"If you wish to converse with me," said Voltaire, "define your terms." This might have been aimed at your typical NFT enthusiast, who to an outsider might very well be speaking gibberish.
Here are 40 of the most common NFT terms that understanding will help anyone navigate this new and rapidly changing space.
1:1- Pronounced "one of one," a 1:1 NFT is a unique NFT of a single number, as opposed to an NFT that is part of a collection of multiple numbers. For example,Every daybybipis an example of a 1:1 NFT, whereas a 1989 Sisters Collection NFT is not.
10k project- A collection of 10,000 NFTs.
Airdrop- To send an NFT or NFT to a wallet for free. NFTs can be launched for a variety of reasons, such as promoting a new collection or rewarding someone for entering a contest.
Airdrops can also be used to lure someone into a scam, such as apull the mat, then be sure to read our articlesHow to spot and avoid cryptocurrency scamsmiCryptographic Security Basics: Staying Safe on the Web3before interacting with an NFT in the air.
monkey in- Invest a lot in a new project, generally for fear of losing it.
avatar design- Sometimes used interchangeably with terms likePFPmigenerative art, an avatar project is a collection of cartoon avatar NFTs, usually depicted as a portrait that shows the avatar from the shoulders or neck up.criptopunksis a popular example of an avatar design.
bip- Pseudonym for Mike Winkelmann, perhaps the best known digital artist. by beepleEvery day: the first 5000 dayssold for $69,400,000, the current record for most expensive NFTs.
Binance Smart Chain- A blockchain compatible with the buying and selling of NFTs. WhileEtherealis the most popular blockchain for NFTs, notable competitors includeBinancemisolana.
Burn- Burning an NFT is effectively destroying it. While NFTs technically always stay on the blockchain, you can remove one from circulation by sending it to a wallet address that is inaccessible.
Delete- To remove an NFT from an exchange. Deleting an NFT incursgas rates.NFT communities often encourage holders to remove NFTs before major announcements.
Discord- An instant messaging platform and the ideal place to discuss NFTs.
ERC-721- A token pattern that allows for the creation of unique, non-expendable tokens. It differs from ERC-20, for example, which is used to mint fungible tokens.
Ethereal- A chain of blocks withsmart contractfunctionality.Etherealis currently the leading platform for NFT projects.
minimal price- The lowest NFT price in a collection. To "buy the land" or "sweep the floor" is to buy the cheapest NFT in a collection.
floor sweeping- To buy the cheapest NFTs in a collection. The community can organize sweeps of an NFT collection to increase theminimal price.
fractional ownership- Partial ownership rights over an NFT. Sellers can sell percentages of a work and buyers can buy what they can.
fungibility- Replaceability. The dollars are fungible because a dollar owed can be paid with any existing dollar. Something that is not fungible, like a paint job or NFT, is unique.
gas rates- Fees that blockchain users pay to compensate for the computational resources used to execute transactions.gas ratesensure transactions are genuine and discourage bad actors from spamming the network with high transaction volumes.
generative art- A project where NFTs are generated from a pool of limited assets. In a generative art collection, each NFT can have a unique set of features while also sharing individual features with other NFTs in the collection.
interplanetary file system- A means of storing NFT data that is considered superior to storing in an HTTP gateway URL, since the latter is tied to a specific provider. IPFS addresses allow users to find content as long as someone on the network hosts it.
metadata- The collection of data that defines ownership and differentiates one NFT from another. The metadata can bein jailoout of jail.
metamáscara- The leading Ethereum wallet used as a gateway to NFT applications such asOpen sea,belowy Axie Infinity.
Metaverso- A 3D virtual world where people can interact. Popular blockchain-based metaverses include Decentraland and The Sandbox, virtual game worlds where users can buy and sellNFT terrestres.
coinage- The process by which an NFT becomes part of the blockchain. Once an asset is placed on the blockchain, it is "minted" as a token and cannot be exchanged.
off-chain metadata- Metadata stored outside the blockchain.
on-chain metadata- Metadata that is directly integrated into a smart contract.
Open sea- Launched in 2018, OpenSea is the first and largest NFT marketplace.
PFP- Profile photo. A PFP NFT is an NFT that people like to display as their main photo on platforms like Twitter. Popular examples include Bored Ape Yacht Club and Cool Cats.
game to win- Games where players can earn rewards like NFTs and cryptocurrencies that have real-world value and can be traded outside of the game.infinitive axieis currently the most popular play-to-win NFT game.
Polygon- OneEthereal-Compatible protocol that provides cheaper, faster and more secure payment transactions.Polygonit is an attractive platform for NFTs due to low minting costs and low gas fees.
below- A community-owned NFT marketplace founded in 2020. The Moscow-based platform primarily hosts digital art and is powered by its native ERC-20 RARI token.
Rarity- An important measure of the value of an NFT. The overall rarity of an NFT is usually determined by calculating the rarity of their individual traits, e.g. average or multiply them.
road map- A document that outlines the goals and next steps for an NFT project.
Royalties- Money earned by an NFT creator through the resale of tokens. Some NFTs automatically pay royalties every time an NFT is sold. An NFT can be coded to pay royalties to an artist forever, an interesting use case that has the potential to shake up the music industry.
thrown rug- A classic scam where a cryptocurrency or NFT project is promoted only to have its creators and developers disappear and run off with the money. TOsoft carpet pullis a pernicious variation where developers reappear from time to time to create the illusion that the project is legitimate.
I'm kind- Promotion, advertising, marketing. Paying for an NFT is promoting it.
smart contract- A self-executing digital contract. NFTs are made up of code written in a smart contract programming language like Solidity.
Solidity- A programming language for writing smart contracts. Solidity is a high-level language like Java and Python that is ideal forEthereal, which hosts most of the NFTs.
solana- One of the main challengers.Etherealas a blockchain of choice for NFT markets. Popularsolanamarkets includemagical eden,solanartemisolsea.
Utility-focused NFTs- NFT comreal world use cases. For example, NFTs can be used to improve ticket sales for events. Digital art can also have a coded utility. For example: ownership of abored monkeygrants exclusive benefits to members, such as access to a collaborative graffiti board.
White list- An exclusive list of users who get guaranteed early access to mint a new NFT collection at a specific date and time.