Future-proofing your NFTs: the role of metadata management
The utility of NFTs has now gone well past collectibles. Days when NFTs were trashed just as a fuzz has given way to a time when use cases of NFTs are emerging every day:
- Buy, sell, and trade virtual real estate,
- Verify the authenticity of certificates,
- Establish digital reputations,
- Sell tickets,
- As in-game items,
- As proof of charity donations,
- Represent intellectual property ownership, and more.
However, though developers are trying to create more engaging NFT experiences, limitations of metadata constrain the utility of NFTs. Metadata lies at the core of dynamic NFTs prevalent today. Effective metadata management is key to implementing the technology to its maximum potential and future-proofing NFTs.
In this article, let us take a dive into how the metadata with multiple data sets plays a role in making NFTs dynamic and how managing metadata efficiently can help augment use cases of NFTs. For better understanding, let us begin with understanding how traits in NFT metadata influences the utility and challenges faced in single data set NFTs.
‘Traits’ in NFT metadata
Properties of NFT metadata such as name, description, traits, transaction history, date of creation, serious number, link to the hosted image, and more. Traits play an eminent role in making NFTs reflect a diverse number of ideas and situations.
There are several types of NFT traits, such as:
Utility traits:
NFTs with utility traits give owners access to specific rights or experiences, such as virtual events or some real-world items. For instance, you having a Nike NFT might grant you access to an exclusive online meet.
Visual traits:
There are traits that influence the way an NFT appears, like color or texture. A good example of visual traits would be the NFT of a weapon in a game-changing appearance depending on triggers.
Rarity traits:
In NFTs, some particular traits might be more scarce than others. Traits could be determined by multiple factors such as eyes, background colors, or effects. For instance, in an NFT collection of cats, few cats might have an ultra-rare trait like gold fur, increasing their demand.
Combinatorial traits:
Some NFT collections bring together several traits to create an uncommon outcome. In a game, for example, one can align certain clothing and accessories to give the character a unique experience.
Challenges within single data set NFTs
NFTs, however, suffer from a few fundamental flaws. For instance, all metadata for an NFT collection is a single set of data, which creates a problem in cross-project integration. Moreover, since their emergence, NFTs have been static for the most part, whether they are JPEG or videos, which means they cannot evolve with time. This is a severe limitation, which hampers the adoption of the technology.
Gas fees are another problem that hinders assimilation of the technology in the mainstream. NFTs depend on smart contracts for a change in metadata, which means the user has to pay the gas fee. If the changes are done off-chain, it helps set aside the gas fee but then, we have to deal with centralization, resulting in a lack of transparency.
The absence of a distributed ledger beneath metadata makes tracking any updates/changes to the data set hard. It means the metadata could be changed without the NFT owner in the loop.
How Lineage Protocol future-proofs your NFTs
Lineage Protocol helps you to tide over the challenges, making the experience dynamic for users, and expanding the use cases. This is achieved by powering metadata changes to create dynamic NFTs, quite unlike conventional blockchain networks that require validation of smart contracts. The outcome is a lighter and quicker network, increasing the efficiency of the whole set-up.
As a consensus-driven, peer-to-peer project backed with database-like storage capabilities, Lineage Protocol has the ability to transform the way NFT ecosystem functions. The protocol brings in a decentralized metadata management system, making all aspects transparent. Permissionless metadata changes make the utility of NFTs limitless.
One can view each NFT state change in Lineage Explorer, termed the ‘Etherscan for NFTs.’ Every game, DAO, ticketing system, or any other project using the current dynamic or static NFT standard can now expand.
Dynamic NFTs based on real-world triggers
Meta integrated with NFTs with proper codes and scripts create dynamic NFTs based on real-world triggers. These NFTs have programmable features making them useful across industries, turning them into valuable assets.
Lineage Protocol achieves this without affecting the original tokenUri which means dynamism is achieved without smart contract interaction. For instance, an NFT of a warrior in a game might have an attribute that increases when the warrior performs well in a fight and decreases when it loses. The metadata reflects all the previous wins and losses, along with the current status.
Metadata powered by Lineage Protocol enables NFTs to communicate with digital assets across different blockchains without using bridges, which helps developers avoid associated vulnerabilities. Interoperability facilitates better experiences for all stakeholders.
Multiple data sets
Thanks to Lineage Protocol, there are no restrictions on the NFTs regarding the number of data sets. This allows NFT collection owners to delegate permissions for other projects to create new data sets for integration, tremendously boosting interoperability between NFT projects.
Multiple data sets facilitate collaborative NFTs, enabling each creator to own their own particular data set. The outcome is an NFT where different creators own various parts of the asset.
Implementing traits in NFTs via metadata
Metadata can be used to implement traits in NFTs, changing their value. It reflects past ownership of the NFT, changing its appearance depending on the current ownership. For instance, in a game environment, an NFT might come across as a golden sword for a top-ranked warrior, but as a silver sword for regular soldiers. Creators could use a combination of colors, styles, and patterns to give a unique experience to NFTs.
Lineage Protocol enables NFT creators to enable community members to contribute their own designs to collections or vote on their favorite traits. Utility traits that unravel exclusive content or experiences add an extra layer to NFTs and enhance their value.
Lineage Protocol enhancing metadata management
Focused on enhancing NFT utility, Lineage Protocol introduces multiple data sets to upgrade the standard of metadata structure and management, while adhering to the current standards. In the process, it removes different constraints on the functionality of NFTs and helps generate a string of use cases that were simply not possible before.
The metadata technology of Lineage Protocol facilitates the creation of dynamic NFTs based on real-world triggers. Moreover, it enables creators to implement traits in NFTs via metadata. Lineage Protocol has boosted the utility of NFTs at an unprecedented level, powering implementations that were not even thought of a couple of years before.
