The learning path
An NFT is a non fungible token, meaning a token with a unique identifier rather than an interchangeable one. That uniqueness lets it represent a specific item: art, a domain name, an event ticket, a game asset or a liquidity position. The artwork itself usually lives off chain, and what is stored onchain is the record of who owns which identifier.
Fungible and non fungible
One dollar is interchangeable with any other dollar. That is fungibility. One USDC equals one USDC, and it does not matter which one you hold.
A concert ticket is not like that. Seat 4B is a different thing from seat 22F, even though both are tickets. That is non fungibility, and NFTs are simply the token standard that supports it.
What they are actually used for
Names and identity
Every ENS name is an NFT. yourname.eth is owned, transferable and resolvable, all because of the same standard.
Name servicesLiquidity positions
A Uniswap v3 position is an NFT, because every position has unique price bounds. This is invisible to most users and used constantly.
Tickets and access
Event tickets with verifiable authenticity and a resale market the organizer can set rules for.
Game items
Items a player genuinely owns, tradeable outside the game and usable across titles that choose to support them.
Art and collectibles
The original use case. Provable provenance and a public ownership record for digital work.
Credentials
Non transferable tokens that attest to something: a completed course, a membership, a verified attribute.
Where the image actually lives
This surprises people. Storing a full image onchain is prohibitively expensive, so the NFT usually stores a pointer to the file rather than the file itself.
| Storage | How it works | Durability |
|---|---|---|
| Onchain | The image data is encoded directly in the contract | Permanent, and rare because of cost |
| IPFS | Content addressed, so the link is a hash of the file | Good, provided someone keeps pinning it |
| Arweave | Paid once for permanent storage | Strong, designed for exactly this |
| A normal web server | A regular URL | Weak. If the company stops paying hosting, your NFT points at nothing |
If you are going to buy one
Verify the collection contract
Copy the contract address from the project’s own site or a verified marketplace listing. Fake collections with identical art and names are everywhere.
Understand what you are buying
Owning the NFT is not the same as owning the copyright. Some projects grant commercial rights, most do not. Read what they actually say.
Check real liquidity, not floor price
A floor of 2 ETH with three listings is not a market. Look at genuine sales volume over the last month.
Watch for wash trading
Inflated volume from wallets trading with themselves is common. Compare unique buyers, not just total volume.
Use a fresh wallet for mints
Minting from an unknown contract with your main wallet is how people lose everything else in it.
Common questions
Are NFTs dead?
The speculative market for profile pictures collapsed hard and most collections trade far below their peaks. The underlying standard is used more than ever, mostly in places where nobody calls it an NFT: domain names, liquidity positions, tickets and credentials.
Can I copy the image?
Yes, and that was always the case. The NFT records ownership of an entry in a registry, not exclusivity over pixels. Whether that is worth anything depends entirely on whether people value the registry entry.
What are gas fees for minting?
Minting is a contract call, so it costs gas like any transaction. During popular mints, competition drives fees up sharply. On layer 2s and Solana this is largely a non issue.
Where to go next
Stuck on this one?
Some things click faster with someone walking you through them live. Orca sessions are one to one, screen shared, and paced for wherever you actually are.