UNITs: An alternative name for NFTs

ERC721 describes a standard interface for non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. ERC721 calls this kind of tokens "NFT" (Non-Fungible Tokens).

"NFT" Word Choice "NFT" was satisfactory to nearly everyone surveyed and is widely applicable to a broad universe of distinguishable digital assets. We recognize that "deed" is very descriptive for certain applications of this standard (notably, physical property).

Alternatives considered: distinguishable asset, title, token, asset, equity, ticket

It seems to me that the general public will have difficulty grasping what "non-fungible" means and as a result the acronym "NFT" (even if pronounced as "nifties" which is cute and friendlier) will not help the typical user understand what they are buying into.

I'm no expert in Solitidy, but I had a look at the interface described by ERC721. And it seems to me that the core properties of a token that complies to it are uniqueness and transferability. Based on this, I would like to suggest "UNIT" as an alternative to "NFT".

A UNIT token is a UNiquely Identifiable and Transferable token.

As an additional bonus, the code "1x" (as opposed to “0x”, which is used by a couple of projects related to non-fungible tokens and which ironically can be pronounced "Xerox") could be used for projects related to UNIT tokens.

This post was also published on Medium: https://medium.com/@vrypan/units-an-better-name-for-ntfs-1e3a85c2bf55

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