Anyone that wants to venture into the world of NFTs to make money needs to know how they work. A lot of people make costly mistakes with NFTs because they do not really understand how they work. In this article, we will provide you with an overview of how NFTs work.
Public Keys and Private Keys for Identification and Security
We will use layman’s terms as much as possible in this article to describe how NFTs work but there are some technical elements that you need to understand. An NFT must be on a blockchain network and we will explain more about this below.
Security for NFTs comes from the use of cryptography. This means that all NFTs must be modified in a unique way. The recipients of the NFTs are able to view them in detail but to others they will just seem like a lot of randomly used characters.
A public key and a private key are used to provide the cryptography with NFTs. All blockchain users will have a public key that they can share with any other users. An NFT is encrypted and the only way to unlock this encryption is through the use of the public and private keys that are associated with it.
You will create a unique digital signature by using both your public and private keys. This is a fundamental element in blockchain technology. It ensures that all records are immutable and that transactions are anonymous, authentic and secure.
NFTs must use a Blockchain Network
It is only possible to create NFTs on a blockchain network. Blockchain technology deploys cryptography to form chains of data blocks which will grow into a list of verifiable records. Each block is linked to the previous one using a cryptographic string or hash.
All of this means that a blockchain network user can identify unique sets of data within blocks. There is a special structure used for the data known as the Merkle tree. This is used because it allows retrieval of records from a blockchain to happen fast.
Blockchain networks such as Ethereum can be used to support both non-fungible assets (NFTs) and fungible assets such as units of Ether. The use of blockchain technology provides the necessary verification that an NFT is really unique. All NFTs are tokens store in a blockchain network.
You need a Crypto (Digital) Wallet to store and trade NFTs
When you create an NFT on a blockchain network you need to be able to store information about it for later retrieval. This is achieved through the use of a crypto wallet. There are online and offline versions of digital wallets available. Some of these are free while others are available at a premium.
People use crypto wallets for exchanging fiat currencies like the USD dollar for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether. You can use your crypto wallet for storing the details of the NFTs you have created and any that you have purchased and now own.
If someone purchase one of your NFTs then you will release the token for it to the buyer after receiving payment. This provides proof of ownership. Any NFT trade will require the use of a crypto wallet to store the relevant tokens.