How Does the Concept of “Provenance” Apply to Non-Fungible Tokens?

Provenance, in the context of NFTs, refers to the verifiable history of ownership and creation recorded immutably on the blockchain. Because each ERC-721 token is unique and its transfer history is transparently logged, anyone can trace its entire lineage back to the original creator.

This is crucial for establishing authenticity and value, particularly for digital art and collectibles. In financial contexts, provenance can also track the history of a tokenized asset's legal or contractual status.