# How do NFTs work?

One of the easiest ways to visualize an NFT is as a digital “record of ownership”.  In many ways it’s like an artwork’s certificate of authenticity, a car’s title or the deed to a house. 

Instead of a physical piece of paper you can hold, however, this “certificate” is recorded on a blockchain, where it is linked to your digital address.  This not only guarantees the legitimacy of the asset, but also proves that you own it. 

<figure><img src="/files/KTAC8FjAazFGcDcpGSnk" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Contrary to popular belief, most NFTs don’t actually host the underlying asset (art, music, etc…) on a blockchain, as this would be extremely expensive (i.e. storing even a modest picture could cost thousands of dollars).  Instead, the assets themselves are generally stored a separate server, and the NFT contains a link that *points* to the address of this database (or, as one expert [said](https://mashable.com/article/what-is-an-nft-non-fungible-token), an NFT is like “directions to the museum”).&#x20;

To understand how NFTs work, it’s helpful to understand three concepts:  1) what is a token? 2) what makes a token “non-fungible”? and 3) what is a smart contract platform?


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://www.digitalnations.xyz/web3-overview/the-web3-ecosystem/nfts/how-do-nfts-work.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.