Today, Etherscan, a blockchain explorer for Ethereum, announced the debut of a new feature that will allow NFT owners to modify the metadata for their tokens. Called “Refresh Metadata,” the new tool will allow owners to refresh the images of their NFTs up to 100 times per day, an easy way to see the effects of changing the metadata.
According to the Etherscan X thread explaining the tool, users will need to be logged into their account to access the feature, with the refresh possibly taking several minutes to load. It’s currently in beta mode, with possible updates to the tool to come. Etherscan only allows users to connect “verified addresses” to their account, which should limit the possibility of spamming.
It is uncertain whether users will be able to change the metadata itself or if this is simply (and likely) a refresh tool similar to what NFT marketplace OpenSea already has in place. One user speculated under the X thread that this development means that eventually people may not even need marketplaces to trade NFTs, as other organizations will offer better tools.
And it may signal an expansion of Etherscan as well. Currently, the blockchain explorer is primarily used to track, find, and read transactions on the Ethereum chain, although it is possible to mint NFTs directly from smart contracts as well using the explorer. Time will tell what developments the organization will pursue, but this one is certainly a good start.
Ethereum Comes with the Innovations During Bear Market
Ethereum, the censorship-resistant, decentralized storage of digital money, has had an eventful bear market. Along with The Merge, which changed the chain’s consensus mechanism from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake, the blockchain has been the site of different innovations. Here are three such stories.
First, six months ago, the Ordinals fever reached Ethereum after Tom Lehman, the co-founder of Capsule21, revealed a way to inscribe images using transaction call-data. The move signaled the bullishness many people in the space feel about inscriptions, which are a less costly way of creating NFTs and meme coins.
Next, about a year ago, Ethereum domain names surged in trading volume on OpenSea. The domain names, or ENS based on their organization “Ethereum Name Service,” act as abbreviations for long, unwieldly Ethereum addresses, making the process of transacting easier. The surge showed the popularity of such names and their value to the space.
Lastly, also about a year ago, an Ethereum researcher proposed the use of zk-SNARKs to mask the trading of NFTs, which would result in greater anonymity for Ethereum NFT traders. Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum co-founder, praised the proposal but said that a lighter technology would be necessary.
As these stories show, Ethereum has been the site of many innovations during the bear market. And even though other ecosystems are ripping pricewise right now, the most popular L1 blockchain still remains the top dog, at least for now.