# 3. Decide how to store digital assets in a  long-term sustainable way

Universal Blockchain (USBT) Token and NFTs are either minted to contain the digital content file itself or to contain a reference to the digital content. Accordingly, it is important to understand how the digital content being  distributed by the Universal Blockchain (USBT) Token and NFT is being stored. Many  of the existing platforms that creators can use  to create Universal Blockchain(USBT) Token and NFTs will host the media files through  either decentralized or centralized storage  methods described below:

#### 1. Directly on the Blockchain

When this occurs, the token as well as the digital content is stored on the  blockchain. Because the storage capacity allocated by the blockchain software  can be limited, the file size allowed can be rather small. At least for now, many  companies find storing digital content on the blockchain directly to be cost-prohibitive.

#### 2. Decentralized Storage

When storage files are spread across a distributed network, there is no  dependence on a single entity. Developers of these peer-to-peer storage  protocols, such as Arweave, offer varying degrees of storage permanence for  different price points.

#### 3. Centralized Storage

There is also the option to use storage from a central provider like many well-  known cloud storage providers today. In this model, the Universal Blockchain(USBT) Token and NFT marketplace  provides the service of storing the digital content through its relationships with  its cloud providers. There is a dependency on the provider and the Universal Blockchain(USBT) Token and NFT creator  to continue to host the asset – if the media is no longer hosted, the Universal Blockchain(USBT) Token and NFT will not  point to anything.