Many blockchain projects are based on the premise of ownership. But what does owning an NFT actually mean? To answer that, we need to recognize the difference between “on-chain” and “off-chain” assets. The rights to an off-chain asset are linked by an invisible legal connection to an on-chain asset (the NFT). Lawyers sometimes call this connection “tethering” — although some legal scholars are skeptical about whether tethering actually holds up in court.
