How to manage non-fungible tokens

Abstract

To improve traceability when changing the storage mode of an article.SOLUTION: A plurality of second articles monitored by a second sensor are obtained from a first article monitored by a first sensor by changing the storage mode of the first article. A method for managing a NFT comprises: managing a first NFT related to the first article and published using a distributed ledger technique; and managing a plurality of second NFTs related to the respective plurality of second articles and published corresponding to the first NFT using the distributed ledger technique. Managing the first NFT comprises relating first sensor data obtained by the first sensor to the first NFT to record the first sensor data; and managing the plurality of second NFTs comprises relating second sensor data obtained by the second sensor to the plurality of second NFTs to record the second sensor data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for managing non-fungible tokens.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have attracted attention. A non-fungible token is a type of token issued (minted) using a distributed ledger technology such as blockchain technology. It is extremely difficult to forge a non-fungible token. Therefore, a non-fungible token can be used as a certificate associated with an item to prove the rights regarding the item (for example, the ownership of the item).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-45382 (Patent Document 1) discloses a management system for storage state data and ownership certification of casks of whiskey and the like traded in cask units. The system associates the basic data of the cask, the location information of the cask, and the storage state data of the cask with the cask number, hashifies them, and records them on a public blockchain.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the inventors of this case have found that the system described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. Articles may change their storage method during the manufacturing process (or distribution process). For example, in the case of the sake barrels mentioned above, the sake stored in the barrels may be divided into smaller portions (bottled). The system described above is configured to monitor the state of the articles in a consistent manner. Therefore, when the storage method is changed in this way, it is difficult to trace the state of the articles back to before the change in storage method. The system described above has room for improvement in that it has low traceability with respect to articles whose storage method is changed.

[0006] This disclosure is made to address the above-mentioned issues, and one of its purposes is to improve traceability when the storage method of an item whose authority is proven by a non-fungible token changes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A method for managing non-fungible tokens relating to an article, relating to a certain aspect of this disclosure, wherein the article includes a first article and a plurality of second articles. The plurality of second articles are obtained from the first article by changing the storage manner of the first article. The first article is monitored by a first sensor. Each of the plurality of second articles is monitored by a second sensor. The method for managing non-fungible tokens includes managing a first non-fungible token associated with the first article, which is issued using distributed ledger technology, and managing a plurality of second non-fungible tokens, each associated with each of the plurality of second articles, which are issued using distributed ledger technology in correspondence with the first non-fungible token. Managing the first non-fungible token includes recording first sensor data obtained by the first sensor in association with the first non-fungible token. Managing the plurality of second non-fungible tokens includes recording second sensor data obtained by the second sensor in association with the plurality of second non-fungible tokens. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, traceability can be improved when the storage method of an item whose authority is proven by a non-fungible token changes. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This figure shows the overall structure of the NFT trading market according to the embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a diagram illustrating a sensor system for collecting sensor data. [Figure 4] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the winemaking process. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the data structure of an NFT in this embodiment. [Figure 6] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method for coordinating NFTs in this embodiment. [Figure 7] This is a sequence chart showing the processing steps for evaluation formulas used to assess wine. [Figure 8] This is a sequence chart showing the processing procedures for NFT transactions. [Figure 9] This is a sequence chart that shows the NFT issuance process in more detail. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will not be repeated.

[0011] [Embodiment] In the following embodiments, an example where the "article" according to the present disclosure is wine will be described. The "article" according to the present disclosure is not particularly limited as long as its storage mode is changed in the manufacturing process and / or the distribution process. The "article" according to the present disclosure may be other beverages (such as alcohol like whiskey), or may be food.

[0012] <NFT Trading Market> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an NFT trading market according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The NFT trading market 900 is configured to trade NFTs that prove the rights (such as ownership) regarding articles. The NFT trading market 900 includes a distributed ledger network 10, an NFT trader 20, a winery 30, and a plurality of NFT purchasers 40.

[0013] The distributed ledger network 10 manages NFTs using distributed ledger technology. Hereinafter, an example where blockchain is used as the distributed ledger technology will be described. However, the distributed ledger technology is not limited to blockchain, and may be other technologies such as CORDA (registered trademark).

[0014] The NFT trader 20 is a trader who operates an NFT marketplace. The NFT marketplace is a platform for trading various NFTs. Typically, NFTs are traded (bought and sold) in the NFT marketplace in exchange for virtual currency.

[0015] The winery 30 is a trader who brews wine. The winery 30 manufactures wine from raw materials, stores the manufactured wine in barrels, and bottles the stored wine. The winery 30 requests (asks) the distributed ledger network 10 to issue an NFT for proving the rights of the wine it manufactures. Also, the winery 30 offers the issued NFT to the NFT trader 20.

[0016] When the NFT purchaser 40 wishes to purchase an NFT and the NFT is listed on the NFT marketplace, the NFT purchaser 40 makes a decision to the NFT marketplace. When receiving the decision from the NFT purchaser 40, the NFT marketplace requests the decentralized ledger network 10 to transfer the corresponding NFT to the NFT purchaser 40. The decentralized ledger network 10 transfers the corresponding NFT to the NFT purchaser 40 according to the request from the NFT marketplace.

[0017] <System Configuration> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The information processing system 100 includes a decentralized ledger network 10, an NFT marketplace 2, a brewery server 3, and a plurality of purchaser terminals 4.

[0018] The decentralized ledger network 10 is a public blockchain network. The decentralized ledger network 10 includes a plurality (in this example, four for the sake of paper space) of nodes 11 to 14. The number of nodes is not particularly limited as long as it is 2 or more, but is usually much more than 4. When not distinguishing the nodes 11 to 14 from each other, they are described as "node 1". Blockchain-based software is introduced into each node 1. A blockchain network is formed by the plurality of nodes 11 to 14 communicating with each other via the network. Each node 1 holds a decentralized ledger that records the history of transaction data regarding NFTs.

[0019] The NFT marketplace 2 is operated by the NFT trading business operator 20 and mediates the trading of NFTs. The NFT marketplace 2 includes a processor 21, a memory 22, a storage 23, and a network interface 24. The components of the NFT marketplace 2 are communicably connected to each other by a communication bus.

[0020] The processor 21 is a processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The memory 22 is volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage 23 is rewritable non-volatile memory such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or flash memory. The storage 23 stores a system program (not shown) including an OS (Operating System), a control program 231 containing computer-readable code necessary for control calculations, an NFT database 232 for managing NFTs, and a user database 233 for managing users (NFT sellers and buyers). A distributed ledger may also be stored in the storage 23.

[0021] The processor 21 performs various processes by reading system programs and control programs 231, loading them into memory 22, and executing them. For example, the processor 21 accepts NFT listings from the brewery server 3 and accepts NFT purchase requests from buyer terminals 4. In this process, the processor 21 verifies the rights to the wine (the owner of the NFT) by referring to the distributed ledger held on node 1 of the distributed ledger network 10. The network interface 24 controls data communication between the NFT marketplace 2 (processor 21) and other devices (distributed ledger network 10, brewery server 3, buyer terminal 4, etc.).

[0022] The brewery server 3 is operated by the brewery 30 and manages wine-related data and permissions. The brewery server 3 includes a processor 31, memory 32, storage 33, and a network interface 34. The components of the brewery server 3 are connected to each other via a communication bus.

[0023] The processor 31 is a processing unit such as a CPU or MPU. The memory 32 is volatile memory such as RAM. The storage 33 is rewritable non-volatile memory such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory. The storage 33 stores a system program (not shown) including the OS, a control program 331 including computer-readable code necessary for control calculations, a wine database 332 for managing wine, sensor data 333 collected using the sensor system 5 (see Figure 3), and an evaluation formula 334 (described later) for quantitatively evaluating wine. A distributed ledger may also be stored in the storage 33.

[0024] A learning system 35 is connected to the brewery server 3. The learning system 35 is used for machine learning of evaluation formula 334 (details will be described later). The learning system 35 may also be a component of the brewery server 3.

[0025] The processor 31 performs various processes by reading the system program and control program 331, loading them into memory 32, and executing them. For example, the processor 31 requests the distributed ledger network 10 to issue an NFT when the wine storage method changes. The processor 31 also quantitatively evaluates the wine by substituting appropriate sensor data into evaluation formula 334. The network interface 34 controls data communication between the brewery server 3 (processor 31) and other devices (distributed ledger network 10, NFT marketplace 2, etc.).

[0026] In this specification, the term "processor" is not limited to processors that execute processing using stored programs, but may also include hardwired circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays). Therefore, the term "processor" can also be interpreted as processing circuitry in which processing is predefined by computer-readable code and / or hardwired circuits.

[0027] Each of the multiple buyer terminals 4 is operated by an NFT buyer (prospective buyer). The buyer may be a general user (wine enthusiast) or a wine distributor. The buyer terminals 4 are devices such as smartphones, tablets, and PCs (Personal Computers). The buyer terminals 4 are configured to enable data communication with other devices (distributed ledger network 10, NFT marketplace 2, etc.).

[0028] <Sensor data> Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a sensor system 5 for collecting sensor data 333. The sensor system 5 is installed inside a barrel 7, for example, to monitor the storage conditions of wine inside the barrel 7. The sensor system 5 includes, for example, a weight sensor 51, a flow sensor 52, a temperature sensor 53, a humidity sensor 54, a pH sensor 55, a sugar content sensor 56, and a viscosity sensor 57.

[0029] The weight sensor 51 measures the total weight of barrel 7 (the sum of the empty barrel 7 and the remaining wine). The flow rate sensor 52 measures the flow rate of wine flowing out of the tap when the tap on barrel 7 is opened. The temperature sensor 53 measures the temperature of the internal space of barrel 72. The humidity sensor 54 measures the humidity of the internal space of barrel 72. The pH sensor 55 measures the pH of the wine. The sugar content sensor 56 measures the sugar content of the wine. The viscosity sensor 57 measures the viscosity of the wine. Each sensor outputs its measurement result to the brewery server 3. The brewery server 3 stores the measurement results from the sensor system 5 as sensor data 333. It is desirable for the brewery server 3 to store a timestamp indicating the acquisition time of the sensor data 96 along with the sensor data 333.

[0030] Some of these sensors may be installed in the storage area of ​​the barrel 7. For example, the ambient temperature may be measured by the temperature sensor 53, or the ambient humidity may be measured by the humidity sensor 54. The sensor system 5 may include a taste sensor (not shown) in place of or in addition to some of the sensors (such as the pH sensor 55, sugar content sensor 56, and viscosity sensor 57). The taste sensor measures, for example, the acidity, saltiness, umami, sweetness, and bitterness of the wine.

[0031] This example described sensor data related to wine stored in barrels. While we won't repeat the detailed explanation, some sensor data (such as weight, temperature, and humidity) can be obtained even at the raw material stage. Furthermore, sensor data (such as weight, temperature, humidity, pH, sugar content, and viscosity) can also be obtained for bottled wine.

[0032] <Wine storage methods> Figure 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the wine production process. The general outline of a typical wine production process is as follows: The winery 30 harvests and crushes the wine ingredients 61,62 (black grapes, white grapes, etc.) (see Figure 4(A)). The winery 30 places the crushed ingredients into barrels (which may also be stainless steel tanks) 71-73 and ferments them under temperature control (see Figure 4(B)). Furthermore, the winery 30 performs stabilization treatment (racking and lees removal) of the wine after fermentation. In addition to stabilization treatment, the winery 30 may also perform sterilization and filtration. After stabilization treatment, the wine is aged in barrels. Then, the winery 30 blends several types of wine aged in different barrels (different grape varieties, the same grape variety grown in different regions, produced in different years, etc.) and bottles them (see Figure 4(C)). The bottled wine is then stored until shipment.

[0033] Wines fermented in barrels may be derived from different materials. Furthermore, wines fermented in the same barrel may be bottled into numerous bottles. Moreover, bottled wines may be blends of multiple wines fermented in different barrels. Thus, the storage conditions of wine can change during the manufacturing process. In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to trace the state of the wine back to before the change in storage conditions when those conditions are altered. It is desirable to improve traceability even for wines whose storage conditions are altered.

[0034] Therefore, in this embodiment, the brewery server 3 issues an NFT before the change of the storage mode and an NFT after the change of the storage mode, and associates these two NFTs with each other. Hereinafter, an NFT for proving the authority regarding the materials of wine is referred to as a "material NFT". An NFT for proving the authority regarding the wine stored in the barrel is referred to as a "barrel NFT". An NFT for proving the authority regarding the bottled wine is referred to as a "bottle NFT". As will be described in detail below, the brewery server 3, for example, associates the barrel NFT and the bottle NFT with each other. The brewery server 3 may also associate the material NFT and the barrel NFT with each other. Thereby, even if the storage mode of the wine is changed in the manufacturing process, the traceability can be improved.

[0035] <Correspondence of NFTs> FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the NFT in this embodiment. The NFT 9 is a material NFT, a barrel NFT, or a bottle NFT. The NFT 9 includes, for example, an NFT-ID (Identification) 91, an item ID 92, item information 93, an owner ID 94, authority information 95, sensor data 96, and evaluation information 97. These pieces of information are recorded in the distributed ledger of each node.

[0036] The NFT-ID 91 is identification information of the NFT 9. The NFT-ID 91 is any one of a material ID for identifying a material NFT, a barrel ID for identifying a barrel NFT, and a bottle ID for identifying a bottle NFT.

[0037] The item ID 92 is identification information of an item (hereinafter also referred to as the "corresponding item") associated with the NFT 9. The item ID 92 may be, for example, the management number of a container in which materials are stored, the management number of a barrel, or the serial number attached to a bottle. The item ID 92 may be managed by an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag attached to the item.

[0038] Item information 93 is information about the item in question. If the item is a wine ingredient, item information 93 may include the variety of the ingredient, place of origin, harvest date, etc. If the item is a barrel for storing wine, item information 93 may include the name, type, capacity, location, installation date, aging period, etc. of the barrel. If the item is a bottle containing wine, item information 93 may include the type, capacity, bottling location, bottling date, etc.

[0039] Holder ID 94 is the identification information of the holder of NFT9. Holder ID 94 is, for example, the account name of the seller or buyer on the NFT marketplace.

[0040] The authority information 95 is information indicating the type of authority the holder has with respect to the item in question. In this embodiment, the authority is ownership of the item. More specifically, the authority may be a shared authority to share the item with other holders in the raw material stage or with respect to wine stored in barrels. Alternatively, the authority may be an exclusive authority to exclusively own the item with respect to wine after bottling. The authority may be a shared authority before the wine is bottled, and change to an exclusive authority after bottling.

[0041] Sensor data 96 is the measurement value for the relevant item among the measurements obtained using the sensor system 5. Sensor data 96 may be the measurement value itself or a feature value calculated from the measurement value. As mentioned above, it is desirable that sensor data 96 be accompanied by a timestamp indicating the measurement time.

[0042] The evaluation information 97 is information that shows a quantitative evaluation of the item in question (especially the wine). In this embodiment, the evaluation of the wine is performed using evaluation formula 334 (see Figure 2). The learning system 35 includes a trained evaluation model. The trained evaluation model has acquired the ability to calculate the evaluation of an item from sensor data through machine learning. Evaluation formula 334 is an equation that defines the relationship between sensor data and the numerical evaluation (value) of the wine through the above machine learning.

[0043] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a method for mapping NFT9 in this embodiment. In Figure 6, to avoid cluttering the page, only the NFT-ID91 (material ID, barrel ID, or bottle ID) of the various information contained in NFT9 (material NFT, barrel NFT, or bottle NFT) is shown.

[0044] As shown in Figure 6, material NFTs, barrel NFTs, and bottle NFTs are associated with each other. In this example, the bottle corresponding to bottle NFT9X contains wine that was stored in barrel NFT9P and wine that was stored in barrel NFT9Q. The wine stored in barrel NFT9P is made from material NFT9A. The wine stored in barrel NFT9Q is made from material NFT9B and material NFT9C. This ensures traceability for the wine bottled in the bottle corresponding to bottle NFT9X.

[0045] In this example, the material corresponds to the "First Article" of this disclosure, and the wine in the barrel corresponds to the "Second Article" of this disclosure. Alternatively, the wine in the barrel corresponds to the "First Article" of this disclosure, and the bottled wine corresponds to the "Second Article" of this disclosure. Instead of the material NFT, barrel NFT, and bottle NFT being associated with each other, only the material NFT and barrel NFT may be associated with each other. Or, only the barrel NFT and bottle NFT may be associated with each other.

[0046] In the example shown in Figure 6, the two types of NFTs are directly associated with each other. However, when the sensor data 333 is recorded in the distributed ledger network 10, the two types of NFTs may be associated with each other via the location information (e.g., URL) of the related sensor data 333. The location information of the sensor data 333 may also be recorded in the NFT.

[0047] <Processing Sequence> Figure 7 is a sequence chart showing the processing steps for an evaluation formula used to assess wine. From left to right in the figure, the processing steps relate to the learning system 35, the winery server 3, the buyer terminal 4, the NFT marketplace 2, and the distributed ledger network 10. These processes can be applied to wine in any storage state (raw material, wine in barrels, bottled wine), but the following explanation will use wine in barrels as an example.

[0048] In S101, the brewery server 3 transmits the sensor data acquired from the sensor system 5 to the learning system 35 along with a timestamp. This process may be performed periodically or whenever a predetermined amount of sensor data is accumulated.

[0049] In S102, when the learning system 35 receives sensor data from the brewery server 3, it performs machine learning on the relationship between the sensor data and the numerical evaluation (value) of the wine. The machine learning is, for example, supervised learning. The learning system 35 may be given numerical evaluations of the wine by sommeliers as ground truth data. As for the machine learning method, known methods such as logistic regression, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbors, and decision trees may be employed. As a result of the machine learning, the learning system 35 transmits the obtained evaluation formula (a regression formula that regressively determines the numerical evaluation of the wine from the sensor data) to the brewery server 3.

[0050] In S103, the brewery server 3 stores the evaluation formula 334 calculated by the learning system 35 in the storage 33. This updates the evaluation formula 334 to the latest version. Furthermore, the brewery server 3 records the sensor data and the latest evaluation formula 334 in the distributed ledger network 10 (S104).

[0051] Figure 8 is a sequence chart showing the processing steps for NFT transactions. From left to right, the diagram shows the processing for the brewery server 3, the buyer terminal 4, the NFT marketplace 2, and the distributed ledger network 10 (any node 1 within the distributed ledger network 10). Here, we assume a typical situation where the storage method of wine changes, such as transferring wine from barrels to bottles. However, the same applies to the situation of transferring wine from raw materials to barrels.

[0052] In S201, the brewery server 3 sends a transaction to the distributed ledger network 10 to issue an NFT9. The distributed ledger network 10 issues the NFT in response to the transaction from the brewery server 3 (S202). The issued NFT is recorded in the distributed ledger network 10.

[0053] Figure 9 is a sequence chart showing the NFT issuance process (processing of S201) in more detail. The brewery server 3 may obtain the amount of wine lost from the barrel and the amount of wine increased in the number of bottles from the sensor data 96 (measurements from the weight sensor 51 and / or flow sensor 52) (S201A). The brewery server 3 may issue a number of bottle NFTs corresponding to the amount of wine lost from the barrel and the amount of wine increased in the number of bottles (a number of the second nonfungibility tokens corresponding to the amount of the first item lost and the amount of the multiple second items increased may be issued). In other words, the issued bottle NFTs may consist of a number of bottle NFTs corresponding to the amount of wine lost from the barrel and the amount of wine increased in the number of bottles (the issued multiple second nonfungibility tokens may consist of a number of the second nonfungibility tokens corresponding to the amount of the first item lost and the amount of the multiple second items increased).

[0054] If, for the same time period, the increase (absolute value) of wine bottled in multiple bottles is greater than the decrease (absolute value) of wine from the barrel, it is possible that fraud (so-called dilution) has occurred by mixing different wines. Therefore, as an example in Figure 9, when the increase in wine for the same time period is less than or equal to the decrease (typically when the increase in wine is smaller than the decrease and the difference is smaller than a predetermined amount) (YES in S201B), the brewery server 3 issues multiple bottle NFTs (S201C). The number of NFTs issued corresponds to the decrease in wine from the barrel and the increase in wine bottled in multiple bottles. However, the judgment in S201B does not have to be performed. In this case, the brewery server 3 associates the barrel NFT with the multiple bottle NFTs as explained in Figure 6 (S201D). The brewery server 3 may record the decrease in wine from the barrel in the barrel NFT and the increase in bottled wine in the bottle NFT (S201E).

[0055] The brewery server 3 may record an evaluation of the bottled wine using evaluation formula 334 as evaluation information 97 (see Figure 6) in the bottle NFT (S201F). The brewery server 3 may also calculate a price for the bottle NFT according to the evaluation (S201G). The higher the evaluation of the wine, the higher the price of the bottle NFT.

[0056] It is desirable for the brewery server 3 to discard (burn) the barrel NFT (the NFT of the empty barrel) when bottling is complete (S201H). That is, the brewery server 3 may discard the barrel NFT in response to the fact that no further bottled wine can be obtained from the wine in the barrel following the issuance of the bottle NFT. Alternatively, the brewery server 3 may add information to the barrel NFT to prevent the issuance of further bottle NFTs. That is, the brewery server 3 may add information to the barrel NFT to prevent the issuance of further bottle NFTs from the barrel NFT in response to the fact that no further bottled wine can be obtained from the wine in the barrel. For example, the brewery server 3 may set the number of times the flag that allows the issuance of a bottle NFT from the barrel NFT can be used to just once. This prevents the issuance of a bottle NFT for wine that does not exist in the barrel.

[0057] Returning to Figure 8, in S203, Brewery Server 3 requests NFT Marketplace 2 to list an NFT. Upon receiving the request from Brewery Server 3, NFT Marketplace 2 requests Brewery Server 3 to grant it the authority to send NFTs (S204).

[0058] In S205, the brewery server 3 sends a transaction to the distributed ledger network 10 to grant NFT sending authority. In response to the transaction from the brewery server 3, the distributed ledger network 10 grants NFT sending authority to the NFT marketplace 2 (S206).

[0059] In S207, NFT Marketplace 2, upon confirming that it has been granted NFT sending authority, lists the NFT specified by Brewery Server 3 for sale (S207). This makes the NFT available for purchase from Buyer Terminal 4. Once NFT Marketplace 2 has completed the listing, it notifies Brewery Server 3 of this (S208).

[0060] In S209, the buyer terminal 4 requests the NFT marketplace 2 to purchase the NFT it has selected. Upon receiving the request from the buyer terminal 4, the NFT marketplace 2 requests payment for the NFT from the buyer terminal 4 (S210).

[0061] In S211, the buyer terminal 4 sends a transaction to the distributed ledger network 10 to send virtual currency equivalent to the price of the NFT. In response to the transaction from the buyer terminal 4, the distributed ledger network 10 sends virtual currency equivalent to the transaction fee for the NFT to the NFT marketplace 2 (S212). The distributed ledger network 10 also sends virtual currency equivalent to the amount obtained by subtracting the transaction fee for the NFT from the total amount paid by the buyer to the brewery server 3 (S213).

[0062] In S214, NFT Marketplace 2 confirms the transfer of the two cryptocurrencies mentioned above. If confirmation is received, NFT Marketplace 2 sends a transaction to the Distributed Ledger Network 10 to transfer the NFT to the Buyer Terminal 4 (S215). The Distributed Ledger Network 10 transfers the NFT to the Buyer Terminal 4 in response to the transaction from NFT Marketplace 2 and notifies NFT Marketplace 2 of this (S216).

[0063] In S217, NFT Marketplace 2 notifies Buyer Terminal 4 that the NFT transfer (i.e., NFT purchase) is complete. NFT Marketplace 2 also notifies Brewery Server 3 that the NFT purchase is complete (S218).

[0064] As described above, in this embodiment, when the wine storage method is changed, the material NFTs, barrel NFTs, and bottle NFTs are made to correspond to each other. This makes it possible to trace the barrel NFT corresponding to the bottle NFT, or the material NFT corresponding to the barrel NFT. Therefore, according to this embodiment, traceability can be improved even when the wine storage method is changed.

[0065] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of this disclosure is indicated by the claims rather than by the description of the embodiments above, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are intended to be included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1 (11-14) Nodes, 10 Distributed Ledger Network, 2 NFT Marketplace, 20 Trading Operators, 21 Processor, 22 Memory, 23 Storage, 24 Network Interface, 3 Brewery Server, 30 Brewery, 31 Processor, 32 Memory, 33 Storage, 34 Network Interface, 35 Learning System, 4 Buyer Terminals, 40 Buyers, 5 Sensor System, 51 Weight Sensor, 52 Flow Sensor, 53 Temperature Sensor, 54 Humidity Sensor, 55 pH Sensor, 56 Sugar Content Sensor, 57 Viscosity Sensor, 6 (61,62) Materials, 7 (71-73) Barrels, 8 (81-84) Bottles, 91 NFT ID, 92 Item ID, 93 Item Information, 94 Owner ID, 95 Permission Information, 96 Sensor Data, 97 Evaluation Information, 100 Information Processing System, 900 Trading Market.

Claims

1. A method for managing non-fungible tokens relating to articles, which is performed by a computer, The articles include a first article and a plurality of second articles, The aforementioned plurality of second articles are obtained from the first article by changing the storage method of the first article, The storage state of the first item is monitored by the first sensor. The storage status of each of the aforementioned plurality of second articles is monitored by a second sensor. The method for managing the non-fungible tokens is: The computer manages a first non-fungible token associated with the first item, which is issued using distributed ledger technology. The computer manages a plurality of second non-fungible tokens, each associated with a plurality of second articles, and which are issued in correspondence with the first non-fungible token using the distributed ledger technology. Includes, Managing the first non-fungible token includes recording the first sensor data obtained by the first sensor in association with the first non-fungible token, A method for managing non-fungible tokens, comprising managing the plurality of second non-fungible tokens, which includes recording second sensor data obtained by the second sensor in association with the plurality of second non-fungible tokens.

2. The computer obtains the amount of decrease in the first article and the amount of increase in the plurality of second articles when changing the storage method from the first article to the plurality of second articles, The method for managing non-fungible tokens according to claim 1, further comprising the computer issuing the plurality of second non-fungible tokens when the decrease in the first item is greater than the increase in the plurality of second items.

3. The method for managing non-fungible tokens according to claim 2, further comprising destroying the first non-fungible token when the first article is no longer available due to a change in storage method from the first article to the plurality of second articles.

4. The method for managing non-fungible tokens according to claim 2, further comprising adding information to the first non-fungible token that prevents the further issuance of a second non-fungible token from the first non-fungible token in response to the fact that no further second articles can be obtained from the first article.

5. The computer further comprises using a trained evaluation model to calculate an evaluation of the first article from the first sensor data, The aforementioned trained evaluation model has acquired the ability to calculate the evaluation of an item from sensor data through machine learning. The method for managing non-fungible tokens according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising managing the first non-fungible token by recording the evaluation calculated for the first article in association with the first non-fungible token.

6. The computer further comprises using the trained evaluation model to calculate the evaluation of the plurality of second articles from the second sensor data, The method for managing non-fungible tokens according to claim 5, further comprising managing the plurality of second non-fungible tokens by associating the evaluation calculated for the plurality of second articles with each of the plurality of second non-fungible tokens.

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