ConsenSys Software Inc., a blockchain technology startup focused on Ethereum, today announced the launch of NFT application programming interface for its Infura blockchain development tools suite that will help developers rapid create, customize and deploy nonfungible tokens.

Nonfungible tokens represent proof of ownership of digital items in social media, games and the metaverse such as artwork, music and other digital goods secured by smart contracts using peer-to-peer blockchain ledgers. Using NFTs, people can then buy, sell or trade that proof as a token for other crypto assets such as cryptocurrencies, creating economies in what is known as Web3, or the decentralized web, without the need for banks or middlemen.

ConsenSys is well-known for its popular cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask, which is also capable of storing and displaying NFTs on web browsers and mobile. The company says the wallet has more than 30 million monthly active users.

“As the NFT business grows, there’s a need for developers to build apps with APIs that are scalable and performant,” Nayana Singh, general manager of product at ConsenSys, told SiliconANGLE in an interview. “That’s what Infura is known for and that’s what we want to give our developers. This initial launch is a beta release, which means it will be gated out of the door for a short period of time and we’ll slowly open the doors to a few at a time before we open the floodgates.”

Out of the box, developers will find two things in the application programming interface: a set of read APIs that allow developers to retrieve the information they want from NFTs, such as metadata, and an API for writing NFTs.

Using the SDK, Infura developers can now build and verify digital assets and attach metadata templates to NFTs. That allows developers to create NFTs, a process called “minting,” in minutes and add extra information to them.

Many NFTs use metadata to add spice to their artwork or video game items, such as rarity and descriptions about their particular artwork. For example, generative art NFTs and those that involve similar figures with different features will use metadata elements to differentiate pieces in the collection aside from just the name and the graphic.

Bored Ape Yacht Club #8247 on OpenSea has metadata showing that it has a “purple background,” hypnotized” eyes, “golden brown” fur, “sushi chef” hat, and a “phoneme wah” mouth. It even includes the percentage rarity for each graphical element in the NFT as they appear amid the 10,000 other Bored Ape NFTs. That’s one potential use for metadata.

The new tools will also include a software development kit aligned with NFT development specifically designed for social media, gaming and metaverse minting and production. With the NFT Mint, SDK developers will have a head start for writing and minting along with templates for common NFT types.

Infura also has tutorials dubbed the “Lootbox Interactive Tutorial” to teach starter projects for developers to help them get started quickly. The tutorial contains samples and examples for developers to get up to speed with NFTs for their projects.

“We open up the ‘lootbox’ in phases,” Singh explained, describing how the tutorial works. The term “lootbox” refers to the way games reward players with chests of goods that burst with treasure for completing objectives. So as developers proceed with milestones in the tutorial, they learn more about how to implement parts of the API such as reading NFTs, building the NFT and minting it.

Finally, at the end of the Lootbox Tutorial, developers are rewarded with a music NFT for the completion.

As for use cases of Infura’s NFT API, Singh said the focus for NFTs has been primarily within the arts, entertainment and collectibles. The use cases have included music, gaming and the metaverse, and several companies had asked about loyalty programs.

“I think is very critical for us is that NFTs and Web3 are making it into business scenarios that customers and developers depend on,” Singh said. “When that starts to happen, you know the technology is here to stay. I think that over time we’ll begin to see solid use cases continue to grow.”

Developers interested in the beta can now sign up at Infura’s website.

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