Update: Phase 2 of Nifty Gateway’s NFT Preservation is Complete

Update: Phase 2 of Nifty Gateway’s NFT Preservation is Complete

As one of the first NFT marketplaces, Nifty Gateway is committed to implementing next-generation technology to support our customers and improve their experience interacting with digital art. One way we are doing this is by implementing Interplanetary File System (IPFS) pins for all NFTs minted on Nifty Gateway. In March 2023, we executed Phase 1 of this important preservation work.

Today, we’re delighted to share that we have just completed Phase 2 of this initiative, updating contract metadata for 3,661 Nifty Gateway smart contracts.

As of January 3, 2024, we've updated previous smart contracts so that all image metadata points to IPFS instead of api.niftygateway.com. This means that:

1. Both the tokenURI and baseURI files for 3,685 additional smart contracts now reference an IPFS link.
2. These links include a pinned IPFS file for each NFT containing all the associated asset metadata.

This work was all completed on-chain, and you can access the tx hashes from Etherscan in this sheet.

These changes ensure that Nifty Gateway-minted NFTs have metadata pinned on a distributed storage solution, IPFS, removing all previous dependencies on Nifty Gateway-hosted services.

What is IPFS and why are we using it?

Interplanetary File System, or IPFS, is a well-known and widely-used metadata storage solution in the Web3 and NFT space. NFT metadata is the unique data linked within an NFT smart contract. It contains attributes and properties of the NFT, such as name, date of creation, serial number, artist signature, traits, etc. It also includes a link to the underlying content like images, videos, and GIFs.

What about previously minted NFTs not included in these changes?

Phase 2 of our NFT Metadata initiative means that more than 80% of all Nifty Gateway-minted NFTs now leverage IPFS for metadata storage.

We recognize that there are important collections minted prior to July, 2021 that are not included in this migration. The remaining NFTs will be handled in Phase 3, scheduled for later in 2024.

We are finalizing plans to address the remaining contracts for previously minted NFTs and we will promptly communicate next steps and timing once confirmed.

Let's get Nifty!

Nifty Gateway Team

FAQs

Q: Which NFTs were included in Phase 2 of Nifty Gateway’s NFT Preservation Initiative?
A: 3,685 Smart contracts minted between July 2021 and March 2023 were updated during phase 2, see the full etherscan tx hashes here.

Q: What will happen to NFTs not included in Phase 2?
A: We are finalizing plans to address the remaining contracts for previously minted NG which will be addressed in Phase 3 of these efforts. There is no action required on your part at this time.

Q: How Do I know if my NFT has been updated?
A: To view the IPFS hash for an NFT on Nifty Gateway, you can follow these steps:

1. Locate the smart contract for your NFT on Etherscan,
2. go to “Read Contract”, and read the token IPFSHash field on the contract. This will show the IPFS hash for a given tokenId. This IPFS hash is written directly on-chain, is permanently immutable, and can’t be changed.

For more information on how to query your IPFS hash on Etherscan, see our article here.