Paper 9: Where actually are my JPEGs?
What you don't know but should know about the storage of your JPEGs
What really is that JPEG you’ve bought, anon? And where the hell is it?
Me, 26 February 2022
Buying an NFT of a digital artwork is not the same as buying an IRL artwork.
When you buy an IRL artwork, you pay for the physical artwork, and you walk away with the physical artwork, so it is clear what you own.
When you buy a digital artwork, you pay for the digital artwork, but you don’t walk away with a digital artwork exactly.
What are you really walking away with? And if you aren’t walking away with the artwork, where on earth is the artwork?
In this article I deal with what your NFT really represents and look at where your artwork may actually reside.
1. What is an NFT?
It cannot be overstated how important this is to understand:
An NFT, in relation to art and collectibles, is a token containing information stored on the blockchain about the asset (image, video, etc) that a collector has purchased. With few exceptions, the NFT contains a link to a file location where the underlying artwork file (image, video, etc) is stored.
Club NFT: Basic Guide to NFTs and IPFS
As such, your NFT is simply a token which represents ownership of something - and the information contained within it points towards where the asset (image, video etc) is really stored.
2. Where is the asset?
There are a few places the asset might actually reside:
(i) On-chain
Sometimes NFTs are actually stored “on chain” on the blockchain.
Forgotten Runes Wizard’s Cult: an example of an “on chain” collection of NFTs
This means that the Wizard images and data can be completely reproduced from on-chain data and that the Wizards do not rely on any external or centralised hosting service to exist. So long as the Ethereum blockchain - the most decentralised, resilient, and popular blockchain currently- exists, the Wizards will exist.
If this appears to be a great way to store something safely and permanently, then why do most projects not do this?
The short answer is that it is way too expensive to do this for most types of assets.
Some recent estimates put the cost of storage on the Ethereum blockchain at $17,100 per 1MB of data. Even a short video of 10 seconds can easily require 15-20MB of storage, so it’s not hard to see why on-chain storage of assets is cost-prohibitive.
Club NFT: Basic Guide to NFTs and IPFS
For this reason, most projects either use the IPFS protocol or a centralised server like AWS.
(ii) Cloud/Servers
Storage of assets in “the cloud” or a web server is the “centralised” option.
Centralisation in this respect means that a single company, group, or individual is in control of the process, execution, and maintenance of storage.
Whilst this may appear secure if the entity is a trusted one, there are a few potential points of failure:
whoever runs the server could change the image to which your token’s link points (this is v bad - you buy a token which represents a particular piece of art, and then that piece of art gets changed!)
whoever runs the server might stop running the server (this is v bad - you buy a token which represents a particular piece of art, but that art disappears because it is no longer being stored, so your token now represents ownership of thin air!)
as a buyer you aren’t responsible for paying whoever runs the server to store the asset - but if whoever is responsible for that stops, assets may disappear (this is v bad - you get the picture)
(iii) IPFS
IPFS stands for InterPlanetary File System.
It is a distributed system for storing and accessing files, websites, applications, and data.
Some general advantages of IPFS stem from its “decentralisation.”
IPFS Docs: Decentralisation
More specific benefits to NFTs are:
Asset cannot be changed (like it can be with a centralised server)
It is possible to restore assets if you have the exact original version of the asset (which is not possible with a centralised server)
Decentralised nature decreases risk of total disappearance of asset (which is more likely on a centralised server)
IPFS has emerged as one of the most popular ways to store assets for these reasons.
(iv) Arweave
Arweave seeks to guarantee permanent storage for the first time.
“Arweave is a new type of storage that backs data with sustainable and perpetual endowments, allowing users and developers to truly store data forever - for the very first time.”
Arweave’s “permastorage” vision
It works by functioning as its own blockchain, where nodes are incentivised to hold data for “well over 200 years”. A fuller explanation is here:
Arweave News: Arweave as a permanent storing solution
So why is this better than IPFS?
Well, I think Arweave would assert that it solves the problem of needing to pay recurring fees for storage.
The mechanics of this problem with IPFS is more fully articulated here:
Arweave News: IPFS and Garbage Collection
Arweave is increasingly being used as a popular storage solution.
My understanding is that Solana has backed up their entire blockchain ledger with Arweave.
In addition, I am aware that Manifold currently pay for storage on Arweave of NFTs minted from their new creator contracts.
(v) Club NFT backup
Club NFT are providing assurance - not insurance (!) - to collectors who would like to literally take their digital artwork into their own hands.
As a consequence of the aforementioned problems with on-chain, centralised, and decentralised storage solutions, Club NFT propose that collectors download NFT artwork for themselves, so that no matter what happens they will always be able to restore their artwork.
I believe they are currently in beta, but you can join here to keep up to date with how their mission is progressing.
Closing thoughts
“The link from the NFT to the official digital artwork file is the only thing that makes it worth money.
It’s just like if you own the Mona Lisa, lend the painting to a museum, and the museum burns down.
Having taken a photo of the Mona Lisa, you cannot restore the Mona Lisa, even if you still have your certificate of ownership.”
Chris King, Club NFT CTO Chris King on the importance of storage
The possibility of losing digital artwork should not be underestimated.
It really happens - at which point real art-work-saving-attempts are made. (Have a read here of one such example - it’s really fascinating stuff.)
In line with the theme of self-sovereignty in this decentralised space, it seems prudent to me to take as much responsibility as you can for your prized possessions.
With this in mind, it appears that a dual approach is emerging as the wisest storage solution:
(i) decentralised storage (IPFS/Arweave) - likely organised by project leaders/artists; and
(ii) an element of asset self-custody (Club NFT) - organised by yourself.
Have a great day,
B
Please do leave me any questions or thoughts here - I respond to every one!
And if you thought this was interesting, please consider subscribing to this Substack here and following me @BCheque1 on Twitter for more on NFTs and Web 3.0.
Disclaimer: The content covered in this newsletter is not to be considered as investment advice. It is for informational and educational purposes only.
I hold some of the NFTs mentioned in these newsletters.