NFTs have taken the crypto industry by storm. From JPEGs to MP4 files, almost anything can be represented digitally as a NFT. In addition to their functionality, NFTs have another side that many of us are unaware of, which is their metadata. This data about your NFT is important to understand and that's why this article is going to explain what NFT metadata is, as well as how you can view your NFTs metadata. We hope that you find this information useful.
NFT metadata is the data associated with an NFT—it is the information that allows anyone to understand what the NFT is, how it was made or modified, who made it, and so on.
This shouldn't be confused with the external features of your NFT but rather the aspects of your NFT that you usually do not see.
Some features of Metadata include:
Data can be stored and processed more efficiently when metadata is in place. Many NFTs are based on Javascript Object Notation, i.e, JSON.
The metadata for an NFT is important because it is what allows us to understand the authenticity of the NFT. Metadata is used to prove the authenticity of an asset and it is used by other users to verify that the metadata is correct.
Understanding an NFTs metadata also allows you to reduce the possibility of purchasing an NFT that has previously been tampered with or stolen.
Therefore it is recommended that you store your metadata in distributed storage IPFS and airweave, for example. This gives you the full peace of mind that your metadata has not been tampered with by an organization.
Ethereum’s ERC-721 is the first and most widely used metadata standard. ERC-721 also requires all NFTs to be non-fungible and possess unique token IDs.
ERC-115 is yet another popular NFT metadata standard which enables a single smart contract to manage both fungible and non-fungible tokens, which is especially useful for accommodating fungible assets like in-game currencies and non-fungible assets like in-game items in the NFT gaming world - perfectly useful in the Metaverses.
BEP-721 and BEP-115 are BNB Chain’s NFT standards, and they offer functions similar to the Ethereum standards.
Viewing the metadata of your NFT isn't as difficult as you'd think as all you need to do is identify what type of NFT you have and then use one of the following scanners.
NFTs on Ethereum - For NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain, Etherscan can be used for locating and confirming NFTs, as well as viewing their metadata. On top of that, Etherscan allows users to verify transaction histories, wallet addresses, smart contracts, and other on-chain data through its interface.
NFTs on Binance Chain - For NFTs stored on the BNB Chain, BscScan can be used to verify transactions, view addresses, view metadata and much more.
NFTs on Solana - Solscan can be used to view any information on the solana blockchain including the same information mentioned above.
As NFTs become more popular, malpractice and scamming attempts will increase as well. Consequently, it becomes increasingly important to examine your NFTs' metadata to ensure you are receiving exactly what you ordered. We hope this article gave you some insight on doing so.
