Anyone with even little to no knowledge can find NFT metadata on OpenSea and Rarible with the right API, contract address, and token id.
NFTs are a game-changing technology because they let people own digital assets and act as certificates or keys to the content underneath, which could be music, movies, art, real estate, etc. Metadata, on the other hand, makes NFTs useful in the real world. It’s not quite a buzzword, but it ensures that the user understands the NFT.
Metadata is information about what an NFT stands for. Large files can’t be stored on the blockchain because it costs too much, so most NFTs just point to files stored outside the blockchain. Still, only a small number of NFT artworks are kept on the chain.
This article talks about NFT metadata, why it’s not a good idea to put content on blockchain, and how to find NFT metadata on Opensea and Rarible. First, let’s figure out what NFT metadata really is.
What is non-fungible token (NFT) metadata?
An NFT is a specific piece of digital property that could be a JPEG, GIF, or MP4 file. Even though the token itself is hosted on the blockchain, the file underneath it is stored off-chain. Metadata from NFT gives details about the data that is being stored. It could have information like the name of the NFT, a description of the NFT’s history of transactions, a link to the hosted image, traits, and more.
As for the benefits of NFT metadata, it helps solution architects ignore technical problems when hosting large files on a chain. The preferred method is to put the link to the content on the blockchain and store the content on an HTTP URL on the current Internet or the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS).
IPFS is a peer-to-peer (P2P) network for file sharing that lets people store and share data in a distributed file. The metadata is what the NFT smart contract on the blockchain network needs to work.
Metadata is given in a standard format called JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). Inside the smart contract, the information is stored as a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) because storing it as a JSON would use too many resources. Users can, however, download NFT metadata whenever they want.
Why do we need metadata for data that is not on a chain?
Because images, audio, and video are so big, it costs a lot to add them to the blockchain. For example, if someone wanted to store one gigabyte of data on the Ethereum blockchain, it would cost about the same as $35 million. If a 160-minute movie is stored on a blockchain, it could cost more than the $237 million it costs to make the movie.
As was said above, the URI string shows where the JSON description of the token can be found. On the blockchain, the important metadata stays as a permanent record, describing what the token stands for.
What do Opensea and Rarible bring to the ecosystem of NFT?
Due to the high demand for NFTs, people needed places where they could make, trade, and sell their assets. The tools for these activities are so important to the NFT movement and are found in the marketplaces. Opensea and Rarible are at the top of the list. They are both open platforms where anyone can mint and trade NFTs.
OpenSea is the world’s first and largest non-fungible tokens (NFTs) marketplace. Users can bring their own NFT collections to the platform to sell. OpenSea provides the infrastructure for minting, listing, and trading NFTs. This makes the complicated tasks of managing and making money from NFTs easier. OpenSea was first made to support CryptoKitties, but it has since become the go-to market for NFT participants.
Rarible, too is a peer-to-peer (P2P) gateway into the NFT market, with easy minting and trading features. In contrast to OpenSea, Rarible uses its own token, RARI, to run the platform and let RARI holders vote on important decisions.
How do I use OpenSea to look at NFT metadata?
Any trader with a lot of experience will want to look at the NFT metadata on OpenSea to find out what it is all about. It is easy to check metadata on OpenSea. Let’s focus on finding the metadata of NFTs based on Ethereum so that it’s easy to understand.
Here’s what will happen:
1. Open the NFT whose metadata you want.
2. Scroll down and click the “Details” tab. Next to the contract address, click the link.
3. Copy the contract address from the Etherscan link that shows up on the screen.
4. The user can now type api.opensea.io/asset/ in the URL box and paste the copied contract address after the slash at the end of the URL. and put another slash and token ID from the contract details. In this case it should look like this. https://api.opensea.io/asset/0x469823c7B84264D1BAfBcD6010e9cdf1cac305a3/2303
The metadata is shown on the screen in JSON format. You can use a relevant blockchain explorer to find the contract address of an NFT hosted on another blockchain. For example, if the NFT is hosted on the Solana blockchain, clicking the “Contact Address” link on the “Details” tab will take you to the Solana explorer Solscan.io. Then, the API can be used to get the metadata.
How do I find NFT metadata on Rarible?
Like OpenSea, Rarible lets you search for the metadata information. To understand the process, let’s look at EXIO, a popular NFT based on the Ethereum blockchain about a pilot who enters the atmosphere of a planet controlled by psychedelic consciousness.
Here’s how to use Rarible to find NFT metadata for EXIO:
1. On Rarible, open the page for the NFT, such as EXIO, as shown in the image below.
2. Move your finger down the screen. Click View on Etherscan under the Details tab.
3. Click on the blue Token ID number on the screen.
4. The user will be taken to a different page of Etherscan.
5. Write down the address.
6. Type the following link in the format given to find metadata.
https://api.rarible.org/v0.1/items/ETHEREUM:
Address of the contract: Token id
For the address of the contract, the link will be
https://api.rarible.org/v0.1/items/ETHEREUM:0x3D34D2A719C2666e603650858ac159D12e623B77:10029
On the screen, the metadata will show up.
On Rarible, all you have to do to find the metadata of NFTs hosted on blockchains other than Ethereum is to replace Ethereum with another blockchain of your choice. There is sometimes no token ID.
When trading on OpenSea and Rarible, you should consider the metadata.
Metadata helps users focus on who owns NFTs and whether or not they can be traded. This makes it possible for tokens to be used in many different situations, such as art, real estate, music, fashion, gaming, supply chain, luxury goods, ticket sales, and more. Implementations of NFT technology that use this important data right away are more efficient. Users’ metadata will help keep the ecosystem stable and add a lot of value to it.
A lot of traders on platforms like OpenSea and Rarible don’t bother to check the metadata because they think it’s just technical stuff. But any trader with experience would know how important it is to know everything there is to know about the NFTs they are going to buy. Both platforms make it easy for users to find information about NFTs and make sure the tokens they buy are worth the price.
