ICON IRC-3 Token
Hi ICONists👩💻,
On July 14th, the status of the ICON Non-Fungible Token Standard creation project has moved to the final stage. Which means, it is possible to build IRC-3 on Mainnet. We thought it would be a great time to write down everything we could find about the final implementation.
ICON’s Non-Fungible Token Standard (NFT) called IRC-3 was first proposed in 2018. The reason behind it was to create a standard interface to allow wallets, brokers, and other applications to work with any NFT on the ICON Network. The idea was inspired by the ERC721 token standard of Ethereum, allowing use cases such as ownership representation of digital or physical assets, and consignment to third party operators for token transfers.
IRC-3 covers the broad features of NFT use cases, including ownership representation of digital or physical assets, and consignment to third party operators for token transfers.
So, what is an NFT or Non-Fungible Token? An NFT is a specific type of cryptographic token representing a unique asset. NFTs are a version of digital or real-world assets and function as verifiable proofs of authenticity and ownership within a blockchain network. Decentralized applications (DApps) often use NFTs to allow creation and ownership of unique digital items and sometimes collectibles. While they can be traded in open marketplaces, each NFT has a unique value. Furthermore, it is believed by many that standardization of NFTs makes interoperability between blockchains more likely.
The difference between the IRC-2 token standard created before is the adaptation of the token fallback mechanism, and the preservation of the approve/transferFrom methods in this NFTs standard, because there can not be multiple withdrawals with NFTs as in ERC20.
- If you’re interested in joining the community-driven NFT group, click here.
📞 We talked with @2infiniti about IRC-3 and what makes it so special. See the short recap below.
What makes IRC-3 so special and how come it’s taken so long for it to be developed?
So, the standard has been around for quite some time (initial specs were done in 2018), the only thing missing was a reference implementation and proper testing, so we did just that. After 2 weeks of the last call, we decided to finalize the standard. This is a basic set of features to enable non-fungible tokens, we expect to extend on this for more complex NFT use cases in the future.
What kind of implementations are you hoping for?
Quite a few actually. So, NFT became a topic for a few initiatives internally, and we are always hearing community interests to build around NFT. We held the first ICON dev call, during which quite a few community devs expressed interest to build on NFT. We also have new P-rep teams solely focused on NFT and we have an ongoing hackathon with NFT as one of its main categories. Lots of possibilities.
What will IRC-3 mean for the future of the ICON Network?
NFT is arguably one of the best use cases for blockchains. With IRC-3 in place, ICON devs can explore all kinds of meaningful use cases to drive adoption. We leave this to our talented ICON devs.
🪐 The Nebula Project
One of the first use cases for NFT is the Nebula Project which is focussing on creating an NFT collectible game. The creators behind this game are ICON Forge. So, how does it work? Project Nebula is a space-themed strategy game that will be released as a cross-platform browser game. This ensures accessibility to the biggest audience. The individual planets in Project Nebula will be non-fungible tokens (NFTs), players can then claim them inside the game and trade or sell if they wish too. There are different categories of planets, which all have unique designs and attributes. The game will also include elements from the “4X” genre such as exploration, research, and resource management.
🧐 Conclusion
IRC-3 will drive the adoption for different use cases on the ICON Network, helping to both grow the ecosystem and increase mainstream adoption. We are excited to see the many different projects and ideas developing.
DISCLAIMER: This is not financial advice. Staking, delegation, and cryptocurrencies involve a high degree of risk, and there is always the possibility of loss, including the loss of all staked digital assets. Additionally, delegators are at risk of slashing in case of security or liveness faults on some protocols. We advise you to do your due diligence before choosing a validator.