How NFT Ownership Works On-Chain

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How NFT Ownership Works On-Chain

Educational content only. This article explains how ownership is tracked and verified on public blockchains.

Ownership is an address, not a name

On-chain, the owner of an NFT is a blockchain address (your wallet). The smart contract stores a mapping from token IDs to owner addresses.

Transfers and approvals

To move an NFT, you sign a transaction. Common mechanisms include:

  • transferFrom / safeTransferFrom: move token ownership
  • approve: allow another address to transfer a specific token
  • setApprovalForAll: allow an operator to manage all your tokens

Why approvals are a major risk

Many scams target approvals. If you approve a malicious operator, they can transfer your NFT without further prompts.

Practical verification steps

  • Check the contract address on an official explorer.
  • Confirm token ID ownership and transfer history.
  • Review approvals periodically and revoke suspicious ones.

[Insert image: on-chain ownership flow (wallet → contract → token ID → owner mapping)]