BEP-721
BEP-721 is a Binance Smart Chain (BSC) token standard that enables the generation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It is considered to be an extension of ERC-721 that is one of the most popular
What Is BEP-721?
The
Ethereum network was the
first to develop a standard for non-fungible tokens. The ‘
ERC-721' token
symbolizes ownership of NFTs, such as real estate or collectibles, where each token holds a distinct value.
As the buzz surrounding non-fungible tokens grew, so did the range of diverse ecosystems that sprung up with them. This tendency has intensified since the Ethereum network's exorbitantly high fees and long transaction processing times have curtailed its functionality and rendered many
DeFi protocols unusable.
BEP-721 is a
modification to Ethereum's ERC-721, one of the most widely used
NFT standards. Each NFT is one-of-a-kind and cannot be exchanged for another token. BEP-721 tokens can be used to
tokenize data ownership and assign a unique identity to it. This feature distinguishes these tokens from other
BEP-20 tokens. Developers may use BEP-20 to generate many identical tokens within a single
smart contract. However,
BEP-721 assigns a unique ID to each token. They may be used to represent specific non-fungible objects owing to their uniqueness. The feature of
“tokenMetadata” allows metadata to be included in a token that is used to link to a piece of artwork or another collectible feature of the NFT. They can be traded and transferred based on their market value that is determined by the scarcity or usage.
The majority of NFTs and DeFi platforms, particularly
Binance Smart Chain, demand buyers to have a
digital wallet and pay for these assets using
cryptocurrencies. If users do not have a digital wallet, like a
MetaMask wallet, they are required to create one to easily interact with BSC projects.
Transferring these tokens, like other Binance Smart Chain tokens, require BNB to fulfill the transaction costs. Therefore, it is necessary to keep a small amount of BNB in your wallet while making such transactions.
BEP-721 tokens can be generated on the Juggerworld platforms, Featured By Binance, BakerySwap, and Binance NFT Marketplace, among others in the BSC ecosystem.
Such tokens can represent the following:
- Physical or digital art
- Antiques or collectibles
- Items found in a game
- Lottery tickets
- Real estate and physical property
These tokens contain a set of operations that control how they communicate with the Binance Smart Chain. Some of them are quite common and may be found in the BEP-20 standard:
- name: Specifies the name by which other contracts will recognize the BEP-721 token
- Symbol: A concise name for the token, comparable to a ticker symbol
- balanceOf: Displays the token balance of a given address
- totalSupply: Shows the overall amount of tokens generated
A collection of fundamental ownership functions is also available, some of which are optional to add. The metadata functionality is a unique characteristic of NFTs:
Let's take an example of CryptoPunk, where each unit includes information in the NFT that links to a specific punk in a grid of 10,000 punks. Despite the fact that CryptoPunks do not follow the BEP-721 token standard, they do use metadata.