significant restrictions on cryptocurrency investment, the inclusion of mining in the preliminary stop-list of industries that should be banned, closure of blockchain conferences by the police, and so on.
Much has changed since Facebook published their initial plans for Libra. The prospect of a private company with 2.3 billion users worldwide issuing its own currency made the idea much more real to governments around the world.
China took it as an incentive. First of all, to compete with the dollar in the digital payments market and, ultimately, to change the entire global financial system.
Looking at the example of China and understanding what the future may hold, many other countries have announced the development of their own CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies). For example, central banks for the European Union, South Korea, Russia, Sweden and a number of other countries have announced their own developments in the field of state cryptocurrencies.
News about this periodically surfaced, although most crypto enthusiasts know China more for their strict regulatory actions — significant restrictions on cryptocurrency investment, the inclusion of mining in the preliminary stop-list of industries that should be banned, closure of blockchain conferences by the police, and so on.
Much has changed since Facebook published their initial plans for Libra. The prospect of a private company with 2.3 billion users worldwide issuing its own currency made the idea much more real to governments around the world.
China took it as an incentive. First of all, to compete with the dollar in the digital payments market and, ultimately, to change the entire global financial system.
Looking at the example of China and understanding what the future may hold, many other countries have announced the development of their own CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies). For example, central banks for the European Union, South Korea, Russia, Sweden and a number of other countries have announced their own developments in the field of state cryptocurrencies.
In April 2020, screenshots of the first version of the digital yuan application appeared online. According to preliminary data, the tests began among the "white list" of clients of the Agricultural Bank of China (the 7th bank in the world in terms of net profit) in four pilot regions: Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Chengdu, and Suzhou. In April, Suzhou enterprises even intend to pay 50% of transport subsidies to local workers in the new digital currency.
A couple of weeks ago, it became known that on April 25, 2020, China will launch its national blockchain platform called BSN (Blockchain Service Network). Many believe this is the first, fundamental step before the launch of a global financial project - a government-backed cryptocurrency called DC/EP. And it seems that the country is taking this initiative more seriously than ever before.
Based on the screenshots that appeared online recently, it is clear that the crypto-yuan will be launched soon enough. More and more experts are saying that this could change the entire global financial system. So, what is known at the moment and what conclusions can be drawn from it?
Based on the screenshots that appeared online recently, it is clear that the crypto-yuan will be launched soon enough. More and more experts are saying that this could change the entire global financial system. So, what is known at the moment and what conclusions can be drawn from it?
Reviewing the BSN screenshots
Several basic functions can be seen in the screenshots, and the interface is very similar to other Chinese payment platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. Also, according to various statements of officials, it is already possible to understand many features and functions of the future cryptocurrency. I tried to gather all the information from different sources together.
So, what is known at the moment about the crypto yuan?
A list of all the important facts about the digital yuan:
Is this the beginning of a new financial era?
As can be seen from the information currently available, DC/EP is not the classic concept of a decentralized cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. The users themselves are unlikely to feel a significant difference in using the new system compared to WeChat Pay or AliPay. For the government, the blockchain data structure will ensure unprecedented traceability and control.
It is important to note the advantage China can gain by being the first to release a government backed digital currency at scale. Meanwhile, competing projects like Libra and Ton have been held back and forced to change by regulators.
Today, China is the second economy in the world and the least dependent on oil prices. While there's no doubt that the dollar reigns supreme today, the digital yuan is China's best chance to compete with the dollar on the global scale in the years ahead.
There is no doubt that other governments will quickly follow China's example. Perhaps we are entering a new era — the end of physical cash and the emergence of central bank cryptocurrencies. And there is a strong possibility that this will completely change the international monetary system as we know it.
To get more thoughts and insides about crypto industry you can follow my LinkedIn , Medium , Twitter
Today, China is the second economy in the world and the least dependent on oil prices. While there's no doubt that the dollar reigns supreme today, the digital yuan is China's best chance to compete with the dollar on the global scale in the years ahead.
There is no doubt that other governments will quickly follow China's example. Perhaps we are entering a new era — the end of physical cash and the emergence of central bank cryptocurrencies. And there is a strong possibility that this will completely change the international monetary system as we know it.
To get more thoughts and insides about crypto industry you can follow my LinkedIn , Medium , Twitter
• The Chinese cryptographic currency will be called DC/EP, which stands for Digital Currency Electronic Payment.
• The Central Bank has not yet officially confirmed the schedule for the introduction of the digital yuan, but many sources talk about a full launch in mid-2021.
• Besides the standard ability to receive and send payments, one of the main functions is called 'touch and touch' - it allows two people to simply touch their mobile phones to make a transfer.
• Transfers can be made without an internet connection on devices with NFC technology or Bluetooth. Offline transactions are likely to be saved and accounted for whenever the users next get online. But so far not much is known specifically about the settlement mechanism.
• Familiar features such as transfer by account number as well as generation and scanning of QR codes can already be seen on screens.
• The BSN payment system can process up to 300,000 transactions per second.
• The Chinese cryptocurrency is suitable for any financial operations because of its high throughput, including traditional retail transactions and even micropayments.
• Obviously, the crypto yuan blockchain will be centralized.
• Interestingly, the currency will not only work on the blockchain — it will be issued in two main stages: from the Central Bank to commercial banks, and from commercial banks it will already be put into circulation.
• Banks and organizations will be able to act as DC/EP issuers who can exchange the digital yuan with other fiat currencies and assets.
• Patents also indicate that DC/EP will use a two-tier architecture that allows licensed third-party payment institutions and banks to participate in the secondary issuance of digital currency.
• It appears that Alipay itself will participate in the implementation of this scheme.
• All organizations licensed to participate in the DC/EP issue will have a reserve account with the People's Bank of China.
• China also sees its own cryptocurrency as a means of counteracting new digital currencies. According to the Central Bank, a domestically issued digital currency, supported by the government and expressed in the national unit of account, can help limit the issue of private currencies and reduce the risks of financial instability.
• According to China's plan, the crypto yuan will significantly expand financial infrastructure availability in the country. At the same time, as an international means of exchange, it could improve the efficiency of cross-border payments.
• Many sources say that on March 24, the Bank of China completed the development of basic functions and began drafting laws to implement the new technology nationwide.
• One of the main challenges for the Government is to ensure that the crypto yuan enjoys the same sovereignty as the fiat yuan. Strong liquidity guarantees are promised to its holders.
• The central bank said that DC/EP is also planned to be widely used during the 2022 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing.
• The Central Bank has not yet officially confirmed the schedule for the introduction of the digital yuan, but many sources talk about a full launch in mid-2021.
• Besides the standard ability to receive and send payments, one of the main functions is called 'touch and touch' - it allows two people to simply touch their mobile phones to make a transfer.
• Transfers can be made without an internet connection on devices with NFC technology or Bluetooth. Offline transactions are likely to be saved and accounted for whenever the users next get online. But so far not much is known specifically about the settlement mechanism.
• Familiar features such as transfer by account number as well as generation and scanning of QR codes can already be seen on screens.
• The BSN payment system can process up to 300,000 transactions per second.
• The Chinese cryptocurrency is suitable for any financial operations because of its high throughput, including traditional retail transactions and even micropayments.
• Obviously, the crypto yuan blockchain will be centralized.
• Interestingly, the currency will not only work on the blockchain — it will be issued in two main stages: from the Central Bank to commercial banks, and from commercial banks it will already be put into circulation.
• Banks and organizations will be able to act as DC/EP issuers who can exchange the digital yuan with other fiat currencies and assets.
• Patents also indicate that DC/EP will use a two-tier architecture that allows licensed third-party payment institutions and banks to participate in the secondary issuance of digital currency.
• It appears that Alipay itself will participate in the implementation of this scheme.
• All organizations licensed to participate in the DC/EP issue will have a reserve account with the People's Bank of China.
• China also sees its own cryptocurrency as a means of counteracting new digital currencies. According to the Central Bank, a domestically issued digital currency, supported by the government and expressed in the national unit of account, can help limit the issue of private currencies and reduce the risks of financial instability.
• According to China's plan, the crypto yuan will significantly expand financial infrastructure availability in the country. At the same time, as an international means of exchange, it could improve the efficiency of cross-border payments.
• Many sources say that on March 24, the Bank of China completed the development of basic functions and began drafting laws to implement the new technology nationwide.
• One of the main challenges for the Government is to ensure that the crypto yuan enjoys the same sovereignty as the fiat yuan. Strong liquidity guarantees are promised to its holders.
• The central bank said that DC/EP is also planned to be widely used during the 2022 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing.
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