NFT Standards – What Are They, and How to Choose Them Right?

It’s human nature to be skeptical about a new project, especially one that needs money and hype to work. The NFT world is one of these businesses, but it managed to blow up thanks to many factors. From celebrities to big brands getting on board, the FOMO in all of us was real. But if you wanna bust into the NFT industry, you gotta know what you’re doing there. And it’s not just about learning the terms and finding the right NFT. If you wanna play the game right, you gotta dig deeper! And one of the first things you gotta know is NFT standards. What are they? And how are they different? Let’s find out now!

What Are Token Standards?

Standards, or token standards, are a set of codes that are like rules in the digital world. In the case of NFTs, the NFT standards are used for specific things. From verifying ownership to traceability of an asset. In other words, when you have a smart contract, it conforms to one of the NFT standards we’re gonna discuss.

Disclaimer: For ease of explanation, we’re gonna use as examples the Ethereum NFT standards ERC. However, every blockchain has its specific standards. They’re technically the same but fall under different names.

NFT Standards – Everything You Need to Know

Before we get into the difference between each type, we gotta mention the OG token standard: ERC-20. This standard helps create fungible tokens, aka a token that has the exact same value and uses as many others. So, anything created according to this standard is an ERC-20 token and can be used as currency like ETH. You can interchange ERC-20 tokens with services, items, and such!

Therefore, if you’re looking to create a token of the Ethereum blockchain, it should adhere to ERC-20. The rules include how transactions should go, user access to tokens, and more.

ERC-721

This is the standard that gave us NFTs. This set of rules ensures that each token you base on it is unique and no other like it exists. CryptoKitties are actually what made this standard popular. The main goal of ERC-721 is to register copyright ownership. And when you use ERC-721, you can record the ownership history. That’s how you can trace who owns what on the blockchain.

ERC-1155 – Multi-Token

If a smart contract is based on the ERC-1155, that means you can manage different types of transactions simultaneously. If you have fungible and non-fungible tokens, you can move them at the same time if ERC-1155 is your standard. The upside of this is that this will lower the congestion on the blockchain, and in turn gas fees! However, the downside of ERC-1155 is that you can’t have a transaction history.

ERC-998 – Composable NFT

ERC-998 is sort of an extension of the original ERC-721. This comes in handy when you’re including NFTs in gaming. For example, if you have an avatar (which is an NFT) and you equip it with another asset, that gives you a new NFT. But to be able to do that, you need to have the ERC-998 standard at the base of it all.

More NFT Standards That Currently Exist

So we checked the main types of NFT standards, but these are not the only ones we have so far. For example, ERC-864 is an experimental standard that allows you to split the NFT ownership into smaller pieces. ERC-777 allows you to send tokens on behalf of other addresses. And if you want to ensure that your NFTs only go to a compatible address, you need the ERC-223 standard.

If you wanna know more about NFT standards, check this post out. And for more NFT news and info, our blog has got you covered. You’ll also find the latest tech and sneaker news, because why not? Investing in sneakers is always a good idea, especially if you’re going looking for a good side hustle. After all, it’s always a good idea to keep multiple tricks up your sleeve! Godspeed 🔥