The concept of NFTs and the blockchain can be a little bit tricky at times. We know basically, everything on the blockchain, remains on the blockchain. But, does that mean that you can’t actually delete anything? Well, this is where NFT burning and learning how to burn an NFT come into play.
So, NFTs – aka, non-fungible tokens – can NOT be deleted. However, you can burn tokens instead. This is the process that mimics deleting, but at the same time not really. It’s confusing we know! But, that’s why we’re here. We’re going to explain the entire process of how burning works and what you should know.
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What is NFT Burning?
First, before you learn how to burn an NFT, you have to understand what NFT burning is! NFT burning is the equivalent of destroying an NFT. When you burn non-fungible tokens there is no way to ever recover them. However, what they basically do is send the NFT to an un-spendable address that no one can access. Aka, the eater or null address.
A burn address is an address on the blockchain that no one has the private key to. Therefore, this means no one can ever access it! Basically, this makes the NFTs completely unusable. And, you should also keep in mind that this action is irreversible. NFT communities and projects often use NFT burning to reduce the overall supply compared to the demand! Once you burn an NFT, you create a Proof-of-Burn (PoB).
Proof-of-Burn
Learning how to burn tokens is basically learning how to create a PoB. The Proof-of-Burn is the mechanism that allows you to burn your NFT. However, creating the PoB can often be very expensive! So, let’s get into all the details of the burn and how it goes down.
Why Burn NFTs?
- Reduce supply and increase demand
- Fix a mistake in an NFT project
- Gamified trading like with Gary Vaynerchuk’s Book Games NFTs
How to Burn an NFT
So, what is the process of learning how to burn an NFT including? Burning sounds like an altogether very hard and brutal process. However, it’s actually pretty simple and people do it every day. In a nutshell, to delete an NFT, you just transfer it! Here’s what you should do:
- Login to the NFT marketplace or wallet storing your NFT
- Choose the token you want to burn and select “Transfer”
- Send your NFT to Ethereum’s official BURN address
0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dEaD - Pay the required gas fees for transferring the NFT and press “Confirm”
And so, you’ve transferred your NFT to the black hole of the Ethereum blockchain! But, now that you’ve learned how to burn an NFT… How much will it cost you? Technically, burning non-fungible tokens costs NOTHING. But, you still have to pay the gas fees behind the transaction. Click here to read more about gas fees and how to calculate them!
Finally, this is all you need to know about how to burn an NFT. All you need to keep in mind is that, if you choose to burn, there’s no turning back. So, make sure that you are fully aware of that before you make a decision!