I’m trying to understand how NFTs actually work on blockchains like Ethereum. When someone mints an NFT, what exactly gets stored on the blockchain itself?
I read somewhere that the entire digital file gets copied onto the ledger, but that doesn’t seem right to me. Wouldn’t that make the blockchain huge if people started minting NFTs of large files?
For example, if someone wanted to create an NFT for a full movie file that’s several gigabytes, would all that data really go on the blockchain? That seems like it would cause major storage issues.
I think what actually happens is that only a hash of the file gets stored, maybe along with some metadata or a link to where the real file is hosted. But I’m not 100% sure about this. Can someone explain what data actually ends up on the blockchain when an NFT gets created?
Hey OwenGadget78! You’re right on track. The actual image doesn’t get stored on the blockchain - that’d be crazy expensive and would totally bloat everything.
Here’s how it works: the NFT contract stores a token URI pointing to metadata (usually JSON). That metadata has the name, description, and a link to where the actual file lives - IPFS, regular web server, sometimes centralized storage.
So you don’t really “own” the digital file. You own a certificate saying “this token points to this thing.” Pretty wild, right?
I’m curious - do different chains handle this the same way? Does Solana work like Ethereum? And what happens when that external link breaks or the hosting dies… does your NFT just become a 404?
Also makes you wonder about all those NFTs minted by people who don’t own the rights. If it’s just pointing to a link, couldn’t anyone mint an NFT of the same file?
You bring up a great point about storage concerns with NFTs. In reality, very little data is actually stored on the blockchain. Typically, only the token ID, owner address, and a URI that links to the metadata are saved. When I minted my own NFTs, I noticed that most of the metadata, including descriptions and image URLs, often resides on platforms like IPFS or standard web hosting. The blockchain serves more as a record of ownership rather than a storage solution for the actual digital files. Trying to put a large file like a full movie on Ethereum would lead to astronomical gas fees that would make it impractical.
yup, totally agree! real files aren’t stored on the blockchain, just ids and links to metadata. like, putting a 4GB movie on it would cost a fortune in gas fees haha. most just have urls pointing to where the files are, which can be risky if those links go dead.