NiftyPlace: An NFT Marketplace Using Blockchain

Abstract

Blockchain is a notably advanced and innovative technology which has caused a dramatic shift from the previously established centralized framework to the underrated decentralized framework. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that can be anything like pictures, videos, games, songs, etc., and they can also be property deeds, medical records, and a lot more. The popularity and commendation of NFTs have only increased in the current years. Since NFTs are based on the intrinsic concepts of Blockchain, they form the backbone of any NFT marketplace. This paper explores the creation of NiftyPlace, an NFT marketplace using Blockchain which is nothing but a platform that supports features like minting, listing, buying, selling, relisting, and canceling of NFTs. These functions are possible by the virtue of an ERC-721 token standard-based on a smart contract that works on the Ethereum Blockchain. Research has been done on the existing prototypes of the NFT marketplaces, and this has helped in gaining a good insight in the limitations associated with the existing systems and ways in which the current system can be improved upon. This paper also delves into the use of Interplanetary File System (IPFS) for the storage of the metadata associated with the NFTs and the need or prevalence of developing such a decentralized application.