Category: Uncategorized

Hail, NFTs! 3 Ways NFTs are Changing the World

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NFTs are not just jpegs uploaded and minted on the Blockchain. Industry players are finding new ways to harness this technology and create game changing products that are shaping the way we interact. True, the recent crypto market slump may have dampened the spirits of the general market. However, industry leaders opine this is part of the market cycle and soon we will be out of the woods. This article is a primer on NFTs, their use cases and where the world is headed with regard to this technology.

As an art form.

This is the most notable way through which NFTs have gained prominence.

This technology has democratized art, enabling previously unknown artists to be at the vanguard of artistic development- enabling designers, artists and graphic experts across the world to earn passive income. Some digital artworks have turned artists into instant millionaires and much-vaunted celebrities in the art world . There are exclusive clubs created around some of these artworks, attracting celebrities and sports stars.  NFTs have enabled artists to earn royalties even in perpetuity every time their artworks are resold. In some instances, sovereign countries are adopting them and finding ways to use them to boost economic output. Countries,

such as Japan, recently adopted  NFTs as gifts for the civil service.

Government employees who perform well are gifted with NFTs; they use them for commemoration.

In Supply chain

NFTs have found notable use cases in supply chain management .

Manufacturers can use them to create unique tags for their products  for provenance.

Consumers can easily scan these NFTs and help them get detailed understanding of the products they consume. Businesses can use NFTs to enhance transparency and boost efficiency as they can track products on real time . With one scan all supplier information can be brought to the fore.

This form of transparency can be, especially, helpful for perishable goods, medical supplies and fragile industrial products. Businesses can also use NFTs to enhance collaboration across

the supply chain – enabling them have one permanent track of records of the goods they procure. This ultimately helps businesses maintain a competitive advantage, cut costs, and build better inter- business relations.

As digital Identities

NFTs can also be used as digital identifiers. Their unique identifiers and qualities enable them to be potential tech candidates for a global registry. This is still controversial and industry players are still unsettled on how best to go about this.However, traction has been gained in the gaming industry where players can use NFTs to create unique personalities, ammunition or gaming accessories and even trade them. For sure , this is slowly gaining real-world adoption.

Some companies have developed NFT based KYC identifiers that automate the KYC process wile at the same time maintaining anonymity. What these do is that a user creates a single NFT with attributes  such as age, address, location and gender. These can then be used across multiple platforms anonymously in the event that one needs to pass KYC. The details can not be accessed publicly and can only be shared with express permission from the owner. In the UAE,

the government has established a digital presence(consulate) on the metaverse using web 3.0 technologies that also encompass NFTs. This metaverse is meant to offer a digitally immersive experience where the country can promote their services and  educate people about

the investment potential in this region. Visitors to the country’s digital platform will have a chance to interact with a customer representative and can be issued with a ticket where they’ll get their issues resolved.

These are tech  development that  can be directly  attributed to NFTs and their uses as this industry matures, more products and services will be developed anchored on this technology.

Hail, NFTs.This is the new norm.

Tokenizing Debt: Flipping Debt into IOU tokens

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A recent article stated there were ongoing rumors that Celsius wanted to convert its debt into IOU tokens.  According to leaked audio, Celsius executives were mulling converting their debt into an IOU cryptocurrency and giving it out to their debtors as settlement. This token will be given as a ratio of what the firm owes its clients and what it currently has on its balance sheet- the notion being that if the debtors could hold on to these tokens for long, then they will ultimately increase in price and generate gains for their holders. The company recently filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and they are in the process of restructuring and finding the best way to clear their debt.

What are IOU Tokens

IOU is an acronym and stands for I Owe You. It is a contract that is signed by two parties indicating that they acknowledge that debt is owed by one party to the other. These contracts can be digitized and brought into the blockchain and then converted into tradeable tokens. Value of the tokens is expected to be governed by market perception of the party offering the tokens. In the event that the company can prove that it is sustainable and has multiple income streams, then the market may be bullish about it therefore boosting the value of the token. These kinds of tokens can only be employed by companies that have fallen into debt and consider their current income streams insufficient to cater for the underlying debt while at the same time sustain day to day operations. Depending on the contract, the token can be bought back by the company at an agreed timeframe or simply traded at the secondary market.

IOU tokens are ingenious ways in which Blockchain companies are spinning their debt obligations into “ temporary assets” and trading them on secondary markets. Celsius is not the only company that has leveraged this new debt model. Recently, a Chinese Mining company, Poolin, suspended withdrawals on its site and thereafter issued IOU tokens to its users. Users were given these IOU tokens at a  ratio of 1:1 of their holdings on the platform. The users have the option of selling these tokens on third party websites, reselling back on the platform or even purchase products  from the company.

Recent goings on in the industry show that IOU tokens seem to act as a viable last resort for companies facing liquidity challenges. Wide adoption of these tokens may encourage brick and mortar companies that have solid assets but are facing temporary  liquidity challenges to consider floating IOU tokens. This will deepen Defi, enhance liquidity in the ecosystem and  help develop new and advanced products for this industry.

5 Tips for Surviving a Bear Market

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The crypto market is fully in bear territory now, even though we have seen some relief over the past few days, with Bitcoin and Ethereum rising again, and a number of DeFi project tokens seeing double-digit percentage rise. For many of us in crypto, this is not the first time we’ve been in this position. We know that the market is cyclical, and that this time round macroeconomic influences are more influential, especially with a recession looming.

So, if you’re a crypto holder, what should you do? Should you sell or buy the dip? Or take some other action? Here is some advice from market watchers.

1. Take some profit

HODLing is widespread in the crypto community, but Tyler Reynolds, a Web3 investor advises selling a percentage of your gains at this time, rather than just sitting on your investment, or selling it all. An anonymous trader also said, “Set sell targets/take profit levels in advance, at least loosely, and stick to them. Your objective self from the past is a better guide than your euphoric self in the future.”

2. Do not panic sell

Its better to take some profit, or devise a strategy for exiting the market completely, but don’t panic sell says Fedor Linnik, an NFT builder. He added, “being greedy and being afraid to miss the top” was a mistake he made in 2018. Make your selling decisions based on data, not on emotion or on advice from social media.

3. Don’t try to ‘make it back’

Alex Svanevik, CEO of data analytics firm Nansen, said that those who invested in 2020 and benefited from the highs of 2021, need to realise the fun is over for now. He warns against entering highly risky trades to try and make back losses.  A trader tweeted, “Don’t trade or invest with the mindset of ‘making back’ what you lost in the bull; it’s an inherently flawed comparison.”

4. Research projects

Use this bear market time to look at crypto projects, new or old. Tyler Reynolds said that what worked for him during the last bear market was to keep investigating both new and old projects. “You will need to keep re-investigating as projects pivot from their original idea and find a much better product-market fit, like Aave.”

5. Get involved with crypto projects

Many crypto projects, especially those in DeFi, are structured as decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs. Anyone can join and participate, and if you are a developer looking for a job in crypto, it can be a good way of finding one.

Is the NFT market changing?

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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were the big buzz of 2021. They were billed as a new way for artists to make money, and they were hyped as a major part of building Web3.

However, for the majority of consumers, NFTs were both a puzzle and nothing of consequence for them. The sales figures for NFTs might have skyrocketed fro, $94.9 million to over $23 billion in a 12-month period, but all this apparently helped to do was convince Joe Public that buying NFTs was all about financial gain, and that you needed a substantial amount of money to be an investor.

As a result, there’s still a large amount of scepticism about NFTs, because a large number of people can’t understand their value or how they might bring change. However, those who believe in NFTs, whether they are artists, developers or companies, are aiming to show they can have a real impact on lives by using blockchain technology.

Blockchain advances

Blockchain technology does not stand still, even though some blockchains appear to find upgrades difficult to effect. The upcoming Ethereum merge may prove to be a very important moment as it transitions from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. This should make its blockchain faster and more efficient. It’s expected in August 2022 and should also reduce Ethereum’s energy consumption by just below 100%.

While the Ethereum merge is an advancement that has yet to occur, it comes concurrently with the growth of the Polygon, Tezos, and Solana blockchains. In early 2021, Ethereum, FLOW, and WAX were seemingly the sole proprietors of the NFT ecosystem. Now, over a year later, the expansion of the NFT market is palpable, ranging across various blockchains.

NFT intellectual property

As the NFT ecosystem itself has expanded, so too has the range of intellectual property (IP) minted on the blockchain. NFTs are a revolutionary way for artists and content creators of all kinds to monetize their IP in a way that simply wasn’t possible before.

Tokens are evolving

Plus, the tokens that house the diverse range of creator content are evolving as well. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) introduced a new era of crypto assets aimed at housing not only the interests and affiliations of a person as it pertains to them as a collector, but a full-fledged individual as well. It sounds weird, and some are referring to them as NFT 2.0, but they could bring a dramatic change to the market when the mainstream comes on board with the concept of a decentralized society, something that is beyond the comprehension of many. However, even if SBTs take a while to take off, they have already played a role in starting a conversation about what NFT technology might look like in the future.

It’s likely that your view of NFTs may depend on who you are, where you live, and the degree to which you’re exposed to new media and tech. The mainstream media has focused on NFT scams etc, just as they have done with cryptocurrencies, but beyond the tabloid headlines at the forefront of the NFT market, exists a vast and expansive ecosystem ranging across industries.

Just because the potential of NFTs is not yet widely understood, this doesn’t mean they should be ignored. Just as it is the case with any new or controversial topic, we must dig deeper to unearth the full scope of the situation.