Non-Fungible Tokens Are Becoming More Decentralized

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If the recent prolonged outage at Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and its sister sites Instagram and WhatsApp in October proved anything, it demonstrated the value of maintaining decentralized networks, a point known by collectors of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

NFT behind dollar bill
Source: Shutterstock

The Facebook debacle was entirely avoidable. The company made a configuration change on its routers that interrupted communication between its data centers. A mistake such as this should have been relatively easy to fix but, as technology journalist Alex Hern explained, “Facebook runs everything through Facebook.”

The embarrassingly high-profile result of running everything through company-owned servers was that not only were the servers offline but so was Facebook’s ability to correct the problem. The company couldn’t send its servers the required update or even open the electronic lock on its own server building door. They couldn’t even send a message to security to ask them to show up with a physical key.

With the company’s entire communications system housed on one platform, it was in deep trouble when that platform failed. If the movers and shakers in the world of blockchain were breaking out the popcorn to watch the chaos unfold, you can hardly blame them.

Causes for Concern Extend to NFT and Blockchain

However, collectors of NFTs shouldn’t be quite so complacent about bearing witness to Facebook’s trials and tribulations. True, blockchain technology’s main advantage may be its decentralization. But that doesn’t mean it’s free of the issues that can be caused by fragmentation.

As just one example, NFTs created for one blockchain network are supposed to remain on that network. Mint an NFT on Ethereum and you can expect it to stay on Ethereum. It should certainly be safe there. With records kept on multiple servers constantly checking each other in real time, nothing can get lost, accidentally deleted, or be pushed offline.

However, as NFTs enter the gaming world, they’re acquiring new functions that require access to multiple networks. The limits of a single blockchain are no longer sufficient.

Enter the Cross-Chain Dragon

Of course, the idea of cross-chain NFTs isn’t new. As just one example, EverDragons, an ERC-721 token minted in June 2018, could be used across Ethereum, POA, and Tron. Today, however, the idea of being able to move NFTs across networks while retaining records of ownership is becoming a popular trend.

Recently, NFTb, a DeFi and NFT community platform, launched a cross-chain NFT marketplace for gamers. One week later, FTX, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, launched a marketplace to enable NFT creators and owners to trade their NFTs using Ethereum and Solana.

As developers start to see the value in NFTs in games, they’re realizing that users want to be able to use those NFTs regardless of the blockchain network that records them.

Creators of NFTs Pushed on Compatibility

Cross-chain compatibility is a shift not lost on NFT creators. Draco Dice, for example, is a new set of 3,300 unique, multi-sided dice. They’re designed by Hasbro and Disney illustrator Clark Mitchell and minted by the creators of Blockchain Heroes.

While the dice are being released on the WAX blockchain, the developers plan to make them one of the first truly cross-blockchain gaming NFTs, welcoming users of Ethereum, Polygon, Flow and other popular chains.

“These are truly NFTs with unprecedented cross-blockchain agility leveraging ‘NFT Anywhere’ technology,” says Zach Comm, creator of Draco Dice.

The aim is to increase blockchain accessibility to consumers who know little about blockchain platforms, and to increase game development accessibility for developers. The result, though, should be a way for everyone to continue playing their games even when Facebook or any other self-sufficient platform goes down.

On the date of publication, John Rampton did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

John Rampton, the founder and CEO of Due, is an entrepreneur and connector. While recovering from a serious construction accident when he was 23, he studied how to make money work for you, not against you. He has since written many articles about finance, entrepreneurship and productivity.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/12/nfts-non-fungible-tokens-are-becoming-more-decentralized/.

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