Make sense of the news and how it affects the blockchain space as a whole. Crypto trends is a collection of relevant news and insights to help you make an informed decision.
All financial markets experience different cycles and market conditions. Since crypto asset prices also go through prolonged periods of bullish and bearish movements, the crypto market is no exception. The most dreaded market phase for crypto traders and investors is a declining or bearish phase, especially one that sustains itself for a long time.
General sentiments regarding the crypto and other financial markets are bleak during these periods, making many investors and crypto enthusiasts understandably worried. However, many traders still find ways to make money during unfavourable market conditions. To earn when the market is down, it is important to understand the concept of a bear market.
Check out our video comparing the crypto bear market in 2018 vs 2022, and how you can still profit during this period of downward price trends:
Table of Contents
What Is a Crypto Bear Market?
A bear or bearish market is a prolonged period characterized by falling prices of at least 20% across major crypto assets. Individual crypto assets may also be in a bear market if they experience a decline of 20% or more over an extended period. A bear market may occur due to widespread pessimism and negative market sentiment, as well as other internal or external factors. Additionally, a weak or slowing economy, pandemics, wars, and geopolitical crises are also characteristics that may cause a bear market.
7 Ways to Make Money and Profit in a Crypto Bear Market
Even when the market is in an overall downtrend, the blockchain and DeFi sector offers various ways for crypto traders and investors to still emerge profitable and victorious. Here are a few lucrative options that crypto investors and traders can utilize to make money and remain afloat in a bearish market phase.
Yield Farming
Yield Farming is a cryptocurrency investment method that allows investors to earn interest and rewards on their crypto assets. With yield farming, investors lend their crypto assets to DeFi platforms that hold these assets in a liquidity pool for a specified period. These pools provide liquidity to decentralized finance platforms that use the funds and ensure that the depositors earn some interest over time.
For those who are new, check out our video on the top yield farming mistakes all newbies make:
Crypto Staking
Staking is the process of earning rewards by locking up funds on a blockchain. Although similar to yield farming, this process does not use tokens for loans. Instead, Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains use staking to validate transactions on their networks.
Users who stake more tokens get higher priority to validate transactions and earn more funds. Earnings from asset staking vary between platforms and depend on the governance community in each case. Before getting involved in yield farming or staking, always do your own research and make sure the returns are sustainable, as many times, there are ludicrous and unsustainable offerings that result in users losing all of their funds.
Crypto Savings and Crypto Lending
Savings and lending are good ways to make passive income from crypto during a bear market. These methods involve storing assets on a platform to earn simple interest on the deposits. Traders should remember that potential earnings mainly depend on the amount stored. Again, do your own research before allocating any capital to these types of platforms.
Forks and Airdrops
Altcoin forks and airdrops are also effective ways to make money in a bear market. A fork happens when users vote to diverge a blockchain and form another due to a material disagreement. This process leads to an airdrop where holders of the old token get the new tokens to participate in the forked blockchain. Depending on the value of the forked token, users can earn quite a bit by simply holding newly acquired tokens. (Modafinil)
Margin Trading
One of the most common ways to make money in a down-trending market is margin trading. This method is simply the process of trading crypto assets with funds from brokers. Margin trading allows users to trade with more money than they have in their accounts, thereby increasing potential profit. Although margin trading is an effective way to earn in a bear market, this method is only recommended to experienced crypto traders, as you can lose the entirety of your initial capital if the market moves in the opposite direction of your call.
Analyze Smaller DeFi Projects
A new DeFi project may have a low valuation after launch, but show huge promise in the long run. Crypto enthusiasts who take the time to analyze and research these projects can likely find and profit from the right ones. Even in a bear market, crypto investors who get in early enough tend to make gains from the increase in the asset prices of these crypto projects.
Dollar-Cost Averaging
One of the most effective ways to thrive in a bear market is to buy the dip. With dollar-cost averaging, investors buy assets at consistent intervals and properly observe market conditions before reinvesting. Since the cryptocurrency market’s volatility is unpredictable, it is nearly impossible to predict the lowest point before a reversal. Hence, dollar-cost averaging helps investors maximize profits by allowing them to buy at low points before the market becomes bullish. You lower your risk by lowering your potential downside and upside, but also allocating capital in a way where you will not only hit peaks and troughs.
Next Steps
Any crypto market condition has potential for profitability if you know how to play it right. The above strategies can help even novice crypto traders earn when the market is bearish. However, traders should note that their preferred strategy should depend on their risk tolerance and portfolio size. Traders should also learn to study the market to ensure that the chosen method will be effective at a particular time.
Ethereum 2.0 is coming soon and the question everyone wants to know is “will it cause crypto prices to crash?” This is particularly as markets around the globe are not looking great, and that includes the crypto industry. Everything has been bleeding heavily for months without a sign of stopping, as central banks keep hiking rates, global supply chains struggle, and spending and investment dry up. Stagflation is a very real possibility, and there is no telling how long it will take for us to cool down the overheated markets that have been going only up since the last recession more than ten years ago.
The aforementioned notwithstanding, active development in the blockchain space continues to march forward. Although investments might drop significantly, many builders keep on building no matter the state of the markets. As Ethereum is steadily approaching the long-awaited transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), dubbed The Merge, it might be interesting to think about potential impacts of The Merge on the crypto market prices, especially in the context of a potential extended bear market.
In short, The Merge will result in Eth2.0’s Beacon chain (the coordination mechanism of the new network) merging with the current Ethereum mainnet, signifying the move to a fully PoS chain. To secure the network, enormous amounts of ETH will be staked in addition to the ETH already staked in the Beacon chain, making all of this locked ETH illiquid. Combined with the EIP-1559 upgrade, which now burns 70-80% of the fees, The Merge is expected to cause the equivalent of 3 bitcoin halvenings, dropping Ethereum’s inflation rate to 0.43% and locking up a lot of ETH, potentially reducing sell pressure by up to 90%. In addition, the PoS mechanism will reduce Ethereum’s energy consumption by up to 99.95%.
So all is looking great for Ethereum and projects building on top of it, right? Possibly. However, there is still a decent chance that, given the current market conditions, ETH’s price pump might be short-lived, and would continue to drop, bringing down a lot of other projects with it.
The Potential Impacts of The Merge
There are two possible scenarios to look at when discussing the downside impact of The Merge on crypto prices:
The external effect would be caused by Ethereum sucking out liquidity from other PoS alt-L1s and the projects built on top of them (especially if they’re EVM-compatible), as one of the more critical selling points compared to Ethereum is environmental sustainability.
Beacon chain staked ETH unlocks, extended bear market, and poor treasury management of Ethereum-backed projects could see more capitulation events as HODLers and projects sell off their ETH to stay afloat as new investments dry up and stagflation looms.
1. Ethereum Sucks Liquidity From Other PoS alt-L1’s
By offering lower gas fees, fast transactions, and relatively high throughput at the expense of decentralization and economic sustainability, many PoS chains have attracted developers, investors, and NFT ecosystems to their networks away from Ethereum. Ethereum’s high demand (=high fees), poor L1 scalability, and the concerning PoW mechanism have severely limited its growth. (https://rpdrlatino.com) Understandably, regular people simply do not want to pay exorbitant fees when minting and trading NFTs, and developing inaccessible dApps on a network that is supposedly destroying trees and warming up the planet.
The environmental argument will be completely invalid after the merge. Coupled with the enormous innovations in Ethereum’s L2 ecosystem, which have already reduced transaction fees to sub-$1 with no signs of stopping, Ethereum is set to once again become the most sought-after smart contract development platform. As post-Merge buy pressure of ETH increases and scalability improves, alt-L1’s could struggle to offer any significant unique selling points, making new projects opt to build on top of the most secure, established and decentralized smart contract chain out there.
As more and more people flock to Ethereum, established projects might also decide to migrate to the platform with the most demand and upside potential, effectively sucking out liquidity from other chains, and leaving them dry with evaporated treasuries, limited runway, and reduced demand. The strategy of subsidizing transaction fees during a bull market when funds are plentiful will likely not work when no new investments are coming in during a bear market, and an exodus of users is reducing demand and network revenues.
Of course, there is plenty of room for growth in this space, and projects existing on other chains might not find it too beneficial to move to Ethereum even though short-term liquidity issues might prove challenging.
2. Beacon Chain ETH Unlocks in Extended Bear Market Cause Mass Capitulation
The Merge will unlock a lot of ETH, resulting in a potential aggressive selling spree that might have trickle-down effects on a lot of other coins, especially those that have tight correlation with their ETH pair, are ERC-20 tokens, or have been sitting on ETH treasuries to fund their development. A lot more downside risk due to a selloff is also a very real possibility for ETH and other coins simply due to bad timing (i.e. bear market – with recession slowly creeping into our daily lives due to central banks raising interest rates, supply chain issues, energy crises etc.), the unlocked ETH might serve as a critical lifeline for those who had confidently staked their ETH during the bull market.
During the bear market, investments will be scarce, and projects that during the bull market had made the decision to not convert their treasury ETH to stablecoins are now seeing their wallets drop in value significantly, forcing them to capitulate by selling at low prices to cover their expenses.
However, it is important to note that the ETH unlocked from the ETH staked on the Beacon chain will not be immediately available right after The Merge. Rather, this feature – EIP-4895: “Beacon chain push withdrawals as operations”, will be enabled during the Shanghai upgrade. It will probably be deployed much later after The Merge, with estimates ranging from a month to 6 months. This means that any amount of potential sell-off of unlocked ETH would come with a significant delay post-Merge, at which point it’s impossible to predict where the market might be in 6-12 months and how it will behave, with contradicting bullish and bearish narratives clashing against one another in an attempt to drive price in either direction.
This option does seem a bit far-fetched, however, and no one knows how much more pain we will have to suffer before the momentum shifts towards the upside, so it’s best to be prepared for both the upside and downside, and not fall prey to only bullish narratives.
Conclusion
As outlined in the two main points, post-Merge many alt-L1 coins could face a risk of crashing even further due to risks associated with reduced liquidity in a bear market (for non-Ethereum coins), liquidity that might flow towards the Ethereum ecosystem due to its established security, track record, and newly acquired environmental sustainability.
On the other hand, ETH and other ERC-20 tokens living on Ethereum also run a risk of crashing, if the post-Merge ETH unlock from the Beacon chain results in a mass sell-off of ETH, which could crash other coins and project treasuries.
As this will be the first time the crypto industry experiences a recession or a stagflation, there is a lot of uncertainty about how low the market could go and, most importantly, how long it could stay so low. This is uncharted territory, so making comparisons with past cycles might not be particularly useful. Nations and companies will keep tightening their belts, and spending will significantly decrease across the board, leaving risk-on markets such as crypto vulnerable to a continued mass exodus to safer investments.
The crypto market, together with stock markets and the global economy in general, have been experiencing a significant drawdown for the past 6 months, leading to a confluence of factors ranging from high inflation, rate hikes, supply chain issues, energy crisis, to geopolitical instability. This combination packs a powerful punch for any risk-on markets, such as stocks and crypto, forcing retail and institutional investors to exit their capital from markets during these uncertain times.
With Bitcoin currently at $20k, down 70% from its $69k ATH, and the total altcoin marketcap being down 72% from its ATH, it is hard to deny that we’ve entered a bear market. But one question remains – is this anything like the bear market of 2018 and will it last equally as long as the previous one? Let’s dissect the situation and understand if this time is truly different, or if this is just a small bump in the road before an accelerated bull market.
Check out our video comparing the crypto bear market now (2022) and in 2018- and more importantly, how to STILL make money during this downturn:
2018 Bear Market
2017 saw the first true mass influx of retail interest into the crypto space. Bitcoin saw a rapid increase in price, everyone’s friend and grandma were kickstarting their own ICOs to attract funds, and regular companies added the blockchain keyword to their names to increase their share prices. 2017 was the wild west, as there was even less regulation than currently, and the space was rife with opportunists spawning scam projects to extract money from ignorant first-time crypto investors.
But, as with any bubble, it eventually pops. The crypto space was heavily overheated, with investors throwing money at everything that moved, doing minimal to no due diligence, just to get on the crypto hype train. Come 2018, things were starting to cool down and people were beginning to feel the pain. In less than 6 months after the peak ICO craze, over 90% of all the projects were already dead, with many more to go down with them in the rest of the 18-month long bear market.
At the peak of the market, a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) was beginning to circulate. Fear of regulation due to the prevalence of scams, and with China/Korea considering banning cryptocurrencies, things were not looking great for the crypto space. Right around the peak of the market, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched their Bitcoin futures product, which allowed institutional investors to get their hands dirty with Bitcoin. And, naturally, they did just that. With all of the FUD circulating and the market waiting to release a lot of pressure, institutions began shorting the market, creating an enormous sell pressure that brought BTC down to $7k, which kept grinding down to $3k till mid-2019.
2022 Bear Market
After Covid-19 hit, the market experienced a tiny two-month recession. As everyone was locked inside, demand dropped and supply shrunk as well. But once central banks began printing more money to help businesses and people via stimulus checks, many found themselves with a lot of extra cash and no way to spend it, so they turned to investing. After the March crash, the rest of 2020 saw the crypto market boom, calling it the “DeFi summer”, with BTC increasing in price by 400% by the end of the year. After that, it just kept on going. 2021 was the year of the NFTs and Metaverse, i.e. GameFi, with numerous projects sprouting up to capture some of the value amid all the hype.
After reaching its peak in November 2021, the crypto market has kept on steadily grinding down. Those who had called the peak in November aptly understood that the markets were overheated, inflation was starting to get out of hand, and the only way for governments to keep that under control was to begin quantitative tightening through rate hikes. Unfortunately, many were still in denial about the onset of the bear market way into April, which has resulted in a lot of people holding bags that might or might not recover.
Now the path forward seems clear. The US Federal Reserve’s hawkish monetary policy is causing markets a lot of necessary and unavoidable pain. Because the money printing since Covid-19 has been at such an unprecedented level, the Fed is finding it hard to slow down the inflation without causing a lot of damage. The result currently is a looming recession at the same time as inflation is still running rampant and driving up the prices of everything, all the while people’s incomes are stagnating and their expenses increasing.
When is the Next Bull Cycle?
At the moment, there are no clear signs of central banks reeling in their hawkish monetary policies. It might possibly take at least several months if not until the end of the year for the dust to settle, the bottom to come in, and for us to be ready for the next bull cycle once the Fed eases monetary restrictions. Continued geopolitical turbulence aside, the next bull cycle will certainly come, but it’s difficult to say what will be the narratives driving the rapid market expansion this time.
The two most touted bull market catalysts are the long-awaited Bitcoin spot ETF and the Ethereum Merge, which will cause the Ethereum network to transition from its wasteful Proof-of-Work mechanism to Proof-of-Stake. However, as is common in life and in markets, the most obvious things tend not to be the ones to catalyze huge changes. Markets are irrational, and a confluence of new narratives that will be born only in 6 months might very well end up triggering the next bull run.
How to Still Make Money During the Crypto Bear Market?
With great pain come great opportunities, and this bear market is no exception. This is the time for learning, accumulating, and paying attention to the market. In our latest video about the current bear market, we outline a few strategies that you can use as an investor to maximize upside potential come next bull run:
1) Dollar cost averaging (DCA) into your investments – instead of trying to catch the generational bottom and investing your whole capital in one go, better invest 20% of your capital at a time during a longer time period, so that way you are more likely to get a great average entry price and reap the profits in the future.
2) Doing lots of research – fundamental analysis of projects is the best way to ensure you invest in projects that have a real potential, and this is the time to be doing just that. Many projects will die during this bear market, so it’s important to source trustworthy information and be critical of everything in order to position yourself properly during the next stage of growth.
3) Diversify your portfolio – as we’ve seen in the past months, there’s no such thing as too big to fail in the crypto space. Instead of going all-in on one project, spreading risk across several projects will ensure your capital is better protected from a few bad investments.
4) Shorting the market – this should not be practiced by anyone who doesn’t have experience trading, as without proper risk management things can get pretty ugly very fast. During a downtrend, a way to make money is by shorting an asset, which essentially means you’re betting on an asset to go down in value.
Of course, none of this is financial advice, and we implore our readers to do their own research and never invest more than they are willing to lose. It’s a highly volatile market and not for the faint of heart.
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.
STEPN is the most popular move-to-earn blockchain game in the crypto market this year after some significant adoption by the market and big moves with other major exchanges and well-known sneaker brands.
Move-to-earn is a new way to earn money through gaming with the novelty that it rewards not only digital activity within a game or app, but also physical activity. In short, the more you move in the real world, the more you are rewarded in your digital app.
STEPN has been crushing it lately after surpassing 300K daily active users (DAUs), receiving a strategic investment from the venture capital arm of Binance, and launching a unique collection of NFT sneakers on Binance NFT marketplace in partnership with sports brand ASICS.
What is STEPN?
STEPN is a move-to-earn health and fitness app with game elements built on Solana. Users equipped with sneaker NFTs can run and walk outdoors to earn tokens and NFT rewards. The funds earned can either be used to increase earnings in the app or can be withdrawn and sold. The mobile app has a built-in wallet, swap, marketplace, and rental system that allows non-crypto users to onboard.
How does STEPN work?
Anybody can earn tokens and NFTs in STEPN by downloading an app, buying NFT sneakers, and completing various forms of exercise. Similar to how Bitcoin mining works, users in STEPN have to prove they have physically worked out, at the cost of their own time and energy. This is validated by the app’s anti-cheating mechanics using GPS and machine-learning technology.
The tokens and NFTs are then minted to users’ wallets from the people, not from the game developer FindSatoshi Lab, known for its work on cryptocurrency wallet Solwallet. In this way, people can trade their tokens and NFTs 100% peer-to-peer and over time. STEPN has created an ecosystem where the value of tokens and NFTs is based on supply and demand.
STEPN tokens: GMT and GST
There are two types of tokens available to players, GMT (total supply of 6 billion) and GST (unlimited supply). GMT is a management token that allows users to increase their income. GST is an in-game token that users receive for in-game activity.
To create a balanced token ecosystem, the developers have decided not to limit the GMT governance token earning to a small group of people. Instead, they have made GMT and GST broadly accessible to ensure balance in the mining of these two tokens.
Since many GameFi projects with a similar dual-token economy have tended not to thrive, the question is raised about whether GST, with its unlimited supply, will go into a death spiral. STEPN’s model addresses this by making GST earning irrelevant at a higher level. As people approach the higher levels, they are presented with the option to choose which token to earn, and they would naturally want to earn the limited supply of GMT.
This will get amplified over time as more GMT is burned and more GMT use cases are released. This should reduce the GST token supply enough to balance the token value. If too many people are mining GMT, they will earn less than what they can with GST, so they will switch to earning GST. This will reduce the competition for earning GMT, and, in turn, make GMT mining profitable again.
Getting started with STEPN
To get started with STEPN, you must first download the app to your smartphone via Google Play or Apple Store. Then, following the on-screen instructions, you will need to create an account and receive an activation code.
You will be able to use the app fully once you have purchased your NFT sneakers from the in-app STEPN shop. Choose your sneakers based on your abilities. Once you have purchased the sneakers, open the game and start walking or running. You will start earning immediately.
How to join STEPN: Step-by-step guide
1. Download the App
First, you have to install the app on your smartphone. Depending on the model of your phone, you can do this either from the App Store or from Google Play.
2. Create an Account
After launching the app, you will need to enter your email address, to which you will receive a registration confirmation code. Enter your email address and press the ‘Send Code’ button. A code will be sent to your email address, and you will need to enter it in the corresponding field.
3. Obtain Activation Code
You then need to obtain an app activation code. To obtain the activation code, register in the STEPN community on one of the official social networks. Choose the social network that suits you best (Twitter, Telegram, Discord, etc.) and proceed according to the on-screen prompts. An activation code can also be received from a friend via invitation or bought from another user.
Once you have received the activation code, the main app screen will open. Click on the ‘Get activation code’ button. After you have entered your activation code, the app will open and the tutorial will start. Several screens will explain to you how to use the app.
4. Create a Crypto Wallet
You then need to create a crypto wallet in the STEPN app. Click on the wallet image in the top-right corner of the app. This will start the process of creating a crypto wallet, which will take a couple of minutes. While creating the wallet, you will be shown a secret phrase that you need to write down and keep in a safe place. Once the crypto wallet has been created, you will be taken back to the main app screen.
5. Start the Game
In the top-right corner, the token column will show zeros. To start the game, you need to deposit Solana (SOL) tokens into the crypto wallet you just created, in the amount that will allow you to purchase an NFT in the form of a sneaker. SOL can be bought on almost any major CEX or DEX.
6. Buy NFT Sneakers
TIP: Before you buy sneakers in STEPN, open the app and run for 10 minutes in running mode without sneakers. This is so that you can find the right type of sneaker for you. NFT sneakers are purchased in the shop. After buying the sneakers, wait until 25% of the energy has accumulated (approximately 6 hours) and then start the game. You are now ready to move-to-earn!
Playing and Moving to Earn
STEPN currently has solo mode only, in which users receive GST tokens as a reward for moving in the real world. This consumes virtual energy at a rate of 1 unit per 5 minutes of movement. All of these processes are only triggered after the purchase of NFT trainers. If the energy is at zero, no tokens are earned.
GST tokens, and subsequently GMT, are paid out depending on the following factors:
The level and attributes of NFT sneakers – more efficient sneakers cost more. Up until Level 29, users can only earn GST, and from Level 30 onwards, they can switch to earning GMT if they wish.
Sneaker comfort parameter – the higher it is, the more tokens are earned every minute.
Running speed – it is necessary to maintain the recommended speed range for the sneaker. If you deviate too much from it, earnings will be reduced by up to 90%.
Marathon and background modes are set to be added later. Marathon mode will be an entirely new playstyle and is aimed for release towards the end of 2022. Background mode will be added when the STEPN team feels the time is right to approach non-crypto users.
The Importance of Energy
Energy plays an important role in earning tokens in STEPN. As soon as you run out of energy, your earnings will stop. Only when energy is available will your movement be rewarded. The amount of energy determines how many tokens you can earn for walking and running.
To increase the amount of energy you have, you can buy more NFT sneakers or get hold of rarer ones. The more NFT sneakers you own in your inventory, the more energy they will automatically generate. Higher levels and rarity sneakers will give you more energy.
Strengths of STEPN
One of STEPN’s biggest strengths in the current market is the successful combination and implementation of GameFi and sports. This could be seen as a clear advantage over any competition as many crypto-native builders don’t have the connections or knowledge to replicate STEPN’s GPS technology and machine-learning anti-cheating mechanics.
Because the health concept of the game and its everyday practicality is relatively simple compared to other games and apps in crypto, STEPN is a prime candidate for mainstream adoption.
Weaknesses of STEPN
There are still quite large barriers to entry for the average person. The registration process is too complicated, and to start playing, new users need to first learn how to open and fund a crypto wallet and buy an NFT item. For a newbie, this is not as straightforward as it should be.
NFTs also cost between 2.5 and 10 SOL, and way upwards of $100 if you want the best sneakers. This means there is an element of ‘pay-to-earn’ about STEPN. However, at the moment, the return on investment (ROI) is in the region of a few weeks, which is not bad at all.
Conclusion
Making money while keeping healthy is a win-win, and as a sports GameFi product, STEPN has struck a decent balance between game elements that are not too rich and complex to stop non-gamers from entering, and sports elements that are not too difficult to stop non-athletic people from trying it out.
The tokenomics also create value for both users and the platform. As long as the concept remains simple and participating remains profitable for the average user, STEPN should continue its impressive adoption rate.
For more information on STEPN, follow their official channels:
Stablecoins are under the microscope right now following the collapse of Luna and UST, the stablecoin of the Terra ecosystem.
In this article, we look at the history of stablecoins, its pros and cons, why they are needed, and what are the risks are of utilizing them.
What is a Stablecoin?
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that maintains a fixed value because it is backed by reserves of other assets such as fiat currencies, securities, gold or precious metals, property, or any other assets as collateral.
There are four main types of stablecoins:
Fiat-Collateralized: Fiat-backed stablecoins are backed by real-world currencies such as US Dollars or British Pounds at a 1:1 ratio.
Commodity-Backed: Backed by precious commodities like gold, platinum, or real estate.
Crypto-Backed: Backed by other cryptocurrencies which are kept as a reserve to ensure price stability in the event of price fluctuations. Smart contracts can also be coded to ensure no trust is needed in third parties.
Algorithmic: These involve adjustments in the algorithm for controlling the supply and demand of stablecoins, usually in the form of two tokens: one a stablecoin and the other a cryptocurrency that backs the stablecoin.
Cryptocurrencies are decentralized and not controlled by centralized entities such as governments or regulatory bodies. They operate on supply-and-demand principles in a free market and can be volatile in nature.
Simply put, stablecoins allow investors and traders to ‘cash out’ of risky investments into another crypto coin that will not fluctuate wildly in value during times of market volatility.
History of Stablecoins
Stablecoins actually have a very long history, having been around since 2014 with BitUSD. BitUSD was created in July 2014 backed by the $BTS token and created by Dan Larimer and Charles Hoskinson, both pioneers in the cryptocurrency who went on to create EOS and Cardano ($ADA), respectively.
However, even the world’s first stablecoin was not without its issues. In late 2018, BitUSD lost its peg to the US Dollar, resulting in huge criticism from the cryptocurrency community. BitUSD is no longer commonly used, and many cryptocurrency exchanges no longer support this stablecoin.
The next stablecoin to be launched was NuBits in September 2014 and was functional for 3 years. Eventually, this stablecoin also fell- suffering 2 major crashes during which the peg was broken for an extended period of time. The first of these crashes was in 2016 when NuBits was depegged from the US Dollar for 3 months. This was likely because holders of NuBits suddenly sold their substantial holdings for Bitcoin, resulting in NuBits being unable to handle the large volumes of sell-offs and losing its peg. Surprisingly, after the 2016 crash, the marketcap of NuBits shot up by 1,500%. This was caused by people buying millions worth of NuBits in late December 2017 owing to concerns about the stability of Bitcoin, whilst the NuBits team was unable to print new coins to keep up with the demand, thereby driving up prices.
The second, and final major crash suffered by NuBits was in March 2018 which was caused by insufficient reserves of the coin, meaning that the NuBits team were unable to protect the coin when there was a dip in demand. Of course, large cryptocurrency holders immediately noticed the drop in NuBits prices and panic sold their positions, causing an even greater slide in price.
After the second NuBits depeg, the stablecoin had lost credibility with cryptocurrency investors. Some holders even threatened legal action against the NuBits team or went into Tether ($USDT) and/or TrueUSD instead.
Tether $USDT however has also weathered a few storms of its own, facing legal battles with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which also shook the confidence of the market. The legal action was eventually settled in 2021 with the parent company of Tether paying nearly US$60 million.
Despite this, cryptocurrency keeps evolving with each passing year as new innovations that were once met with speculation and distrust eventually become trusted by the market. Today there are many other stablecoin options out there such as USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), MakerDAO (DAI), Paxos Standard (PAX), and Gemini Dollar (GUSD) that provide alternatives to USDT.
Pros of Stablecoins
There are several reasons and numerous benefits to using stablecoins. In general, they are simply faster, cheaper, transparent, borderless, and programmable compared to fiat currencies. Some more benefits are listed below.
Stablecoins allow a quicker and easier way for investors to enter the crypto market by bridging fiat into stablecoins, which act like fiat currencies on exchanges.
Stablecoins are more efficient than fiat because they have the digital properties of other crypto tokens and can be moved around quicker and more efficiently than fiat money.
Stablecoins can be held as capital in non-custodial wallets such as Metamask, thus removing the need for third parties to intermediate.
Stablecoins allow for quicker, immediate peer-to-peer payments abroad that are semi-anonymous with much lower fees than fiat currencies.
Stablecoins can be used for holding, trading, borrowing, and lending abroad. When fiat-related regulatory processes are involved, even better.
Stablecoins can be staked to earn a higher yield than traditional finance in DeFi applications. When adding liquidity to protocols, they also minimize the risk of impermanent loss due to their price stability.
Blockchain data and tracking allows for a more transparent view of the market, giving investors more information on liquidity flows and thus greater decision-making power.
Many sectors of the economy and the unbanked population are benefiting from the use of stablecoins in remittance, escrow, payroll, settlement, and alternative banking that is self-custodial, cutting out intermediaries.
Cons of Stablecoins
Stablecoins used to be more controversial in the earlier days of crypto but have garnered more regulatory approval in recent years, minimizing many of the negative aspects.
Stablecoins usually require trust in a third party to ensure the coins are backed by the stated assets, which also means external audits are needed to ensure assets are accounted for.
There are lower yields on stablecoins in DeFi applications than on regular cryptos, however, these yields are still significantly higher than the interest rates offered by traditional banks.
Stablecoins utilized in DeFi applications are subject to the usual risks involved with unregulated cryptocurrency projects. The TerraLuna disaster was a perfect example of an extreme worst-case scenario for an algorithmic stablecoin.
Trial and error. Due to the relative infancy of stablecoins and the experimental nature of new technologies within crypto, there is still a risk when getting involved with newer projects or protocols.
Regulatory scrutiny. As the stablecoin market keeps growing and adding billions of dollars in value to the crypto market, it will generate increased interest from authorities. This can also be seen as a positive.
Conclusion
Stablecoins and their rapid proliferation across all blockchain protocols have brought more flexibility and adoption to the cryptocurrency industry. They are now embedded in the fabric of the market and are here to stay.
The onus remains on the individual investor to do your own research (DYOR) when deciding which stablecoin to hold. Find out who created it, whether it’s a trusted centralized business or a decentralized protocol managed by smart contracts. All the options are open to you when it comes to the safer management of risk in the crypto market.
Blockchain and play-to-earn games are rapidly becoming some of the most lucrative aspects of the crypto world. Players of these games get rewarded for partaking in their favorite activities while contributing to the platform’s success story. For instance, Sky Mavis – the team behind Axie Infinity – had generated over $400 million from the game by August 2021. According to Newswagg’s research, the crypto gaming industry’s revenue hit $321 million in 2020.
Notwithstanding the play-to-earn industry’s impressive numbers, there is an ongoing shift from play-to-earn to the new move-to-earn. Sometimes considered an upgrade to the former, move-to-earn also offers rewards to players with more focus on fitness. Move-to-earn games help improve player well-being by introducing physical movement and general fitness into gameplay. The move-to-earn concept is fantastic for people who are more fitness-focused and are not as ardent as the average video gamer.
One such example is dotmoovs ($MOOV), where active participants can easily monetize their time and gameplay. To take part, players only need a smartphone camera to display their sports skills and compete with other players.
What is dotmoovs ($MOOV)?
dotmoovs is a blockchain-based competitive sports platform in the metaverse. It is a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence system that analyzes videos of players performing sporting activities and rewards winners using its proprietary MOOV tokens.
dotmoovs has incorporated blockchain tech, decentralized finance (DeFi), and AI technology into one platform through its peer-to-peer and AI-driven features. In the dotmoovs metaverse, two people can compete regardless of location, receive unbiased judgment, and earn rewards. The platform decides scores using an AI-driven arbitration engine that detects the positions of each player’s body and limbs, along with a scoring algorithm that measures the player’s skill. According to a recent metaverse ranking, dotmoovs is one of 10 metaverse platforms most likely to explode in 2022. The list also features popular names like Decentraland ($MANA) and Axie Infinity ($AXS).
The More You Move, The More You Earn
dotmoovs features a freestyle football section that is already live. Players must use the platform’s mobile application to capture physical body movements. The application uses advanced computer vision algorithms and AI-driven limb tracking to accurately capture and store movements. The player with the highest score wins the round and receives $MOOV tokens and other in-game rewards.
One of the main attractions of dotmoovs is its AI-powered and unbiased scoring system. In many cases, scores and ratings are usually prone to subjective appraisals and human biases. However, each dotmoovs player gets a fair chance to participate and receive objective scores and judgment. The more skilful a player is, the more their earning power.
How Does dotmoovs Scoring Work?
Participants trying out the freestyle football section should note the following factors considered for scoring players:
Number of ball juggles for different body parts according to difficulty
Creativity applied to ball juggles
Speed
Rhythm
Ball height in each juggle
Originality (compared to previous attempts)
Absence of handball or ground touch fouls
dotmoovs Growth and Adoption for Blockchain
The dotmoovs platform contributes to the general growth and development of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem via its AI-based infrastructure. The blockchain industry is currently enjoying increased adoption, especially with decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens (NFT). dotmoovs is pooling all parts of the ecosystem for its unique product, and crowning its creation with artificial intelligence. The platform is now set to partake in the global NFT market that generated $23 billion in trading volume in 2021.
Another major dotmoovs contribution is its attraction to the sports community. Through the platform, sports lovers, players and spectators alike, can join the blockchain ecosystem and earn on dotmoovs by simply participating in their preferred and natural habitat.
Several factors serve as catalysts to increased adoption of move-to-earn platforms. For instance, people now have a stronger need for physical activities as worldwide lockdowns are ending. As winter wraps up and the weather becomes warmer, dotmoovs provides the perfect platform for users to get fit, enjoy the weather, and also earn.
Investors are also recognizing the potential impact of move-to-earn platforms and are buying in. In the past few months, a few projects have raised funds from investors who have identified these trends and want a piece of the action before adoption skyrockets.
Another factor in favor of dotmoovs and move-to-earn is the low entry barrier. Users find move-to-earn platforms easier to navigate than play-to-earn for multiple reasons. Firstly, effective participation on play-to-earn platforms requires knowledge of the game. There is also the financial barrier as many of these games charge an entry or starting fee. On dotmoovs, all you need is to know how to move.
$MOOV Utility Token
The $MOOV token is dotmoovs’ native utility asset. The platform uses this asset to create an environment free from currency value constraints, democratizing access by providing all players with a level playing field. All dotmoovs transactions require $MOOV tokens.
$MOOV Token Use Cases
Players can use $MOOV to:
Buy dotmoovs NFTs
Players who own dotmoovs NFTs can participate in challenges to earn $MOOV and rent the NFTs to other players. Players can also earn $MOOV tokens on challenges won with rented NFTs.
Access-Challenge Mode
Users need $MOOV tokens to play in the platform’s Challenge Mode. Players who win 1 vs. 1 games or tournament challenges will also earn more tokens.
Stake In Sports Mining
Users can multiply their tokens and earn rewardsby staking $MOOV using the dotmoovs Sports Mining staking feature.
dotmoovs is set to capture interested sportsmen and sportswomen by introducing them to the growing blockchain ecosystem. Since people only need a camera to participate, players all over the world can enjoy simple dancing and sporting activities and easily earn while at it.
Dotmoovs exclusive models
Dotmoovs creates exclusive models for their app, and have so far already created models for names such as Snoop Dogg, Floyd Mayweather, and Neymar. Now, Dotmoovs will be partnering with Leandro Lopes, an internationally successful handmade footwear and apparel designer from Portugal, to design an exclusive NFT sneaker for use in the app.
Dance to Earn
dootmoovs has recently launched their Dance to Earn feature on their app. Players can have a maximum of 3 free practices of the dance moves per day to get themselves ready for peer-to-peer and challenge mode! In these modes, you can either challenge your friends or find a random challenger across the globe to see who is the better dancer. To join, you will need to choose how much $MOOV you would like to invest (up to 500 $MOOV per challenge). Win the challenge and you will win more $MOOV.
It is anticipated that more types of dance challenges would be available soon, as well as a tournament mode.
dotmoovs is a sports application with incredible competitions held in the metaverse. Currently, there are football competitions with dance competitions in the works.
Where can I download dotmoovs?
The dotmoovs application is available for download on both the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store
What is the dootmoovs token?
dotmoovs has its own native token- $MOOV. All transactions inside the app happen in $MOOV. For example, you would need $MOOV to participate in peer-to-peer or tournament challenges. Winners of these challenges can earn more $MOOV.
Can you rent NFTs in dotmoovs?
dotmoovs has an NFT rental program so you can try out and participate in dotmoovs with minimal initial cost.
One major question all new cryptocurrency investors ask is how to actually spend their cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately, cryptocurrency is just not as widely accepted as fiat currencies. Cryptocurrencies are also subject to huge price fluctuations and volatility. Therefore, to “lock in” the price of your cryptocurrencies and as a springboard to cashing out crypto to fiat, many have converted their cryptocurrencies to stablecoins instead. This allows one to keep their dollar-pegged coins in exchanges or cold/hot wallets, so when the moment to jump back into the bull run comes, they can do so within minutes without having to deal with fiat on-ramps. Alternatively, to easily convert their stablecoins to fiat currencies for spending.
Most have considered stablecoins to be a safe means of preserving their capital without experiencing volatility and having to leave the crypto ecosystem. After all, they’re… stable, right?
In most cases, they have been, but the most recent collapse of one of the largest and well-respected stablecoins, terraUSD (UST), and other less known ones, like neutrino USD (USDN) and DEI, has led people to question the stability of all stablecoins. But is this warranted? Isn’t there a bit more nuance to the mechanisms by which a coin retains its dollar or other fiat currency peg, each with their own risks and advantages?
Although a seemingly straightforward idea, stablecoins can be quite tricky to unpack and analyze, especially when talking about non-collateralized algorithmic stablecoins, which sound too good to be true, and in some cases, are. With this in mind, let’s take a look at stablecoins, what kinds are out there, how well they are doing, and what makes them tick.
Check out our latest video- Stablecoins: Are they safe? ($UST, $USDT, $USDC, $BUSD)
Stablecoins: Are they safe? ($UST, $USDT, $USDC, $BUSD)
Stablecoins – What Are They and How Are They Different?
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged 1:1 to the value of a fiat currency, meaning that, for example, every 1 USDT (USD Tether, the biggest market cap stablecoin) is worth 1 US Dollar. There are numerous stablecoins in circulation, with different coins having different mechanisms for collateralizing their stablecoins.
The most commonly used feature to categorize stablecoins is by looking at how each of them backs their tokens, e.g. their collateral/reserves. By doing that, we can focus on using more narrow criteria for evaluating and comparing stablecoins based on the risks and advantages that stem from the chosen collateralization mechanism. Broadly speaking, there are three main types of stablecoins: Fiat-collaterized stablecoins, crypto-collaterized stablecoins and algorithmic stablecoins.
Fiat-collateralized Stablecoins
By far the most popular type, fiat-collateralized stablecoins occupy the top 3 spots (USDT, USDC, BUSD) among stablecoins by market cap, accounting for roughly 94% of the total ~$155 billion stablecoin supply.
Their working principle is the most straightforward to understand. Each of these coins is backed by a combination of real USD cash reserves, US Treasury Bills, and commercial papers (liquid short-term debt issued by companies).
Crypto-collateralized Stablecoins
Similar to fiat-backed stablecoins, crypto-backed stablecoins use cryptocurrencies as collateral, and smart contracts and, typically, governance tokens to monitor price stability. Due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies, crypto-backed stablecoins are over-collateralized (150% for DAI, for example) to account for periods in the market when prices of the collateral assets keep going down. Learn more about DAI.
Compared to fiat-backed stablecoins, they’ve witnessed a much slower rate of adoption. However, based on data, it does seem that they are slowly starting to gain momentum and dominance over the past years, as people begin to develop trust in the previously experimental mechanisms, which is to be expected.
There are also hybrid collateral tokens such as Reserve Tokens (RSV) that are backed by both digital and fiat assets.
By far the most technically complex and technologically least mature, algorithmic stablecoins rely on on-chain algorithms to handle changes in supply and demand between the stablecoins and their sister tokens that back them by burning and minting them in both directions through a process called seigniorage, to maintain a dollar peg. This, however, only works while there isn’t a strong downward pressure on the peg that keeps stressing the mechanism, which can lead to a downward death spiral during which both tokens keep losing value as users keep panic selling at the same time as the algorithm tries to stabilize the price. Although not fully collapsed, neutrinoUSD and its Waves protocol have been experiencing extreme turbulence for the better part of two months, making users lose confidence in its stability, especially as its working mechanism is very similar to that of UST.
On the less extreme side of algo-stables lie hybrid stablecoins, or fractional-algorithmic stablecoins, such as FRAX, which is partly backed by collateral, and partly algorithmically by adjusting the collateral based on the deviation of FRAX from the $1 peg.
Learn more with our Ultimate Guide to Algorithmic Stablecoins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdmotWPNVdQ
Criteria for Comparing Stablecoins
Decentralization
The impact of regional regulations can be a risk many would not find appealing. It’s completely reasonable to expect that the industry would be capable of creating largely decentralized stablecoins that are collateralized by one or more decentralized cryptocurrencies, and governed by a DAO. Such is the nature of MakerDAO and its DAI stablecoin, which has shown its peg strength throughout this year and especially during the most recent catastrophic UST collapse. There is a small caveat, however.
The largest crypto-asset backed stablecoin with a $6.5 billion market cap, DAI, is still heavily backed by the second largest market cap stablecoin, USDC, which itself is backed by fiat reserves, calling into question whether it truly is as decentralized as it purports itself to be. The reality is not as grim as it might seem. Even though USDC and USDP (another fiat-backed stablecoin) comprise 28.1% of the total DAI collateral, ETH and WBTC (Wrapped BTC) boast an impressive 58.6% collateral, tipping the collateralization balance in favour of decentralized digital currencies instead of centralized stablecoins. In addition, the Maker platform with the MKR and DAI tokens, together with all of its smart contracts, lives on the Ethereum blockchain, making it truly trustless and decentralized, even if a good portion of the collateral is not.
On the other hand, the decentralization of all stablecoins might not be necessary, or even desirable, as properly regulated stablecoins almost by definition require a legal entity or a consortium of entities with exposure to major governmental bodies (especially in the US) to be behind the stablecoins, so that there is little doubt about who is responsible for ensuring a full fiat backing of their stablecoins. However, this would imply heavy centralization of control over the stablecoin supply and the general mechanisms for issuance, governance, and, crucially, potential censorship.
A centralized stablecoin is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it gives unprecedented power over a vast supply of stablecoins that a decentralization-focused industry heavily relies on to do daily business. On the other hand, it allows for companies like Binance, who are behind the popular BUSD stablecoin, to prioritize user safety and regulatory compliance, giving users peace of mind about the safety of their assets.
Thus, a strong argument can be made to safely onboard millions of new users through reasonably regulated stablecoins. It’s important for this industry to appreciate the need to offer a wide range of stablecoin alternatives, from centralized to decentralized, for users with different risk appetites and technical competencies in order to accelerate crypto adoption worldwide.
Compliance & Transparency
Closely tied with the level of decentralization of a stablecoin, regulatory compliance and transparency are absolutely crucial for companies who are backing their coins with cash reserves, and who desire to find strong and growing support by institutions, companies, and investors looking to enter the space, but who have been apprehensive to do so due to concerns about a potential inability to redeem their tokens for dollars.
It’s important to note that regulatory compliance is largely a concern for stablecoins operated by corporations, as they are the ones operating mostly behind closed doors, with most of the details about their inner workings, decisions, and collateralization mechanisms being hidden from the end-users and legislators. In such situations, it is more than reasonable to expect a regulatory body to force at least some oversight over how exactly these companies are operating their stablecoins and whether they do possess the collateral they claim to have.
The same can’t be said about open-source, decentralized governance-powered, blockchain-native, crypto asset-backed, and over-collateralized stablecoins that are being operated completely out in the open, with every decision, piece of code, and capital relocation in smart contract escrow accounts being registered on-chain. For coins such as DAI, compliance and transparency are baked into the protocol, and it can be reasonably argued that the necessity for any kind of regulatory oversight is moot, as the community and the free market cryptoeconomic pressures have organically grown a robust and freely auditable stablecoin that’s fully backed by digital currencies.
For fiat-backed currencies, the two large-cap extremes in the range of transparency and compliance are BUSD and USDT. While BUSD has been extensively cooperating with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYFDS), and showing that every BUSD is backed by an equivalent amount of cash, USDT has been under significant scrutiny over the past years regarding its executives and the USDT backing. These allegations, combined with the lack of transparency by Tether, have made many worry whether USDT is a house of cards about to crumble as the Chinese real estate bubble begins to pop.
Financial Sustainability
In addition to the existential risks posed by the type of collateral chosen for stablecoin reserves, another source of risk that can be analyzed for a project is its cashflow. Changes in the cashflow of a protocol can offer clues about the health of the ecosystem and its ability to withstand market shocks.
Understanding how a stablecoin protocol spends and, most importantly, earns its money, is key to making predictions about the long term sustainability of such projects. Without proper long term revenue models, protocols are left to come up with highly appealing but unsustainable practices such as incredibly high yields on stablecoin deposits (such as UST had) or very low to non-existent trading fees to make it appealing for users to use that stablecoin as their dominant medium of exchange. These kinds of practices sooner or later come back to bite them in the ass, as there is a very high probability that the high yields and low fees are paid for not from organic revenues, but rather from alternative revenue sources (as is the case for Binance), or from project’s treasury/VC investment money, in hopes that they would be able to subsidize the attractive rates for long enough to reach a critical mass of users to then eventually either lower the yields and increase the fees, or simply keep running a ponzi-like operation for as long as possible.
Risks are High, always DYOR (Do Your Own Research)
If something in crypto sounds too good to be true, it very likely is. The most recent example of this was the Anchor Protocol’s 19.5% yield for UST deposits, which should’ve been a huge red flag, and yet many, many individuals chose to deposit their life savings into a supposedly stable UST in hopes of an unsustainably high APY.
For a $50 billion project to go down to virtually nothing in a matter of weeks is nothing short of astonishing, and should serve us all as a warning to do our due diligence thoroughly, and ask uncomfortable questions, even if the whole market seems to be fully on-board with a project.
As the saying goes, “Follow the money.” If a protocol is promising unbelievable returns, if the company behind a stablecoin year after year refuses to prove their fiat reserves, and if a algorithmic stablecoin seems to have a fishy peg stabilizing mechanism that can only work in an up-only environment, then you should exercise caution. And as with everything, whether it be cryptocurrencies or stocks etc, ask yourself if you have really fully done your research and never put in more money than you can afford to lose.
The NFT industry has become one of the most exciting spaces amongst emerging blockchain and crypto trends. With many related projects and startups launching, the sector is becoming more popular and has provided creators with significant earning opportunities.
NFT creators constantly seek more accessible ways to publish and market their assets to varied audiences while also maximizing potential returns on their art. Buyers who like to collect NFTs also look for the best marketplace that curates these assets and facilitates easy access to purchases and rewards. The Starly platform provides all these and more to both categories of stakeholders.
Starly is an NFT-focused launchpad and marketplace where users can create, buy, and sell gamified NFT collectables. The platform aims to make creating, selling and collecting NFTs as seamless as possible. Starly offers complete creative control to NFT minters, allowing them to set prices, rarity ratings, and decide preferred launch dates.
Each Starly NFT collection consists of 21 unique NFTs (or NFT cards) divided into three packs for ease of valuation. The packs are composed of 11 common cards, 6 rare cards, and 4 legendary cards. Members of the Starly community can purchase and sell NFT cards on the secondary market, or buy all the cards in a collection to receive special rewards reserved for buyers who acquire complete collections.
NFT Staking on Starly
Collectors can stake their NFT cards for Starly token rewards based on the value and rarity of the NFT. Each NFT card in a collection has a Card Score determined by its pack (common, rare, or legendary) and price. Stakers can earn rewards in $STARLY- the project’s native token. The total $STARLY staking reward for each NFT card is equal to its Card Score and gets distributed daily for over a year. This means that it would take 365 days to accrue the total $STARLY staking reward.
Although users can claim a limited number of token rewards, these rewards depend on the user’s Starly token tier. Starly uses the following formula for reward distribution:
Card Score/365 = Token Amount Distributed for 24h.
For instance, if a user stakes an NFT with a Card Score of 15,000, the available token staking reward for that card is 15,000 $STARLY. The user can claim up to 41 $STARLY (15,000/365) daily depending on the membership tier until the user exhausts 15,000 $STARLY.
Starly Token Staking Tiers
Token holders staking $STARLY are categorized into reward tiers curated according to the number of staked tokens. The tiers include the Silver, Gold, and Platinum memberships, with the following required token amounts:
Silver Tier: a minimum of 1000 $STARLY staked
Gold Tier: a minimum of 10,000 $STARLY staked
Platinum Tier: a minimum of 50,000 $STARLY staked
These tiers come with varying benefits, including the ability to claim more daily NFT staking rewards. Members of the Starly community who stake their NFTs but have no staked Starly tokens are not placed in any of the three tiers and can claim only 2 of the available daily token rewards. Silver, Gold, and Platinum tier members can claim 10, 100, and 500, respectively.
Furthermore, if an NFT card is unstaked, all unclaimed rewards of the staked card remain locked on the card till the user stakes it again. Additionally, if the unstaked NFT card gets sold, the new owner gets all unclaimed staking rewards locked in the card and can stake the card again for token rewards.
$STARLY Token
$STARLY is the platform’s native token, helping creators earn from their NFT assets. On the Starly marketplace, creators can monetize their NFT collectibles and receive rewards for their effort via $STARLY tokens. The platform has a total supply of 100 million tokens allocated for different uses. For instance, the largest allocation is for the Product and Ecosystem Development Fund at 31.25% or 31,250,000 tokens. Others include 22% for the Team and Advisors, 20% for the private sale, and 0.75% for the public sale. Furthermore, Starly allocated 5% each for token liquidity and staking payouts, while reserving 16% for the community.
Benefits Of Starly NFT Staking
All NFTs have inherent value that provides some aspect of collectibility or utility to collectors. However, collectors can derive additional value by staking these NFTs on Starly. The primary benefit of staking owned NFTs is that users can accrue more $STARLY and then re-stake for added rewards. As users collect more tokens, their designated membership tier moves from Silver to Gold or Gold to Platinum. New tiers furnish users with additional Starly benefits, such as voting rights and exclusive NFT drops from selected artists.
Staking has become a significant way of contributing to projects across the blockchain and crypto space, with billions of tokens and coins locked on many platforms. NFT staking is no different and is an excellent way for users to earn passive income from idle NFT collections. Although the concept is still relatively in its infancy, Starly opens users to more NFT staking opportunities with the possibility of progressive rewards.
