Ethereum API - Tokens, NFTs, Trades, Balances & More - Bitquery (2024)

FAQs

What is an NFT and why is it bad? ›

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and ordinals are assets that are tokenized using a blockchain. Because blockchains use energy, NFTs can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change through their production, exchange, and storage.

ERC-721 is a non-fungible token standard on the Ethereum blockchain. It provides a set of guidelines for creating unique tokens that represent digital assets. These tokens are non-fungible, meaning that they cannot be exchanged on a one-to-one basis due to their unique properties.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are assets like a piece of art, digital content, or video that have been tokenized via a blockchain. Tokens are unique identification codes created from metadata via an encryption function. These tokens are then stored on a blockchain, while the assets themselves are stored in other places.

One significant limitation is its restricted functionality compared to Ethereum. Unlike Ethereum, Bitcoin's blockchain wasn't initially designed for smart contracts. This barred it from having complex capabilities to build smart contracts and, consequently, NFTs. Another concerning issue is Bitcoin's slower block time.

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital asset that represents ownership of real-world items like art, video clips, music, and more. NFTs use the same blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrencies, but they're not a currency.

A 2023 report from crypto analysis firm dappGambl found that 95% of NFTs are worth practically nothing. The report found that, following the immense hype over NFTs between 2021 and 2022, around 79% of all NFT collections have remained unsold.

Ether (ETH) is the native token used by the Ethereum blockchain and network as an internal payment system.

Tokens created on the Ethereum blockchain are known as ERC-20 tokens. Tokens aim to offer a wider range of functionalities compared to coins. They can be used as a means of payment, but their primary purpose is often to provide access to a project's function.

What is the most expensive NFT? ›

The most expensive NFT sold is The Merge, the NFT collection created by digital artist PAK that was sold for $91,806,516 within just 48 hours following its release on December 3, 2021, on the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway.

NFTs, non-fungible tokens, exploded in popularity in 2021, offering ownership of digital art, music, and even virtual land on different blockchains like Ethereum. Despite its pioneering role, Bitcoin itself was not originally designed to support these advanced features directly on its blockchain.

The Bottom Line. Bitcoin and Ethereum are two blockchains with their own cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ether. Each was created with different purposes in mind to address separate issues, but they also have many similarities.

Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency, was created as a decentralized digital currency for transactions. Ethereum, on the other hand, is a platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) to be built and operated without any downtime, fraud, control, or interference.

Smart contracts are self-executing computer programs that run on the Ethereum blockchain and enforce the terms of an agreement automatically. Developers write these contracts in a high-level programming language and compile them into low-level bytecode, which the Ethereum blockchain stores.

Perceived Lack of Inherent Value. A major source of NFT skepticism stems from the perception that they lack inherent value. To critics, NFTs seem like absurdly overpriced images or media that can be easily copied or screenshotted.

Gamers buy NFTs for various reasons too, perhaps to upgrade their gameplay or to own a valuable in-game item. Most NFT projects now also offer special perks such as utility, community benefits, merchandise, and more.

NFTs have been used as speculative investments and have drawn criticism for the energy cost and carbon footprint associated with some types of blockchain, as well as their use in art scams. The NFT market has also been compared to an economic bubble or a Ponzi scheme.

Because an NFT allows the buyer to own the original item. Not only that, it contains built-in authentication, which serves as proof of ownership. Collectors value those “digital bragging rights” almost more than the item itself.