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They can point to a metadata URL, or store data. But the key is they have a unique id and can be used to verify ownership. Think of it like a global compound primary key: (chain id, NFT contract address, NFT id). For many things a database will suffice here, but it’s also useful to remove the dependency of a central authority. It’s worth exploring more.

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Ownership of an unlimited resource: a link to something. How do you verify ownership when many links point to the same resource?

Metadata isn’t part of the core spec, so NFTs don’t have to link to anything. You can only verify ownership of the NFT id. What the NFT represents is up to the author. It could be a credential to a web application. It could be a pass to a venue checked at the door. It could be anything to gate access by asserting if the wallet holder has a specific id or balance greater than zero of said NFT. An NFT is a unique token. What builders do with it is up to them. Mostly it’s been art. What else could builders do when they have a permissionless way to assert that a user owns a unique digital id (NFT). It’s worth exploring more.

Well, it's worth exploring with a minimal amount of money and not by somehow squeezing in money from pension funds and the like.

They can do that research as part of PhD dissertations.

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