The first line of defense to an online account is a username and a password. However, malicious actors sprawling the internet have made the traditional account security combo unreliable and risky per se.
Therefore, SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) has been heavily utilized to provide another layer of security. Unfortunately, skilled hackers can still find a way to intercept SMS codes.
To detach account security from the monopoly of software-focused methods, universal second-factor (U2F) authentication was developed. The technology uses open standards under the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance.
Check out our video explaining what is YubiKey, and its pros and cons.
YUBIKEY REVIEW AND GUIDE: How to keep your Bitcoin and cryptocurrency SAFE
What is YubiKey?
FIDO works to reduce the reliance on passwords when securing internet accounts. YubiKey is a U2F-enabled hardware key developed by Yubico to secure web-based services. Businesses, individuals, and developers can use it.
YubiKey
The key is available in different shapes and connectivity functionalities. While earlier versions only support physical insertions into USB ports on a host device, the YubiKey five series accommodates connection through near field communication (NFC).
NFC allows interaction with the device without physically plugging it into a port. However, the key and the host device must be near each other.
YubiKey Reviews on Amazon
From the reviews left by buyers on Amazon and other platforms, it is evident that the key is a must-have for security-conscious internet users. In fact, over 80% of buyers left a five star score for the YubiKey.
One of the reviewers recommended the Yubico YubiKey to developers, IT pros, and “security-minded users.” Furthermore, they praised its manufacturer for providing GUI-enabled YubiKey manager for those having a hard time on where to start.
Others attributed their happiness to the key’s support for password managers such as LastPass. YubiKey users hail it for ease of use as a smart card and its compliance to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with their hardware key. Although the negative reviews are minimal, some raise valid concerns.
Among the main problems is documentation, which isn’t user-friendly. Additionally, a buyer on Amazon notes that the key “is still too complicated for the average consumer, as it’s not exactly a plug and play device.”
How to Start Using YubiKey
The process of enjoying world-class security on your online accounts starts with purchasing the hardware piece from a reliable platform. After receiving a key, visit Yubico’s website, and choose your key from the list.
Specifying the purchase key from the list helps filter the services where it can be used to provide security. On the services list, select the account you need YubiKey’s hand in boosting its security.
Each service is followed by step-by-step instructions on how to connect to the hardware security key.
For example Binance lets you use your YubiKey with their cryptocurrency exchange. This means that your YubiKey is required for authentication before approving any transactions. Note however that Yubikey authentication is not supported on Binance’s Apps and mobile websites.
How to set up your YubiKey on Binance
Login to your Binance account and click on your profile avatar.
Choose “Security” from the options, then “Setup.” On the 2FA section, click on “Security Key.” Note that it only provides the needed extra security layer when accessing the Binance.com website.
Read the note and hit “Continue anyway.”
Insert the key in any available USB port and press the button at the hardware’s center to activate it.
Activation needs to be done within one minute after inserting the key. However, it can be repeated if you miss this activation window.
Once activated, hit “Allow” to the message “Allow this site to see your security key.”
Next, verify your account. Note that Binance will need you to provide the authentication code from Google Authenticator if you had previously enabled this step.
Binance will then send you an email at the registered address for you to confirm the addition of a new 2-step verification method using something you physically have.
After verifying the email, you are done.
Examples of YubiKey-Supported Services
YubiKey works with a host of services such as cloud-based systems, password managers, email platforms, social media, gaming developer tools, cryptocurrency platforms, offline computers, among others.
Examples of cloud-based systems compatible with the security key include Dropbox, DigiCert PKI Platform, DocuSign. Cryptocurrency platforms that support YubiKey include Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitfinex, and Gemini.
Cloud-based systems compatible with YubiKey
Social media platforms with inbuilt support for the hardware key include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
For developers and offline computer users, YubiKey is enabled for popular services such as Github and Bitbucket for developers and can be used to login into Mac and Windows computers.
Latest YubiKey Series
The hardware piece is developed in sets, with keys in one batch having additional features than those in previous models.
Yubico YubiKey 5 Series – Keys in this group are compatible with conventional and new systems. It has enhanced passwordless, multi-factor, and 2F authentication. Also, it has a touch-to-sign button, can be inserted on USB-A and C ports, and has NFC capabilities.
Security Key Series – Its salient features include dual NFC and USB-A connectors. Additionally, hardware security pieces in this cluster are crush and water-resistant.
YubiKey FIPS Series – These are certified hardware security keys that can be used for regulated environments such as government institutions. This set weds different functionalities such as one time passwords (OTP), smart card technology, and U2F. Keys in this group have USB-A and USB-C compatibility.
YubiKey 5C NFC – It has support for NFC, USB-C, and provides a fast yet secure authentication process. This series has a longer list of supported operating systems and browsers than other versions.
YubiKey Bio – When released, this will be the latest Yubico YubiKey in the market. Its major selling-points are fingerprint recognition, enhanced security, minimal helpdesk calls, and PIN-based login.
Coming soon: YubiKey bio
Conclusion
From the reviews, it’s clear the YubiKey hardware security key is effectively guarding users against account takeovers. However, which Yubico YubiKey is best suited for your needs depends on its cluster. The newer the series, the more the features and services it can provide.
Despite some users citing complicated documentation, exerting effort to set this up can indeed give that extra layer of security that would keep your accounts safe and give you peace of mind.
Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.
Let’s be honest, traditional banking methods are starting to lose their value. Brick-and-mortar banks are paying disappointingly low rates on savings accounts these days. So if you want a higher return for lending out your money, it might just be the right time to explore alternative routes to engage your idle cash.
More and more investors are exploring the advantages of cryptocurrency savings accounts. A crypto savings account allows you to enjoy the benefits of an old-school savings account but with the growth potential of cryptocurrencies.
In this guide, we will explore some of the best crypto savings accounts for you to earn interest with your crypto assets.
What is a Crypto Savings Account?
The concept of crypto savings accounts are similar to traditional savings accounts. You put crypto assets into your crypto savings account, which are then lent on your behalf by a third party. The difference with a traditional account is that instead of dealing with fiat currency you will keep your funds in the cryptocurrency of your preference.
If you are looking for high returns but don’t want the risk of volatility in cryptos like Bitcoin or Ethereum, you can also choose to earn interest on stablecoins that offer high rates with more stability. Stablecoins are fixed to the value of the US dollar so you will not be exposed to cryptocurrency price fluctuations.
The best crypto savings accounts offer up to 12% interest on stablecoins and lets you earn 6% interest on popular assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What are the Best Crypto Savings Accounts for 2022?
With so many players in the market, it may help to compare crypto interest rates side-by-side before deciding on where to put your money. That being said, high interests should not be the only consideration for choosing a crypto savings account. Some other factors to consider are supported coins, compound interest, loan-to-value rates, withdrawal restrictions, transaction fees and security. You should always choose a platform that best fits your needs.
Let’s have a look at some of the best and most trusted crypto savings account providers for 2022.
Nexo
Nexo boasts a high yield of interest, as high as 20% APY, on a wide range of cryptocurrencies. It also has a minimum lock-up time below 24 hours, which means that the interest is paid on a daily basis. The platform also has security measures like two-factor authentication (2FA), login alerts, and withdrawal confirmation.
With no account minimums and a tiered withdrawal system, Nexo allows you to make instant transfers with no fees or restrictions. You may withdraw any amount for free up to the percentage of NEXO tokens you possess. A Mastercard debit card is also available and accepted by millions of merchants worldwide.
NEXO token owners earn bigger interest rates on savings accounts. Daily compounded interest is credited to your account, so there’s no need to wait a month to begin earning passive income.
Despite the fact that the platform is jam-packed with features, it is geared toward novices. It is simple to learn and even easier to get started.
Highlights:
Daily payouts
No minimum deposit
Tiered withdrawal limits
Clean layout and shallow learning curve
Consensus:
Best for daily interest and beginners
Gemini Earn
Since its inception, Gemini has best been known for its unbeatable high-level security. When a certain amount is deposited, a vast majority of it is stored offline, in an air-gapped cold storage system, and only a small amount is stored in hot wallets. This minimizes the chances of theft and malware attacks. Gemini also provides two-factor authentication (2FA) and bug bounty to prevent hacking. According to reports, Gemini has secured the highest amount of insurance, around $200 million.
With Gemini Earn, you can receive up to 8.05% APY on your cryptocurrency, including stablecoins. Gemini is highly rated, secure, and simple to use for basic functions like making a trade or linking to external bank accounts. There are some good educational tools available on the website and app and it also offers competitive rates, a broad variety of cryptos, and a solid yield on stablecoins.
Gemini is a sophisticated trading platform that is ideal for amateur and experienced traders and investors of all skill levels. However, the fee structure for small transactions is expensive, as is the case with most exchanges. There is no linked debit card but you can shop at a variety of internet retailers through their mobile app.
Highlights:
Most safe and secure provider
No minimum deposit
No withdrawal fee, but costly transactions fee and convenience fee
No collateral required for loans
Consensus:
Best for security
Binance Earn
Binance Earn is the one-stop crypto interest solution from Binance. With Binance Earn, you get a complete suite of staking and savings products for earning passive income on your crypto holdings without any trading involved. There are more than 60+ cryptocurrencies and stablecoins to choose from and you can earn interest under fixed or flexible terms.
Users can select between regular savings products, staking, and DeFi solutions, each with its own risks, terms, and returns. These include Savings with flexible or fixed terms, Locked Staking, DeFi-Staking, ETH 2.0 Staking, Liquid Swap, Launchpool, and the BNB yield aggregator Vault.
If you’re not interested in trading but want to increase your holdings, the interest-bearing products from Binance are worthy of choice. While the many features can be overwhelming at first, the savings and staking solutions from Binance could potentially create a passive income if you’re willing to learn how to use them.
Highlights:
Flexible and locked terms
Minimum deposits varies
Largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world
Overwhelming for beginners
Consensus:
Best for experienced traders looking for flexibility
YouHodler
YouHodler is a European bank-like crypto asset management platform with offices in Cyprus and Switzerland. The platform focuses on long-term cryptocurrency holdings, offering attractive crypto savings accounts with high compound interest of up to 12.3% APR and crypto-fiat loans with high loan to value ratios of up to 90%.
YouHodler has no lock-up periods, and investors are allowed to withdraw or sell their assets at any given time. Accumulated interest is paid out once every week, and the weekly interest period starts compounding as soon as you deposit funds into your savings account.
YouHodler keeps your digital assets secure with insurance, two-factor authentication, withdrawal stopping feature, and by using a combination of hot and cold storage. It also has bonus features like crypto-backed loans, margin trading, and it also supports NFTs.
Highlights:
Weekly payouts
No lock-up period or special tokens required to get the best rates
5 USD minimum deposit
Zero weekly or monthly fees
Consensus:
Best all-in-one
Coinloan
CoinLoan ranks next to Gemini when it comes to the safety and security of your digital assets. Apart from their security features, CoinLoan also offers about 26 types of cryptocurrencies offering APYs between 3% to 12.3%, which vary depending on the type of cryptocurrency.
Interest for crypto is accrued daily on your deposit and credited directly to your wallet on the first day of each month. There is no minimum deposit requirement.
Coinloan is a European-based cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platform licensed and authorized in the EU. For security, CoinLoan stores crypto-assets in offline, cold, multi-signature wallets with the digital asset trust custodian BitGo with $100 million worth of insurance from Lloyd’s. Furthermore, all transactions are done in accordance with Cryptocurrency Security Standard (CCSS).
Highlights:
Licensed and certified platform with fund insurance
No minimum deposit
Intuitive and easy-to-use platform
Excellent customer support
Consensus:
High yields and second best for security
Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the most well-known names in crypto wallets as well as holding and trading cryptocurrency. They also cater as one of the best crypto savings accounts for newbies. Coinbase does not loan out the currency that you invest in, and this is what makes it a great alternative to traditional banks because there are fewer restrictions when it comes to funding withdrawal.
The crypto savings account provides a wide range of currencies with small minimum deposits needed. Coinbase has a simple, top-rated mobile app with additional features. There is a wide range of beginner tutorials, crypto hints, and lessons in the app. You may also get free cryptocurrency by enrolling in certain courses.
The current APY for stablecoins is around 4% compounded monthly. Because Coinbase is said to be more rigorous in its lending procedures, the yield is relatively modest.
Coinbase charges a high 0.50% fee on every transaction, which few people are willing to pay for tiny purchases. On most currencies, interest rates are little. More experienced traders may want more sophisticated trading tools and low trade costs.
Highlights:
Well-known and trusted platform
Easy-to-use for beginners with plenty resources and tutorials
Low yields
High transaction fees
Consensus:
Best for beginners
Conclusion
Cryptocurrencies are quickly becoming mainstream, and an increasing number of providers now offer crypto savings accounts that pay monthly or daily dividends. These platforms provide a great investment opportunity for crypto owners looking for ways to generate passive income.
With such a high yield, it’s no surprise that crypto owners are increasingly demanding reliable crypto savings accounts to put their money to work for them. However, before you invest your hard-earned savings in any crypto savings account, there are many factors to consider.
If chosen wisely, crypto-based savings accounts can provide pretty good long term returns.
It all depends on the choices you as an investor make in terms of the currencies you choose, the duration and size of your investment, and your risk-taking ability.
On Feb 24, on the same date Anton Drexler founded what would become the Nazi Party, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As Moscow’s bombs dropped on the country’s major cities, the nation’s Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov fled its capital city of Kyiv.
Check our our video discussing the implications of the invasion of Ukraine on cryptocurrency:
Ukraine Invasion: Implications for cryptocurrency?
“We start to accept donations in meme coin. Now even meme can support our army and save lives from Russian invaders,” said Fedorov on March 2.
Doge Army
According to data tracked by the blockchain analytics firm, Elliptic, the majority of donations to Ukraine have been paid in Ether and Bitcoin, but donors have also sent the PolkaDot cryptocurrency as well as stablecoins like Tether.
“We’re watching history being made in real-time here,” says Braintrust Network co-founder Adam Jackson.
According to Crypto for Ukraine, over US$100 million in cryptocurrencies have been donated to Ukraine. The number is currently growing. Of the donations, nearly 40% were in Ethereum, followed by 31.51% in Bitcoin.
Bornyakov thinks that in times like the current crisis, response time is crucial.
“The National Bank of Ukraine created a fiat fund, but with the time and speed of a regular banking system, it was impossible to finance important things for the army. Crypto plays a role to get this flexibility when we really needed to respond quickly to deliver the army with its required supply,” Bornyakov said.
Cryptocurrencies offer much faster transaction times, but not all businesses accept them as payment, according to Bornyakov. Currently, the government converts the donated crypto assets into dollars or euros through Ukrainian exchange Kuna, which it has partnered with to also custody the funds.
This helps reduce the friction arising when crypto donation funds are used to acquire goods for the military in order to fight off Russian forces.
Some firms do in fact accept crypto, but for those who do not, cryptocurrencies are sent via the exchange into the conventional banking system for payment.
Ettore Rosetti, the digital, marketing and innovation lead advisor for NGO Save the Children said that the group is seeing millions of USD in pledges in crypto projects. The humanitarian group has accepted crypto contributions since 2014, but the range is more varied now, accounting for the expansion of the crypto world.
“You’re crowd-sourcing a humanitarian effort in real-time,” said Jackson.
“What’s fascinating about the emerging currency types are NFTs. We’re getting inquiries from artists wanting to create an NFT to benefit Save The Children’s response in Ukraine,” said Rosetti.
NFTs created and sold to raise funds for the Ukrainian war effort
Indeed, Crypto Punk NFTs worth USD200,000 form part of the contributions to Ukraine’s national crypto aid fund opened on Feb 26. And Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot’s co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova organised an auction fundraiser to sell an NFT of the Ukrainian flag for USD7mil.
Amid the geopolitical and economic turmoil that has come about due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, a sense of a real impact being made seems to stand out. Never in the history of the highly linked phenomena of war and economics have we seen the impact of ordinary citizens come about so quickly.
Now, Ukraine ranks 4th in the world in crypto adoption, according to research firm Chain Analysis.
In Putin’s Russia, Crypto Exchange You
Meanwhile in Russia, a report on ABC11 states that as Visa and Mastercard suspended their services and sanctions on the economy began to take effect, many are turning to cryptocurrency as well.
Ordinary Russians are now using crypto as a lifeline as their currency collapses under the brunt of geopolitical economic reprisal, according to Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong.
“Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too,” wrote Armstrong over Twitter just before midnight on March 3.
“If the US government decides to impose a ban, we will, of course, follow those laws,” added Armstrong.
“Should a coffee shop in Paris refuse to serve a Russian customer? Or take their wallet while they’re at it? The answer to that is no,” he wrote in a blog post. “We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts.”
One issue driving the push towards crypto sanctions on Russian users is that nations are wary of the nation’s oligarchs and Putin’s real resource of power might use it to evade sanctions. As it stands, steps had already been taken by these oligarchs to secure their wealth amid threats from the US and its allies, particularly a US task force created for this specific purpose announced by US leader Joe Biden on Feb 27.
On February 28, superyachts owned by Russian billionaires linked to President Vladimir Putin were on the move as the United States and its allies prepared further sanctions on their property following the invasion of Ukraine.
However, US Treasury deputy secretary counselor Todd Conklin has suggested crypto can’t be used to fully circumvent the sting of sanctions, given its practical limitations.
“Crypto is traceable, transparent. If someone is sending Putin Bitcoin from outside of Russia to evade US sanctions, then chances are they had to buy that bitcoin at an exchange and that exchange has their name,” added Jackson.
“While technically it could be used to avoid sanctions, it’s not a great way to do it,” he adds.
And as every transaction of the blockchain is transparent and public, cryptocurrency exchanges can use the information to trace the source of the funds to see if it is coming from blacklisted or sanctioned sources. In turn, the exchanges can also identify and block sanctioned persons from even opening an account.
US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network acting director Him Das said in a statement on Monday that the agency had “not seen widespread evasion of our sanctions” via cryptocurrency.
As it stands, analysts say wealthy and well-connected Russians often have a web of front companies through which they sift funds and crypto might not form a large part of this web.
According to The Washington Post, Trump-era Treasury Department assistant secretary Marshall Billingslea said that “the oligarchs have so many well-heeled accountants and complicit bankers around the world, they don’t really need to go that way. And if they’re investing in sound sanctions advisers, they’re being warned that some of these blockchain currencies like Bitcoin are not nearly as opaque as they might have thought,” somewhat reflecting what Jackson said above.
Large-scale avoidance of sanctions by say, turning fiat into cryptocurrency would prove difficult. For example, if an oligarch wanted to convert $1 billion dollars into cryptocurrency, they would find it very difficult since there is insufficient liquidity in the market to convert such a large sum. The oligarch would have to use multiple exchanges which would make the process extremely inefficient.
But avoiding sanctions using crypto could happen at a smaller scale over a longer period of time. As Investors.com states, Iran and North Korea offer some shady guidance to the world of discreet digital asset fundraising.
Crypto and blockchain analysis firm Elliptic found that Iran has used Bitcoin mining to bypass US embargoes, using Bitcoins their computers mined to pay for imports that would have otherwise been sanctioned. North Korea meanwhile employed hackers to steal some USD400mil in assets from cryptocurrency platforms last year, according to the research firm Chainalysis.
Russia’s embargoed but wealthy persons of interest could also channel divert money through smaller crypto exchanges that seem legitimate but have dubious compliance protocols under closer scrutiny. These exchanges might even be cooperating with the person of interest or their group’s money-laundering or ransomware schemes. The US last year sanctioned two exchanges on allegations of facilitating ransomware transactions.
Ironically, the failure to prevent Russian oligarchs from using crypto to squirrel away their millions around the world might force tighter regulations on cryptocurrencies themselves, putting proponents of crypto as a fair and balanced force for economic good, particularly during the Ukrainian conflict, in a bit of a moral dilemma.
As Forex.com global head Matt Weller was quoted at Investors.com said: “Those are the main two competing factors: The ideological-utilitarian perspective on the benefits of crypto assets versus the financialized investment component. Those are sort of pushing in opposite directions.”
One situation that really highlights a potential irony in this dilemma is Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova. That she is trying to help Ukraine as a protest against Putin seems to fit in the current zeitgeist of the conflict. But as Russian, imposing sanctions against Russian crypto to help Ukraine would stop her from raising money for Ukraine.
As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Those Are Blood Money
For Ukraine, they don’t have a choice in deciding how to balance the scales of this dilemma between economic fairness and moral-geopolitical good. As far as they are concerned, blind-but-fair adherence to crypto’s anonymous invisible hand of the market means their people will die.
Bornyakov’s ministry has started to reach out to major exchanges to not work with Russia for the time being because as he puts it: “They use this money to kill civilian people, to invade a free country without any reason. We inform those exchanges with official letters, with calls, where we can reach to stop work with Russia. Because those are blood money and in many cases come from corruption.”
According to the minister, some exchanges have stopped while others have limited their activity with Russia, and some working with Russia have been blocked, indicated by their complaints on social media.
Outside of the US raising sanctions, the most likely situation to happen in the next few months is that certain high-risk exchanges that don’t comply with regulations, at least in the United States, will be sanctioned by the Treasury Department in the near future, according to digital asset risk assessment firm TRM Labs’ legal and government department leader Ari Redbord.
“Because there is no central controller who can impose their morals on its user, crypto can be used to crowdfund for the Ukrainian army or help Russia evade sanctions,” said Elliptic’s chief scientist and co-founder Tom Robinson to The Washington Post.
“No one can really prevent it from being used in either way.”
According to Investors.com, TRM Labs recently identified 340 crypto businesses with strong Russian connections that it considers high risk such as lesser-known over-the-counter trading desks.
World’s First Cryptowar
Since Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War, the economics of defence has been widely discussed by both governments and private businesses alike. That it is now crypto’s turn to take up arms or rescue the helpless should surprise nobody.
But for a virtual asset so decentralised and antithetical to concerns of the state, the speed at which it has been applied to wartime has to a degree taken many state actors by surprise.
Both The Washington Post and Vox agree to some degree that war has pushed the utility of crypto to such a degree that the unique circumstances of war have made crypto itself a part of it.
According to the Vox article, “What we do know is that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now a real factor in global economies and in conflicts.” Meanwhile, The Washington Post has straight-up dubbed the Russia-Ukraine conflict “the world’s first crypto war”.
What this conflict will do for the futures of individual cryptocurrencies is frankly anybody’s guess. But one thing we do know is that due to its unique attributes of speed and stealth, some of the most desirable attributes for any other tool or weapon, crypto’s role in the war is here to stay.
Crypto becomes an invaluable asset to Ukrainian refugees
Cryptocurrencies have been immensely valuable to Ukrainian refugees. As Russian attacks have destroyed critical infrastructure, many Ukrainians are finding it hard to withdraw cash from ATM machines. Therefore, many Ukrainian refugees are relying on digital currencies sent from relatives abroad in order to purchase goods and services. All that is needed for them to access their cryptocurrency wallets is a mobile phone and internet access, which is being provided by the thousands of Starlink satellite internet dishes provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Web browsers have become an integral part of life — without them, there would be no easy way to navigate the internet. Even if you are not familiar with the term “browser,” you have definitely used one before. Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Brave are just some of the major browsers available today.
When you visit a website, your browser sends a request to the server where that website is located. The server sends back the content you see on your screen. Seems simple enough. But then what about crypto browsers?
What is a Crypto Browser?
If you have not heard of a crypto browser, it is likely because many people also refer to them as blockchain browsers. Both terms refer to any web browser that supports Web 3.0 technologies, such as blockchain. More specifically, these browsers bridge the gap between today’s Web 2.0 experience and the decentralized internet envisioned by Web 3.0 enthusiasts. By making decentralized protocols accessible through a familiar interface, crypto browsers provide a critical gateway to the decentralized ecosystem, especially for newcomers.
Almost all crypto browsers integrate a crypto wallet that allows you to buy, sell, or store your cryptocurrencies. While some of these crypto wallets are built into the browser (aka “browser-native”), many operate as extensions. For example, the MetaMask and Phantom browser extension wallets facilitate crypto transactions on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, respectively.
In addition to crypto wallets, some crypto browsers integrate marketplaces for decentralized applications (dApps). Finally, certain crypto browsers also provide incentives that reward everyone who uses their browser. These incentives include crypto payments and mining rewards.
How Crypto Browsers and dApps Interact
Decentralized applications (dApps) are similar to the centralized apps found on your computer and mobile device. However, unlike centralized platforms such as Apple Music or Spotify, dApps are built on decentralized blockchain networks. Instead of using the HTTP internet language to communicate with the web, dApps communicate with the blockchain using smart contracts.
Browser-based crypto wallets have become a common portal to Web 3.0 because they facilitate convenient dApp interactions. These dApps can be games, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and more. Most of the dApps you access through a crypto browser will look like a regular website. However, you cannot interact with these platforms without a crypto browser. For example, the Uniswap DEX looks like a typical website on the front end, but to access the back end dApp, you will need an Ethereum-compatible crypto browser.
It is important to note that browser crypto wallets are compatible with a specific blockchain. For example, MetaMask will interact with dApps built on Ethereum, while Phantom only connects with dApps on Solana. As a result, you may have to install more than one wallet extension on your crypto browser. If you prefer a more secure option, select a browser with a built-in wallet that is compatible with the dApps you will use most often.
DApps That Can Be Accessed Using Crypto Browsers
So you now know that crypto browsers allow you to interact with Web 3.0 technologies using a familiar interface. However, you might be wondering what kind of dApps you can access with your crypto browser — let’s take a closer look at some examples.
Decentralized exchanges (DEXs)
DEX protocols such as Uniswap (Ethereum) and Pancake Swap (Binance Smart Chain) can communicate with crypto browser wallets. This functionality lets you hold crypto in a non-custodial wallet while keeping your funds available for trading.
Borrowing and lending protocols
Similar to DEXs, borrowing and lending protocols can communicate with your crypto browser wallet. For example, if you connect your non-custodial wallet to the Compound protocol, you gain the ability to borrow or lend several different cryptocurrencies.
Payment networks
Protocols like xDai Bridge and OmniBridge allow you to “wrap” cryptocurrency so you can use it on a faster, Layer 2 blockchain network. For example, you might connect your wallet to xDai Bridge to convert ether ($ETH) to wrapped ether ($wETH) on xDai.
Games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
Crypto browsers can also enable access to gaming dApps and NFT marketplaces. For example, you might use your non-custodial wallet to visit the OpenSea marketplace to purchase an Ethereum-based NFT or the Binance Chain Wallet to play My DeFi Pet.
Qualities of a Good Crypto Browser
When it comes to cryptocurrency, privacy and security are the most important qualities to look out for. The platform you use for dApps and trading crypto carries most of the responsibility of keeping your wallet and identity safe. But you still need a secure browser that protects your passwords and browsing history.
When deciding which crypto browser is best for you, consider the following questions. Does the crypto browser integrate privacy features like ad blocking, tracker blocking, or a VPN? In addition, does the crypto browser use a built-in wallet or rely on extension wallets? Finally, does the crypto browser issue incentives as crypto or mining rewards?
Built-in VPN — Several crypto exchanges, including popular ones like Binance and Kucoin, already let you trade crypto anonymously. If you want to take things a step further, getting a browser with a built-in VPN is a smart choice. The VPN hides your actual IP address and encrypts the traffic from your device.
If your preferred browser does not come with its own VPN, you can always install one as an extension. Just make sure to install one with a solid reputation.
Built-in Wallet — For now, having a browser with a built-in wallet is more of a convenience than a necessity. You can store and keep track of your coins within the browser, saving you from sharing your data with another platform.
Do you want a browser that is an active part of your crypto operations instead of a conduit to a crypto platform? Getting one with a built-in wallet helps. But you should know that this is an emerging feature, and there are not many browsers that carry this feature yet. You will have to choose from a pool with limited options if this is important to you.
Fast — In trading, when the difference between profit and loss can be quick decisions during market changes, you do not want to be stuck with an unreliable, unresponsive browser. You need something fast and dependable. Thankfully, a lot of browsers are great at this. Several of them are built on the Chromium engine, the fastest in the world.
Tab Stacking — Another non-technical quality that serves cryptocurrency operations is tab stacking. Your research on different assets involves opening multiple tabs. It is easy to lose track of the exact website for a piece of information.
With tab stacking, you can arrange every tab according to your preference. You can open a stack that contains multiple tabs about Ethereum and another on Bitcoin. That way, if you need to find a piece of information, you know where to find it.
The Best Crypto Browsers in 2022
Knowing the essential qualities you should keep an eye for in a crypto browser, let’s explore some of the best browsers that fit the criteria.
Brave
Brave boasts two things: speed and privacy. Both result from its ad-stripping strategy. Even for non-crypto traders, Brave has emerged as a solid competitor among legacy browsers. What sets Brave apart is its aggressive anti-ad attitude. The browser was built to strip online ads from websites and its maker’s business model relies not only on ad blocking, but on replacing the scratched-out ads with advertisements from its own network.
Brave also eliminates all ad trackers — the page components advertisers and site publishers deploy to identify users so that they know what other sites those users visit or have visited. Trackers are used by ad networks to show products similar to ones purchased, or just considered. This is why you sometimes keep seeing the same ad no matter where you navigate.
The Chromium-based browser calls its built-in ad and cookie blocker Brave Shield. It also allows you to choose if you want websites to recognize your device and script blocking. This ad-blocking feature not only makes the browser secure, but it also makes it faster. Since ad scripts are not allowed, websites tend to load faster. There is a built-in VPN too if you want to take your privacy to the next level.
Aside from general security and privacy, Brave has a crypto wallet built into the browser. You do not have to install an extension or go to a website to access your coins. It also means you are not susceptible to phishing scams. Brave Wallet is CoinGecko sourced and has support for multiple coins, NFTs, and Web 3.0 dApps. If you already have assets in other wallets, such as Metamask, Ledger or Trezor, you can import them to Brave Wallet.
Brave Rewards: Earn while you browse
Brave browser’s Brave Rewards program lets you earn Basic Attention Token ($BAT) for free. Whilst Brave already has industry-leading ad and tracker removing features, it has a choice to allow users to view Brave Private Ads.
Brave Private Ads are advertisements on the Brave browser that users can opt-in to view. Some examples of ads include BlockFi, Verizon, Etoro and Bitpay. These ads will be either a background image on a new tab, a card on your Brave News feed or push notification. But unlike other web browsers out there, Brave will reward users for viewing these ads.
Users get the Basic Attention Token ($BAT) for viewing these ads. $BAT can be traded on exchanges with other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, exchanged for gift cards, for tipping websites/content creators and more.
Crypto Browser Project
Crypto Browser Project is a brand-new browser dedicated to cryptocurrency launched by Opera. The Crypto Browser Project is currently available in beta on Windows, Mac, and Android, with an iOS version coming soon. The browser has Web 3.0 integration at its core to make it easier to interact with blockchains, providing features like a built-in crypto wallet, easy access to cryptocurrency/NFT exchanges, support for decentralized apps (dApps) and more. The aim is to simplify the Web 3.0 user experience that is often bewildering for mainstream users.
A key feature is the built-in non-custodial wallet that will support blockchains including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Celo and Nervos from the get-go. The project has also announced partnerships with Polygon and other networks. The idea is to let you access your crypto without the need for any extensions, with the option of using third-party wallets as well. You can purchase cryptocurrencies via a fiat to crypto on-ramp, swap crypto directly in-wallet, send and receive it and check your wallet balance. It even has a secure clipboard that ensures your data security when you copy and paste.
Another stand-out feature of the new browser is its “Crypto Corner,” which contains all the latest blockchain news, crypto-related podcasts, and vlogs and keeps track of upcoming airdrops and crypto events. The Crypto Browser Project also comes with a sidebar that takes you to Crypto Twitter, Discord, Reddit, and more, as well as Telegram and Whatsapp.
Opera has said that the browser will be released as open source soon, adding that the goal is to “integrate these blockchains and decentralized domain naming systems into our crypto browsers, allowing you to enjoy them all.”
Osiris
Osiris is a blockchain-based browser that emphasizes easy access to decentralized apps and acts as a link between different blockchains. It comes with all the basic functions, clean and easy-to-use interface, and focuses on privacy. Osiris also supports peer-to-peer (P2P) file hosting similar to Brave browser. It is the world’s first web browser to work on its blockchain network.
Osiris browser comes with its unique crypto wallet called Metawallet. Not to be confused with the Metamask wallet, this wallet is embedded in the browser and only available on Osiris.
The main advantage of Metawallet is that it acts as a layer 2 solution, allowing faster transaction speeds. It will also act as a link between different blockchains- all this without excessive transaction fees. It currently supports ETH, TRX, and ACE, with DOT and BSC coming soon.
Osiris Armor is an in-built ad blocker that blocks intrusive ads on websites and YouTube videos. It will block all data collection and tracking scripts present in cookies. You can see all the ads and cookies it has blocked so far- the implementation works well and helps improve privacy. By blocking ads, Osiris is able to offer fast page loading and reduced mobile data charges while allowing users to access content without interruption.
The Osiris browser supports various search engines that are interchangeable according to your preference. You can also personalize your browser with bookmarks and extensions without having to worry about personal data collection.
Osiris also features optimized support for dAppstore. This is a marketplace where you can easily find and access various decentralized apps and projects. This integration with the Osiris browser allows these projects to reach a wider audience. It allows easier access while eliminating any security threats and issues.
Opera Reborn 3
Opera is a familiar name in web browsers. It is fast and helps save a lot of data which is why it has a very large user base. It also comes with a built-in ad blocker and personalized browsing that helps provide a better and tailored browsing experience. Opera recently launched a new version of its browser called the Reborn 3 with a built-in crypto wallet, a free unlimited VPN, and a Web 3 explorer for accessing blockchain apps.
Opera Reborn 3’s multi-wallet allows you to store and swap tokens and cryptocurrencies. This wallet will act as your online identity on decentralized platforms where you can link your wallet address to sign in. Currently, this wallet supports networks like ETH, TRX, and CBK. Support for more networks will be added in time.
Opera Reborn 3 also supports access to decentralized apps and websites, including the dAppstore, which is a huge marketplace for decentralized apps. These features are also available on mobile for Android and iPhone users.
Tor
Before cryptocurrency went mainstream, Tor had a bulletproof reputation as a private and secure web browser. It does not function like a typical browser. Instead, it routes your data through the Onion network (a series with random nodes), making your traffic untrackable and anonymous.
Tor also encrypts your traffic thrice during this process. So, not only are you untraceable, no one can learn your identity or track your online behavior. This means that on top of using an anonymous exchange like Binance, no one can track your browsing history and traffic.
The security features do not end there. Tor also comes with HTTPS Everywhere, ensuring you always open the safer version of any website you visit. This reduces the chances of you opening a fake crypto exchange or wallet site via phishing. There is also NoScript, a program that blocks Flash and Javascript, which hackers can use to attack you.
Tor does not save your browsing data because it deletes them after every session. Also, every window acts as a separate private browser, so no data is shared between different windows. All of these features make Tor the best option if your priority is security and privacy.
That being said, Tor is slower than most browsers since it routes your traffic through multiple network nodes. It can take up to 30-40 seconds for a page to load. Not unusable, but not excellent either. It is also limited to trading functions on centralized pages and does not have the ability to interact with decentralized apps.
If those tradeoffs are something you are willing to compromise, then you can rest easy knowing that your coin assets are safe, and everything about your online behavior is secure, down to your searches. Tor uses DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine that does not collect or share your data.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrencies are rising in relevance as a store of value and mode of payment. Since they are entirely digital, holders need trustworthy, safe, and convenient web browsers that allow users to access them easily.
Development in Web 3.0 is also going on very fast, with more products adopting the decentralized web, sidelining the current-gen Web 2.0. Hence, we will likely see more Web 3.0 products and services emerge this year.
Web 3.0 users might have different criteria while selecting their favorite browser, but it is common understanding that a good browser has to provide convenience, privacy, and most importantly ensure asset security. The Internet is a common good and the browser is the key to freely open doors within it.
Spool is a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol geared towards ordinary users who want to earn yield on their own terms in a simple and straightforward way.
Background
DeFi has been an exciting avenue in the field of cryptocurrencies. Based on the Ethereum blockchain, it uses smart contracts, which are automated agreements used to automatically enforce transactions without the need for a government or a bank.
A vast new set of Ethereum-based protocols have emerged, giving rise to decentralized financial products that automate loans, savings and even insurance. According to Nottingham Trent University associate professor of Cyptofinance and Digital Investment Jeremy Eng-Tuck Cheah, the total value locked up in DeFi contracts grew rapidly from US$2.1 million to US$6.9 billion from September 2017 to August 2020, and continues to rise.
Spool: Yield for the world, Fuel for DeFi
What is Spool?
Luke Lombe, a founding partner of Australian digital asset management firm Faculty Group and Spool contributor, describes Spool as DeFi infrastructure that allows users to create a fully diversified, yield optimised, auto-compounding and risk mitigated DeFi portfolio – in a simple and straightforward manner.
According to Lombe, these portfolios, called Spools, cover complex tasks such as risk evaluation, risk/reward based portfolio construction and rebalancing to deliver an investment’s most optimal yield from the custom strategies deployed based on the user’s indicated risk tolerance.
Arguably, Spool has three synergistic features. The first is accessibility. Its straightforward set-up won’t repel users who might not have otherwise delved into DeFi. The second is diversification. Spools allow diverse portfolio management automatically, easing workloads and reducing barriers for entry. Thirdly is economies of scale. With the automation, having more users simply makes Spool more cost effective to run.
How to set up a Spool?
With just one stablecoin deposit and five more steps done via a simple interface, a user can set a Spool up, which contributor Phil Zimmerer describes as a “vault”. And then the user kicks back as the Spool does the work. The steps are as follows.
Step One: Choose a preferred deposit currency
“We’re starting with stablecoins, essentially USDC, USDT or DAI. That will expand to capture more volatile assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are all subject to DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) vote,” says Lombe.
Lombe goes on to explain that Spool is by its very nature a DAO first and foremost, which will vote on various proposals, including choices of new currencies before they are enacted. Stablecoins are likely chosen because they are, well, relatively stable cryptocurrencies, as they derive their value from an underlying external asset, like a national currency or gold. USDC and USDT (also known as Tether) are pegged to the US Dollar, for instance.
How the Spool token works
Step Two: Choose a risk model
Lombe describes a risk model as essentially a set of criteria that a user would use to assess risk in DeFi. For example, a risk model could factor in Time on Market, as the longer a protocol has been around, the safer it’s likely to be.
From this, Spool creates a risk score for each protocol. For instance, Aave might get a 7.5 out of 10 or Curve a 6.8. This helps the user in figuring out how to diversify their portfolio. He goes on to explain how the nature of DeFi investment makes risk-assessed diversification crucial:
“I imagine people would understand DeFi risk as pretty binary. It’s either your money’s safe or your money’s gone (laughs). Generally it’s a matter of a smart contract failure as opposed to an exploit or a hack or potentially a rug pull.”
Step Three: Choose some protocols
Choosing a risk model allows a user to then select various protocols, such as the ones mentioned in the beginning of this article, that they can place their funds in.
“So Curve, Compound, Aave. All the ones we know generally are included in this list. More will be added subject to DAO vote. So you basically create your ideal portfolio based on the protocols that you like and know,” adds Lombe.
Protocols such as Compound and Aave allow users to trade loans and earn interest via smart contracts, while Curve allows for stablecoin transactions at optimised rates.
Spoolnomics in a nutshell
Step Four: Select Risk Tolerance
Next, a user chooses their Spool’s risk tolerance from a sliding scale. According to Lombe, Spool’s own protocol will factor in the selected risk tolerance level as well as the yield and risk for each of the chosen protocols and then dynamically shape a user’s portfolio and re-weight it according to the parameters set by the user.
“But it’s not static. As the yield changes (which it does on a daily basis), the algorithm will essentially rebalance your portfolio to ensure that you’re constantly getting the most risk-optimised or yield-optimised and risk-mitigated return.”
Spool’s adjustments do this under efficiencies. Ethereum’s gas fees, or the compensated cost of energy used to compute a transaction, can be quite high, as is the cost of rebalancing a portfolio to account for them. So Spool uses economies of scale to mitigate such costs. As Lombe states:
“For example, if your Spool algorithm says ‘move your funds from Curve to Compound’, and mine says ‘move from Compound to Curve’, a tracer smart contract simply reassigns the assignment, so the funds stay where they are. Just like if you’re transferring money to someone at the same bank, the bank doesn’t move anything, it just moves the number from one to the other.
Lombe adds that more likely, funds moving in the same direction will be batched together, sharing the cost of transaction fees. With numerous other efficiencies in mind, more users actually makes Spool more energy efficient.
Final Step: Name Your Spool
Finally, a user simply has to name their Spool and assign a performance fee, if desired. This fee sets how much the user is paid by anyone who uses their Spool to invest. Lombe states that:
“You can say, ‘I’ve created a fully diversified portfolio, it’s going to be automatically managed and optimised for you. All you have to do is click on this link’, and they deposit their funds and then you get a small fee, essentially. And that’s only a performance fee, so the user’s actual initial contribution won’t be diluted at all.”
By creating a Spool and sharing it with others, it allows people intimidated by DeFi choices to join in. This then increases economies of scale. Essentially, an end user becomes a kind of “sub-broker” within the Spool network. Major contributor to Spool Phil Zimmerer explains:
“There are going to be users who don’t want to do due diligence, are not able to or it’s simply not worth their time. They’re more likely to trust a person or a group or a friend. And I’m uncomfortable giving financial advice. I think this resonates with a lot of people. So you can create your own “vault” and front load all your decision making with your knowledge and then you can share that schooling with people.”
SDK
However, what’s really interesting about Spool is that on top of what it can already do is its potential to be used as an SDK, or a software developer kit. As Lombe explains:
“Essentially, it’s a DeFi middleware. Not only can you create these DeFi portfolios, you can fire an SDK useful as a backend for white label services. Essentially, use whatever user interface you have on the front end and create your own DeFi products.”
These third party DeFi products could be websites or wallet apps running Spool in the background unnoticed. This could mean a lot of development work saved on such products.
When combined with the ability to share Spools, the automation of diversification and yield optimization as well as the efficiencies that work on economies of scale, Spool looks to be a particularly powerful piece of middleware within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Perhaps more importantly for ordinary people, it allows for better governance of finance – a thing that traditional finance seems to be failing at. As Zimmerer states:
“Traditional finance is stacked against those who are uninterested in it. It’s sort of kept boring so that people don’t really care about it and don’t really know what’s happening. A very concrete example of this we can see is Covid hits the economy really hard, and then you would also assume that the financial markets should also tank. And what happens is central banks are printing a lot of money and obviously now as a lagging effect we are starting to feel it in terms of inflation.”
economy reeling because of Covid
Zimmerer sees inflation as a kind of tax on laypeople, where traditional finance’s lack of accessibility means fewer to offset the same inflation that will not affect traditional finance’s participants.
“For me, it’s because we kind of live in a world that forces you to think about the economy. We see a lot more, at least in my social circle, people getting interested in investing and managing their finances. And on a systemic level, even if you’re just a regular person with a regular job, it’s not just enough to dump it into a high-yield savings account, because those yield very little compared to the yields you can get in the rest of the financial market.”
Cheah notes that the pandemic has driven global interest rates even lower, stating that some jurisdictions, such as the Eurozone, are now in negative territory and others such as the US and UK could follow. Meanwhile Lombe also notes that central banks have had to print more money in the advent of economic collapse, and this drives inflation even higher, eating away at savings yields.
The people at Spool seem to have an understanding about how serious world affairs influence the lives of ordinary people, and seek to use DeFi to provide solutions to these specific problems.
In this climate, DeFi simply looks more profitable. Protocols such as Compound have delivered yields as high as 6.75% for those who save with Tether. But Lombe says that Spool’s role is different. Rather than try and be a new competitor seeking to dominate market share within the Ethereum space, he says Spool is more concerned with what can be seen as the greater good.
“What Spool is trying to do is essentially not try to compete with the other farms out there because we’re not a farm, we’re an aggregator of sorts. We’re not trying to take the piece of the existing pie. We’re trying to grow the pie.”
Spool Token Staking Guide
The purpose and benefit of staking SPOOL token is to obtain more SPOOL and the voSPOOL governance token. The voSPOOL tokens are distributed to stakers based on the amount of time continuously staked, capped at a maximum of the total number of SPOOL tokens staked. The distribution is calculated based on a weekly epoch up to a maximum of 156 weeks. However, if the staker stops staking their SPOOL tokens at any time, the calculation of the time spent continuously staking resets to 0- this means that their voSPOOL distribution will correspondingly be reset to 0. Here’s a step by step guide on how to stake your SPOOL tokens.
Step 1: Obtain the SPOOL token. $SPOOL can be purchased on exchanges like Uniswap. To get started with Uniswap, check out our Uniswap review and tutorial.
Step 2: Go to spool.fi and launch the Spool App on your web browser by clicking on the “Open App” button on the top right hand corner of the page.
Step 3: Click on “Connect Wallet” to connect your web3 wallet to the app. You can choose which wallet to connect such as Metamask, Ledger, Trezor, Coinbase Wallet etc.
Step 4: On the app, click the “Spool Staking” tab.
Step 5: On this page, you can see the amount of SPOOL tokens in your wallet and total SPOOL staked. You can also see the amount of claimable voSPOOL rewards earned and choose to either claim the rewards or stake these rewards. Furthermore, you can use your voSPOOL for voting on governance proposals on this page.
Step 6: To stake your SPOOL tokens, click “Stake” which will bring up a separate staking window.
Step 7: Input the amount of SPOOL tokens that you wish to stake, alternatively you can also click “max” which will stake the entirety of the SPOOL tokens in your wallet.
Step 8: Click “Approve” on both the app page and on your web3 wallet. This will allow the contract to interact and manage your SPOOL tokens.
Step 9: Click “Stake” to stake your SPOOL tokens and wait for the transaction to be completed. Note that this transaction will cost gas fees. Once your SPOOL tokens are staked, you can unstake them at any time.
Step 10: Once the transaction is completed, your $SPOOL tokens will be staked. We suggest you then refresh the page to see the updated amounts staked or remaining in your wallet.
Step 11: On the app, you can click on the “Platform Summary” tab to check the amount of $SPOOL tokens staked, the amount of voSPOOL accumulated, and the claimable staking emissions.
Step 12: On the app, you can also click on the “SPOOL Staking” tab to see the updated $SPOOL staking rewards.
Step 13: To claim all your rewards, click on “Claim All Rewards”. A pop-up window will then appear which shows both the SPOOL emission rewards as well as the voSPOOL emission rewards. Click “Claim” to claim these rewards.
Step 14: Wait for the transaction to be confirmed. Once completed, the SPOOL tokens will be sent to your web3 wallet. Note this will also cost gas fees.
Step 15: Clicking on “Stake Emissions Rewards” allows you to stake the rewards you have earned. A pop up window will appear and shows all the rewards that can be claimed and staked for both SPOOL and voSPOOL emissions. Click on “Claim and stake” to both claim your rewards and stake them in 1 transaction.
Step 16: Wait for the transaction to be confirmed. Once completed, the SPOOL tokens will be sent directly to staking and your balance will be updated. Note that this transaction will cost more gas than simply claiming the staking rewards.
Step 17: Once the transaction has been confirmed, it is suggested to refresh the page to see the updated amounts of staked or claimed SPOOL tokens.
Jeremy Eng-Tuck Cheah. 26 August, 2020. The Conversation. What is DeFi and why is it the hottest ticket in cryptocurrencies? (https://theconversation.com/what-is-defi-and-why-is-it-the-hottest-ticket-in-cryptocurrencies-144883)
Spool is a Decentralised Finance (DeFi) application that allows users to create a fully diversified, yield optimised, auto-compounding and risk mitigated investment portfolio – in a simple and straightforward manner. It is also middleware, and can be used to power other applications.
How is it used?
With just one stablecoin deposit and five steps done via a simple interface, a user can set up this automated DeFi portfolio, or Spool up. Choose a preferred currency, a risk model, some protocols to invest in, your risk tolerance, name the Spool and then set a performance fee to charge others than invest in your Spool (in that order). And then, just leave it alone to do its job.
Why use it?
DeFi yields currently seem to be doing better than traditional finance. Amid the global pandemic, inflation threatens to devalue returns from traditional savings. And while getting into Defi could be complicated, Spool is relatively simple and straightforward to use for beginners, and very easy to deal with for experts who are tired of manually managing their portfolios. As more users use it, the more stable it gets, and others can invest in your Spool without having to create their own for the said small performance fee.
The vast amount of innovations and creativity happening within the crypto space is overwhelming. Countless projects, protocols, apps, tokens, and communities are launching, layering, merging, forking and growing every day. It can be a lot to keep up with.
Fortunately, blockchains are public data sources, and the historical ledger of addresses and transactions is a treasure trove of data, just waiting to be unpacked and explored. Anyone can view the transactions that are occurring in real time and interpret what is happening on the blockchain. However, in its raw form, blockchain data is kind of like binary code: great for machines but tough for humans. What is needed is not only a data platform that can convert it to a more useful form, but also a community of analysts that can give it meaning.
Enter blockchain analytics. Blockchain analytics is the act of inspecting, identifying, understanding, and visualizing data on a blockchain. Doing so allows users to gain valuable insights that would otherwise be hidden in traditional systems. Just as Google organized the internet of information for consumers and commerce by indexing the World Wide Web, making it accessible without requiring any knowledge about the underlying TCP/IP protocol, blockchain analytics technology is building the pathway for an easy-to-navigate internet of value as well as the emerging data economy.
What Is Blockchain Analytics?
Blockchain analytics is the process of analyzing, identifying and clustering data on the blockchain. Blockchain analytics also models and visually represents data in order to identify key information about users and transactions.
More and more companies operating with cryptocurrencies are using blockchain analytics tools to analyze transactions and assess the level of risks to meet regulatory requirements worldwide. This is done to help stop illicit transactions such as money laundering and fraud from being carried out.
Crypto asset transactions carried out are inherently anonymous so blockchain analytics providers help to provide the data needed to match a transaction with a person or company. This helps to keep cryptocurrency markets and transactions safer for everyone. Blockchain analytics can achieve this by scraping blockchain data, which is all public.
How Does It Work?
Blockchain analytics providers scrape publicly-available transactional data to tie crypto wallets back to illicit or criminal behavior. Data scraping is the act of collecting and structurally storing and updating data in real-time. This data includes information on which cryptocurrency wallets the cryptocurrency were sent to and from, the type of cryptocurrency, the amount, and the time of the transaction. As for cryptocurrency wallets, they are digital wallets that can send and receive payments. And specifically for those wallets maintained by cryptocurrency exchanges, users must first go through a Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding processes whereby the personal details of the crypto wallet’s owner are recorded and stored.
When a crypto wallet transaction is made, that data is forever on the blockchain. It cannot be altered or erased. Through the scraping of these blockchains, blockchain analytics ties crypto transactions to illicit activity through certain signifiers such as a crypto wallet previously linked to illicit transactions like drug smuggling or terrorist financing. Through that, a wallet or transaction is flagged and given a risk score. When a crypto business or a financial institution works with a blockchain analytics provider, any transaction they undertake can be screened to provide a risk score for the crypto wallet in question.
If further investigation is needed, a blockchain analytics provider can forward this type of information and analysis to the relevant law enforcement authorities, who can match an identity with an anonymous wallet, via a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR). Because the transactional data in the wallet represents all transactions that the specific cryptocurrency has been used in, an end-to-end trail is thus created.
The wallet is tagged with a typology by the analytics provider, which ties it to a certain illicit activity that will be flagged in future transactions. The provider will also create a heuristic which clusters transactional wallet data with similar typologies. (Ultram) When multiple wallets are owned by the same person, blockchain analytics can help to determine if transactions carried out by different wallets are actually coming from the same place.
Collecting data on the identifiers of illicit transactions is a continuous process. Blockchain analytics is a key line of defense for creating fair and legal crypto environments, helping to discover the source and destination of illicit funds.
Why Is Blockchain Analytics Important?
Often hackers and web criminals use cryptocurrency due to its pseudonymous nature. Thanks to blockchain analytics, we now have access to specialized analytics tools that can scan otherwise hard to track the trail of transactional data on public blockchains. Blockchain analytics makes it possible to follow who is buying what and paying for which product and services utilizing cryptocurrency.
Many blockchain analytics providers help to create these insights by turning blockchain raw data into searchable and executable data that individuals and businesses can easily search and build services on top of. This has tremendous value to regulators, law enforcement, companies and users within the crypto space.
Regulators and law enforcement can have full visibility on illicit transactions and track the movement, allowing them to uncover the identities of the criminals over time. Companies are able to have full visibility over transactions made by vendors or third parties and ensure legitimacy of those claims. Users such as traders are able to have visibility on what smart money is doing and make better informed decisions, leveling the playing field. Smart money in crypto represents a new type of economy where knowledge is open and powerful actors’ behavior is revealed.
All organizations who work within the crypto asset market, whether it be crypto businesses or financial institutions, also need to remain compliant. Blockchain analytics providers can help these financial institutions pursue their compliance efforts. Through blockchain analytics, compliance departments can identify fraudulent or illicit activity, protect themselves from risk and work to create increased trust and transparency within the system and thus maximizing opportunities for growth and profitability.
Blockchain Analytics Providers
Let us take a look at some of the most popular blockchain analytics providers that are developing new insights from raw blockchain data to make it accessible to users of all levels.
1- Dune
Dune, formerly known as Dune Analytics, is a powerful tool for blockchain research. It can be used to query, extract, and visualize vast amounts of data on the Ethereum blockchain. Users can simply query the database to extract almost any information that resides on the blockchain. Dune released its free version in 2019. Since that release, Dune has grown exponentially with users from all around the world joining in to leverage the on-chain analytics it provides.
Example of a graph visualization from a popular query dashboard
Dune’s strengths are in its open data source. Analysts, traders, and number crunching data enthusiasts make up the community. They create and openly share their queries which can then be forked and remixed in a multitude of ways by others. That is why Dune has been described as the “Github for on-chain analysis.” The secret sauce is the collaborative effort that is built-in to the Dune platform. So instead of dealing with the status quo, siloed sets of dashboards, the queries on Dune Analytics are open source, creating a revolutionary way for their community to harvest and remix blockchain data.
Dashboard page on Dune Analytics
The community version of Dune allows users to conduct any kind of on-chain analysis. Dune converts the raw blockchain data into a readable format, and queries can be completed with SQL. Dune gives its users access to datasets and they can create their charts and dashboards. Users can then share what they are working on. And working with Dune provides one with good education and powerful insights into how on-chain analytics systems work in general.
With Dune, users can explore the dashboards and queries of others in the community. It is similar to sharing dashboards on Google Analytics. And by researching the work of others, users can find inspiration to come up with even more queries to find deeper insights.
It is not much of a stretch to say that Dune is fast becoming the default platform for Ethereum data seekers.
Use Case: Dune has more than 22,000 different dashboards, a method of discovery. Given that the queries within the dashboards are user-generated, the quality varies. Some may be professional-grade and easy to scan, while others result from a SQL student’s early lessons. These are searchable by name or tags.
PARSIQ is the next-generation monitoring and intelligence platform for various blockchains, successfully connecting legal systems and off-chain applications to precious blockchain-based data. PARSIQ’s platform provides a suite of products that handle everything from database querying to instant notifications. The use case of PARSIQ extends not only to the on-chain blockchain but also to the off-chain universe.
Transaction tracking for compliance purposes, financial accounting, or building insights on the different properties of competing blockchains are some of the jobs that PARSIQ’s applications perform as off-chain jobs. PARSIQ also provides a tool that monitors and processes blockchain data. Every single blockchain activity that occurs on the platform results in a massive amount of information. All of this circulates through the PARSIQ platform and activates various parts of it. Every product that belongs to the ecosystem has a particular processing subsystem of the platform standing behind it.
Smart Triggers on PARSIQ
With Smart Triggers, users can create “if-this-then-that” workflows, allowing users to watch for a specific on-chain event and initiate downstream actions when they occur. PARSIQ’s Trigger Wizard is a no-code editor that allows users to create Smart Triggers for the most common use cases in just minutes. Smart Triggers can be used for a variety of use cases:
Build user notifications — PARSIQ delivers real-time alerts to users when relevant activities occur
Expand product functionality — users are able to build capabilities on top of blockchain data without writing custom code
In order to solve actual problems and meet the demands of business use cases, PARSIQ introduces the possibility of using various on-demand services and data delivered by third party providers integrated to the PARSIQ platform. Smart Triggers are deployed to the PARSIQ system and continue to circulate the on-chain data. External Data Providers (EDP) are the source of external off-chain or even on-chain data that can be plugged in and additionally combined with Smart Trigger data. With this feature, it is possible to combine the on-chain data with off-chain data, such as market data, risk scoring, forensics information, and more
Use Case: PARSIQ’s wallet surveillance tools notify wallet holders on every inflow and outflow of funds. Any alert sent by PARSIQ’s transports informs users who are at risk with a potentially exploited wallet in their possession.
Whitelisting is another useful tool to preserve users’ trigger count. It gives the user control of what they deem trigger worthy transactions. Making frequent transactions & interactions with certain addresses or addresses they are familiar with would be acceptable without triggers, but addresses not whitelisted will trigger alerts.
To set up wallet surveillance with PARSIQ, you can refer to this tutorial video.
3- Elementus
Elementus is the first universal blockchain search engine and institutional-grade crypto forensic solution. They are building the next generation “Who’s Who” of crypto entities on the blockchain with the best-in-class search and analytics capabilities. Their compliance solution and data analytics platform are being used by key U.S. governmental agencies to solve some of the most high-profile cyber investigations and by financial institutions to build the future of finance and commerce on the bedrock of blockchain and digital currencies.
Elementus applies data science to restructure underlying blockchain data into a schema optimized around the relationships between blockchain activity, providing valuable context far beyond manual investigations on individual transaction level. The Elementus view provides a powerful clustering and confident entity attribution based on insights that exist tens or even thousands of transactions away.
A visualization of token sales created using Elementus
As the use of cryptocurrency increases, so does the complexity of investigations. Elementus’s Intelligent Network Expansion technology allows users to generate a network in seconds based on custom parameters relevant to their investigation.
Elementus offers several products dedicated to different solutions within its ecosystem:
Radar — for compliance solutions. Users are able to extract risk scores for any public blockchain address, consumable via API, real-time alert, or via the Radar user interface.
Echo — for custom analytics. Users are able to harness the power of Elementus Analytics paired with the versatility of Palantir Foundry, accessing custom data analysis applications for any use case.
Pulse — for investigations. Pulse provides almost instantaneous tracing of funds from source to destination with multi-level entity attribution, powered by proprietary RapidTrace™ and EntityIndex™ technology
Use Case: Elementus was used to track down billions of stolen bitcoin in a fraud investigation of a YouTube rapper named Razzlekhan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein. The couple was arrested on federal charges of conspiring to launder a multibillion-dollar trove of bitcoins stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016. The couple was not accused of the theft itself.
Analysis provided by Elementus has found that the pair were able to shield the unseized money through a complex series of crypto transfers. Max Galka, the CEO of Elementus, said the bitcoins were moved across more than 20,000 transactions, indicating that some form of automation software was used.
According to Galka, some of the unseized bitcoins were transferred through the Russia-based darknet market Hydra. “It’s the largest darknet market in existence,” Galka says. “It is highly unlikely law enforcement has the ability to trace these funds further.” According to Elementus, the last known movement of the unseized cache occurred on January 25th 2022, shortly before the couple’s arrests at their Wall Street apartment.
4- AllianceBlock
AllianceBlock is building a globally compliant decentralized capital market by providing a bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi), unlocking trillions of dollars in capital. The AllianceBlock Protocol is a decentralized, blockchain-agnostic layer 2 that automates the process of converting any digital or crypto asset into a bankable product, simplifying the capital transfer process between regulated and opaque markets.
The protocol has three main pillars, focusing on compliance and regulation, data, and DeFi technology. The AllianceBlock Data Tunnel is a key component of the data element, and it leverages their partner Ocean Protocol’s technology, as well as partnerships with Parsiq, API3, Covalent, DIA and Chainlink. The Data Tunnel is a data marketplace that makes data accessible to all through a monetized marketplace, while ensuring traceability, transparency, and trust. Data providers and consumers will benefit from increased access to one another, driven through a secure and easy-to-use solution.
The Data Tunnel dashboard
The AllianceBlock Data Tunnel makes it possible to publish data in a decentralized and simplified manner, without needing to be proficient in DeFi, MetaMask, or private keys. This is crucial to attracting a wider, more mainstream audience. In line with this, the Data Tunnel also simplifies usability for data consumers and developers through a standardized output format. This is in contrast to current offerings, with datasets found in a wide range of formats, making it more difficult for consumers.
Ultimately, the Data Tunnel aims to become the oracle of oracles, being able to take data from oracles to the Data Tunnel, enhancing this data, and then feeding it back to the oracle providers. The Data Tunnel is chain-agnostic, in line with AllianceBlock’s wider vision, to allow for the greatest access and breadth to both datasets and consumers and to ensure as wide adoption as possible. The AllianceBlock Data Tunnel aims to incentivize data providers to share more data, acting as the conduit through which both DeFi and TradFi users can access and take advantage of increased data opportunities.
Use Case: Financial institutions are largely excluded from offering investors access to DeFi. Fund distribution is one of the issues. AllianceBlock provides a solution to these issues by offering access to Open Finance that allows all market entities to participate. It is an end-to-end regulatory compliance framework that serves as a bridge between stakeholders and all actors within the capital markets chain.
In a traditional fund distribution model, all intermediaries between the investor and fund manager can operate independently. Many may only communicate with the next chain in the link. When they do communicate, it is likely through email correspondence, or, for certain operations, even fax or post. This creates inefficiencies.
Traditional fund distribution model
AllianceBlock seeks to create a fund protocol which hosts all of the required activities on one platform. This allows for greater operational transparency and efficiency.
The AllianceBlock fund distribution model
Learn more here about AllianceBlock’s solution to fund distribution, and to explore more use cases for the platform.
5- HUBX
HUBX elevates private placement and loan syndication deal distribution for banks, exchanges, and brokerage firms by connecting into core systems to deliver dynamic data insights and a richer customer experience. In the world of syndicated lending, accessing accurate and timely data is critical for origination and distribution teams to make meaningful and effective decisions. The way data is captured and interpreted constitutes the single most important success criteria to protect and scale capital raising operations. HUBX brings together all relevant data from across an organization to deliver a single source of truth for all participants.
Founded in 2015, HUBX platforms facilitate collaboration between banks and their institutional clients, connect syndicate desks with the rest of the organization, and simplify execution. Each network hub is private, ensuring that the clients’ data is always protected. HUBX strives to help banks adapt quickly and seamlessly to the rapid digital transformation that is driving private capital markets today.
By connecting all participants on their own terms, HUBX will help accelerate deal execution, reduce costs, and introduce standardization and automation into the market. By offering unrivaled customer experience and dynamic insights and tools to their clients, banks are able to harness the true potential of their data and the network effect.
Use Case: HUBX has partnered with financial software solution developer Finastra to help corporate lenders during the loan syndication process by reducing manual workloads. As a first step, this deal sees HUBX Arranger integrated with Finastra’s back-office loan software Fusion Loan IQ, which is used by 90% of the world’s top 100 banks to process over 70% of global syndicated loans. While the market is worth around $4.5trn annually, much like in private equity, the majority of work is manual and disconnected.
According to Axel Coustere, HUBX co-founder, “HUBX Arranger provides a key missing link for Finastra’s clients. The ability to digitally scale the arduous syndication process by tackling the lack of end-to-end execution. There are many manual, time consuming steps and a lack of real -time visibility currently associated with this piece of a bank’s business. Not doing this well limits the banks’ ability to manage and improve risk and ultimately reputation.”
Conclusion: The Rise of Data Analytics
Modern businesses have been benefiting from data analytics for several years now. According to Forbes, data analytics adoption in enterprises increased from 17% in 2015 to 59% in 2018. Now, only 10% of businesses have refused to utilize big data. One category of data analytics that is poised to change and transform the industry is predictive analytics. It is focused on making predictions about future outcomes based on a massive amount of historical data as well as techniques like machine learning. With this type of technology, enterprises will be able to forecast trends and behaviors.
The current state of predictive analytics is hardly perfect. A huge obstacle to overcome is getting quality data from different sources and correlating them. Digital agencies and IT firms have their own silos of data and use different tools in obtaining them. There is also the issue of whether there is enough of the right data. When there is not enough for the system to make conclusions from, the results of predictions may be biased and untrustworthy. Blockchain technology might be able to fill the gap in this space.
Blockchain’s computational power is gained from multiple connected computers, hence it is powerful enough to properly define the model to be analyzed based on a vast number of data sets. It would use its power to analyze the different stored datasets across computers and pull up the ones that can provide the answer. Furthermore, blockchain may be the cloud equivalent to one physical supercomputer, which makes it accessible to small businesses. Currently, companies that want to utilize predictive analytics have to rely on expensive super machines. With blockchain implemented, the costs to obtain such analytics tools will be greatly reduced.
As for potential applications, blockchain analytics could be used in marketing strategies. Marketers could be able to prepare for future marketing campaigns with the help of data gained from market realities. The system might be able to forecast price movements for financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.
The fusion of data and blockchain technology is poised to grow even more in the next couple of years. This could provide an opportunity for blockchain to display its potential as developers continue to experiment.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) made a huge splash in 2021, with sales of NFTs reaching $25 billion in the same year. NFTs are records on a blockchain that cannot be replaced with something else and retain its value. In that sense, they are different from fungible tokens like bitcoin, which can be traded for another bitcoin and retain the same value. NFTs are most popularly used to sell digital art, by uniquely associating digital assets such as images, videos, music or text to a blockchain record. It is with this association that NFTs promise art collectors to have something that cannot be copied or modified: ownership of the work.
Generative NFTs is a new art genre with a rapidly growing ecosystem within the crypto world that is poised to challenge the traditional art world. Generative art is developed through creative coding and this exciting medium is becoming increasingly popular within the art community, along with those interested in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and the metaverse. Using a digitally native medium, generative NFTs fundamentally challenge conceptions of what gives art its value and how society expresses its communal values through art.
What are Generative Art NFTs?
Generative art is an expression currently used a lot in the context of NFTs- as a means of ownership, and even a means to create pieces of generative art via smart contracts. The term generative art describes pieces of art that have gone through a generation process by a system that is set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art. Thereby, generative art can be seen as a collaboration between an artist and an autonomous system. Under this definition, NFTs are not the origin of generative art.
The Origins of Generative Art
Instead, an early example of generative art, more specifically of generative music, is Mozart’s Musikalisches Würfelspiel published in the late eighteenth century. Musikalisches Würfelspiel (German for “musical dice game”) was a system for using dice to randomly generate music from precomposed options. While this is an example of an early piece of generative art, created in traditional manners, blockchain technology enables new opportunities for creation. Generative art can now be created by running a smart contract. A smart contract is code stored on a blockchain under a certain address. By sending crypto to this address, the smart contract is triggered, and the code stored under the address is executed automatically. A piece of generative art will then be created by the smart contract and stored on-chain in the form of an NFT directly owned by the wallet address that sends the crypto to run the smart contract.
Generative Art as NFTs
Today, the common process of creating generative art is by running a machine algorithm, no matter if it is created as an NFT or not. Minting a generative art NFT adds a level of uniqueness that could not have been reached before. This is achieved by including inputs to the piece of art such as wallet address, transaction ID or gas price. These parameters are then used to mint the NFT.
The resulting NFT piece of generative art differs from those art pieces created traditionally. There will always exist only one NFT with these exact parameters. Even if another art piece would be created that looks very similar, the parameters included in the NFT piece of generative art would always be different, and so each piece is truly unique. That said, it is valid to question how the created NFT can be something “special” if the same algorithm could be run millions of times and create NFTs that eventually all look similar, even if they are not identical. But this is an advantage of NFT generative art: a supply cap can be implemented right from the beginning.
Traditionally, the art market has evolved to be exclusive with high entry barriers due to the necessary knowledge and investment size required. The trend towards generative NFT art opens the art market and enables inclusion for people outside of the art scene and with lower investment budgets. This has also been recognized by big players of the art world and thus, auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s put NFTs on their agenda and started curated NFT auctions.
The value of generative art is based on an interplay between embedded attributes with varying degrees of programmatic rarity and how those elements come together in a way that is visually aesthetic and pleasing to the collector. Although the programmatic characteristics add quantifiable metrics that can be used to assist in the valuation of the NFT, generative art pieces still have an element of subjectivity driving demand.
AI-Generated NFTs
Art made entirely by artificial intelligence has been branded as the next big thing and is slowly grabbing the attention of art enthusiasts and NFT collectors all around the world. A collection of NFTs created by a robot artist named Botto sold for over $1.1 million in 2021 and projects like the AI Art House feature generative art NFTs that so closely resembles the likes of Monet, Mondrian and van Gogh that you would be forgiven to mistake them for long lost art pieces by past masters.
AI-generated art is able to produce one of a kind pieces that push the limits of exploration and creativity beyond human touch. Artificial intelligence is commonly understood to be the ability by a non-human model or machine to solve sophisticated tasks and perform human-like cognitive functions such as learning, problem solving, reasoning, and perceiving. When it comes to art, the concept is based on the idea that machine learning algorithms are capable of producing original images when adequately trained using a vast amount of image data using a technology called General Adversarial Networks (GANs). Similar to a painter who has taken years to perfect their craft, AI is also able to learn from endless hours of training and become able to generate images that have never been drawn before.
How this actually works in real life is simple: in order to create a new piece of art, a human artist can simply enter keywords or sentences into an artificially intelligent model that will then use algorithms to analyze millions of works of art and produce its own images as a visual interpretation or representation of the original text. That is the framework behind a tool called Eponym, developed by art platform Art AI, which leverages text-to-art in order to develop AI-generated NFTs. The developer has explained that its algorithms are inspired by “a vast collection of art from throughout history” and that the AI draws inspiration from being exposed to different art genres, periods, subjects and styles to create NFTs from scratch, each with their own distinct style. The result is, according to the developer, otherworldly images of novel styles and contents.
This way, users can easily create a new abstract art piece based on the text they choose and mint it directly to OpenSea. Moreover, single words can only be used once, meaning there will never be two NFTs based on the same text. Eponym allows human touch to be combined with AI algorithms, which has led to some mind-blowing art. And taking it even a step further, a Gen 2 collection of NFTs now allows minters to give sets of instructions to the AI system, including emotions, color schemes, visual styles, and more.
The adoption of AI generative features by artists has been hailed as a new era in art, where the combination of human imagination and AI art based on input text has extended the possibilities of art itself to unknown and yet exciting depths.
Top Generative Art NFT Projects
Developments in the medium and technology have allowed pieces to become more visually complex and appealing, while bringing to life new art genres that human artists have yet to imagine. As the saying goes, art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation, but here are some generative art NFT projects that may catch your eye:
1- Art Blocks
One of the most successful NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain, Art Blocks is in a class of its own when it comes to active generative art projects. Founded by Snowfro, the platform is built around its Art Node smart contract that allows collectors to mint tokens containing a unique hash string. The thrill of the unknown is part of its appeal as collectors don’t know exactly what their piece will look like until after it has been minted. Art Blocks is the digital platform that produces, sells and stores on-demand generative art, though some people will refer to the art itself as Art Blocks.
Art Blocks incorporate an element of surprise where the end user never knows how their piece will turn out
You can browse the website exactly as though you were online shopping for a piece of art for your living room. If you find something you like, you can buy it, but instead of being sent a replica of what you chose, an algorithm goes to work making tweaks to the formula, and produces a one-of-a-kind piece in that style just for you. The result is a digital piece of art, which can be anything from an experience, 3-D rendering or cartoon, that can never be copied.
There are three categories of art on the Art Blocks platform: Curated, Playground, and Factory. The Curated section are works chosen by the Art Blocks team as an exemplification of the high level of creativity and execution possible in crypto art. Playground is a space for experimentation and for curated artists to explore what is next for their projects. Individual projects are not vetted by Art Blocks but the artists have been vetted to ensure high quality. The Factory is a sort of anything-goes space. Any artist can submit their pieces to be a part of the Factory and Art Blocks will check to make sure it is functional and not a copy before the piece is published.
Some notable Art Block projects and artists include:
Chromie Squiggles — by Snowfro
Chromie Squiggle #13
Chromie Squiggles was the first-ever collection to be published and minted on Art Blocks. The project is designed by platform founder Snowfro himself. He considers them to “embody the soul of the Art Blocks platform,” and claims they are each his “personal signature as an artist, developer, and tinkerer.” In 2021, a pair of pieces from this collection resold for $4 million.
Fidenza — by Tyler Hobbs
Fidenza #313
Tyler Hobbs’ colorful project Fidenza is impressive for its ability to generate individual pieces that look incredibly different from one another in color, texture, shape and more. In Hobbs’ own words: “Fidenza is by far my most versatile algorithm to date.” Work from this project has sold for more than $3 million.
Ringers — by Dmitri Cherniak
Ringers #109
Ringers features art based on the concept of wrapping a string around a set of pegs. The project uses few colors: black, white and yellow primarily. Cherniak describes the inspiration for his work as “an almost infinite number of ways to wrap a string around a set of pegs. On the surface it may seem like a simple concept but prepare to be surprised and delighted at the variety of combinations the algorithm can produce.” Ringer #109 sold for an astounding $7 million in 2021.
2 – Autoglyphs
Autoglyphs are created using generative algorithms and each artwork is wrapped as an NFT token that contains the original data of the work. The art is inside the smart contract and stored permanently on the Ethereum blockchain. This completely self-contained mechanism for the creation and ownership of artwork earned Autoglyphs recognition as the first “on-chain” generative art project.
Autoglyphs
Founded in 2019 by the same Larva Labs technologists behind CryptoPunks, the glyphs were originally minted by anyone who was willing to donate the creation fee of 0.2ETH (around $35 at the time) to 350.org, a charity that combats climate change and promotes clean and renewable energies. The creator of each glyph became the first owner of that glyph. After 512 glyphs were created, the generator shut itself off forever and the glyphs are now only available on the secondary market.
Autoglyphs had no human interference in the generation of the artwork. Created entirely by the algorithm to produce ASCII artwork, the project supercharged the NFT industry by becoming the first-ever generative art project on the blockchain and paving the way for the generative art boom today.
3 – Eponym
Eponym is the world’s first and largest collectively created NFT art collection. Developed by Art AI which is the world’s largest gallery of AI generated art, this text-to-art generation relies on algorithms that personalize generative art and that assists users in creating NFTs based on phrases or words of their choice.
Generate personalized art based own your choice of phrases and words
Each submission to the minting site takes about a minute to load, but once the AI had completed, you are greeted by a new and unique work of art. Results range from highly abstract, to landscapes and portraits, all depending on the text prompts. Phrases of action creates chaotic representations, locations often produces landscapes with scenery similar to that of its real world appearance, and portraits are mainly born from names of people.
These machine-made artworks represented the project title well, as an eponym is a person for which something is named. In essence, what the team had created was a system where the collector provides the words, or eponym, and is returned a computer generated artistic interpretation bred directly from the AI’s general understanding of the phrase.
The most notable part of the project is that you are able to refresh the algorithm and ask for a new representation of the word or phrase that the creation was born from! This expands the possibilities from one single depiction of a prompt to an endless number, as you could keep rolling until you find the Eponym you want to mint. Once art is rerolled, it would never exist again. The simple permission to allow for a redo opened the door for the collector to have an equal role in the creation alongside the artificial intelligence.
Conclusion: Generating A New Era of Art Appreciation
The generative art NFT movement is leading to greater appreciation of art and inclusion on a global scale. The traditional art world has notoriously become an exclusive club and investment class for the ultra-wealthy to speculate on and flip for profit, or perhaps more nefariously, to launder money or engage in tax evasion.
Although the generative art NFT market may be flooded with euphoric sentiment, early adopters of the movement believe it is ushering in a new digital Renaissance that will enable artists and computer scientists to reach a global audience and experiment with a new medium that is engaging collectors on a deeply emotional level.
Ultimately, the forms and types of art that are produced and highly coveted signals the fundamental values of a society. This is apparent in the values of community-building, inclusion, and mimetic culture. Generative art NFTs have surpassed the traditional art market in its ability to draw attention and capture the imagination of a global audience. (vallartainfo.com) The NFT art community has accomplished this by building an internet-native global community of avid fans, creators, and collectors that do not take themselves too seriously and prioritize fun and connection over physical material possessions.
Despite the tremendous growth of the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry, it still faces a key problem – the liquidity of operations due to the lack of licensing and market makers in the industry. IX Swap ($IXS) provides a solution through regulatory compliant liquidity pools, automated market making functions for security tokens (STO), tokenized stocks (TSO), and fractionalized NFTs (fNFTs).
By using blockchain technology to build liquidity and infrastructure solutions for their security token ecosystem, IX Swap is able to provide global trading and access to this untapped asset class. The platform will be the first bridge between decentralized finance (DeFi) and centralized finance (CeFi) to facilitate trading of security tokens through licensed custodians and security brokers which will provide actual ownership and claim over these real world assets.
The Security Token: A DeFi Solution For Crowdfunding
Capital raising has evolved rapidly over the years, originating from traditional stock markets in Wall Street. It then moved onto less conventional methods, such as crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, which is a different evolution of the same concept.
One of the newer and more creative innovations in the ever-evolving landscape of capital markets and crowdfunding was derived from the birth of Bitcoin and Ethereum. These innovations allowed blockchain enabled technology platforms to develop ecosystems where tokens were minted – to provide some sort of utility, or just a pure token for their native platform. Such initial coin offerings (ICOs) enabled entrepreneurs to raise money globally from potential users of their products while simultaneously achieving market fit.
This phenomenon created a new wave of funding into the markets as companies were able to raise millions overnight with a theoretical “whitepaper” with little to no development done on the project. In this overnight, unregulated industry, funding became cheaper and easier compared to raising money through the traditional debt/equity markets.
It also attracted sharks that sensed an opportunity to abuse the easy money and lack of regulations. By the end of 2017, the number of ICO scams had increased exponentially, with 80% of ICOs being scams. This led to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to step in and take a more active stance towards the industry, targeting companies that the SEC deemed as securities rather than utility tokens.
As regulatory scrutiny began to rise, security token offerings (STO) became the natural evolution of ICOs. Security tokens provide access to digital asset markets while still adhering to regulatory standards, making it the perfect fit for the digitization and tokenization of certain assets that may be deemed securities.
What is IX Swap?
By trading securities, you are trading a right of ownership or claim to an asset in the real world. Therefore, it is no surprise that security tokens and tokenized stocks are regulated assets. To deal with securities, a market maker requires licensing, strict regulation, and the right infrastructure to accommodate trading and the custody of these securities.
IX Swap meets all of these requirements, effectively solving the key liquidity problem. IX Swap achieves this by building a blockchain system with infrastructure designed for the STO and TSO (Tokenized Security Offering) ecosystems. The platform could be considered as the “Uniswap” that provides liquidity pools and automated market-making functions for securities.
Investors of securities will be able to contribute to the ecosystem and issuers of securities will be able to create their own liquidity pools.
IX Swap Features
Some of IX Swap’s main advantages and solutions include:
Security — By leveraging blockchain technology, IX Swap is able to provide security and transparency
Liquidity pools for tokens/TSO — Holders of STO/TSO tokens will be able to extract liquidity legally for the first time
Unique platform — IX Swap is DeFi’s first market-making solution built specifically for STO and tokenized stocks
Lending — Users will be able to lend their idle assets to earn passive income
Licensed partners — IX Swap has partnered with licensed intermediaries to address the nuances of the securities
Reduced fees — Reduced fees compared to 1–2% charged by banks for private asset investments
Mining and staking — Holders have the option to earn and grow the value of their assets through liquidity mining and staking
IL Insurance — IX Swap has been structured to include an impermanent loss (IL) insurance mechanism to reduce the effect of IL on liquidity providers
Fractionalized NFTs on IX Swap
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on the blockchain that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files. The substantial rise in value of many NFTs have given way to the concept of fractionalization. Fractionalized NFTs (fNFT) allow smaller investors to pool resources to purchase fractional interests of an NFT.
IX Swap will soon allow users to bid and purchase fractionalized NFTs on its platform. According to their roadmap, they plan to roll out this feature in Q2 of 2022.
Fractionalization provides many advantages for owners, including:
Retained ownership while freeing up liquidity
Curated fees from fractionalization
Access to a larger audience as more investors would have access to a singular NFT
Increased utility for NFT through DeFi applications
Positive price correlation through fractionalization
Lower floor prices for new NFT investors
Fractionalization also brings benefits for investors, such as:
The ability to purchase a fraction of an NFT that would otherwise be too costly for 100% ownership
DeFi applications to generate additional yield from holding NFTs
Greater liquidity and trading platforms to realize gains from the fractionalized NFTs
Portfolio diversification through multiple fractional investments
There has been significant debate in recent times surrounding the classification of NFTs and if they are securities. OpenSea, one of the worlds largest NFT marketplaces, put a freeze on trading for a project called DAO Turtles given the uncertainty whether these assets were securities.
According to Chris Donovan, the Head of Legal at UK VC Outlier Ventures, NFTs can be considered securities under certain circumstances — with one of those circumstances being fractionalized NFTs “embodying rights to royalties,” or sold with the promise of future liquidity and continued services from the issuer.
By purchasing fractionalized NFTs through IX Swap, owners and investors can rest easy in the event that these assets are deemed securities thanks to the regulations within the platform.
STO vs NFT: What are the differences?
Due to the similarities in their characteristics, STOs are constantly being compared to NFTs, and the comparison is justified. STOs and NFTs are both vehicles that provide proof of ownership of an asset, only presented in different ways.
The concept behind STOs is relatively simple. Unlike ICOs, where the token is considered a currency or a means of utility, STOs are securities and are regulated assets by government authorities. Herein also lies the key difference between STOs and NFTs: STOs are regulated assets, whereas, for NFTs, they are still unregulated despite having similar ownership rights over an asset.
The determination of whether an NFT is a security is generally based on the characteristics of the NFT and may differ. For example, you might have a piece of art that you have collected to appreciate the artwork; this NFT would not be classified as a security. However, an NFT that provides ownership over a financial asset or even a house — would definitely classify as a security and would technically be classified as a security token.
There is no right and wrong to which structure is better, as both STO and NFT structures are excellent in their own rights and are highly innovative solutions to represent ownership over an asset.
$IXS Token
The IX Swap ($IXS) token is the native cryptocurrency and utility token for the IX Swap platform and will be freely traded on cryptocurrency platforms. Utilities for the token include:
Staking $IXS tokens for a fixed income percentage on the IX Swap platform;
Staking $IXS in liquidity pools to receive a portion of the pool profits;
Staking $IXS on the platform will provide voting and governance functionalities for the IX Swap platform;
$IXS is the native payment token on IX Swap’s first broker/dealer partner platform, InvestaX; and
$IXS token holders get priority access to new primary STO listings.
IXS will be distributed as incentive rewards to ecosystem contributors. IXS paired pools will have boosted returns over non-IXS paired pools. The IXS tokens also have a distinct deflationary economics function to ensure value is created for token holders the more the platform is used.
IXS token’s deflationary tokenomics:
5% of fees will be sent to a permanently locked vault reducing the overall token supply
5% of fees will also be sent to a vault to purchase IXS tokens; and
Rewards earned on the platform will be distributed over time to ensure token inflation is reduced.
Conclusion
STOs are bridging the gap between traditional money markets and the new era of digital currencies by tokenizing traditional investment types, such as stocks, bonds and commodities. Tokenization of an asset is among one of the most powerful ways to express and manage an asset, where it is represented directly on the blockchain in the form of a token.
IX Swap solves the liquidity problem for secondary trading of STOs that is both algorithmic driven and allows for anyone to participate in the allocation of market making capital, and therefore benefit from the subsequent fees of being a liquidity provider. This DeFi solution will bring in a new wave of liquidity to STO trading and solve a key industry problem. (Zolpidem)
FAQs
What is IX Swap?
IX Swap is the world’s first liquidity pool and automated market maker (AMM) provider for security tokens, tokenized stocks, and fractionalized non-fungible tokens.
What is a liquidity pool?
A liquidity pool in cryptocurrency markets is a smart contract where tokens are locked for the purpose of providing liquidity for trades.
What is an automated market maker (AMM)?
An AMM is a type of decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol that relies on a mathematical formula to price assets using blockchains and smart contracts. Instead of using an order book like a traditional exchange, assets are priced according to a pricing algorithm. Any investor can participate in the DeFi liquidity pools and earn fees as a benefit.
What is a security token?
Security tokens are tokenized securities. They are digital forms of traditional securities that live on a blockchain. These tokens could represent ownership of a fraction of any valuable asset, like a car, real estate, or corporate stock.
What are tokenized stocks?
Tokenized stocks are tokenized derivatives that represent traditional securities, particularly shares in publicly traded firms on regulated exchanges.
What are fractionalized NFTs?
Fractionalized NFTs are NFTs split into smaller pieces by their original owner. Fractionalized NFTs enable investors to own part of an NFT that would otherwise be unaffordable. It also enables the owner to release some of the value in their NFT without selling it fully.
Generally speaking, creating strong passwords and protecting those passwords from being found out is a user’s key tenant in their own protection online when using certain services. But creating complex enough passwords that are difficult to guess or hack with a dictionary attack often leaves a bunch of passwords for each service that’s difficult to even remember.
You could write it down, but that could be found out. And while browsers like Google Chrome do come with their own password managers, that does leave all your passwords behind one single password that is probably just as vulnerable as any others.
Password security is particularly important for crypto enthusiasts and traders, who deal with hackers and infiltrations on a far more regular basis than regular internet users, because there’s literally money to be gained by these bad forces and stolen funds are extremely difficult to recover. There are a lot more hackers out there, and a lot of times where cryptocurrency and other digital assets get stolen.
So with that in mind, a slew of password managing services have become available in the market over the years to aid users with this specific security issue. Let us look at some of the most popular ones in the market right now. (https://duckysonline.com/)
1- Yubikey
Check out our video: YubiKey Review and Guide for a full look at how to use the YubiKey and all its features. You can also check out our article Yubico’s YubiKey: Review and Guide for a step by step written guide on how to use it. Also, check out our YubiKey Review and Guide for a full look at how to use the YubiKey and all its features:
YubiKey Review and Guide
Pros:
Fundamentally, the YubiKey has the same advantages of having a literal physical key for a physical vault. It’s a physical object, so in order to login and configure the account of an online service, the actual YubiKey must be used to deliver the necessary passwords it provides.
This already makes the usage of hardware authenticators like YubiKey very hard to hack, which is why Google and Facebook use them to secure employee and user accounts.
Yubikey, like all hardware authenticators, essentially allow two factor authentication (2FA) to be used safer and more conveniently, because it can produce one time passwords (OTP) you don’t have to create yourself or remember and enter them for you. So not only is it safer, but it’s also very convenient – two advantages that don’t usually coincide.
Physical hardware authentication devices are particularly good at avoiding the kind of hacks seen in Coinbase and USD1mil crypto heist last year, where SMS-based 2FA codes were hacked using SIM swapping.
It’s easy to set up as well as use and provides a strong layer of security for the services it protects. Just plug it in, follow the prompts on the service that you’re using (assuming it is supported), press the key and it’s set.
For crypto exchanges such as Binance, password keys like the YubiKey can be set to lock withdrawals, logins and password resets individually. What this means is that even if someone were to hack into the account, the individual actions a hacker could do inside is also locked away and needs the YubiKey to access them.
Cons:
Its greatest strength is also perhaps its biggest weakness. Physical objects used for security can still be damaged, left behind in a rush by accident or even lost. And losing a YubiKey can involve some incredibly tedious solutions, so be forewarned. On top of that, some might find the need to carry one around a minor inconvenience, particularly if they do exchanges in different locations.
Another issue that needs to be addressed is that some crypto exchanges might not support YubiKey, particularly for mobile users. So it’s important to check for support before purchasing one. For mobile power users, this makes the YubiKey models with USB-C and Lightning connectors somewhat useless, even if USB-C models are still useful on certain laptops like MacBooks.
One minor issue was discovered by the people at Zapier who kept triggering their YubiKey’s when accidentally touching them, resulting in a secured code being entered into whatever textbox you have open at the time. It’s happened so often on Slack, that Zapier has decided to run with the joke and made a custom Slack emoji. Most hackers won’t know what to do with this sudden burst of password code getting posted on a chat, but it’s not a habit many would encourage, and they do provide a means to make the press less sensitive.
And like many password managing solutions, this won’t stop hackers from getting into your account if the exchange itself is not secure.
Using the Trezor physical wallet as a password manager is somewhat similar to using the YubiKey, but takes the process of securing passwords one level higher. Physical wallets like Trezor and Ledger are cold wallets because they confirm transactions within themselves before they are made, and while you compromise convenience and speed using them, they are by their very nature far more secure.
And by virtue of how it works, Trezor can essentially save an unlimited amount of passwords too.
One noted advantage The Trezor might have over the YubiKey is that so long as you know your seed key, losing a Trezor and getting a replacement is far more straightforward. It is a series of words between 12 and 24 words long using the BIP39 format, and using it in one physical wallet that supports it basically replicates that wallet in another device, restoring your passwords and addresses.
Cons:
It’s important to note that while using a Trezor as a password manager, it’s main focus is as a physical wallet. Getting one as just a password manager is a bit overkill considering the prices they go for. It must also be pointed out that this is still a physical device that can be lost or damaged, and replacing one is still kind of pricey as well.
On top of that, the seed key is fundamentally the wallet’s identity and is often targeted by hackers. The same convenience that allows a Trezor to be replaced with a seed key, also means anybody else that has it can replicate yours too and steal your assets, if you’re not careful.
It is therefore incredibly risky to keep online, so it must also be written down or inscribed on a physical medium of some kind. Paper is typically not encouraged, but there are metal alternatives that are far more durable and secure. Again, these can be damaged, lost or stolen if you’re not careful too.
If you have multiple physical wallets (and some traders do, for diversification and security purposes), you can use a single physical wallet to store the multiple subordinate sed keys, but this can also lead to a recursive rabbit hole of problems, where compromising of the “prime” key jeopardises the other “subordinate” keys, even if the later is now incredibly secure.
But to be fair, if you do trade large amounts of capital and you are concerned about hackers, then maybe getting a physical wallet like the Trezor is not a bad investment, and if they are valuable, most people know to treat them as such and secure them well. Plus you get to reap the perk of having a physical authentication device that supports far more kinds of cryptocurrency than the YubiKey.
3- LastPass
Pros:
Lauched in 2008, LastPass is well-known among cyber-experts and is among the most feature-rich password protectors available. It has multi factor authentication as well as browsers and is easy to use. The free version is also pretty decent but has its own limitations as we’ll get to below.
LastPass also uses 256-bit AES encryption to scramble your passwords, allowing a zero-knowledge policy within the company. It also allows users to use it in an offline mode, which is a rare trait in online password managers.
The product is also very highly rated across the board for its incredibly feature rich paid-version and is generally considered affordable for what it can do, with Forbes, CNET and manyothertechsites.
One the one hand, this could be a little worrying. Even if no passwords seemed to be compromised, the idea that they could have been is a little nerve-racking. But on the other hand, LastPass seems to be on the ball with regards to making sure users are well-informed and that their product is constantly patched and reinforced.
LastPass will also lock you into the country that you’re in, but you can add more countries into your permissions as needed. Or you could get around that issue and use a VPN.
LastPass’ free version has seen what might be seen as a huge downgrade as of last year after it was limited to only one device per user. People already on LastPass’ free version before found this change worthswapping to another manager altogether. For newer users looking to just secure one device, this isn’t really an issue but most password manager users would rather their manager work across several platforms.
4- KeePass
Pros:
At first glance, this doesn’t look like a very impressive password manager. The installation is a bit confusing and the application itself isn’t very stylish or intuitive.
It is however open-source and free (barring the modest demand for donations), and while the former seems frivolous to the end user and the later not all that important to crypto-enthusiasts who are looking to protect fairly large amounts of capital from hackers, they matter for two crucial reasons
Firstly, its open-source nature allows anyone to create a startling myriad of plug-ins and customisations. This almost DIY nature of KeePass allows a savvy-enough user to modify KeePass in almost whatever way they want. On top of that, it could be argued that open-source software allows more experts to scrutinise it and its flaws (assuming a sizable-enough enthusiast community, which KeePass has).
Secondly, that it is free makes it an incredible password management solution for tech-savvy individuals, tech businesses or organisations that are cash-strapped but have the skills to utilise KeePass to its fullest potential. Staying free factor turned out to be quite an important factor, as LastPass’ changing its terms on its free users showed.
On top of that, various versions of KeePass (that was originally meant to run on desktops and laptops) have come about to provide for platforms it wasn’t originally designed for, such as for iPhone and Android.
Cons:
KeyPass’ incredibly customisable, almost DIY nature also reflects the fact that on its own, it is a very bare password manager and probably alienating to a user who isn’t particularly tech-savvy or wants to do the extensive customization to provide features its other rivals have out of the box.
The necessity for its over 100 plugins to provide the convenience most other solutions have right out the box is going to turn off people who want to simply get the solutions over and done with. Its interface is not intuitive and there is no official tech-support.
On top of that, you must choose which database to store your encrypted passwords, because it does not have cloud-based storage for them built in. It is possible to have KeePass store it on detachable storage, such as a thumbdrive, but again, that must be opted. This does make it more secure, but if the storage device is stolen, you lose access to all your devices.
5- BitWarden
Pros:
Inmanyreviewseitherabout, including or just mentioning Bitwarden, the positives of its free version are often contrasted to LastPass’ own ever since the later changed its free version’s service terms to only sync between either personal computers or mobile devices, almost to suggest that Bitwarden has dethroned LastPass among free app users.
And it’s hard to deny that it has earned its reputation as one of the best open-source free password managers out there.
Bitwarden provides multi-factor authentication via authenticator apps, and is secured with AES-256 encryption, which is then hashed with SHA-256. You can even host all your passwords on your own server for added security. Bitwarden also allows you to create and share passwords and audit password usage. It also auto-fills passwords and their credentials in one go, though this can malfunction on certain sites. And all synch via an unlimited amount of devices.
That’s not to say that it’s affordable paid version doesn’t get much better, with support added for YubiKey, U2F, and Duo, 1GB encrypted data vault storage, vault health reports, a time-based OTP authenticator and generator and even priority customer support.
Its creators too have had a sterling reputation for transparency, having gone through a third-party audit by Insight Risk Consulting as well as German cybersecurity team Cure53, while its source code is available for anyone on Github to examine. It has even a bug-bounty on vulnerability coordination platform Hackerone.
Cons:
Like its open-source counterpart KeePass to an extent, Bitwarden does suffer from a lack of an intuitive interface and its true capability requires some expertise to extract via plugins. But generally speaking, it’s an incredibly difficult password manager to fault for most reasonably experienced users.
6- Keeper
Pros:
Its introduction is fairly intuitive and quite helpful, walking you through the setup process step-by-step from a warning about browser-based password managers to password imports, and then an installation of web plugins, a tour of its features and the introduction of multi-factor authentication.
Keeper can be used via a web-app, but the actual desktop app allows for biometric logins and an offline mode. Keeper also has a series of other add-on features that you can pay for (or opt out from), such as encrypted file storage, secure messaging and dark web monitoring. Overall, it’s a well-priced, intuitive and easy to use password manager with rather good support for businesses.
In terms of security, Keeper is quite strong, having third party audits, compliance with ISO 27001 information security management system standards, the US Department of Commerce and the European Commission’s Privacy Shield framework and even has an internal bug-bounty programme.
One possible vulnerability is that Keeper doesn’t fully automate password updates. When it detects a password-change page, it offers to update and save a stronger password. Your passwords exist for a certain time on Keeper’s company servers – unconducive to the zero-knowledge test.
7- 1Password
Pros:
It’s one of the best password managers available on the market right now, priced similarly to LastPass for its standard version, which allows unlimited passwords across unlimited devices, and is offered in a variety of packages suited for their intended demographics too. This allows
It has the sort of features you expect from a good password manager of this range, such as 256-AES encryption, a zero-knowledge policy, two factor authentication, password strengthening and good browser extensions.On top of that, it has straight-forward security recommendations and an easy to use interface.
One is being able to make multiple password vaults that you can organise for different purposes. On family and business plans, you can set up sharing settings with other users that are unique to each vault. On business plans specifically, administrators can remotely configure these settings for team members.
When in travel mode, it hides all password vaults and only shows the ones deemed safe for travel, and gives no indication that the mode is on, which is good if someone wants to keep sensitive information secret, particularly if a device is stolen. Such vault information might include form fills, passwords, secure documents and credit card information.
It will also tell you if your passwords are weak, or if you’ve been reusing them for different services, and has a simple-to-use feature that wipes clipboards to remove sensitive data after a timer is set.
1Passworld can also create an Emergency Kit – a PDF with your account email, Secret Key, and a place for you to write down your master password. It offers peace of mind in case you lose some valuable bit of data and can’t gain access to your passwords.
Cons:
There are some minor concerns, though. 1Password’s browser extensions can’t be used to add passwords or edit them, and while it will tell you if your passwords are weak, it won’t insist they get stronger with special characters, which is odd.
Only1 ($LIKE) is the first NFT-powered social platform built on the Solana blockchain. Mixing social media, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, a scalable blockchain, and the native token — $LIKE, Only1 offers fans a unique way of connecting with the creators they love. By using the Only1 platform, fans will have the ability to invest, access, and earn from the limited edition contents created by the world’s largest influencers/celebrities, all powered by NFTs.
The ultimate goal of Only1 of revamping and innovating social media could have far reaching effects. At a time when major platforms like Facebook have rebranded with an aim at crypto, the power of content creators and users is ever more apparent. Where creators choose to upload content and where users flock to consume plays a major role.
Issues with Traditional Social Media
Unfair Creator Economy
On centralized social platforms, advertisers pay the platform for user’s attention. On decentralized social platforms, platforms pay users for their attention. Creator economy is the incentivisation structure for user-generated content. Content creators on Youtube are under constant pressure of censorship and demonetisation, while creators on platforms like Instagram and TikTok often have to rely on third parties (affiliate links, merchandise sale, paid shoutouts etc) to generate income. For a lot of the creators, social media is their full time job and their reward should be determined by their content and engagement with their fans.
Data Exploitation
Traditional social media platforms provide end users with free services in exchange for their personal data. As the saying goes, “If you are not paying for the product, you are the product”. According to Clario, major social media apps collect up to 79.5% of personal data from users, including but not limited to name, addresses down to hobbies and interests. Let’s take the example of Facebook (recently renamed as Meta). Facebook with over 2.89 billion monthly active users is the most popular social media worldwide. With an audience base this big, there is no surprise that 98% of Facebook’s revenue is generated through advertising. Since these platforms own and store data in one single place, they can effectively manage and monetize through selling user data to third parties for marketing purposes. End users have no control over who Facebook sells their data to and how these purchasers use their data.
Algorithms & Authoritarian Control
Discovery algorithms are built with parameters to prioritize commercialisation of the corporation and sometimes to serve some political agendas. For example, certain cartoons are banned in some countries for political reasons. China because they resemble a political figure. Also why show you a picture of your friend’s new Samoyed if they can show you a picture of an attractive person that will eventually convert you to buy the advertised into that fitness program advertisement? It is difficult to balance freedom of expression and safety of the community, it is for sure too big a power and responsibility for one corporation. The future of social platforms are looking at becoming decentralized and is community-governed.
Key Components of a Decentralized Social Platform
Fair Creator Economy
A decentralized finance (DeFi) or SocialFi structure that pays content creators for being active on social media and providing value to the audience, instead of ad companies that pay the platform.
Social DAO Governance
A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that regulates community guidelines and platform development balancing safety of the community on the platform, and freedom of expression. Users curate and execute community guidelines and development. Not one single entity can deem specific content inappropriate, and actions are carried out if consensus is reached between the network.
Ads & Discovery
Optimized for users instead of platform, without leaking user data to third parties.
What is an NFT-Powered Social Platform?
Instead of solely focusing on NFTs, social NFT platforms allow influencers to create content, share it with their audience, and get rewarded based on engagement. Users can create NFTs and allow their fans to engage, access, and earn through collecting these NFTs. Only1 provides a decentralized NFT-powered social platform for creators and fans to interact.
What is NFT staking?
Blockchains depend heavily on their global network of transaction validators who authenticate transactions before the data gets added to a block on a blockchain. These validators (or miners) are decided based on the amount of cryptocurrency they pledge towards the operation of the blockchain network. In return, miners earn rewards in the form of the native cryptocurrency for devoting resources. This model of pledging crypto assets is called the ‘Proof-of-Stake’ model, and the process is called ‘staking’.
Similarly, you can pledge NFTs to support a project while you earn passive income in terms of rewards or fees for dedicating the asset to a blockchain. Currently, most of the NFT staking opportunities are in play-to-earn (P2E) gaming platforms such as Decentraland, Sandbox, Axie Infinity, among others. All you need to stake is a cryptocurrency wallet with NFTs.
Over 50 percent of the NFT market is attributable to in-game NFTs, which players can buy using cryptocurrencies. Axie Infinity, for example, has garnered a sales volume of over $2 billion since its launch in 2018.
However, it is important to note that all NFTs cannot be staked. So you need to check the details before buying the NFT.
Features: What Makes Only1 Special?
The Only1 marketplace will consist of several different features that sets it apart from other NFT marketplaces. Some of these features include:
Creator Genesis NFT
Genesis NFT Minting
A genesis NFT is minted once a creator passes KYC
Creators will then be able to mint their own Content NFTs for their fans and receive $LIKE, or native token, as a reward for engagement
Fans Bid with $LIKE
Fans can utilize $LIKE, or native platform token, to bid for a Star NFTs on the Only1 Marketplace
Genesis NFT Perks
Fans will have the ability to stake $LIKE on their favorite influencers profile
The Genesis NFT Owner as well as the creator will both earn a split of the staking rewards
Content NFT Farming
Creator Post Content
Creators have the ability to post exclusive content in form of an NFT
Fans bid on Only1 marketplace for NFT using the $LIKE Token
When an NFT is purchased a portion of the $LIKE tokens are burned
Community Unlock
Other fans unlock content with $LIKE, receive lottery tickets (weekly lucky draw)
Creator and Community Earns
Tx split between NFT owner and creator
Why Solana?
Only1 is built on the Solana blockchain for multiple reasons, including:
Solana has a flexible virtual machine which allows programs (known as smart contracts elsewhere) to be written in native languages such as Rust, C, and C++.
Solana’s infrastructure provides blazing fast speeds and no memory pool – providing the basis for global adoption of blockchain and/or distributed ledger technologies.
A transaction on-chain costs only a fraction of a cent (average of $0.00025 per transaction).
Solana truly achieves the three desirable qualities of any blockchain: scalability, security, and decentralization. With Solana, users on an NFT-powered social platform such as Only1, can enjoy all the benefits of Web3 at the speed of Web2.
$LIKE Token Economy
$LIKE is the native token of Only1 that powers the creator economy within the network. Some of the initial utility for the token include:
Bidding – Fans bid for NFTs on Only1 with $LIKE
Staking & Governance – Fans stake their $LIKE to earn more over time
Reward Pool – $LIKE rewarded to stars as new NFT is minted & resold
Donating – Fans can tip $LIKE to their favorite creators
Conclusion
Since the invention of the World Wide Web (WWW) by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989, the world has been revolutionized by this technology combining computers, data networks and hypertext.
The first iteration of the WWW evolution — Web 1.0 is a “read-only” web that enables users to search and consume information. The second iteration, although deemed as a “passing fad” by many, has flourished and brought the adoption of the internet to a whole new level. Web 2.0 as a “read-write” web, has extended its functionality to highlight user-generated content, usability and interoperability for end users.
As time goes by, many people have grown tired of the data exploitation that major corporations have taken advantage of and wanted to regain control over their data and content. This is where Web3 comes in; the Semantic “read-write-own” Web that revolves around decentralization and token-based economics. Rather than compromising personal data in exchange for free services, users can become participants and shareholders by earning on the blockchain network, which in return allows you to impact decision-making over a network.
Only1 fully embraces this revolution by proportionally rewarding creators and fans for simply using the platform. The goal is to support and foster the creator economy, not profit off of it. By combining social media, NFTs, DeFi and the native token $LIKE, Only1 offers a Web 3.0 solution to creator economy and fan engagement.
