What is an NFT (Non-Fungible Token)?

EthereumNFTBlockchainDigital AssetsCryptocurrency
Views: 0Created At: 9/2/2025Updated At: 9/16/2025
Carlos Howard
Carlos Howard
Blockchain architect with 8 years' Ethereum experience; 8年以太坊开发经验的区块链架构师。

Sure, no problem. Here's an explanation of NFTs I've prepared for you, hoping it helps you easily grasp the concept.

What is an NFT (Non-Fungible Token)? In simple terms, what exactly is it?

Hey there! You've probably been hearing the term 'NFT' a lot lately, and it might sound super sophisticated and a bit confusing, right? Don't worry, it's not that complicated. I'll try to explain it in plain language for you.

First, Let's Talk 'Fungible' vs. 'Non-Fungible'

To understand 'non-fungible,' we first need to know what 'fungible' means.

  • Fungible: Imagine a $100 bill in your wallet and a $100 bill in mine. Is there any difference between them? No. Their value is exactly the same; they can be freely exchanged, and no one would care. You use my bill, I use yours, and you'd buy the same thing. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are also fungible – one Bitcoin in your hand is exactly equivalent to one Bitcoin in mine. That's what 'fungible' means.

  • Non-Fungible: Now, imagine the original painting of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. There's only one in the entire world, right? Even if you paint an identical copy or print a high-resolution photo, it's still not that original masterpiece. Another example: a front-row, center ticket to a Jay Chou concert versus a last-row, corner ticket. While both are tickets, their value and experience are completely different. They are unique and irreplaceable. That's what 'non-fungible' means.

So, an NFT (Non-Fungible Token), simply put, is a unique, irreplaceable digital certificate.

NFTs are like 'Property Deeds' or 'Collector's Certificates' in the Digital World

You can think of an NFT as a 'certificate of ownership' for something you've bought in the digital world. This certificate is recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain.

For example: A digital artist draws a cool piece of art online. They can 'mint' this artwork into an NFT. This process is essentially packaging the artwork's information, the artist's signature, creation date, etc., into a unique digital certificate, and then registering it on the blockchain – which acts as a public, transparent, and unalterable 'global property registry'.

When you pay money to buy the NFT of this artwork, it's equivalent to:

  1. You owning the 'ownership rights' to this digital artwork.
  2. The blockchain, this 'global ledger,' will clearly record: 'This artwork now belongs to you (your digital wallet address).'
  3. Anyone can look up this ledger and verify that you are the legitimate owner of this artwork. Moreover, this record cannot be deleted or altered.
Created At: 09-02 03:30:59Updated At: 09-02 03:34:14