Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)—Survey of Current Applications, Evolution, and Future Directions

Abstract

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become an exciting technology that provides a fresh perspective on asset ownership, provenance, and value exchange. NFTs, a blockchain-based technology, are distinct and indivisible cryptographic tokens used to confirm and record the ownership of digital and physical assets in an immutable and transparent way. The fundamental block of NFT is a smart contract built on a blockchain network. This contract contains specific information about the asset it represents, such as its unique identifier, metadata, and ownership details. The information is kept private and tamper-proof due to the decentralized and distributed structure of the blockchain, boosting faith in the token’s authenticity. The NFT is gaining popularity, but it is still in the developing stage. There is a need for a comprehensive survey to guide future research and development in NFTs. Thus, this paper presents the technical components of NFTs, their features, and the minting process. Further, this survey paper describes different token standards for NFTs. It presents various applications of NFTs in healthcare, supply chain, gaming, identity verification, agriculture, intellectual property, smart cities, charity and donation, and education. The article also emphasizes the significant difficulties faced currently in implementing NFT technology from the viewpoints of ownership, governance, and property rights, as well as security, privacy, and environmental effects. This work also elucidates the future directions to overcome the challenges in adopting NFTs in various applications.