IPFS

IPFS (the InterPlanetary File System) is a peer-to-peer protocol for storing and sharing files in a distributed way, addressing content by its cryptographic hash rather than a location. In crypto, it’s the common home for NFT images and metadata, since storing large files directly on-chain is prohibitively expensive.

IPFS matters because of a subtle NFT risk: many NFTs store only a pointer on-chain, with the actual image living on IPFS or (worse) a regular web server. If that file isn’t reliably “pinned” (kept online by someone), the NFT can point to nothing — the artwork disappears while the token remains. Content-addressing makes the file tamper-evident, but not automatically permanent. When evaluating an NFT, where and how durably its media is stored is a real, often-overlooked question.