Yield farming is also referred to as “liquidity mining” and is one of the most popular methods to earn passive income. By using various decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, users can lock-up i.e. stake their cryptocurrencies on the platform to earn the protocol’s native coins and tokens. These coins and tokens have various uses on the protocol, but their most lucrative feature is that it can be traded on cryptocurrency exchanges. This makes yield farming a great way for cryptocurrency traders to earn passive income.
Taipei Blockchain Week, the largest Web3 event in Taiwan, was held last week from December 12-17, 2022. Similar to TOKEN2049 Singapore, the event features a series of keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and meetups with some of the leading developers and entrepreneurs in the Web3 industry. Speakers of the event included core team members from Avalanche, Solana, Filecoin, Moongate and many more, where they talked about the real-world applications of blockchain technology and the future landscape of crypto.
Moongate, in particular, has introduced an end-to-end solution for brands and businesses to create customized NFTs for ticketing and memberships. In fact, Moongate is the official ticketing partner of Taipei Blockchain Week, having issued 4000 tickets for the event’s attendees. Despite the NFT industry getting a bad rap, Moongate helps bring meaningful and productive application of Web3 into the Web2 world with real utility NFTs that can greatly benefit everyday retail consumers. Let’s take a look at what they have to offer.
What is Moongate?
Moongate provides an end-to-end, no-code solution for brands and businesses looking to transform their user engagement experience via Web3. Its user application covers (1) membership and loyalty programs, (2) events and conferences, and (3) NFT projects. All customers will be able to own their membership as NFTs which unlock token-gated rewards and access.
CEO of Moongate Jonathan Mui told Boxmining that they have helped brands, businesses, conferences, and sports leagues with NFT-empowered memberships and tickets. So far, Moongate has 30+ live programs, 50+ ecosystem partners, and 5000+ end customers. Notable partners include Polygon, SimpleHash (backed by Y Combinator), DTTD (backed by Animoca Brands), Limewire and many more.
How Does Moongate’s App Work?
Moongate’s User App is very easy to use, catering to both Web3 and Web2 users. You can create an account, which is also your crypto wallet, with your email, phone number or social media account. For experienced Web3 users, you can instead use your self-custodial wallet such as MetaMask to sign up.
Private Key Security Features
To onboard Web2 users more easily, there won’t be any traditional Web3 private key management such as seed phrases. Moongate understands that with traditional private keys, users can never get their NFTs back if they lose their key. This can be a problem for most Web2 users who are not used to Web3 interfaces.
Instead, Moongate is collaborating with some of the top endpoint security solutions to implement a next-gen key management architecture. Its security infrastructure involves two independently-created mathematical secret shares, eliminating the single point of failure for traditional private keys. The wallet is still non-custodial as users have full control over their NFTs but it also allows them to restore their account safely if they delete the App or lose their phones.
User App Interface
In the App, users can enroll in membership programs via one-click join/redemption. Users can view and claim exclusive benefits tied to their NFT memberships. Tiered rewards can be earned, and benefits will increase overtime with increased spending/usage. Moreover, users can earn token rewards by completing promotions, and use tokens to claim extra rewards across partnered brands.
Mui said that it is important for Moongate to integrate blockchain technology with legacy systems so that it would require less steps and create less friction for Web2 users to get onboard while reaping the benefits of Web3. Since most retail customers are accustomed to Point of Sale (POS) systems, Mui said that adopting some of the Web2 approaches can help make their product scalable and viable.
Merchant Setup for Moongate’s App
Apart from retail customers, brands and businesses with no Web3 knowledge can also easily manage their Moongate account. NFT projects can keep track of the holders engagement for future rewards and airdrops, without requiring holders to reveal personal information.
NFT Design and Minting
Users can create, deploy, and mint their own NFTs without any coding knowledge. Moongate’s smart contract builder is a simple drag-and-drop deployment. It supports dynamic NFT integration and can be issued on multiple chains. Moongate’s mint site builder provides customized storefront design with personalized information. Users can checkout with fiat or crypto via Web2 social logins or crypto wallets.
No-code dashboards are available for merchants and projects to set the parameters of online or offline token-gated content, access, and discounts across different tiers of membership. There are also key applications on offline discounts, exclusive events, and online e-commerce stores. Additionally, off-chain data can be captured to support corresponding changes to dynamic NFTs.
Moongate has a one-scan solution to complete real-time, on-chain NFT ownership verification across multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana. Users will have their own ephemeral QR code for merchants to scan and verify as it supports whitelabel integration with other apps or third-party scanners. Moreover, it is also compatible with near-field communication (NFC) “phygital” gateways, which are essentially physical cards that hold the QR code verification.
Moongate provides data analytics for merchants and projects to monitor membership usage in real-time and post-attendance. It can integrate with traditional technology stack such as POS and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) marketing software. The portal also displays API for data integration with other sites, supporting tracking of spending credits.
Moongate introduces a new paradigm in customer loyalty while maintaining positive business impact. It changes how businesses can build better branding and how customers approach purchasing goods and services.
Since customers can truly own their NFT membership, they can also choose to sell the NFT along with all the rewards stored in it, as the NFT is a transferrable token. That way instead of “spending”, customers are actually investing because they are creating value for their NFT. This also helps businesses better connect with the next generation of customers, lowering their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). After all, that is what Web3 is all about — ownership by users.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have become very popular amongst cryptocurrency traders and are drawing a lot of attention from several industries. The world of art has greatly benefitted from the sector, more than other industries (so far) because it opens creators and potential buyers to an ever-expanding marketplace. Generally, this stems from NFTs’ non-fungible nature, meaning that each one is unique.
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What makes NFTs special?
Anyone can trade one Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) for another and end up with the same asset they traded in terms of value and usability. However, non-fungibility means that no two assets are alike. If you trade one NFT for another, the newly-received asset will be fundamentally different. In the art sector, this allows people to buy directly from the creator, with the assurance that there is no duplicate anywhere. NFTs have also created a whole asset class and industry of NFT speculators which buy, sell and trade them for profit. There are estimates that in 2021 alone, there were over US$23 billion worth of trades in NFTs. In fact, the most expensive NFT sold in 2021 was Beeple’s The First 5,000 Days, which sold for US$69.3 million.
Some Common NFT Scams
However, as with most up-and-coming industries, the NFT space is rife with its fair share of scams. Malicious players find ways to take advantage of buyers pumping money into the industry. Scammers are also becoming more sophisticated with their methods and will go to any lengths to swindle NFT holders, especially since some NFTs are worth millions. Here are some common NFT scams.
Fake offers
Scammers frequently entice NFT holders with false offers. Known methods include phishing emails, fake links, and service offers that require people to sign malicious contracts. Sometimes, people willingly give up their signatures for seemingly legitimate reasons, such as a paid offer to help animate your NFT. Tokens and NFTs may get stolen after you sign the transaction. In December 2021, scammers hacked the NFT marketplace Fractal, pushing a link to prospective buyers through the platform’s official Discord. Within 10 minutes, around 370 users lost 862 SOL, worth more than US$150,000 at the time.
False NFT projects
The NFT space has seen several rug pull scams where a known or unknown creator publishes an NFT for sale. For many reasons, including the possibility of high returns, people may skip adequate due diligence and quickly sink money into a new NFT with growing popularity. In many cases, these projects eventually lose their value and can’t be sold for a profit or the initial capital. The unknown creators then take all the money and are almost always unreachable. A popular example is the Frosties rug pull and scam. In January, buyers who purchased pieces of the cartoon ice cream digital collection lost a total of . (https://inboundrem.com) 3 million after the creators and funds disappeared from OpenSea.
Counterfeit NFTs
Scammers can create fake NFTs that resemble originals, especially when the original is not very popular. The forger would then list the fake NFT on a marketplace where an unsuspecting buyer may purchase what they think is the authentic version. Since no one wants a plagiarized or counterfeit NFT, the buyer is left with a worthless asset.
Pump and dump scams
Here, a group of scammers artificially pump a worthless NFT collection which eventually drives price and demand from speculators. Within a short period, the collection garners enough attention that people consider it valuable and start buying. However, the group will pull the plug and disappear as soon as they make enough money from the sale. The price of the NFT eventually tanks, leaving holders unable to resell their worthless NFTs. A relevant example of a pump-and-dump scam is the Squid Game token. Last year, unknown creators launched a token that exploited the popularity of Netflix’s Squid Game series. The SQUID token pumped past $2,800 and eventually crashed to $0. The scammers made away with more than $3 million in total and have still not been found.
Fake Holder Verification Bots
Scammers may create programs that impersonate authentic verification bots used with discord servers. Owners then allow approvals for these fake bots that transfer sensitive information to scammers who steal the NFTs.
How to Avoid NFT Scams
All players in the NFT marketplace should know how to avoid scams. Due diligence often does the trick, as fake projects or assets usually have features that stick out. Generally, avoiding scams requires a lot of caution from NFT holders. Owners looking to sell their NFTs must set approvals. The process requires the seller to set an approval so that the marketplace can transact on the owner’s behalf if, for example, someone else buys the asset. While popular marketplaces like OpenSea are relatively safe, there is still a significant risk with setting approvals.
Approvals give the receiving contract or address the authority needed to transfer tokens. If a malicious bot or contract has the approval, your funds are not safe. To avoid these scams, there are a few things to note.
Setting approvals and verification
The blockchain is a public ledger and does not need permission for people to read stored information. However, executing transactions on the blockchain requires gas. When transacting with a third-party bot, marketplace, or address, any verification requiring gas fees is likely illicit. In the same way, setting approvals should cost some gas. There might be a serious problem if a transaction to set an approval is gasless.
Due diligence
It is important to do intensive research into an NFT collection or project before purchasing it. Trustworthy projects should have verifiable teams compromised of members without fraudulent histories. Depending on the project, a whitepaper might also be necessary. For phishing scams, buyers must double-check email addresses and links to ensure authenticity. Buyers must also do their due diligence to avoid plagiarized or counterfeit NFTs by confirming verification ticks on marketplaces or sticking to links posted on the project’s official Discord.
Discord Notes
Buyers using Collabland for management can attach specific notes to authentic bots in a server. This note will be available anywhere you see the bot, making it easy to avoid corrupt bots.
Personal Safety
All wallet credentials should only be in safe locations that are not easily accessible by third parties. It is inadvisable to keep this information on a mobile phone or with someone else. All owners should also consider unique passwords in addition to two-factor authentication (2FA).
Conclusion: Staying Safe
Avoiding NFT scams requires continuous effort. Buyers who have done their due diligence should consider taking further steps, including actions not listed above. Since the NFT space is still somewhat nascent, buyers should expect that scammers may come up with newer ways to steal NFTs or swindle unsuspecting users. Therefore, traders must take additional protective steps when buying, selling, or setting approvals for NFTs.
On Feb 24, on the same date Anton Drexler founded what would become the Nazi Party, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As Moscow’s bombs dropped on the country’s major cities, the nation’s Minister of Digital Transformation Alex Bornyakov fled its capital city of Kyiv.
Check our our video discussing the implications of the invasion of Ukraine on cryptocurrency:
Ukraine Invasion: Implications for cryptocurrency?
“We start to accept donations in meme coin. Now even meme can support our army and save lives from Russian invaders,” said Fedorov on March 2.
Doge Army
According to data tracked by the blockchain analytics firm, Elliptic, the majority of donations to Ukraine have been paid in Ether and Bitcoin, but donors have also sent the PolkaDot cryptocurrency as well as stablecoins like Tether.
“We’re watching history being made in real-time here,” says Braintrust Network co-founder Adam Jackson.
According to Crypto for Ukraine, over US$100 million in cryptocurrencies have been donated to Ukraine. The number is currently growing. Of the donations, nearly 40% were in Ethereum, followed by 31.51% in Bitcoin.
Bornyakov thinks that in times like the current crisis, response time is crucial.
“The National Bank of Ukraine created a fiat fund, but with the time and speed of a regular banking system, it was impossible to finance important things for the army. Crypto plays a role to get this flexibility when we really needed to respond quickly to deliver the army with its required supply,” Bornyakov said.
Cryptocurrencies offer much faster transaction times, but not all businesses accept them as payment, according to Bornyakov. Currently, the government converts the donated crypto assets into dollars or euros through Ukrainian exchange Kuna, which it has partnered with to also custody the funds.
This helps reduce the friction arising when crypto donation funds are used to acquire goods for the military in order to fight off Russian forces.
Some firms do in fact accept crypto, but for those who do not, cryptocurrencies are sent via the exchange into the conventional banking system for payment.
Ettore Rosetti, the digital, marketing and innovation lead advisor for NGO Save the Children said that the group is seeing millions of USD in pledges in crypto projects. The humanitarian group has accepted crypto contributions since 2014, but the range is more varied now, accounting for the expansion of the crypto world.
“You’re crowd-sourcing a humanitarian effort in real-time,” said Jackson.
“What’s fascinating about the emerging currency types are NFTs. We’re getting inquiries from artists wanting to create an NFT to benefit Save The Children’s response in Ukraine,” said Rosetti.
NFTs created and sold to raise funds for the Ukrainian war effort
Indeed, Crypto Punk NFTs worth USD200,000 form part of the contributions to Ukraine’s national crypto aid fund opened on Feb 26. And Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot’s co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova organised an auction fundraiser to sell an NFT of the Ukrainian flag for USD7mil.
Amid the geopolitical and economic turmoil that has come about due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, a sense of a real impact being made seems to stand out. Never in the history of the highly linked phenomena of war and economics have we seen the impact of ordinary citizens come about so quickly.
Now, Ukraine ranks 4th in the world in crypto adoption, according to research firm Chain Analysis.
In Putin’s Russia, Crypto Exchange You
Meanwhile in Russia, a report on ABC11 states that as Visa and Mastercard suspended their services and sanctions on the economy began to take effect, many are turning to cryptocurrency as well.
Ordinary Russians are now using crypto as a lifeline as their currency collapses under the brunt of geopolitical economic reprisal, according to Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong.
“Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too,” wrote Armstrong over Twitter just before midnight on March 3.
“If the US government decides to impose a ban, we will, of course, follow those laws,” added Armstrong.
“Should a coffee shop in Paris refuse to serve a Russian customer? Or take their wallet while they’re at it? The answer to that is no,” he wrote in a blog post. “We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts.”
One issue driving the push towards crypto sanctions on Russian users is that nations are wary of the nation’s oligarchs and Putin’s real resource of power might use it to evade sanctions. As it stands, steps had already been taken by these oligarchs to secure their wealth amid threats from the US and its allies, particularly a US task force created for this specific purpose announced by US leader Joe Biden on Feb 27.
On February 28, superyachts owned by Russian billionaires linked to President Vladimir Putin were on the move as the United States and its allies prepared further sanctions on their property following the invasion of Ukraine.
However, US Treasury deputy secretary counselor Todd Conklin has suggested crypto can’t be used to fully circumvent the sting of sanctions, given its practical limitations.
“Crypto is traceable, transparent. If someone is sending Putin Bitcoin from outside of Russia to evade US sanctions, then chances are they had to buy that bitcoin at an exchange and that exchange has their name,” added Jackson.
“While technically it could be used to avoid sanctions, it’s not a great way to do it,” he adds.
And as every transaction of the blockchain is transparent and public, cryptocurrency exchanges can use the information to trace the source of the funds to see if it is coming from blacklisted or sanctioned sources. In turn, the exchanges can also identify and block sanctioned persons from even opening an account.
US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network acting director Him Das said in a statement on Monday that the agency had “not seen widespread evasion of our sanctions” via cryptocurrency.
As it stands, analysts say wealthy and well-connected Russians often have a web of front companies through which they sift funds and crypto might not form a large part of this web.
According to The Washington Post, Trump-era Treasury Department assistant secretary Marshall Billingslea said that “the oligarchs have so many well-heeled accountants and complicit bankers around the world, they don’t really need to go that way. And if they’re investing in sound sanctions advisers, they’re being warned that some of these blockchain currencies like Bitcoin are not nearly as opaque as they might have thought,” somewhat reflecting what Jackson said above.
Large-scale avoidance of sanctions by say, turning fiat into cryptocurrency would prove difficult. For example, if an oligarch wanted to convert $1 billion dollars into cryptocurrency, they would find it very difficult since there is insufficient liquidity in the market to convert such a large sum. The oligarch would have to use multiple exchanges which would make the process extremely inefficient.
But avoiding sanctions using crypto could happen at a smaller scale over a longer period of time. As Investors.com states, Iran and North Korea offer some shady guidance to the world of discreet digital asset fundraising.
Crypto and blockchain analysis firm Elliptic found that Iran has used Bitcoin mining to bypass US embargoes, using Bitcoins their computers mined to pay for imports that would have otherwise been sanctioned. North Korea meanwhile employed hackers to steal some USD400mil in assets from cryptocurrency platforms last year, according to the research firm Chainalysis.
Russia’s embargoed but wealthy persons of interest could also channel divert money through smaller crypto exchanges that seem legitimate but have dubious compliance protocols under closer scrutiny. These exchanges might even be cooperating with the person of interest or their group’s money-laundering or ransomware schemes. The US last year sanctioned two exchanges on allegations of facilitating ransomware transactions.
Ironically, the failure to prevent Russian oligarchs from using crypto to squirrel away their millions around the world might force tighter regulations on cryptocurrencies themselves, putting proponents of crypto as a fair and balanced force for economic good, particularly during the Ukrainian conflict, in a bit of a moral dilemma.
As Forex.com global head Matt Weller was quoted at Investors.com said: “Those are the main two competing factors: The ideological-utilitarian perspective on the benefits of crypto assets versus the financialized investment component. Those are sort of pushing in opposite directions.”
One situation that really highlights a potential irony in this dilemma is Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova. That she is trying to help Ukraine as a protest against Putin seems to fit in the current zeitgeist of the conflict. But as Russian, imposing sanctions against Russian crypto to help Ukraine would stop her from raising money for Ukraine.
As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Those Are Blood Money
For Ukraine, they don’t have a choice in deciding how to balance the scales of this dilemma between economic fairness and moral-geopolitical good. As far as they are concerned, blind-but-fair adherence to crypto’s anonymous invisible hand of the market means their people will die.
Bornyakov’s ministry has started to reach out to major exchanges to not work with Russia for the time being because as he puts it: “They use this money to kill civilian people, to invade a free country without any reason. We inform those exchanges with official letters, with calls, where we can reach to stop work with Russia. Because those are blood money and in many cases come from corruption.”
According to the minister, some exchanges have stopped while others have limited their activity with Russia, and some working with Russia have been blocked, indicated by their complaints on social media.
Outside of the US raising sanctions, the most likely situation to happen in the next few months is that certain high-risk exchanges that don’t comply with regulations, at least in the United States, will be sanctioned by the Treasury Department in the near future, according to digital asset risk assessment firm TRM Labs’ legal and government department leader Ari Redbord.
“Because there is no central controller who can impose their morals on its user, crypto can be used to crowdfund for the Ukrainian army or help Russia evade sanctions,” said Elliptic’s chief scientist and co-founder Tom Robinson to The Washington Post.
“No one can really prevent it from being used in either way.”
According to Investors.com, TRM Labs recently identified 340 crypto businesses with strong Russian connections that it considers high risk such as lesser-known over-the-counter trading desks.
World’s First Cryptowar
Since Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War, the economics of defence has been widely discussed by both governments and private businesses alike. That it is now crypto’s turn to take up arms or rescue the helpless should surprise nobody.
But for a virtual asset so decentralised and antithetical to concerns of the state, the speed at which it has been applied to wartime has to a degree taken many state actors by surprise.
Both The Washington Post and Vox agree to some degree that war has pushed the utility of crypto to such a degree that the unique circumstances of war have made crypto itself a part of it.
According to the Vox article, “What we do know is that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now a real factor in global economies and in conflicts.” Meanwhile, The Washington Post has straight-up dubbed the Russia-Ukraine conflict “the world’s first crypto war”.
What this conflict will do for the futures of individual cryptocurrencies is frankly anybody’s guess. But one thing we do know is that due to its unique attributes of speed and stealth, some of the most desirable attributes for any other tool or weapon, crypto’s role in the war is here to stay.
Crypto becomes an invaluable asset to Ukrainian refugees
Cryptocurrencies have been immensely valuable to Ukrainian refugees. As Russian attacks have destroyed critical infrastructure, many Ukrainians are finding it hard to withdraw cash from ATM machines. Therefore, many Ukrainian refugees are relying on digital currencies sent from relatives abroad in order to purchase goods and services. All that is needed for them to access their cryptocurrency wallets is a mobile phone and internet access, which is being provided by the thousands of Starlink satellite internet dishes provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
NFTs have become one of the most exciting trends in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. With many existing projects and more in the works, crypto enthusiasts now consider NFTs as potentially rewarding and an attractive asset. These specialized assets have generated a lot of media hype, speculation, and commendable value for the greater crypto and blockchain ecosystem.
However, many people are still unaware of the specifics which make NFTs work such as minting, applications, and their general significance towards the crypto and traditional sectors. People also don’t know what to make of the trend, and whether or not they should participate in the hype. As popular as they are, NFTs suffer from the effects of many widespread myths and misconceptions, making these assets some of the most misunderstood in the finance and blockchain sector.
What are NFTs?
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are digital assets with uniquely verifiable qualities contained in their metadata. These tokens function as a popular and effective way to represent traditional or blockchain assets because they are non-fungible, meaning they cannot be freely interchanged in a one-to-one manner, duplicated, or forged. Once created, NFTs are permanently etched on the blockchain’s public ledger and are visible by all nodes on the blockchain. The unique nature of NFTs affords them significant utility across various sectors.
While the principle behind NFTs has real-world applications, these assets are still in their infancy. Many people, including crypto enthusiasts, are still only aware of the myths and misconceptions created by mainstream media and do not fully understand these assets which can have huge potential. Here are some of the most widespread myths about NFTs and the truths behind them.
Click here for our in-depth explainer on what are NFTs.
Myth #1 – NFTs Are a Kind of Cryptocurrency
The biggest misconception is that NFTs are a kind of cryptocurrency. Although they are both developed on blockchains, the critical difference is their fungibility. Cryptocurrencies are fungible assets traded only by an asset with the same value. For example, Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) token is only tradable if exchanged for other ETH or another cryptocurrency with the same exact value. On the other hand, each NFT has a unique value and cannot be replaced with another. One Ether is always worth the same as any other Ether, but the same cannot be said about NFTs, making them a digital asset, not a currency.
Myth #2 – NFTs Are Harmful to the Environment
Since creators mint NFTs on energy-intensive blockchains, many people think they are harmful to the environment. However, this is not the case. People are now using the more energy-efficient Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain protocol instead of the Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol, which is more energy-intensive.
Click here to learn more about Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake.
Myth #3 – NFTs Don’t Have Value
Another common misconception about NFTs is that they do not have any value. On the contrary, am NFT derives true and inherent value from the underlying blockchain technology that enables the ownership, transparency, and security of digital assets.
The utility of NFTs transcends digital artwork, avatars, and collectibles. For example, certain NFTs offer holders various uses and benefits ranging from VIP concert passes to private dinner reservations. Additionally, NFTs are applicable in the real estate sector to transfer land deeds or verify ownership.
Myth #4 – NFTs Are Easily Copied and Forged
A common issue with digital collectibles is validating their authenticity and rarity, mainly to prevent the sale of counterfeit or pirated items. This is a problem that blockchain technology quickly solves.
A blockchain maintains a series of public transactions across different computers or nodes. Each node “witnesses” all transactions to ensure that they are all 100% authentic. With NFTs, the blockchain creates a clear chain of ownership making collectors confident that their NFT is the one-and-only “original,” also ensuring that buyers can verify authenticity before exchanging money.
Myth #5 – NFTs Encourage Scams and Money Laundering
Many still commonly believe that blockchain assets are for criminals and tax defaulters. However, cash is still much more utilized for nefarious purposes and crime-driven than cryptocurrencies and NFTs. All transactions on the blockchain are completely transparent and easily trackable if there is a need to detect fraudulent activity. Furthermore, in some cases, it is also possible to recover stolen funds from scams or money laundering.
Myth #6 – Buying an NFT Means Owning the Intellectual Property
This myth is more of a technical misconception. Owning an NFT does not automatically give ownership of the underlying asset or its intellectual property rights. Unless otherwise stated, ownership of the intellectual property stays with the creator of the NFT. Even after the purchase, buyers or collectors do not have the right to use the NFT outside the scope outlined by the creator. Think of it as a collectable book or movie; just because you purchase it doesn’t mean you have the right to reproduce or monetize the intellectual property.
Myth #7 – NFTs Are Just a Fad
Like the internet, many people thought NFTs would not catch on or only find applications for illicit activity. Some also believe that these tokens are just hype and will suddenly disappear, leaving many people holding worthless assets. However, given the many possible use cases, NFTs are unlikely to disappear.
We can see that NFTs are not dead or just a fad from the launch of video game retailer GameStop’s NFT marketplace. GameStop launched its NFT marketplace on 12th July 2022, ahead of its initial anticipated release after hinting at this for over a year. GameStop has in May 2022 already released its digital asset wallet for users to store, send and receive cryptocurrencies and NFTs in anticipation for this marketplace launch.
The launch of GameStop’s NFT marketplace also appears to be a success, with trade volumes exceeding US$1mil (over 1,028 ETH) in 24 hours. Commentators on Twitter also suggest that GameStop’s launch was even more successful than that of the Coinbase NFT marketplace, since GameStop’s trade volume in 24 hours was equivalent to 60% of Coinbase NFT marketplace’s entire lifetime sales.
Conclusion: NFT Myths?
NFTs are here to stay and are slowly gaining massive traction across the crypto space. Although popularity is on the rise as creators are continuously minting new ones every day, crypto enthusiasts worldwide still need to stay informed about utility to better understand the technology, how it works, and how creators can sustain the NFT market well into the future.
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:
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.
A recent uptick in projects combining the concepts of move-to-play and play-to-earn into what is known as move-to-earn have started gaining traction, with more and more people trying out this new play-to-earn paradigm. Players are rewarded proportional to their physical activity, incentivizing an active lifestyle all the while generating a passive income. This article looks at 5 reasons why move-to-earn might become the hottest crypto trend of 2022.
And check out our predictions and analysis on whether move to earn has potential to become a BILLION dollar industry:
Move to Earn: BILLION dollar potential in 2022? Predictions and Analysis (StepN $GMT)
What Is Move-To-Earn?
Move-to-earn is a fast developing component of Web3, enabling individuals to own and monetize their personal data. M2E’s mission is to scale the blockchain-based incentives system for healthy lifestyle promotion. The increased use of fitness trackers and employer-sponsored wellness programs that reward employees for boosting their physical activity might result in the global fitness tracker market growing from $36.34 billion in 2020 to $114.36 billion in 2028. Employee absenteeism due to illness can be reduced with fitness-based M2E. In this aspect, M2E applications have a far wider audience reach than P2E applications.
5 Reasons Move-To-Earn NFT Games Will Be the Hottest Trend of 2022
1. Investors are Flocking towards Move to Earn Projects
Investors make it their job to identify trends, and seeing the amount of investments in play-to-earn gaming projects, it’s easy to see how the recent influx of cash into projects (such as STEPN and Genopets) in the past months foreshadow the upcoming success of move-to-earn. In their January seed round, STEPN raised $5 million, and, back in October 2021, Genopets raised a whopping $8.3 million in their seed round.
We’re likely to see more projects and investments by way of SAFTs, and retail-focused IGOs (Initial Game Offerings) to pop up this year, each attempting their own take on monetizing the intersection of blockchain and physical activity.
2. People want to be Active Post-lockdown (Whilst Earning Passive Income)!
With Covid lockdowns mostly fading away and warm weather (in the Northern hemisphere) knocking on the door, life will return from the drab cold days of the winter, forcing everyone outdoors. The pandemic showed us that better physical health can keep us from experiencing severe effects of disease, as is the case with Covid-19, and many will try to improve their health as a result.
Combined with a desire to socialize and finding the next thing to get addicted to (aside from social media and binging Netflix), an app that aligns an active lifestyle, passive income, collectibles, and mobile video games in a fun and engaging way can be a very powerful combo that launches some move-to-earn projects into our daily lives this year.
Looks like move-to-earn gaming will contribute to a planet-wide increase in human health by combining the two things people love to do, whether they admit it or not, making money and playing games!
3. Move-to-Earn Gets People Earning Faster and Easier than Play-to-Earn Games
With play-to-earn games having laid the practical and conceptual foundations of NFT-based gaming, move-to-earn NFT games are set to see a rapid rise in popularity this year. Games like Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, and many more, have exploded in the past years, amassing a large user base and catalyzing the creation of gaming guilds that bring like-minded gamers together. Now, the crypto community is ready for a new evolution of Play-to-Earn.
The biggest advantage of move-to-earn games is the low barrier of entry. Contrary to traditional character-based games with narratives and gameplay that require time, dedication and effort to understand, move-to-earn games leverage actions that every human is very familiar with – movement! This means that a player has practically no learning curve before they can start playing and earning, completely eliminating barriers to entry for anyone. Simply open the app and start earning!
4. Move-to-Earn Builds on the Proven success of Social Fitness Apps
Anyone who’s actively used fitness apps like Strava, Fitbit, or PlayFitt will know how addictive their gamification aspects can be, be it trying to set a route record, trying to keep up with the physical activity of your friends (and get more likes), or even competing against yourself as you see your progress in the app.
These social fitness apps do something magical – they bring out our competitive side, forcing us to push further than we’ve ever pushed, either against ourselves or others. And the amazing thing is that, aside from improved physical health, there is no additional reward that would merit such dedication. If peer pressure and social clout is enough to cause us to do things we normally wouldn’t happily do – exercise – what will the promise of earning a buck or two as you exercise do to us?
Move-to-earn games seek to answer the question: “What if you added a financial layer and further gamification to a social fitness app, and built it on robust decentralized technologies to ensure fairness and true ownership?”
5. Move-to-earn Might be the NFT Play Many Retail Investors are Waiting for
Though some metaverse coins like Axie Infinity’s $AXS have gone parabolic since last year, the bigger Metaverse & GameFi narrative plays are yet to fully take off. This leaves plenty of options to choose from from an investment/bag holding perspective, with many potential “up-only” plays looming around the corner.
In addition, many retail investors missed the insane gains of last summer’s NFT craze, either due to not fully understanding how to take advantage of the NFT hype train, or simply not wanting to be bothered with having to immerse themselves into the culture of the NFTs to anticipate the highest ROI plays. Flipping NFTs is more difficult than simply buying a coin that goes up.
Luckily for these people, move-to-earn projects might offer just the solution. In addition to having NFTs, which can be traded as normal, these games also incorporate in-game utility and governance tokens, which can be easily purchased on exchanges, and grow as the value and popularity of the game grows.
STEPN and Dotmoovs have both made a very smart decision by integrating an NFT marketplace with its own Rental System, allowing players to borrow sneakers/ footballs and start earning quickly and seamlessly, without having to join a gaming guild and apply for a scholarship. Click here to learn more about the controversial practice of NFT Scholarships.
Not only is this more beneficial for players, but also for NFT owners who don’t want to earn by moving, but through lending them to someone else and collecting a percentage of the fruits of their labor.
By reducing the friction of lending their sneaker NFTs to scholars, all owners need to do is to simply place their NFTs on the in-game marketplace, and reap the rewards. This approach to NFT staking will likely gain popularity due to the ease of use and low barriers of entry for hobbyist NFT owners.
Conclusion
2022 is looking ripe for move-to-earn games, as GameFi, active lifestyle, and SocialFi narratives take root, eventually culminating in a hype train that might even overshadow previous parabolic narrative-driven runs!
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) made a huge splash in 2021, with sales of NFTs reaching $25 billion in the same year. NFTs are records on a blockchain that cannot be replaced with something else and retain its value. In that sense, they are different from fungible tokens like bitcoin, which can be traded for another bitcoin and retain the same value. NFTs are most popularly used to sell digital art, by uniquely associating digital assets such as images, videos, music or text to a blockchain record. It is with this association that NFTs promise art collectors to have something that cannot be copied or modified: ownership of the work.
Generative NFTs is a new art genre with a rapidly growing ecosystem within the crypto world that is poised to challenge the traditional art world. Generative art is developed through creative coding and this exciting medium is becoming increasingly popular within the art community, along with those interested in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and the metaverse. Using a digitally native medium, generative NFTs fundamentally challenge conceptions of what gives art its value and how society expresses its communal values through art.
What are Generative Art NFTs?
Generative art is an expression currently used a lot in the context of NFTs- as a means of ownership, and even a means to create pieces of generative art via smart contracts. The term generative art describes pieces of art that have gone through a generation process by a system that is set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art. Thereby, generative art can be seen as a collaboration between an artist and an autonomous system. Under this definition, NFTs are not the origin of generative art.
The Origins of Generative Art
Instead, an early example of generative art, more specifically of generative music, is Mozart’s Musikalisches Würfelspiel published in the late eighteenth century. Musikalisches Würfelspiel (German for “musical dice game”) was a system for using dice to randomly generate music from precomposed options. While this is an example of an early piece of generative art, created in traditional manners, blockchain technology enables new opportunities for creation. Generative art can now be created by running a smart contract. A smart contract is code stored on a blockchain under a certain address. By sending crypto to this address, the smart contract is triggered, and the code stored under the address is executed automatically. A piece of generative art will then be created by the smart contract and stored on-chain in the form of an NFT directly owned by the wallet address that sends the crypto to run the smart contract.
Generative Art as NFTs
Today, the common process of creating generative art is by running a machine algorithm, no matter if it is created as an NFT or not. Minting a generative art NFT adds a level of uniqueness that could not have been reached before. This is achieved by including inputs to the piece of art such as wallet address, transaction ID or gas price. These parameters are then used to mint the NFT.
The resulting NFT piece of generative art differs from those art pieces created traditionally. There will always exist only one NFT with these exact parameters. Even if another art piece would be created that looks very similar, the parameters included in the NFT piece of generative art would always be different, and so each piece is truly unique. That said, it is valid to question how the created NFT can be something “special” if the same algorithm could be run millions of times and create NFTs that eventually all look similar, even if they are not identical. But this is an advantage of NFT generative art: a supply cap can be implemented right from the beginning.
Traditionally, the art market has evolved to be exclusive with high entry barriers due to the necessary knowledge and investment size required. The trend towards generative NFT art opens the art market and enables inclusion for people outside of the art scene and with lower investment budgets. This has also been recognized by big players of the art world and thus, auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s put NFTs on their agenda and started curated NFT auctions.
The value of generative art is based on an interplay between embedded attributes with varying degrees of programmatic rarity and how those elements come together in a way that is visually aesthetic and pleasing to the collector. Although the programmatic characteristics add quantifiable metrics that can be used to assist in the valuation of the NFT, generative art pieces still have an element of subjectivity driving demand.
AI-Generated NFTs
Art made entirely by artificial intelligence has been branded as the next big thing and is slowly grabbing the attention of art enthusiasts and NFT collectors all around the world. A collection of NFTs created by a robot artist named Botto sold for over $1.1 million in 2021 and projects like the AI Art House feature generative art NFTs that so closely resembles the likes of Monet, Mondrian and van Gogh that you would be forgiven to mistake them for long lost art pieces by past masters.
AI-generated art is able to produce one of a kind pieces that push the limits of exploration and creativity beyond human touch. Artificial intelligence is commonly understood to be the ability by a non-human model or machine to solve sophisticated tasks and perform human-like cognitive functions such as learning, problem solving, reasoning, and perceiving. When it comes to art, the concept is based on the idea that machine learning algorithms are capable of producing original images when adequately trained using a vast amount of image data using a technology called General Adversarial Networks (GANs). Similar to a painter who has taken years to perfect their craft, AI is also able to learn from endless hours of training and become able to generate images that have never been drawn before.
How this actually works in real life is simple: in order to create a new piece of art, a human artist can simply enter keywords or sentences into an artificially intelligent model that will then use algorithms to analyze millions of works of art and produce its own images as a visual interpretation or representation of the original text. That is the framework behind a tool called Eponym, developed by art platform Art AI, which leverages text-to-art in order to develop AI-generated NFTs. The developer has explained that its algorithms are inspired by “a vast collection of art from throughout history” and that the AI draws inspiration from being exposed to different art genres, periods, subjects and styles to create NFTs from scratch, each with their own distinct style. The result is, according to the developer, otherworldly images of novel styles and contents.
This way, users can easily create a new abstract art piece based on the text they choose and mint it directly to OpenSea. Moreover, single words can only be used once, meaning there will never be two NFTs based on the same text. Eponym allows human touch to be combined with AI algorithms, which has led to some mind-blowing art. And taking it even a step further, a Gen 2 collection of NFTs now allows minters to give sets of instructions to the AI system, including emotions, color schemes, visual styles, and more.
The adoption of AI generative features by artists has been hailed as a new era in art, where the combination of human imagination and AI art based on input text has extended the possibilities of art itself to unknown and yet exciting depths.
Top Generative Art NFT Projects
Developments in the medium and technology have allowed pieces to become more visually complex and appealing, while bringing to life new art genres that human artists have yet to imagine. As the saying goes, art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation, but here are some generative art NFT projects that may catch your eye:
1- Art Blocks
One of the most successful NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain, Art Blocks is in a class of its own when it comes to active generative art projects. Founded by Snowfro, the platform is built around its Art Node smart contract that allows collectors to mint tokens containing a unique hash string. The thrill of the unknown is part of its appeal as collectors don’t know exactly what their piece will look like until after it has been minted. Art Blocks is the digital platform that produces, sells and stores on-demand generative art, though some people will refer to the art itself as Art Blocks.
Art Blocks incorporate an element of surprise where the end user never knows how their piece will turn out
You can browse the website exactly as though you were online shopping for a piece of art for your living room. If you find something you like, you can buy it, but instead of being sent a replica of what you chose, an algorithm goes to work making tweaks to the formula, and produces a one-of-a-kind piece in that style just for you. The result is a digital piece of art, which can be anything from an experience, 3-D rendering or cartoon, that can never be copied.
There are three categories of art on the Art Blocks platform: Curated, Playground, and Factory. The Curated section are works chosen by the Art Blocks team as an exemplification of the high level of creativity and execution possible in crypto art. Playground is a space for experimentation and for curated artists to explore what is next for their projects. Individual projects are not vetted by Art Blocks but the artists have been vetted to ensure high quality. The Factory is a sort of anything-goes space. Any artist can submit their pieces to be a part of the Factory and Art Blocks will check to make sure it is functional and not a copy before the piece is published.
Some notable Art Block projects and artists include:
Chromie Squiggles — by Snowfro
Chromie Squiggle #13
Chromie Squiggles was the first-ever collection to be published and minted on Art Blocks. The project is designed by platform founder Snowfro himself. He considers them to “embody the soul of the Art Blocks platform,” and claims they are each his “personal signature as an artist, developer, and tinkerer.” In 2021, a pair of pieces from this collection resold for $4 million.
Fidenza — by Tyler Hobbs
Fidenza #313
Tyler Hobbs’ colorful project Fidenza is impressive for its ability to generate individual pieces that look incredibly different from one another in color, texture, shape and more. In Hobbs’ own words: “Fidenza is by far my most versatile algorithm to date.” Work from this project has sold for more than $3 million.
Ringers — by Dmitri Cherniak
Ringers #109
Ringers features art based on the concept of wrapping a string around a set of pegs. The project uses few colors: black, white and yellow primarily. Cherniak describes the inspiration for his work as “an almost infinite number of ways to wrap a string around a set of pegs. On the surface it may seem like a simple concept but prepare to be surprised and delighted at the variety of combinations the algorithm can produce.” Ringer #109 sold for an astounding $7 million in 2021.
2 – Autoglyphs
Autoglyphs are created using generative algorithms and each artwork is wrapped as an NFT token that contains the original data of the work. The art is inside the smart contract and stored permanently on the Ethereum blockchain. This completely self-contained mechanism for the creation and ownership of artwork earned Autoglyphs recognition as the first “on-chain” generative art project.
Autoglyphs
Founded in 2019 by the same Larva Labs technologists behind CryptoPunks, the glyphs were originally minted by anyone who was willing to donate the creation fee of 0.2ETH (around $35 at the time) to 350.org, a charity that combats climate change and promotes clean and renewable energies. The creator of each glyph became the first owner of that glyph. After 512 glyphs were created, the generator shut itself off forever and the glyphs are now only available on the secondary market.
Autoglyphs had no human interference in the generation of the artwork. Created entirely by the algorithm to produce ASCII artwork, the project supercharged the NFT industry by becoming the first-ever generative art project on the blockchain and paving the way for the generative art boom today.
3 – Eponym
Eponym is the world’s first and largest collectively created NFT art collection. Developed by Art AI which is the world’s largest gallery of AI generated art, this text-to-art generation relies on algorithms that personalize generative art and that assists users in creating NFTs based on phrases or words of their choice.
Generate personalized art based own your choice of phrases and words
Each submission to the minting site takes about a minute to load, but once the AI had completed, you are greeted by a new and unique work of art. Results range from highly abstract, to landscapes and portraits, all depending on the text prompts. Phrases of action creates chaotic representations, locations often produces landscapes with scenery similar to that of its real world appearance, and portraits are mainly born from names of people.
These machine-made artworks represented the project title well, as an eponym is a person for which something is named. In essence, what the team had created was a system where the collector provides the words, or eponym, and is returned a computer generated artistic interpretation bred directly from the AI’s general understanding of the phrase.
The most notable part of the project is that you are able to refresh the algorithm and ask for a new representation of the word or phrase that the creation was born from! This expands the possibilities from one single depiction of a prompt to an endless number, as you could keep rolling until you find the Eponym you want to mint. Once art is rerolled, it would never exist again. The simple permission to allow for a redo opened the door for the collector to have an equal role in the creation alongside the artificial intelligence.
Conclusion: Generating A New Era of Art Appreciation
The generative art NFT movement is leading to greater appreciation of art and inclusion on a global scale. The traditional art world has notoriously become an exclusive club and investment class for the ultra-wealthy to speculate on and flip for profit, or perhaps more nefariously, to launder money or engage in tax evasion.
Although the generative art NFT market may be flooded with euphoric sentiment, early adopters of the movement believe it is ushering in a new digital Renaissance that will enable artists and computer scientists to reach a global audience and experiment with a new medium that is engaging collectors on a deeply emotional level.
Ultimately, the forms and types of art that are produced and highly coveted signals the fundamental values of a society. This is apparent in the values of community-building, inclusion, and mimetic culture. Generative art NFTs have surpassed the traditional art market in its ability to draw attention and capture the imagination of a global audience. (vallartainfo.com) The NFT art community has accomplished this by building an internet-native global community of avid fans, creators, and collectors that do not take themselves too seriously and prioritize fun and connection over physical material possessions.
Axie Infinity ($AXS) is probably the first game everyone thinks of when talking about crypto gaming or GameFi. This is for a good reason too, it is hugely popular with millions of players worldwide and is well known for helping many earn a living (whilst playing the game) during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Recently, however, the game has been plagued by problems such as a multi-million dollar hack, and reports about shady practices by some Axie players. In this article, we look at the rise and fall(?) of Axie Infinity and how it can be a valuable case study for the future of other play to earn crypto games.
What is Axie Infinity ($AXS)?
Axie Infinity ($AXS) is a popular play-to-earn NFT blockchain-based game where players can earn by leveraging gameplay skills and contributing to the ecosystem. Partially inspired by the popular Pokémon video game series, Axie Infinity allows players to pit monsters called Axies against each other in battles. Gamers can also collect and raise their monster pets, and build land-based kingdoms for the pets as they progress through the game.
Axie Infinity is easily one of the most popular games in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. Launched by Vietnamese game-maker Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity concluded a $7.5 million funding round in May 2021, with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and billionaire Mark Cuban as investors. According to Bloomberg, the number of daily active users on Axie Infinity jumped from 30,000 to 1 million between April and August last year. Furthermore, from April 2018 to July 1st, 2021, Sky Mavis generated $21 million from Axie Infinity; by the end of August in the same year, that number jumped more than 2,200% to $485 million.
Yet despite its meteoric rise, Axie Infinity has seen a dramatic decline in daily revenue and general interest since its November 2021 peak, when its revenues reached an all-time high of $165 USD. To better understand the unraveling of one of the most popular blockchain games, let’s take a look at the recent issues and challenges Axie has faced in the past months.
Check out our video where we analyse the crypto gaming trend and where we think it’s headed.
My honest take on crypto gaming
Some Major Problems and Criticisms of Axie Infinity
The Axie Infinity universe has had its fair share of criticism. One of the most significant issues is the problematically high barrier of entry. Although Axie Infinity is free to download, players need at least three Axies to begin with, each costing a minimum of $29. This can be a costly initial investment for some and would deter them from even starting the game in the first place.
The expensive initial cost has created active Discord and Telegram groups where prospective players are consistently on the hunt for sponsors to help get their feet in the door. Unfortunately, sponsors sometimes make inappropriate requests before assisting players. Last year, Axie Infinity reacted to reports of sponsors requesting nude photos from players.
Other controversial practices, such as the “Scholarship” practice emerged whereby gamers lacking the initial capital (known as “Scholars”) would borrow Axies from “Managers” in return for a significant amount of in-game earnings. In some cases the split was as high as 50:50 between the Scholar and the Manager. In the Philippines, where it was well-known that locals quit their jobs in favour of playing Axie professionally due to its high returns, the practice was very widespread. During Axie’s heyday in 2021, many scholarship “guilds” were formed, some of which had over 3,000 players playing multiple games for their Managers. These Managers have even gone so far as to say that they may remove peoples’ scholarships if the scholars did not play to their satisfaction. Considering the average wage of a Filipino employee was only US$3,218, critics have accused Axie Infinity’s business model to “digital serfdom”– modern exploitation in the digital space.
In response to accusations of controversial practices by some Axie Infinity players, Sky Mavis Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Aleksander Leonard Larsen likened Axie Infinity to a digital nation, suggesting that there are criminals in any society. The COO admitted that the issue is an internal concern for the Company and that the platform has banned “several thousand” accounts so far.
Revenue Plunge
Axie Infinity’s revenue was already dropping since its peak in November 2021. According to an image from Token Terminal, Axie Infinity began October with $6 million in daily revenue. Between October 4th and early December, revenue spiked up to $10 million but also plunged to nearly $2 million. However, since December 12th, there has been a steady decline. In fact, Axie has not crossed $2 million since mid-December, even recording less than $21,000 as recently as March 30th. According to a recent report, Axie plunged 40% in September alone.
Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network Hack
By far, the biggest issue Axie has faced in its 4-year history is a US$625 million hack that took place on 23 March 2022. According to an official Substack post, hackers compromised Sky Mavis’ Ronin Network validator nodes and Axie DAO validators, which are used to power the game. As a result the hackers successfully made away with 25.5 million USDC and 173,600 Ether (ETH). The unknown hackers depleted funds from the Ronin bridge in two transactions.
Ronin explained that the chain currently has nine validator nodes to prevent illicit transactions, and requires five validatory signatures to recognize all withdrawals or deposits. In November, Ronin let Sky Mavis sign transactions to help with high demand from new Axie players. Although this only lasted till December, the allowlist access remained active, and the attacker was able to access Sky Mavis systems to get a signature from the Axie DAO validator through Ronin’s gas-free RPC node. By doing so, the hacker was able to gain validation access over this highly centralized network, controlling the majority of nodes, and thus, the decision-making power.
Analytics firm Chainalysis is currently helping Sky Mavis to track the stolen funds and has said the funds are still in the hacker’s wallet. Ronin has also said all stakeholders are now trying to ensure that users don’t lose any funds.
The Substack post also specifies several actions taken to curb further loss. For instance, withdrawal or deposit recognition now requires eight signatures instead of five. There is also a temporary pause on the Ronin Bridge in addition to Binance disabling their bridge to and from Ronin. The Katana DEX was also immediately suspended. Unfortunately, none of that has stopped prices of their AXS token from falling 25% since the hack occured.
Axie Infinity’s Future: is this the end?
Even with these evident drawbacks, several members of the gaming community believe that Axie Infinity has a bright future ahead of it. Some analysts think that the platform’s extensive and ever-increasing community can only spell long-term progress. Axie Infinity has enjoyed large-scale popularity and increased AXS token prices such that many believe that there is no worthy competitor. However, the recent hack might sway public opinions very fast.
Although Axie’s revenue has consistently dropped since late last year, The plunge has been even steeper in the last few days. Token Terminal data shows that Axie pulled in just $184,500 on March 1st, from $2.1 million on January 19th. Revenue on March 25th was less than $9,000.
Prices of the project’s native $AXS token have also taken a tumble, with prices reaching an all time high of $164.90 on 6th November 2021, and now down to around $38 in late April 2022. Check here for the latest prices for $AXS and data provided by CoinGecko.
Several competitors, such as Crypto Kitties, Decentraland and MetaGods, have been trying to give Axie Infinity a good run for its money. Now is finally the right time for these alternative play-to-earn ecosystems to steal Axie’s disgruntled customers. Popular options can leverage Axie Infinity’s current downtime to revamp their existing offerings or introduce new ones, making the features attractive enough for Axie players to cross over. In what may end up as the likely outcome, players may also be satisfied enough to consider keeping and using accounts across most of these popular play-to-earn games.
With all the fuss and mistrust currently circulating within the gamefi space, it might also be a good time for new games to launch, or at least begin to whet gamers’ appetites. Possible strategies could include specific advertisements targeted at security, more gaming options, more accessible play-to-earn services, and immersive gameplay that can rival Axie Infinity. If competitors offer little to no financial entry barriers, Axie Infinity could have a very challenging time getting back on its feet after it eventually opens the Ronin bridge.
Conclusion
Currently, the Ronin bridge remains closed, with all deposits and withdrawals halted pending a full investigation into the hack. It is expected that it may be another few weeks before the Ronin bridge is operational again. Most importantly, the team behind Axie Infinity has promised affected users that they will recover and reimburse the stolen funds. Despite this setback, Axie Infinity still has over 600,000 active daily users, demonstrating its popularity, and the game itself is not going away anytime soon.
As digital investing is growing in popularity, a new type of digital asset known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are entering the market. An NFT is a cryptographic asset that is presented as artworks, music, videos, and in-game items, with many other new ideas coming up each day. Having made their debut in 2014, NFTs have been increasingly in-demand as a method to purchase and sell digital works of art in our current day of age.
In January 2022, one of the monumental NFT marketplaces, OpenSea, reported a trading volume of 5 billion USD. Popular public figures have also hopped on the NFT craze such as pop singer Justin Bieber, rap artist Snoop Dogg, and football legend Lionel Messi.
With the increasing popularity of NFTs, this raises a new question: Are there any disadvantages to using NFTs? In this article, we discuss the current challenges NFTs are facing, and discuss whether NFTs possess the potential to grow even bigger in the blockchain industry.
Challenge 1 – Plagiarism and Ownership of NFTs and underlying works
NFT ownership does not equal “complete” ownership, to some extent. NFTs can be duplicated and downloaded by thousands of people on the internet with a simple screenshot. Although buyers technically own the NFT on the blockchain, digital art thieves can easily steal them — as a complete digital replica.
With the upsurge of NFT theft, artists gradually noticed that their artworks were being turned into NFTs and sold without consent on various online marketplaces. For example, in 2021, Russian artist Weird Undead discovered her recent artwork up for auction on OpenSea.
The artist tweeted, “I don’t give any permission (ESPECIALLY to random jerks) to make tokens from my content and I feel so angry.” The non-fungible token has since been taken down from OpenSea after Weird Undead filed legal notices against the online auction site.
(Twitter user @WeirdUndead’s tweet garnered 21.9K likes)
NFT theft is, unfortunately, rather common. Although profit loss will occur when plagiarising an artist’s work, there are currently no preventive measures for those who mint another person’s art and sell it as an NFT. It may also prove difficult for the artist to claim any compensation or seek remedies against the person who plagiarised them since they are most likely anonymous and living in another country.
Challenge 2 – NFTs are bad for the environment?
Most NFTs use the Ethereum blockchain which also operates on the Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithm. Transaction verification requires the PoS to perform multiplex calculations — where a stupendous amount of computers is vital.
The issue is that it takes a great toll on electricity to mine Ethereum. Each transaction on Ethereum takes 48.14 kWh, which is comparatively a lot more than other average computational tasks. The substantial use of this algorithmic power and electricity results in the increase in consumption of fossil fuels and leaving an even bigger carbon footprint on our planet.
These NFTs are largely to blame for the massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions emitted by cryptocurrency transactions and a lot of people don’t believe that the recommended solutions are possible.
A digital art marketplace called ArtStation withdrew plans to develop a platform for NFTs within hours after receiving criticisms from people who believe that dealing in crypto art is unethical. ArtStation’s proposals for carbon credits have been equated by artists on Twitter as “setting a house on fire then placing a single potted plant on the burned property.”
(Twitter user @Bleaaeach is among many who strongly disagrees with the NFT phenomenon)
Fixing the challenges faced by NFTs?
With the right protocols that can protect the artist’s work and also the environment, NFTs can potentially thrive for generations to come.
Copyright protection for NFT artists?
Artists should be protected by intellectual property laws when selling their artwork in the NFT space. In the US, their copyright laws state that only the original holder has the right to turn their artwork into an NFT. To illustrate, consider the lawsuit brought against Foundation, an NFT platform, for showcasing artwork created by another NFT project called Cryptopunk which was promptly called out by claimed creator Ryder Ripple.
Essentially, artists still have the potential to have their art protected and respected for their original and exclusive value in the form of NFTs. NFT creators can also take the opportunity to earn royalties on the resale of their work — a feat that is comparatively much more difficult to achieve in the traditional market.
Environmental strategies for NFTs?
For environmental concerns, NFTs are still relatively new and were not expected to consume a tremendous amount of electricity when being mined. There are potential sustainable methods that can be adopted to protect the environment when exploring the NFT space. A renewable energy strategy would be a practical method as PoS mining can utilize emission-free energy. In recent years, solar power is a common practice when companies take on an environmental approach, but other alternatives, such as wind-generated electricity can also be considered.
Another environmental strategy would be to purchase carbon offset credits. “A carbon offset credit is a transferable instrument certified by governments or independent certification bodies to represent an emission reduction of one metric tonne of CO2,” explained by the Carbon Offset Research and Education. Although NFT investors who purchased offsets will not directly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it can bestow a financial motivation to lessen total emissions on an annual basis.
Will NFTs survive?
Despite the disadvantages of NFTs mentioned earlier, NFTs won’t be seeing the finish line anytime soon. NFTs’ most evident advantage is their capacity to improve market efficiency. Digitization improves efficiency and safety by removing the need to handle physical assets. With the ability to store and protect sensitive data and documents, they might be the next biggest beneficial tool for both individuals and businesses.
NFT is also transforming art, music, and sports by allowing digital assets to be sold and providing a range of revenue streams for digital artists. Upcoming trends, such as play-to-earn is providing users with the opportunity to also earn while gaming with their NFTs. Seems like going forward, the utility concepts in NFTs will only continue to drive the sector, instead of ruining it.
With the rapid growth and popularity of NFTs, there is no doubt they will have a significant impact on the global economy in years to come. It is not a matter of how, but when.
