Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have enabled creators on a global level to monetize their content directly and sell individual artwork or collections to make a profit without requiring or being connected to a centralized authority that can eat up a considerable chunk of their profits.
As with just about any industry and technology, when something is fully digital, its security can be risky.
To enable each creator to protect their NFTs as much as possible, we will be going over what security means in the context of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and how each creator can push this security to another level with the usage of the SmartMint platform.
How Are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Created?
The procedure involved with creating Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) is called mining.
The term minting in the context of NFTs refers to a procedure where a digital item gets turned into an asset that exists on a blockchain network.
NFTs are minted at the point in time when they are created and are permanently recorded on the public ledger that is the blockchain. The process involves the creation and uploading of a digital media file, which then needs to get stored and can, later on, be sold on an NFT marketplace. Each NFT resulting from this process is a unique asset stored on a blockchain.
Multiple blockchains support the creation of NFTs, such as Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), and Solana (SOL), and more are supported by the SmartMint NFT creation platform built by Pastel Network.
When someone mints an NFT, they do so through the utilization of smart contracts. These smart contracts are used to assign ownership and manage the transferability of the NFTs in question.
What Does Security Mean In Connection to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)?
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are encrypted and stored on a blockchain, just like cryptocurrencies. Blockchains are secure because they use unchangeable distributed ledgers that anyone on the network can view.
However, this does not necessarily mean that each creator has their NFTs fully secured. Historically, there have been numerous cases of NFTs getting stolen from both artists and collectors.
This means that any malicious actor could theoretically steal an NFT. Without proper safeguards, hackers can use phishing attacks or other on-chain vulnerabilities to access NFT wallets.
Users can also make the mistake of clicking on an unverified, malicious link, which can expose their login information and result in the theft of NFTs.
What is SmartMint And How Does It Contribute Towards NFT Security?
SmartMint is a NFT minting platform that enables users to create, mint, and manage NFTs through custom smart contracts (that they own) without any coding required and with only a few simple steps.
The main reason why SmartMint by Pastel Network stands out in regard to its overall security is due to its Sense and Cascade protocols. Each protocol serves a specific role that can enhance the authenticity, rarity, and security of NFTs that are created through the usage of the no-code solution and platform.
Any creator can run their NFTs through the Sense Protocol, which is a near-duplicate NFT detection system that provides them with relative rareness scores alongside other information. This is essential as it can certify the authenticity of a specific NFT when compared to existing creations.
This means that those collecting NFTs down the line can have peace of mind knowing that the artwork they are purchasing is genuinely unique and original.
The data and the metadata surrounding the NFT can also live forever on a network of fully decentralized SuperNodes through the Cascade Protocol available on SmartMint.
Here, users can access permanent NFT data storage with a one-time payment. This means that each user can easily take advantage of Sense and Cascade.
Moving Forward WIth Secure NFTs
By leveraging the power of SmartMint, each user can create custom NFT drops and collections through smart contracts that are deployed on a specific network.
Anyone can add custom traits and attributes and securely store the NFT metadata on Cascade while calculating the relative rareness of the NFTs through Sense.
When NFTs get minted on SmartMint, users will just need to pay once, and their NFTs’ data and metadata will get permanently stored with high security. As such, they will not need to worry about its overall security as they would have if they manually created everything.
Each NFT can also be minted on multiple blockchains, as Smartmint also supports Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), and Solana (SOL), with more blockchains and Layer-2 solutions planned for implementation in the future.
Using reliable cryptocurrency wallets and marketplaces is essential, and activating additional security settings in the wallet and NFT marketplaces can also go a long way toward maintaining the security surrounding the NFTs.
As we discuss how Smartmint contributes towards the security of NFTs, let’s also look at Mistral AI’s seed funding and what it means for the AI industry.
