NFT Marketplace: Solidity Smart-Contract and Pinata IPFS

Abstract

The rapid evolution of blockchain technology has revolutionized digital asset ownership through NonFungible Tokens (NFTs). NFTs enable creators to tokenize unique digital assets such as art, music, and collectibles, ensuring authenticity, transparency, and verifiable ownership. This research paper presents the design and development of a decentralized NFT Marketplace using Solidity Smart Contracts and Pinata IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) integration. The proposed system eliminates the need for intermediaries by leveraging blockchain-based automation, allowing creators to mint, list, and sell NFTs securely while maintaining full ownership control. The marketplace integrates MetaMask wallet authentication for secure transactions and employs Solidity smart contracts to handle NFT minting, transfer, and royalty distribution on the Ethereum blockchain. Additionally, Pinata IPFS provides decentralized storage for digital media and metadata, ensuring data permanence and tamper-proof accessibility. The system architecture combines transparency, security, and user-friendliness, empowering creators with fair compensation and buyers with verifiable proof of ownership. Experimental implementation results demonstrate that the proposed NFT Marketplace provides a reliable, transparent, and scalable environment for digital asset exchange. This study highlights the potential of decentralized systems in reshaping the digital economy and sets the foundation for future enhancements such as multi-chain support, AI-based recommendations, and mobile integration.

Introduction

The document presents the design, development, and significance of a decentralized NFT (Non-Fungible Token) marketplace built on blockchain technology. Unlike traditional centralized marketplaces, the proposed system ensures transparency, security, and verifiable ownership through Ethereum smart contracts (Solidity), Pinata IPFS for decentralized storage, and MetaMask wallet integration for user authentication and transactions.

Key Features:

• Decentralization: Peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries.

• Smart Contract Automation: Handles NFT minting, sales, transfers, and royalty payments.

• Decentralized Storage: IPFS ensures permanent and tamper-proof storage of digital assets.

• User-Friendly Interface: Developed with Next.js and React.js, providing smooth navigation.

• Transparency and Security: All transactions are recorded on the blockchain.

• Royalty Management: Creators receive automated payments on secondary sales.

Technological Foundations:
The system leverages Ethereum blockchain, Solidity smart contracts, IPFS for asset storage, MetaMask for secure wallet operations, and modern frontend frameworks for an interactive user experience. Hardhat is used for contract development and testing.

Significance and Impact:
The marketplace promotes digital ownership, empowers creators, ensures permanent asset storage, and supports the Web3 ecosystem. It addresses limitations of centralized platforms such as lack of transparency, high fees, limited creator control, and insecure storage.

Challenges and Future Prospects:
Current challenges include high gas fees, scalability issues, and user adoption. Future enhancements may include multi-chain support, AI-driven recommendations, Layer-2 solutions, and mobile accessibility to improve efficiency, usability, and inclusivity.

Comparison with Existing Systems:
Centralized marketplaces have drawbacks such as single points of failure, lack of verifiable ownership, high fees, and no automated royalties. The proposed decentralized system overcomes these issues, providing a secure, transparent, and autonomous NFT trading environment.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Mrs. Vaishali Aniket Wanarkar, Bhagyashri Hatwar, Trupti Kukade, Isha Tale, Aryan Motghare, Bhushan Nagpure. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.