Category: NFT Tech

What Are NFT Smart Contracts & How Do They Work?

Posted on by Andrew Amarosa

NFTs, wouldn’t exist without smart contracts, and digital agreements written with computer code and deployed on a blockchain. Their main function is to execute one or multiple actions if conditions are met, often following simple “if/when-then” statements, e.g., if X is true, then Y will happen. 

These programs automate execution, and workflow, and streamline the outcome of an agreement between one or multiple parties without the need for an intermediary. These actions, for example, could be the transfer of funds from one wallet to another, storing an NFT, locking deposited funds into a liquidity pool, and more

NFT smart contracts have an important role in keeping the NFT ecosystem healthy and honest Some of their most important functions include handling royalties, ensuring the NFT is unique and non-replicable, verifying ownership rights, and enabling access to exclusive NFT merchandise or events (NFT projects usually throw around exclusive benefits to those who buy a specific NFT from their collection).

What are NFT Smart Contracts?

The versatility of NFT smart contracts plays a key role in the development of the metaverse and the Web3 industry. 

NFT smart contracts are smart contracts specifically designed to create the relatively complex requirements of NFTs, such as provenance, non-fungibility, authenticity, and the hosting on a blockchain network. 

First, let’s have a quick refresher on what a smart contract is. Then we’ll explore how they’re used in the NFT world. 

Smart Contracts: Benefits and Main Functions

Smart contracts are being applied to a wide variety of industries –home sales, supply chain, data sharing between multiple institutions, digital identity, banking —the list is long. 

For example, blockchain supply chain solutions counter the typical setbacks within this industry (data disparity, labor shortage, reliable shipping source, etc.) using smart contracts to automate the shipping process by keeping track of items, administrating and structuring important data, and performing specific tasks if conditions are met.

Some of the main benefits of smart contracts are:

  • Transparency and trust: they facilitate transactions for multiple users in a network without them having to know or trust each other. Everything is carried out by the smart contract and not the user, and participants in a private and public blockchain can see them.
  • Speed, lower costs, and accuracy: by eliminating intermediaries and paperwork and only executing actions they’re programmed to do when terms and conditions are met.
  • Versatility: smart contracts can be programmed to perform a wide variety of tasks, and can be reprogrammed after being deployed on the blockchain to fix bugs or eliminate vulnerabilities.
  • Security: smart contracts are highly secure programs since transaction records are encrypted.

Creating an NFT with Smart Contracts

Minting an NFT refers to the process of converting digital files, like jpegs, videos, and sounds, into an NFT recorded on the blockchain, making it available for everyone to see and purchase. When you mint an NFT, you’re playing with the underlying smart contract that defines the properties of your asset.

Most people experience minting an NFT through a designed, user-friendly website where all you do is press a button that says “MINT NOW” after connecting a wallet, but you can actually mint an NFT directly from its smart contract.

The smart contract assigns the ownership of the NFT to the buyer, but if they decide to sell it at some point, the smart contract of the NFT will automatically transfer ownership rights to the new owner —if conditions and terms are met. 

If an NFT is minted, NFT marketplaces like OpenSea would use another set of smart contracts to carry out the auction. For example, a popular auctioning method is a Dutch auction, which is usually created using an ERC721 NFT smart contract (explored below).

Minting NFTs has become much simpler than when they were introduced in Ethereum’s early days. SmartMint by Pastel Network, for example, is a no-code way to design and deploy an NFT smart contract. 

NFT Smart Contract Standards

There are several types of smart contract standards for creating NFTs; ERC-721 and ERC-1155 are the most widely common. ERC stands for Ethereum Request for Comment, and they refer to a set of technical guidelines for creating smart contracts or digital assets to run on the Ethereum network. 

ERC-721 is the first standard designed for the creation of non-fungible tokens, and it strictly requires all tokens to be non-fungible and have their own unique metadata. ERC-721 only supports NFTs, and each NFT can only be transferred in a single transaction, which tends to  cause congestion if network activity is high. 

On the other hand, ERC-1155 supports the transfer of multiple batches of NFTs and supports the conversion of fungible tokens (such as ERC-20) into non-fungible tokens, and vice versa. Typically, projects building blockchain games will use ERC-1155 to move their NFTs due to the higher level of versatility. 

Ethereum is the most popular option for creating or using NFT smart contracts. Other blockchain networks can have their own set of NFT smart contract standards. Still, a small problem is that, by not having a universal standard, NFTs created on different networks, such as TRON, for example, cannot be traded on marketplaces that support Ethereum, or Ethereum-related chains only like Polygon.

The Role of NFT Smart Contracts in the Metaverse

The metaverse refers to a digital ecosystem in which creators, artists, players, and anyone can explore virtual landscapes, play, socialize, interact with other users, buy and sell NFTs —and much more. 

The metaverse, popularized by Web3 projects like Decentraland and The Sandbox, is, therefore, an opportunity to bridge the financial world with the digital world, but the physical world also jumps in on the equation; physical real estate can be purchased as NFTs, using an underlying smart contract to carry out the process. 

NFT smart contracts in real estate eliminate the burden of intermediaries and hefty paperwork by granting (and verifying) the ownership and rights of a property to the respective party. One famous example of this is Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and Arrington Capital, who sold his apartment in Kyiv as an NFT.

Final Thoughts: NFT Smart Contracts and You 

NFT smart contracts are the technical backbone of the digital collectible industry. There are several NFT smart contract templates from different blockchains, each competing to provide the best technical guidelines and feasibility to users, NFT projects, and marketplaces.

That being said, NFT smart contracts are already playing a key role in the development of Web3 beyond PFPs of Bored Apes or digital samurais like Azukies. 

NFT smart contracts underpin a trustless and efficient pathway for everyone in the decentralized world to interact with NFTs. Blockchain gaming projects, companies and corporations from traditional industries such as fashion and food and beverage, and financial entities have taken a stab at what might be the next iteration of the internet —and smart contracts are the main pillar of the ecosystem.

2022 In Review & 2023 Roadmap

Posted on by Tiffany Behnam

2022 was a big year for Pastel Network. In 2021, we made a massive shift to focus on opening our infrastructure such as Sense and Cascade to the entire Web3 ecosystem. By the end of 2021, we were poised to increase exposure and bring our vision of an ecosystem supported by Pastel’s suite of products to fruition. Despite market conditions, we kept our foot on the pedal to develop and refine Pastel’s mission critical infrastructure technology and seek out new partnerships and collaborations. We worked tirelessly to deliver new solutions to the market.

Below, we recap some of our largest achievements of 2022 including the Cezanne Mainnet Release and launch of SmartMint.

Cezanne Mainnet Release — Our Biggest Upgrade Yet

After having been under development for over 8 months, we released Cezanne in August as our largest release to date. Cezanne marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Pastel Network. The release brings countless improvements to both end-user & NFT functionality — such as registration, minting, transferring, and trading — alongside unrestricted access to advanced protocols like Sense and Cascade via interoperable Open-APIs, seamless composability, improved token economics, and the most powerful protocol standard for the Web3 ecosystem.

This upgrade includes:

  • Improvements to NFT Minting and Collections
  • Support for NFT Transfers, Trades, and Auctions
  • Interchain account identification via PastelIDs
  • Cross-chain network access via Web3 APIs
  • Dramatic upgrades to Sense (our near-duplicate NFT detection protocol)
  • Enhancements to Cascade (our distributed NFT storage protocol)
  • User-friendly utility services via PastelUp
  • Improvements to network optimization and security
  • And more!

SmartMint by Pastel — A No-Code NFT Minting Platform.

SmartMint is a no-code NFT minting platform where creators can easily create, manage, and mint NFTs on their own custom smart contracts. The tool also provides creators with additional peace of mind as it leverage Pastel’s infrastructure for near-duplicate NFT detection (Sense) and permanent NFT data storage (Cascade). SmartMint enables creators to mint NFTs on Ethereum, Solana, Pastel, and more.

SmartMint by Pastel enables creators to do what they love without the hassle and complexities of minting and deploying NFTs across various platforms and blockchains. Easily create smart contracts and NFTs in seconds via our no-code tool powered by Pastel’s advanced technologies for guaranteed NFT security, storage, and counterfeit protection.

Below is a detailed list of all our accomplishments from 2022.

2022 Overview of Pastel Network

  • Partnership with Nervos: to provide permanent storage to and protect their NFT ecosystem against NFT copymint, fraud & scams
  • Launch of the SuperNode Founder Program: this program was created to reward early network users/participants for their contributions and activity in Pastel’s ecosystem as well as encourage long term decentralization.
  • Ambassador Program: this was launched to strengthen the Pastel Community and ensure its growth and long term social media success.
  • PSL Listed on KuCoin: KuCoin began the trading of Pastel’s native utility token, PSL, on the KuCoin Exchange and commenced a PSL Staking Program
  • Cezanne Testnet Release: Cezanne brings countless improvements to both user & NFT functionality such as registration, minting, transferring, and trading.
  • Collaboration with Polygon Studios: to bring Sense and Cascade to the Polygon NFT ecosystem
  • Milestone Launch of SmartMint: a no-code NFT minting platform where creators can easily create, manage, and mint NFTs on their own custom smart contracts. The tool also enables creators to mint NFTs on multiple networks while leveraging Pastel’s infrastructure for near-duplicate NFT detection (Sense) and permanent NFT data storage (Cascade).
  • Partnership with Ava Labs: to bring Sense and Cascade to the Avalanche NFT ecosystem
  • Partnership with Parity Technologies: to bring Sense and Cascade to the Polkadot NFT ecosystem
  • SmartMint Banff Upgrade: refined functionality of SmartMint’s core workflows, added a number of features to enhance user experience and minting capabilities, and extended SmartMint compatibility to support minting NFTs directly on Solana.
  • Cezanne Mainnet Upgrade: having been under development for over 8 months, Cezanne is Pastel’s largest release to date that brings significant enhancements to the Pastel blockchain and improved functionality.

2023 Roadmap

This year, we aim to capitalize on the momentum we created over the past year and focus on what is vital for Pastel Network to continue to cement ourselves as the preeminent Web3 protocol standard. We will continue to execute our vision across interoperability, user experience, and versatility.

In 2023, we are focused on:

  • Expediting development release cycles of Testnet and Mainnet upgrades — such as with versions Monet and Van Gogh;
  • Building stronger cross-chain bridges, specifically with Ethereum Polygon, and Polkadot;
  • Enhancing SmartMint and developing new features;
  • Refining user and partner experience with the roll-out of new technical resources and tools;
  • Expanding our network of partners across more L2s, DApps, enterprise user-cases, native L1s; and
  • Further increasing our exposure to the community of technical users, non-technical users, and creators.

In spite of the broader uncertainty in the market and ever-changing landscape, we believe that delivering upon our roadmap will position Pastel for success in years to come.

Please see below for Pastel Network’s target 2023 release schedule. Note that all releases and milestones are subject to change.

Q1 2023

Mainnet Upgrade: Monet Release 1.2

  • Supernode Storage Challenges— A novel mechanism by which Pastel Supernodes verify that other nodes are following the rules of the protocol and storing all files they are supposed to be
  • Self-Healing — Intrinsic storage redundancy of Cascade to replace lost or missing symbol files resulting from Supernodes leaving the network
  • Supernode Health and State Challenges
  • Sense Stabilization — Includes refactoring of the core protocol and asynchronous execution

Explorer

  • Upgrade for additional features and analytics including support for parsing of comprehensive ticket data and additional historical statistics

OpenAPI

  • Production OpenAPI 2.0 supported via Mainnet
  • UI/UX for user account management

Network Tools

  • Release of Testnet Faucet

Smartmint

  • Integration of Pastel’s Sense & Cascade protocols
  • Additional network support (Binance Smart Chain)

Documentation/Services

  • Complete overhaul of documentation including client setup docs for Node, Walletnode, and Supernode
  • Endpoint exposure via PastelID RPC

Business Development Tools

  • Cascade Demo for third party partners

Q2 2023

Mainnet Upgrade: Monet Release 1.3

  • Further support for ownership transfer —Gifting of NFTs, Bridging NFTs and assets across Ethereum, enhancement of PastelID
  • New PastelId APIs to work with light wallets
  • PastelId Blockchain-less API Mode — API execution via light clients (i.e., does not require running a full copy of the blockchain)
  • Wallet Enhancements — Support for new address types and additional functionality such as import/export
  • Objectless Ticket APIs — Buy, sell, trade and return both created and signed TXs as ‘hex’ instead of submitting it directly to the blockchain

Open API

  • ERC-721 NFT functionality with to bridge and Wrap/Unwrap
  • API for ownership transfer (e.g. gift, wrap/unwrap PSL/wPSL)
  • API to expose set of core Pastel APIs to work with blockchain-less API, such as acceping ticket TXs

Network Tools

  • Release of DevNet
  • Streamlined support for multiple networks (across Mainnet, Testnet, and Regtest)
  • Continuous running of automatic stress tests

SmartMint

  • PFP Generator
  • Additional Network Support (Pastel, ImmutableX)

Documentation/Services

  • PastelId blockchainless API mode

Bridges

  • Ethereum
  • Polygon

User Tools

  • Pastel Hub — Browser-based application that interacts with Wallet via Web App and support consumer facing services for direct exposure to just Sense and Cascade

Q3

Mainnet Upgrade: Van Gogh Release 2.0

  • Hardening access protection to NFT and Cascade files — IP whitelisting layer (e.g. Supernodes will only respond for file access calls from other registered Supernodes)
  • Activation of WN-2-SN-2-SN encryption
  • Sense Enhancements— Support for additional file types
  • Bug fixes

Open API

  • “Host your own OpenAPI” package — dockerized or containerized solution that any user can acquire and run to have their own OpenAPI server for whatever purpose)

Light/Mobile Wallet

  • Browser extension wallet

SmartMint

  • Additional Network Support (Flow, Avalanche)

Documentation/Services

  • PastelId blockchainless API mode (see above)

Bridges

  • Polkadot — Includes the native deployment of a Parachain to seamlessly interact with the Polkadot ecosystem

Q4

Mainnet Upgrade: Van Gogh Release 2.1

  • NFT Auctions — Add functionality to run various auction formats
  • Sense Enhancements — Includes sharding, correlation optimization techniques, and tSNE
  • Client Reputation Tracking — Include across various client types to aggregate various indicators like Supernode storage challenges, successful registrations, and manual user complaints
  • Bug fixes

Security / Infrastructure

  • Harden against DDOS attacks (random IPs via VPN / whitelist / blacklist)
  • Simple load balancer

Business Development Tools

  • Sandbox for Layer 1 Partner PoC

Bridges

  • Avalanche, Solana

About Pastel Network

Pastel Network is a fully decentralized, developer-friendly layer-1 blockchain serving as the preeminent protocol standard for non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) and Web3 technology.

Pastel allows for the development of third-party decentralized-applications (“DApps”) to sit on top of its Network, enabling developers to enjoy the scalable registration features, storage processes, and security of the broader ecosystem. Lightweight protocols such as Sense — which was built to assess the relative rareness of a given NFT against near-duplicate metadata — and Cascade — which conducts permanent, distributed storage of underlying NFT data — can be integrated cross-chain across various layer-1 blockchains, layer-2 protocols, or other third-party apps.

Pastel is managed by world-class developers, cryptographers, and technologists, supported alongside an experienced and extensive network of marketers, influencers, and third-party agencies. Pastel is backed by key stakeholders including Innovating Capital, a prominent venture fund.

For more information on Pastel Network, visit https://pastel.network/.

Originally Published on Pastel Network’s Medium

What Does Minting Mean When It Comes to NFTs?

Posted on by Anthony Georgiades

Minting is the process of creating an asset on the blockchain. It’s the process used to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs,) which are blockchain-based tokens that prove ownership of an item such as a piece of music, profile picture, or image. 

They first grew in popularity in 2021, with collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks making international headlines for their huge price tags. Since then, brands such as Nike and Adidas have created their collections, doubling the number of collections in just one year. 

So what exactly is minting an NFT? How does minting work, and what does it cost? In this article, we’ll answer each of these questions: how long it takes to mint an NFT, the most famous mints, and how an NFT gas war can impact the minting price.

What Is Minting An NFT?

Minting an NFT is the process of creating an asset stored on the blockchain, where its authenticity and ownership are proven. The blockchain itself can’t be edited, which makes ownership indisputable.

Minting an NFT is usually completed on platforms like OpenSea, which provides users with the tools to mint their collection. In addition to these tools, creators will also need the art they plan to use and details of unique accessories and features. Some general knowledge about blockchain technology is also useful but not essential. 

To mint a collection, creators will need a crypto wallet with the cryptocurrency needed to put their collection on the blockchain. Most NFTs are created with Ether (ETH), though Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) are also popular options. 

After paying all fees and uploading the necessary files to create a new token, the platform you use will register your new asset on the blockchain, which can be listed on exchanges to generate a crypto income,

How Does NFT Minting Work?

Minting For Creators

As a creator, minting an NFT lets creators create scarcity, secondary earnings, and verified ownership. Creators can create limited edition pieces, specialized collections, and more, all of which are validated on the blockchain. 

Minting also lets creators build communities and perks for collectors who buy their NFTs and generate a passive income through “creator fees,” which charge a small percentage of each secondary sale. 

Creators can complete the process on platforms like Solsea and Opensea, which cover all complex coding, allowing creators to focus on the art. 

Minting For Collectors

As a collector, minting allows you to become part of a community. When minting from a new project, collectors become the first-ever owner of a particular NFT. Minting from a new collection is like buying a pack of collectible cards; you never know how rare the NFT will be. 

Minting as a collector requires you to go to the developer’s website. On the website, there will be an option to “Mint.” Connect your wallet, pay all fees, and your NFT will arrive in around 30 minutes. 

How Much Does Minting Cost?

The cost of minting depends on the “gas price” (transaction fee.) This is paid to the blockchain and will vary depending on the time of day and overall activity. Minting an NFT can cost as little as $0.01 but can go as high as $500 to a few thousand dollars. If gas fees are particularly high when minting an NFT, you can always return later to mint at a lower price. Just make sure the collection won’t sell out before then!

How Long Does It Take to Mint an NFT?

Minting an NFT can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3-4 hours, depending on how experienced you are with the platform. 

The actual minting process is the stage at which your NFT is published. Before minting, you need to create the art for the collection and decide how many NFTs you plan to create and how you plan to promote the collection.

Most Famous Mints

CryptoPunks

CryptoPunks was first released in June 2017 and became the most popular NFT collection of all time. What makes this mint famous is that it was completely free. Anyone with an Ethereum wallet could claim a CryptoPunk.

Following its release, many collections replicated the 10k profile picture trend, and CryptoPunks went on to sell for millions. As of December 2022, CryptoPunks remains the most valuable NFT collection on the planet. 

Quantum 

Quantum is commonly cited as the first NFT ever minted. It was minted in May 2014

(May 2014) on a site known as Namecoin. After its initial mint, Quantum was forgotten about for years until going on auction at Sotheby’s in June 2021, where it sold for over $1 million. 

The Eternal

The Eternal is the fastest-selling NFT collection to be minted, selling out in just seven minutes. It was released by Anthony Hopkins, who partnered with NFT company Orange Comet. It was sold on 13th October and showcased 1000 NFTs consisting of 10 unique animation NFTs and 990 unique images. 

What Is an NFT Gas War?

An NFT gas war is a bit like a bidding contest with too many bidders. It starts when the demand for an NFT is higher than its supply- for example when a popular new NFT collection is released. This increase in demand causes the blockchain to slow, and consequently, some investors tip blockchain validators to speed up the transaction. As a result, the gas fee increases based on the tip. 

To beat other bidders, investors will keep paying higher fees until most investors can’t afford the gas fees. This causes the overall traffic to decrease and prioritizes the highest bidders, which can be frustrating for investors with smaller budgets as it could price them out completely. 

It’s important to note that gas fees will also differ based on the platform and the time of day. In some situations, the gas fee can be higher than the listed sale price of the NFT. Therefore, it’s important you research the gas fee before selling or buying an NFT. 

Final Thoughts: Minting Isn’t As Complex As You May Think 

Minting an NFT isn’t quite as complex as it’s made out to be. While you need to consider factors such as gas fees and the platform to mint, once you have the designs in place, most platforms will take care of everything for you. Be diligent with your research beforehand and ensure that the gas fee is within your budget- the last thing you want to do is bid for an asset only to realize you can afford the gas. 

Minting is a great way to make money as a digital creator. As NFT technology advances, its use cases and widespread adoption will also increase, making it a great time to get involved in the market. 

SmartMint Banff Release

Posted on by Tiffany Behnam

Our latest release includes refined functionality, a number of additional features, support for minting on Solana, and much more!

We are very excited to announce that we have just released our SmartMint Banff update, our largest upgrade to the novel no-code minting platform to date! In this release, we have refined functionality of SmartMint’s core workflows, added a number of features to enhance user experience and minting capabilities, and extended SmartMint compatibility to support minting NFTs directly on Solana.

First, a refresher on SmartMint.

SmartMint is an NFT minting platform where users can easily create, manage, and mint NFTs on their own custom smart contracts. The tool also provides creators with additional peace of mind as it leverages Pastel’s infrastructure for near-duplicate NFT detection (Sense) and permanent NFT data storage (Cascade).

SmartMint enables creators to mint NFTs directly on Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Pastel, and more with a simple click of a button. Creators can launch drops on SmartMint as their backend management platform and list NFTs for sale on their own site or marketplaces like OpenSea.

SmartMint makes minting NFT drops and collections easy and more powerful than ever.

SmartMint Banff Release Features

The SmartMint Banff release was a labor of love for the Pastel team. We spent countless hours ensuring SmartMint is the easiest and most powerful NFT creation platform in the ecosystem.

Please see below for details on what’s included in the latest upgrade:

Bulk Upload

  • Users can now easily utilize CSV or JSON files to automatically upload metadata and generate mass quantities of NFTs with the click of a button. No need to manually enter properties and traits for individual NFTs one at time.

Additional File Format Support

  • SmartMint now supports minting of various file types such as SVG, GIF, MP3, MP4, and more.

Solana Support

  • Users can now create NFT collections and drops directly on the Solana network via SmartMint, as we support the industry’s most up-to-date standards like Metaplex’s Candy Machine Protocol.

List-For-Sale (“Sell”) NFT Button

  • NFTs that you have created, minted, or own now have a Sell NFT Button to make listing for sale easier than ever. Simply click the button and select the marketplace of your choosing.

Submit a Request

  • User can submit tickets directly to the Pastel support team regarding issues they face on the platform. Submissions can include any issues such as those related to logging in, creating collections, and more.

Deleting Drops/Collections/NFTs

  • Creators can now delete draft collections, drops, and NFTs that have yet to be deployed.

Social Share Profile/NFT Button

  • Users can now share their own profile and NFT creations through the Social Share Button. Creators will have a link that they can send to their followers to view their profile or NFTs.

Additional Filters to View Drops and Collections

  • As your NFT profile continues to grow, we have implemented additional filters to help creators better view their various drops and collections. Filters include networks minted on, release date, mint price, and more.

Directly Download CSV Files for NFTs

  • Users can download a CSV file containing all the different metadata, properties, rankings, and stats of their NFTs.

Click on User Profile to View Collections in One Place

  • Under the Creator Info Tab, users can now view all the NFT creations as well as their Collections/Drops in one area.

CertiK Audit — Awarded the Gold CertiK KYC Badge!

Recently, we engaged CertiK to run a Smart Contract Audit of SmartMint Factory and Drop Contracts deployed on Ethereum and Polygon. We have successfully resolved all identified issues and updated the core contracts.

We are also pleased to confirm that we have successfully passed every stage of the CertiK KYC process and were awarded the official — and highest level — Gold CertiK KYC Badge!

This Comprehensive KYC Badge brings an additional security layer to our project and proves to our community and to the world our willingness to demonstrate the highest level of transparency and trustworthiness.

Our CertiK KYC Badge Award has been published on the CertiK Security Leaderboard, and can be verified here: https://www.certik.com/projects/pastel-network

SmartMint is a game-changer for the NFT ecosystem because of its simplicity and versatility. Start creating on SmartMint today!

Link to sign up: https://smartmint.pastel.network/signup

About Pastel Network

Pastel Network is a fully decentralized, developer-friendly layer-1 blockchain serving as the preeminent protocol standard for non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) and Web3 technology.

Pastel allows for the development of third-party decentralized-applications (“DApps”) to sit on top of its Network, enabling developers to enjoy the scalable registration features, storage processes, and security of the broader ecosystem. Lightweight protocols such as Sense — which was built to assess the relative rareness of a given NFT against near-duplicate metadata — and Cascade — which conducts permanent, distributed storage of underlying NFT data — can be integrated cross-chain across various layer-1 blockchains, layer-2 protocols, or other third-party apps.

Pastel is managed by world-class developers, cryptographers, and technologists, supported alongside an experienced and extensive network of marketers, influencers, and third-party agencies. Pastel is backed by key stakeholders including Innovating Capital, a prominent venture fund.

For more information on Pastel Network, visit https://pastel.network/.

Originally Published on Pastel Network’s Medium

How Computer Vision Could Help NFT Authenticity

Posted on by Anthony Georgiades

Computer vision is a new field of science that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to teach computers how to interpret visual data.

It’s currently used at the forefront of the autonomous vehicles industry to detect and classify objects like road signs, create 3D maps– and, recently, its technology is being explored to verify NFT authenticity.

The NFT market is worth $4.36 billion but has been criticized throughout 2022 due to faults in the minting process and scams. Since July 2021, over $137.6m of crypto assets have been stolen due to rug pulls and other crypto scams, with most investors losing everything in the process. 

Computer vision could help tackle these problems by proving the authenticity of an NFT before a purchase. By proving authenticity, buyers can be confident in their purchases, and NFT scams will be harder to pull off. 

This article will cover what computer vision is, common NFT authenticity issues and scams, and how computer vision can be used to solve them. 

What Is Computer Vision?

Computer vision is the process of creating a digital system that processes visual data in a similar way to people. The idea behind computer vision is to help computers understand images at a pixel level, picking up visual data that can’t be picked up by the human eye. 

The technology is commonly used for:

  • Object classification: When a computer classifies an object in a video or photo and assigns it to a category. For example, the system can help categorize images with a bird, a specific color, or with people in it. 
  • Object identification: When a computer looks through an image or video to identify a particular object. For example, a specific type of rock, the back of a vehicle, or a specific animal. 
  • Object tracking: when a computer looks through a video to search for certain criteria, which will then have its movement tracked. 

Computer vision is currently used in several industries including healthcare, automotive, agriculture, and retail, where it’s used to improve the efficiency of different systems. 

Common NFT Authenticity Issues

Double Minting 

A current issue within the NFT space is double minting. This is when a seller will double-mint their NFT collection.

Phishing

Phishing usually involves a fake ad, email, or pop-up from a website promising a high ROI NFT. To claim this NFT, users will be asked for their private wallet details. Once the scammers have this information, they can steal all NFTs and cryptocurrency in the wallet.

Airdrop

Airdrop scams are extremely common on social media. They usually advertise a free NFT for sharing a post with friends or signing up for an email list. When a user goes to claim their prize, they’re asked for cryptocurrency wallet information for the NFT, which hackers use to gain access to the account. 

Project Impersonations

NFT Iinvestors are sometimes taken advantage of by project impersonators due to the complexity of the industry’s fairly disparate moving parts. 

This is when an individual claims to be selling NFTs from a popular project, usually with an incentive such as a discount. They create a similar-looking website to make the project look legit and then sell a fake NFT to buyers. 

Unfortunately, even the most experienced crypto investors fall for project impersonations, such as Pranksy, who paid more than $336,000 for a fake Banksy NFT. 

How Can Computer Vision Solve NFT Authenticity?

It’s important to note that the result of applying computer vision technology to NFTs is largely speculation. The technology is still in its infancy and we don’t know exactly how it would work, but with that in mind, here’s how computer vision could work if applied to NFTs. 

Firstly, computer vision could solve authenticity by embedding verification codes into an NFTs image. 

This code would be so small it could only be picked up by software and so wouldn’t impact the image itself. Each time an NFT was sold, its authenticity could be verified by scanning it with computer vision software. 

The code would prevent scammers from replicating an NFT as they wouldn’t be able to replicate the code, making it safer for investors to buy NFTs. 

As well as authenticating NFTs on an individual level, NFTs could also be authenticated on a project basis. This would work with computer vision object classification, where an NFT would be classified by a certain project. 

The process would work much like the individual codes, however, would show that an NFT is actually part of a project. Therefore, if a scam project was created users could quickly verify if it’s legit. 

This technology is already being used by the likes of Google Cloud and Mobile Vision APIs, which help developers process images through machine learning models. Through an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) functionality, users can detect text in images that aren’t visible to the human eye. 

It’s also being used by Amazon Rekognition, a video analysis service designed to simplify the analysis process. It’s used to identify text, people, activities, and objects in an image. It’s currently used to detect inappropriate content; however, its technology could be applied to authenticate NFTs. 

Development platforms such as Althea AI and Fetch.ai are currently testing different ways computer vision can impact NFTs through smart computer vision. They’re looking for ways to incorporate language and speech into NFTs to create a dialog with owners. 

If successful, it could be used to authenticate an NFT through unique language exchanges or specific answers to questions that only a real NFT can provide. 

Final Thoughts: Could Computer Vision Be The Future of NFTs?

Although computer vision is yet to be applied to NFTs, it has plenty of potential to help overcome many of the scams currently occurring in the market, making it friendlier for new investors. 

As both NFTs and computer vision continues to innovate, it’s likely they’ll have additional applications for NFTs and Web 3. 

Although few claims are definitive, computer vision is an exciting concept that could play a significant role in adding legitimacy and structure to a rapidly evolving market of digital art.

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