Even if you’re new to web development, you’ll most likely be familiar with the Ethereum network. Ethereum is the most prominent blockchain for Web3 development, and the network hosts a significant ecosystem of dapps (decentralized applications), DeFi protocols, and other exciting projects such as NFT (non-fungible token) platforms. The number of NFT-related projects is continuously expanding as the market is booming and becoming increasingly profitable. However, blockchain-related programming can be pretty tricky, and it’s beneficial to utilize development tools to make the process more streamlined. In the case of NFT-related platform development on the Ethereum network, one such tool is an Ethereum NFT API.
APIs are essential in both traditional and Web3 development practices as they facilitate a more seamless developer experience. For this reason, this article will take a deep dive into the intricacies of APIs. With an overview of APIs and why they are helpful, we’ll continue by exploring what they are in the context of NFTs and the Ethereum blockchain. As such, once you have read through the article, you’ll hopefully be able to answer the question, ”what is an Ethereum NFT API?”.
Furthermore, the article will also explore how you can get your hands on an Ethereum NFT API through Moralis. Moralis offers a selection of advanced development tools such as Moralis Speedy Nodes, Moralis’ Price API, and the NFT API. Moralis’ NFT API is cross-chain compatible with numerous networks, with Ethereum being one of the most well-known chains.
As such, Moralis ensures a more seamless web3 development experience, which allows you to create sophisticated dapps. For example, you can learn how to create an NFT marketplace with ease! So, if you’re looking to get into Ethereum development, sign up with Moralis right now!
What is Ethereum?
If you’re somewhat familiar with the Web3 development realm, odds are you’ve heard of Ethereum. However, for the uninitiated – and the people needing a reminder – we’ll look at Ethereum and what the network entails. So, without further ado, let’s answer the question, “what is Ethereum?“.
Ethereum is the most prominent network for blockend development and is host to a vast ecosystem of advanced dapps, ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens, and other interesting projects. Also, Ethereum is programmable through Web3 contracts, which execute specific actions when predetermined conditions are fulfilled. Moreover, Ethereum was the first blockchain to offer such functionality, which attracted a lot of users.
Ethereum has its own programming language, Solidity, used to build EVM-compatible smart contracts. Solidity is known as the first “contract-oriented” programming language, which is generally used to create contracts for other networks alike. If you are interested in smart contracts, check out our article on how to create smart contracts.
ETH is the native currency of the Ethereum network, and users utilize ETH to pay for transactions on the blockchain. Whenever someone performs an action on the network, each transaction requires a gas fee. The fee varies quite drastically depending on the number of transactions on the chain. However, as of late, these fees have been relatively high as more people are getting involved in the Web3 realm. As such, this highlights the opposing sides of increased adoption.
This issue partly originates from the consensus mechanism that the network currently utilizes, which is PoW (proof-of-work). Ethereum is opting to change to a PoS (proof-of-stake) consensus mechanism to counteract the high gas fees. A strategy that hopefully will make the network more equipped for mass adoption!
What are Ethereum NFTs?
In the context of Ethereum, an NFT is essentially a token that “lives” on the Ethereum blockchain. As such, it might be more appropriate to take a closer look at NFTs and what’s making these tokens special.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, along with fungible tokens, are the two main token types. The term “non-fungible” is generally used to describe imitable assets with unique properties such as songs, houses, art, etc. The immutability of NFTs makes them ideal for representing other unique assets, which is why they are generally associated with assets such as digital art. An NFT is essentially a one-of-a-kind token that can’t be falsified or copied.
To make this clearer, we can highlight the distinction between the two token types we mentioned. Instead of being imitable, fungible tokens are characterized by interchangeability and share the same properties. This means that fungible assets are identical and share the same value. In the case of the crypto industry, a clear example is Bitcoin. Each coin is valued exactly the same as another, meaning that two can be traded without the need for compensation.
So, to summarize, an Ethereum NFT is an imitable token that exists on the Ethereum blockchain. If you have further interest in these tokens, we highly recommend checking out our articles exploring dynamic NFTs and fractional NFTs. These are two types of NFTs that might soon become popular and present some exciting opportunities! What’s more, if you’d like to learn how to create Ethereum NFTs, please take a closer look at our guide on how to create your own NFT! You can also learn how to mint 10,000 NFTs to create NFT collections similar to CryptoPunks!
What is an NFT API?
With our memories refreshed regarding the Ethereum network and NFTs, we can progress and look closer at APIs. API stands for “application programming interface”, and they facilitate the communication between two pieces of software. As you might have realized, they are essential in our everyday lives, and you’re in contact with an API when, for example, checking the weather on your phone.
When you interact with an application or dapp, the software transmits data to a server across the internet. The server receiving the information needs to interpret the data and, in turn, performs a set of actions to finally send back a response. The response is then interpreted by your device and is finally presented to you in a readable way. To make this process possible, an API facilitates these interactions allowing your device to communicate with a server.
As such, an API transfers or translates instructions for mutual understanding between two pieces of software. By doing so, APIs ensure reconcilable programming in safe development environments through the consistent delivery of functions on query. A good analogy is to think of an API as the menu in a restaurant. The menu supplies a selection of items that you can order and a description of each dish. You can then specify what dish you would like, and the restaurant prepares the final product. Similarly, APIs provide a list of operations available to developers to use in dapp development.
So, in the context of NFTs, APIs ensure the previously mentioned functionality for these tokens. As such, developers can utilize NFT APIs to acquire backend information regarding NFTs in a more accessible way. Now, let’s continue by looking at what an Ethereum NFT API is and how you can obtain one!
What is an Ethereum NFT API? – Introducing Moralis’ NFT API
Moralis is the premier blockend development operating system, and as a member of the platform, you’ll be able to cut your development time significantly. Moralis supplies a selection of great development tools such as Moralis’ Metaverse SDK, native support for IPFS, and Moralis’ web3uikit. These, in combination with an infinitely scalable backend infrastructure, make blockend development a blast.
However, in this section, we’ll direct our attention toward Moralis’ NFT API since this is the best way to acquire an Ethereum NFT API. The Moralis NFT API supports cross-chain compatibility, meaning that the API facilitates a more seamless developer experience on multiple networks.
One of the supported networks is, of course, Ethereum. As such, not only is Moralis’ NFT API a perfect Ethereum NFT API, but it simultaneously acts as both a Binance NFT API and Polygon NFT API. So, if you’re using tools from Moralis, you won’t limit yourself to one network and can create cross-chain compatible dapps!
Due to this cross-chain compatibility, the Moralis NFT API is essentially a more advanced Ethereum NFT API ensuring communication between the various blockchain networks and your projects. This allows you to fetch backend information regarding Ethereum NFTs with ease. So, by utilizing the Moralis NFT API, you don’t need to worry about setting up your own infrastructure to enable this functionality. Instead, you’ll have more time to allocate for other, more essential parts of your Web3 development processes.
However, what type of information does this ”Ethereum NFT API” allow you as a developer to fetch? In the preceding sections, we’ll provide three examples and take a closer look at how to get Ethereum NFT transfer data, metadata, and ownership data!
Get Ethereum NFT Transfer Data
When creating NFT-related projects, it’s beneficial to access different types of information to keep track of NFTs. The first thing we’re going to take a closer look at is how you can use the Ethereum NFT API to acquire transfer data regarding these tokens.
The Moralis NFT API allows you to keep track of how tokens move around on the Ethereum blockchain, which can greatly benefit you when building dapps. For example, you can search for all NFT transfers from specific block numbers. What’s more, you can use the API to search transfers based on wallet addresses, NFT contract addresses, or even specific tokens. Moreover, as Moralis’ NFT API supports cross-chain functionality, this is possible for other networks such as Fantom, Avalanche, and Polygon.
If you want NFT transfer data, you can, for example, use the following commands to do so:
const options = { chain: "", address: "", limit: "" };
const transferNFT = await Moralis.Web3API.token.getNFTTransfer(options);
Get Ethereum NFT Metadata
NFTs generally have so-called metadata attached to them. An example would be an in-game item with some stats specified in the token’s metadata. As NFTs have metadata, it can be highly beneficial to easily query this information, which is possible with Moralis’ NFT API. With the API, you don’t need to worry about the cumbersome traditional process of manually parsing smart contracts, as the API does most of the heavy lifting for you.
What’s more, the API features search endpoints that allow you to directly search for specific attributes or descriptions inside the metadata of an NFT. This information can be used directly in your dapp and makes it significantly easier to develop NFT projects! Here is how you can acquire metadata using the Moralis NFT API:
const options = { address: "", chain: "" };
const metaData = await Moralis.Web3API.token.getNFTMetadata(options);
Get Ethereum NFT Ownership Data
The last example we’re going to look at is ownership data. Accurate ownership data is critical in NFT development, and with an Ethereum NFT API, it’s possible to acquire such information with ease. Generally, without an API, you would need to set up your own infrastructure to facilitate the acquisition of ownership data. However, with Moralis’ NFT API, you have this functionality available “out of the box” and with cross-chain compatibility.
As such, the Ethereum NFT API provides you with relevant and timely information on NFT ownership statuses. Moreover, with a few simple lines of code, you can get access to all owners of an entire NFT collection like CryptoPunks that we mentioned earlier. So, if you want to access ownership data, you can do so through, for example, the following code:
const options = { address: "", chain: "" };
const nftOwners = await Moralis.Web3API.token.getNFTOwners(options);
Moreover, if you’d like to look closer at the API, you can check out the official documentation on GitHub. This will provide more in-depth information regarding how the Ethereum NFT API functions and additional features!
Ethereum NFT API Explained – Summary
The NFT market has grown exponentially during 2022, and the industry is becoming increasingly lucrative. As such, it’s becoming progressively popular to develop NFT-related projects. However, creating NFT platforms can be quite cumbersome. As a result, developers have been in need of NFT APIs, which is exactly where Moralis enters the picture.
Along with a backend infrastructure, Moralis offers a selection of development tools, one of which is Moralis’ NFT API. The API features cross-chain compatibility, and one of the supported networks is Ethereum. As such, the Moralis NFT API offers everything you’ll need from an Ethereum NFT API, allowing you to fetch information such as Ethereum NFT transfer data, metadata, and ownership data.
So, using this Ethereum NFT API makes Ethereum development significantly more accessible, and you’ll be able to, for example, create an OpenSea clone with ease! What’s more, NFT-related development is only one area in which Moralis shines. The platform allows you to create other interesting projects alike. For example, you can learn how to create Web3 Spotify, Web3 Twitter, and Web3 Amazon clones. However, these are only a few examples, and you can take a closer look at the Moralis blog for additional information and inspiration for your next blockend project!
If you’re looking to create NFT platforms or want to focus on another area, you should sign up with Moralis. The operating system provides everything you need for Web3 development, and the platform allows you to create your first dapp in minutes!
