Overview
Pingify introduces a novel framework for bridging the divide between physical belongings and digital systems of ownership, accountability, and interaction. It aims to do this in a way which solves the key barrier of mainstream retail adoption, usability.
At its core, Pingify functions as a lightweight, general-purpose digital identity layer, utilising in blockchain technology, but abstracted in such a way that it remains accessible to non-technical users.
It is designed to be modular, customisable and upgradable, combining NFT customisation like tokenURIs with new concepts like namespace ownership and on-chain NFT metadata to support endless future use cases whilst being backwards compatible.
📄️ Overview
Pingify introduces a novel framework for bridging the divide between physical belongings and digital systems of ownership, accountability, and interaction. It aims to do this in a way which solves the key barrier of mainstream retail adoption, usability.
📄️ Real World NFTs
The core concept behind an NFT is a non-fungible token. Similar to its well know use case of digital artwork, in basic form it just means that each instance is unique (non-fungible). It consists of a custom smart contract to track and store said NFTs, which can follow any custom logic as long as is provides the functions defined by the ERC-721 standardisation (https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/standards/tokens/erc-721/). This standard provides a standard to interact with NFT contracts and enables interoperability within the entire blockchain eco-system. It means if you own an NFT you can transfer them to different owners with ease, or sell it on NFT marketplaces like opensea.io, it is what brings true ownership and possibility to the blockchain.
📄️ Usability for the blockchain
To break down the barriers of first time users on the blockchain, lets summarise the actions often required actions to make a first transaction:
📄️ NFT Metadata
Most NFTs contain a link (tokenURI) to a json file in a decentralised storage like IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) or Arweave. This is useful for when each NFT is a custom created piece of Art, however for item ownership storing a file using this method for each unique item would be costly and add further to the complexity. Pingify approaches this with a hybrid solution, utilising the tokenUri standard for more fixed identity information (branded goods etc) and a heavily optimised and flexible metadata solution for data that a user can customise themselves.
📄️ Namespace ownership
So far we have mostly discussed NFTs being added to personal belongings using tags. However, our goal is to serve as a flexible and modular digital identity layer for physical items. Part of this versatility is a built in namespace ownership ability for Pingify NFTs.
📄️ Minting Tokens
How do you control third party minting on Pingify in a way that is controlled but free from constraint of accounts?