Adobe is releasing a method embedded into Photoshop that can help confirm that the person selling an NFT is the same person who developed it, among other things. It’s called Content Credentials, and it will allow NFT vendors to link their Adobe ID to their crypto wallet, allowing compatible NFT markets to display a type of validated certificate verifying the art’s source is real.
This functionality will be introduced into Photoshop with a “prepare as NFT” option, according to a Decoder interview with Adobe’s chief product officer Scott Belsky, and will be available in preview by the end of the month. The Content Credentials’ attribution data will be stored on an IPFS system, according to Belsky. IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a decentralised file-hosting system in which a group of people, rather than a single organisation, is in charge of keeping data safe and accessible (somewhat similar to how torrent systems work). NFT markets such as OpenSea, Rare, KnownOrigin, and SuperRare, according to Adobe, will be able to interface with Content Credentials to display Adobe’s attribution data.
In the world of the NFT, art theft has been a major issue. There have been numerous instances of people minting art on the blockchain that they did not produce or own the rights to. The reason for this is because anyone may create an NFT, even if they don’t own the rights to the content, and there isn’t anything the blockchain can do about it. Worse, the minting is recorded on the blockchain, making the NFT appear genuine even if you aren’t familiar with the original work.
This system doesn’t make it harder to mint an NFT of media we don’t own the rights to, but it could make that NFT less attractive to the market.
To put it another way, I could right-click on an existing image of an NFT and mint it from scratch, potentially duping unsuspecting consumers. While Adobe’s approach won’t stop art theft, it will give you a mechanism to establish that the NFT you’re selling isn’t stolen; after that, it’s up to the purchasers to decide how much value they place on that.
NFT scammers have even caught up with Banksy, who is mentioned in Decoder. One NFT collector (ironically dubbed Pranksy) spent $300,000 for a very certainly phoney NFT ascribed to the famed graffiti artist. He got his money back in the end, but there wouldn’t have been as much of a fuss if Banksy had digitally signed the NFT in the first place. As Adobe’s Belsky points out, Banksy is unlikely to link his identity and Adobe ID to a crypto wallet, but because the system is open-source, it’s feasible the anonymous artist could figure out a means to offer Content Credentials validated by the company in charge of validating his work.
Adobe’s Content Credentials, which are a product of its Content Authenticity Initiative, will benefit more than just NFTs. Users may utilise the system to see what adjustments were done to a file in Photoshop, tag their stock pictures on Adobe’s system, and more.