Storage and Naming

Blockchains are great at storing scarce, high-value state, but they are not efficient places to keep large files. Images, videos, and app metadata usually live off-chain, which means Web3 also needs systems for storage and naming.

The key distinction is whether you point to a server location or to the content itself. That difference shapes durability, censorship resistance, and whether a file can change without anyone noticing.

That does not mean everything should live on IPFS, but it explains why creators and protocols use it for content that should remain stable over time. If the art or metadata changes, the hash changes too.

Naming systems solve a related problem for humans. ENS, for example, maps names like `alice.eth` to wallet addresses, content hashes, and other records. It gives people something memorable on top of machine-readable infrastructure.

Together, storage and naming make Web3 more usable: storage helps preserve the actual data, while naming helps humans find and reference it.