Hi Friends,

As the NFT space continues to evolve and grow, so does our shared responsibility to preserve its collective digital heritage. With KnownOrigin’s recent decision to shut down, we now face an urgent challenge: protecting the metadata and media files of countless NFTs created on the platform. We are here to help ensure these valuable digital assets are not lost.

The Challenge: Preserving KnownOrigin's NFT Metadata

KnownOrigin has long been a home for digital artists, serving as a platform to showcase and trade unique digital assets. However, as the platform winds down, we are now faced with the challenge of ensuring that the metadata—information crucial to the provenance, ownership, and integrity of these NFTs—is not lost. This metadata is at risk due to the potential shutdown of centralized servers, exacerbating the broader issues of relying on centralized systems in an increasingly decentralized ecosystem.

Our Partnership with Pob Studio

At NFT.Storage, we are fully committed to preserving these digital treasures. In partnership with Pob Studio, we are developing a long-term, efficient solution. Pob Studio, known for its innovative NFT experiences centered on blockchain history, created the Preserve Initiative designed specifically to safeguard the metadata and media files of NFTs at risk due to platform shutdowns or other vulnerabilities.

The Preserve initiative by Pob Studio focuses on putting NFT metadata on decentralized storage solutions, ensuring that these digital stories remain intact and accessible regardless of what happens to the original platforms. This initiative aligns perfectly with our mission at NFT.Storage to offer long-term, verifiable, and decentralized storage for NFTs.

Through our partnership, we aim to combine the strengths of NFT.Storage’s robust storage solutions with Pob Studio’s innovative approach to NFT preservation. Together, we are aiming to ensure that the NFTs on KnownOrigin are preserved in a way that is immutable, accessible, and independent of any single entity’s continued existence.

Building on this partnership, our approach focuses on key principles to ensure the longevity and accessibility of these digital assets.

Our Approach: Immutable, Decentralized, and Scalable

Our approach aims to ensure that the preservation of KnownOrigin’s NFTs is not only effective but also streamlined and scalable. Unlike methods requiring individual artists to secure their data, our solution enables a collective preservation effort executed in one step through a contract update. This allows us to implement a single, comprehensive solution that secures all NFTs on the platform, without relying on each artist to act individually.

Our approach is based on the following principles:

* Transparency and immutable data: We aim to ensure that all metadata is stored in an easily accessible, replicable, and immutable way. By using a combination of decentralized storage solutions like IPFS and the Filecoin network, we aim for long-term data safety and verifiability.

* Independence from centralized entities: Our preservation efforts are designed to function independently of any single entity. Even if Pob Studio or NFT.Storage were to cease operations, the preserved metadata will remain accessible, aiming to ensure the longevity of these digital assets.

* Efficient and scalable solutions: We prioritize scalability and gas efficiency, packaging the metadata in a way that can easily integrate into other marketplaces or platforms, creating a seamless transition for creators and collectors.

Proposed Solution

Our proposed solution involves creating a superstructure CID (Content Identifier) to act as a unified reference point for all KnownOrigin NFTs. This approach is not only more gas-efficient and scalable but also eliminates the need for individual artist intervention. This provides a more affordable and streamlined solution, ensuring the preservation process is smooth for everyone involved.

We recognize that many artists affected by the KnownOrigin shutdown lack the technical knowledge to safeguard their NFTs, and many collectors are currently unaware of the risks involved. Our solution addresses these challenges and provides clear, actionable steps.

KnownOrigin has four different versions of NFT contracts. For V1 and V2 contracts, we propose a straightforward update to the baseURI in a single transaction, preserving every NFT’s metadata without requiring any action from artists. This efficient method ensures the long-term preservation of metadata by replacing outdated URLs with IPFS links.

For V3 and V4 contracts, we will correct the metadata URLs through a simple contract modification to ensure compliance with IPFS standards for future accessibility. While V3 requires no artist action, V4—due to artist-controlled contracts—will require artists to implement the proposed tokenURI modification to preserve their collections.

We’d also like to emphasize that no action is required by collectors.

For long-term preservation, we will support NFT creators to back up all data using NFT.Storage’s endowment-backed, low-cost, long-term storage solution at $2.99 per GB. While IPFS is decentralized, it doesn’t guarantee perpetual storage without active pinning. By utilizing NFT.Storage, we aim to ensure that metadata and media files remain reliably accessible and verifiable over time.

Join Us in Preserving NFT History

We urge the community and all stakeholders to help us locate the custodians of critical private keys and administrative controls essential for this preservation effort. Access to these keys is crucial for starting the preservation process. Without them, our ability to protect and maintain these digital assets is limited.

While we are fully prepared to manage the technical aspects of metadata preservation and assist creators in backing up their data on NFT.Storage’s decentralized platform, we need the community’s support to make this a reality. Your involvement is crucial to ensuring the long-term preservation of these digital assets. Time is of the essence, and we need swift action to ensure these assets are not lost.

The Road Ahead

Together, we have a unique opportunity to preserve a vital part of crypto history. Let’s ensure that KnownOrigin’s legacy endures, for today’s artists and for generations to come.

Once we establish contact with the necessary stakeholders, we will publish a detailed proposal outlining our plans and ways for the community to get involved. Additionally, we plan to host Twitter Spaces and other forums to gather feedback and rally support for this initiative. Our commitment is to ensure that the legacy of KnownOrigin and its artists is preserved as part of our shared digital heritage.

We invite all members of the NFT community, especially those connected to KnownOrigin, to join us in this mission. Your involvement is critical to safeguarding the future of these digital treasures, and together, we can ensure their preservation for the long term.

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Together, through collective action, we can protect not just the art, but the culture and history embedded in each of these NFTs.

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Sincerely,

NFT.Storage and Pob Studio Teams

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PS. You can also support the initiative on twitter here: 
* NFT.Storage thread 
* Pob Studio thread

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