What is a CNFT? Everything you need to know about Cardano NFTs

What is a CNFT? Everything you need to know about Cardano NFTs

NFTs have dominated the market narrative over the last few years. They started as a cool way to store digital art and have evolved into one of the most defining aspects of our culture. It won’t be a stretch to say that NFT projects like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club have seeped into our mainstream and become a part of our zeitgeist. While Ethereum hosts the lion’s share of these NFTs, platforms like Cardano have stepped up their game in a major way in recent times. So, today let’s find out more about Cardano NFTs.

What is a CNFT?

Check out our article if you want to get a detailed outlook on NFTs. For now, let’s just give you a quick overview. NFTs stand for Non-Fungible Tokens. “Non-Fungible” is a fancy way of saying “unique.” Your 100 dollar currency note may be a lot of money, but it’s not really unique. You can always replace that note with another note or maybe even substitute that with smaller dollar bills (like 5 20-dollar notes or 10 10-dollar notes). 
However, that Chevy ‘57 you saw parked outside the mall earlier is unique to the owner. There is no way he is substituting that car with anything else, and we are pretty sure that if you borrowed that car from him and returned it to him in smaller pieces, he is going medieval on you.
That, in a nutshell, is what NFTs are. NFTs use cryptographic functions to make an asset or digital object unique. CNFTs are simply Cardano-based NFTs.

CNFT vs Ethereum NFTs

Ethereum NFTs require special token standards like ERC-721 and are built using a smart contract. On the other hand, Cardano NFTs are treated like any other token on the blockchain, making it simpler for developers to integrate them into their dApps.

Cardano NFT Marketplaces and Protocols

While smart contracts on Cardano are a pretty recent phenomenon, CNFTs have been around for quite some time. Let’s go through some CNFT marketplaces and protocols that have been doing pretty well.

#1 CNFT.io

One of the most critical components behind the explosive growth of Ethereum’s NFT ecosystem happens to be the marketplaces like Opensea and Rarible. CNFT.io is providing a similar service for ADA users.
CNFT.io started out in July 2021 by Cardano Buzz – a popular and influential figure in the Cardano community. They are continually adding new NFTs and product features to their platform. Shortly after its launch, CNFT experienced terrific growth and drew several Cardano enthusiasts to their platform.

#2 Cardingo

Cardingo is a CNFT series and marketplace. They plan to launch the following collections of NFTs:

• HoskeyChains: The first collection will offer computer-generated keychains.
• HoskeySmokeys: Pixel animations of Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson blowing smoke.
• HoskeyMates: Pixel animations of Hoskinson wearing different costumes or depicting different characters.
• HoskeyMation: Pixel animations of Hoskinson displaying different levels of Hiskeys like noob, pro, etc.
• HoskeyPunks: Pixel animations of Hoskinson depicting various characters.

Along with these, there will also be several Special Hoskey Editions which will include rare features such as illustrations, animations, etc. Cardingo has also partnered with the Dingo Foundation to raise awareness for the Dingo.

#3 Clay Mates

Clay Mates are probably the most popular CNFT projects. They are fashioned as stop motion animation figures and characters. They recently partnered with the rock band Good Charlotte for an exclusive series of Halloween NFTs.
Clay Mates have also launched Clay Nations – a collection of 10,000 unique CNFTs – supposed to be Cardano’s answer to CryptoPunks.

What Wallet Should I Use To Store My CNFTs?

If you haven’t read our blog on the best Cardano wallets, then do so here.
You can use both Yoroi and Daedalus to store CNFTs.

Conclusion

Cardano NFTs could gain an advantage in the market due to the core advantages of the Cardano blockchain when compared to Ethereum’s – mainly lower fees and higher speed.