Chapter 27 Further Reading

Technical Standards and Documentation

ERC-721: Non-Fungible Token Standard

  • Authors: William Entriken, Dieter Shirley, Jacob Evans, Nastassia Sachs
  • Source: Ethereum Improvement Proposal 721 (EIP-721), January 2018
  • Link: https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-721
  • Why read it: The foundational specification for NFTs on Ethereum. Reading the actual standard (rather than summaries) reveals how minimal the interface truly is — and how much of what people associate with "NFTs" is built on layers above the standard. Pay particular attention to the tokenURI function and its implications for metadata architecture.

ERC-1155: Multi Token Standard

  • Authors: Witek Radomski, Andrew Cooke, Philippe Castonguay, James Therien, Eric Binet, Ronan Sandford
  • Source: EIP-1155, June 2018
  • Link: https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-1155
  • Why read it: Understanding the multi-token standard is essential for gaming and collectible applications. The batch transfer capability and the ability to handle both fungible and non-fungible tokens in a single contract represent significant architectural improvements over ERC-721.

ERC-2981: NFT Royalty Standard

  • Authors: Zach Burks, James Morgan, Blaine Malone, James Seibel
  • Source: EIP-2981, September 2020
  • Link: https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-2981
  • Why read it: This informational standard — and the gap between what it specifies and what it can enforce — is central to the royalty debate discussed in Section 27.8. Understanding why royalties are a signaling mechanism rather than an enforcement mechanism illuminates broader tensions between on-chain logic and off-chain behavior.

OpenZeppelin ERC-721 Implementation

  • Source: OpenZeppelin Contracts documentation
  • Link: https://docs.openzeppelin.com/contracts/4.x/erc721
  • Why read it: The most widely used, audited, and battle-tested implementation of ERC-721. Reading the source code alongside the standard provides concrete understanding of how NFT contracts work in practice. The accompanying guides cover common patterns, security considerations, and extensions.

Market Analysis and Data

"The NFT Market: A Brief History and Analysis"

  • Author: Chainalysis
  • Source: Chainalysis 2022 Crypto Crime Report, Chapter on NFTs
  • Why read it: Chainalysis provides data-driven analysis of NFT market trends including transaction volume, wash trading estimates, and market concentration. Their methodology for identifying wash trading patterns (circular transactions between small wallet clusters) is well-documented and reproducible.

"Quantifying NFT-driven Networks"

  • Authors: Matthieu Nadini, Laura Alessandretti, Flavio di Giacinto, et al.
  • Source: Nature Scientific Reports, 2021
  • Why read it: One of the first peer-reviewed academic analyses of NFT market structure, examining the network properties of NFT trading, the distribution of wealth among participants, and the factors predicting which collections gain traction. Provides rigorous methodology for analyzing on-chain NFT data.

CryptoSlam NFT Rankings and Analytics

  • Source: https://www.cryptoslam.io/
  • Why read it: One of the most comprehensive NFT data aggregators, notable for its wash trading detection methodology. CryptoSlam flags suspected wash trades and provides "adjusted" volume figures alongside raw data — a practice that provides more honest market metrics than most competitors.

"Are NFTs Dead? An Honest Look at the Data"

  • Author: dappGambl
  • Source: dappGambl Research, September 2023
  • Why read it: The widely cited study that found over 95% of NFT collections had a market capitalization of zero. While the methodology has been debated (it included many abandoned projects that never had meaningful activity), the directional finding — that the vast majority of NFT projects failed — is well-supported by on-chain evidence.

The Bubble and Its Aftermath

The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform the Way We Buy, Sell, and Create

  • Authors: Steve Kaczynski and Scott Duke Kominers
  • Published: 2024
  • Why read it: Written by a Harvard Business School professor and an early NFT adopter, this book presents the optimistic case for NFTs as a technology platform beyond the speculative market. Useful as a counterpoint to more critical analyses, though the reader should evaluate claims against the market data presented in this chapter.

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall

  • Author: Zeke Faux
  • Published: 2023
  • Why read it: Investigative journalist Faux provides a deeply reported account of the crypto boom and bust, including NFT market dynamics, Bored Ape culture, and the Axie Infinity phenomenon in the Philippines. The Philippines chapters are particularly valuable for understanding the human cost of P2E economics. Required reading for anyone studying the social impact of crypto speculation.

"Line Goes Up: The Problem with NFTs"

  • Author: Dan Olson (Folding Ideas)
  • Published: YouTube, January 2022
  • Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g
  • Why read it: This two-hour video essay, published near the market's peak, provided one of the most comprehensive critical analyses of the NFT ecosystem. Olson's examination of the greater-fool dynamics, the environmental concerns, and the community psychology of NFT culture was prescient. While some technical claims have been debated, the structural analysis holds up well in retrospect.

"My First Million NFTs: A Post-Mortem"

  • Author: Various (multiple creator retrospectives)
  • Why read it: Several prominent NFT artists and collectors published detailed post-mortems of their NFT experiences after the crash. These first-person accounts — from creators who made millions, collectors who lost fortunes, and developers who built infrastructure — provide perspectives that market data alone cannot capture. Search for post-mortem essays by Punk6529, Gmoney, and other prominent figures.

Play-to-Earn and Gaming

"Play-to-Earn and Bullshit Jobs"

  • Author: Edward Castronova
  • Published: CoinDesk, 2022
  • Why read it: Castronova, a pioneer in virtual economy research, analyzes P2E through the lens of economic theory, arguing that the model confuses value extraction with value creation. His framework for evaluating whether a game economy creates genuine value or merely redistributes speculative capital is essential reading.

"The Infinite Machine: Axie Infinity, the Philippines, and the New World of Play-to-Earn"

  • Author: Leah Callon-Butler
  • Published: Various outlets, 2021-2022
  • Why read it: Callon-Butler's reporting from the Philippines provided some of the earliest and most nuanced coverage of Axie Infinity's impact on Filipino players, including both the genuine economic benefits during the boom and the devastating consequences of the collapse. Her work challenges simple narratives in both directions.

"Blockchain Gaming and the Promise That Wasn't"

  • Author: Lars Doucet
  • Published: Various, 2022-2023
  • Why read it: Game designer Doucet provides a practitioner's perspective on why blockchain integration in gaming has largely failed to deliver on its promises. His analysis of the tension between game design principles and token economics is particularly insightful for understanding why "fun games with blockchain" outperform "blockchain games that try to be fun."

Digital Identity and Credentials

"Decentralized Society: Finding Web3's Soul"

  • Authors: E. Glen Weyl, Puja Ohlhaver, Vitalik Buterin
  • Published: May 2022
  • Link: Available at SSRN
  • Why read it: The foundational paper proposing soulbound tokens (SBTs) for decentralized identity. Buterin, Weyl, and Ohlhaver argue that non-transferable tokens could enable a "decentralized society" with verifiable reputation, credentials, and governance participation. The paper is ambitious in scope and raises important questions about digital identity that extend well beyond NFTs.

"Verifiable Credentials: The Ultimate Guide"

  • Source: W3C Verifiable Credentials Working Group
  • Link: https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/
  • Why read it: The W3C standard for verifiable credentials provides an alternative framework for digital identity that does not require blockchain. Comparing the W3C approach with blockchain-based SBTs illuminates the trade-offs between standardized, institution-backed credentials and decentralized, blockchain-verified credentials.
  • Author: Andres Guadamuz
  • Published: WIPO Magazine, 2022
  • Why read it: Guadamuz, a law professor specializing in intellectual property, provides a clear analysis of the gap between what NFT buyers believe they own and what they legally own. The distinction between token ownership and intellectual property rights is essential for anyone evaluating NFT projects' IP claims.

"A16z and the Regulatory Landscape for NFTs"

  • Source: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Crypto Regulatory Framework
  • Why read it: As both a major NFT investor (funding Yuga Labs, OpenSea) and a vocal advocate for crypto regulation, a16z's regulatory proposals provide insight into how the NFT industry's largest backers view the regulatory landscape. Reading these proposals critically — noting what they advocate for and what they omit — is instructive.

Tools and Technical Resources

OpenSea API Documentation

  • Link: https://docs.opensea.io/
  • Why read it: OpenSea's API provides programmatic access to NFT metadata, sales history, and collection statistics. While the marketplace has limitations (discussed in this chapter), its API remains the most comprehensive data source for Ethereum NFT analysis.

The Graph Protocol — NFT Subgraphs

  • Link: https://thegraph.com/
  • Why read it: The Graph provides indexed access to on-chain data through GraphQL APIs. NFT-specific subgraphs allow querying ownership histories, transfer patterns, and metadata across collections. Essential for the kind of market analysis demonstrated in this chapter's code exercises.

IPFS Documentation

  • Link: https://docs.ipfs.tech/
  • Why read it: Understanding IPFS's content-addressing model, pinning mechanics, and garbage collection behavior is essential for evaluating NFT storage claims. The documentation is well-written and includes practical examples of how content availability works (and fails) in a decentralized storage network.

Podcasts and Video

Bankless — NFT Market Analysis Episodes

  • Why listen: The Bankless podcast regularly featured NFT market analysis during the boom and bust, with guests including both prominent collectors and skeptics. Episodes from different market phases (euphoria, crash, recovery attempts) provide a real-time record of how community sentiment evolved.

Unchained with Laura Shin — NFT Episodes

  • Why listen: Shin's interview-driven podcast featured in-depth conversations with NFT project founders, marketplace operators, and analysts. Her episode with the Chainalysis team on NFT wash trading is particularly recommended for understanding the data behind the estimates cited in this chapter.

GTC (Gitcoin) Podcast — Soulbound Tokens Discussion

  • Why listen: Technical discussions of soulbound token design, implementation challenges, and governance implications from the team building some of the most prominent SBT infrastructure. Useful for understanding the gap between the SBT concept paper and practical implementation.