What Is an NFT?
Non-fungible tokens, and what 'owning' one really means.
You’ll cover
Fungible vs non-fungible
One dollar is interchangeable with any other dollar - that's fungibility. A specific painting is not interchangeable with another; it's unique. NFTs bring that uniqueness on-chain: each token has its own identity and can't be swapped one-for-one with another.
That makes NFTs a natural fit for representing specific things: a piece of art, a ticket, a username, an in-game item, or a membership pass.
What you actually own
An NFT is usually a token whose contract records you as the owner of a particular item ID, plus a link to metadata (an image, traits, etc.). The artwork itself often lives off-chain; the token proves which one is 'yours' on the ledger.
So owning an NFT means the blockchain agrees you hold that token - it does not automatically grant copyright or stop others from copying the image. Rights depend on what the project actually promises.
Remember
Owning the token ≠ owning the copyright. Read what the collection's terms actually grant.
Self-check
Check your understanding
Choose an answer for each question, then check the results and explanations.
Primary references
Documentation and standards
References added
Official technical references for further verification. A source link is not a guarantee that every earlier editorial sentence has been reverified; provider specifications may also change over time.
The curriculum predates this reference index. These sources are offered to check technical details; no original publication date has been inferred.
- ERC-721 non-fungible token standardEthereum Improvement ProposalsRead source ↗
- NFT metadata standardsOpenSeaRead source ↗
Apply what you learned
Related practical guides
Inspect Solana NFTs Safely
Use a public wallet address to inspect collectibles, then verify collection identity and provenance before trusting what an image or label claims.
Read guide →NFT Metadata and Mint Addresses
Understand the difference between the on-chain asset identifier and the metadata used to display its image, attributes and collection information.
Read guide →
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