Re:NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites
by bofh23 on Wednesday October 06, 2021 @01:09PM
(#28775558)
> This ensures that the media file that a NFT represents, will always be available, since it is hosted by many people on the network.
I’m pretty sure this is incorrect. IPFS is not permanent storage unless you host the content yourself or pay a pining service to host it. It may be cached on many computers but those caches are finite and get cleared.
Persistence | IPFS Docs https://docs.ipfs.io/concepts/persistence/#long-term-storage
« Long-term storage
Storing data using a personal IPFS node is easy, but it can be inconvenient since you have to manage your own hardware.
[…]
[…] paying a pinning service to store data is a convenient workaround, it still requires someone to bear the cost of storing that data.
[…]
While IPFS guarantees that any content on the network is discoverable, it doesn't guarantee that any content is persistently available. »
While you are right that the NFT is just an entry to the blockchain with a URI to the actual media file, the file is NOT stored on a centralized platform.
While it is possible to use a regular server to store the media file, it is certainly very bad practice and defeats the whole point of NFTs.
The media files are stored on IPFS, which is a decentralized peer-to-peer storage network. This ensures that the media file that a NFT represents, will always be available, since it is hosted by many people on the network.