Explainer Archives - BeInCrypto https://beincrypto.com/explainer/ Cryptocurrency News Thu, 03 Nov 2022 10:47:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.3 https://beincrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/cropped-bic_favic-32x32.png Explainer Archives - BeInCrypto https://beincrypto.com/explainer/ 32 32 On-Chain Financing – What is it and How Does it Work? https://beincrypto.com/on-chain-financing-what-is-how-does-work/ Thu, 03 Nov 2022 11:00:00 +0000 https://beincrypto.com/?p=240408 Businesses in the Web3 space face challenges when it comes to seeking out financing. Learn how on-chain crypto lending solves this issue.

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Rarely is a business so flush with cash that it can forgo all forms of financing. Whether your business is just getting started or is well-established, you’ll likely need to seek out some form of financing at some point. In traditional finance, credit scores are typically used to determine whether loans should be issued to borrowers and at what price.

Credit scores, however, are mired in controversy. They’re often inaccurate, and they don’t take into account a business’s full financial picture. Moreover, they’re an exclusionary system that locks out many would-be borrowers who don’t have access to traditional forms of credit.

Instead of tedious bank loans, on-chain financing and Web3 accounting tools like Bulla Network allow for a business to put its request for financing directly onto the blockchain. This enables on-chain crowdfunding, where a business can solicit capital from the community directly.

The State of Blockchain Financing

Today, businesses in the Web3 space, whether in DeFi, NFTs, metaverse, or play-to-earn gaming, face serious challenges when it comes to seeking out financing. In fact, some banks still won’t touch crypto, putting Web3 projects in the same category as gambling and pornography.

Not only that, but banks that do allow crypto in the first place often freeze or seize accounts without notice. Recently, an Indian bank froze over 70 Bitcoin, while South Korean authorities have requested exchanges freeze over 3,000 Bitcoin tied to Do Kwon.

If a Web3 project can’t get a bank account, how can it access traditional forms of financing, like loans? Even if a project can get a bank account, the risk of seizure is enough to put many off, and the lack of a well-established fiat transaction history makes it difficult to get a loan in the first place. This is where on-chain lending comes in.

What is On-Chain Lending?

On-chain lending, also known as decentralized or crypto lending, is a form of lending that takes place on the blockchain. That is, instead of going through a traditional financial institution, businesses can take out loans directly from investors using crypto assets as collateral, and using their transaction histories (such as payroll and invoicing) instead of credit scores.

A big bold title saying "WEB3" surrounded by what seems to be space and a network of neonlight nodes connected through lines. A cover image by BeInCrypto.com.
Web3: Often dubbed the next stage in the evolution of the internet – An image by BeInCrypto.com.

This type of lending opens up financing options for Web3 projects that might otherwise be excluded from the traditional banking system. It also offers a number of advantages for borrowers, including not needing a credit score. With on-chain lending, businesses can use their crypto assets as collateral, regardless of their credit score. So, businesses with no credit history can access financing. 

Additionally, on-chain lending platforms typically require borrowers to put up more collateral than the value of the loan which reduces the risk of loan default and helps to protect investors. 

Lastly, on-chain lending platforms are built on the blockchain which offers a high degree of transparency. So, investors can see exactly where their money is going and how it’s being used.

Web3 for On-Chain Crowdfunding and Beyond

Traditional accounting platforms like QuickBooks or Xero don’t cut it in the Web3 world. That’s because they’re not built for crypto assets and transactions. As a result, they can’t track the value of your crypto collateral or properly record on-chain transactions.

This is where a Web3 accounting platform comes in. With these platforms, businesses can track their crypto assets and transactions in real-time, ensuring that they have the accurate financial information to gain the trust of potential investors. Not only that, but Web3 accounting lets businesses use their networks to raise money through “on-chain crowdfunding.”

Similar to how GoFundMe allows anyone with a network to solicit donations, platforms like these let businesses with a Web3 presence borrow funds from their own networks.

Defi lending illustrated with a #DeFi title and a scale with coins on it held up by a neon light hand. An article cover image by BeInCrypto.com.
Traditional finance locks out many businesses, especially in the crypto sector. On-chain and DeFi lending are the answers. An image by BeInCrypto.com.

The Bottom Line

On-chain lending is a financing option that’s well-suited for businesses in the Web3 space. Businesses can use their crypto assets as collateral, their transaction histories instead of credit scores, and their personal networks instead of banks.

Got more questions about on-chain financing? Visit our BeInCrypto Telegram group where our experts and community will be happy to help you. There you’ll also get trading signals, a free trading course and you can exchange ideas with other crypto fans on a daily basis!

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Could Bitcoin Mining Actually Reduce Methane Emissions By 2030? https://beincrypto.com/could-bitcoin-mining-reduce-methane-emissions-by-2030/ Sat, 30 Apr 2022 19:04:38 +0000 https://beincrypto.com/?p=201430 ESG analyst Daniel Batten argues that bitcoin mining could reduce methane emissions by up to 8.5 percent by 2030.

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ESG analyst Daniel Batten argues that bitcoin mining could reduce methane emissions by up to 8.5 percent by 2030.

As a greenhouse gas, methane has 80 times more potential of causing climate change than carbon dioxide (CO2) during its first 20 years in the atmosphere, according to research. It accounts for about one fifth of all greenhouse gases emissions.

Converting methane into CO2

Daniel Batten, a renowned environment, social and governance (ESG) analyst and bitcoin investor, said bitcoin mining could significantly reduce the amount of methane concentrations in the atmosphere.

Batten argues that removing the equivalent of one ton in methane emissions is more effective than avoiding the same amount of carbon dioxide. His plan is to convert methane into carbon dioxide, and use that to power bitcoin mining.

“You do that by finding leaking methane and cleanly burning it to generate electricity,” Batten outlined in a long April 29 thread on Twitter. “By doing that you get a +80 point for removing methane, but a -1 point penalty for the residual carbon dioxide, so its still 79x more effective than removing CO2 from our atmosphere.”

Methane is produced mainly in landfills and in agriculture, particularly during the digestive processes of a cow. Human activities such as driving cars, oil and gas fields also cause CH4 emissions. Once burnt, however, methane disintegrates to form non-global warming gas products.

Bitcoin miners have started to experiment with the use of what is called “stranded gas” – flared and vented natural gas from the oil industry – to power their mining rigs. Ordinarily, this is gas that will either go to waste or is burnt. Batten says miners could add to this energy produced from landfills.

“If Bitcoin miners were used throughout the world’s oil fields and landfills, they would reduce our global emissions by a huge 8.5%: 1.5% for oil fields and 7% for landfills,” Batten explained.

Batten adds that the quantum of methane in the world has been understated, quoting NASA data which says the world underestimated oil and gas methane emissions by 40 percent. Landfill gas has been under-quantified by 127%, he says.

BTC energy consumption behind the banking industry’s

Scientists blame the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide for causing climate change. Now, bitcoin mining is caught in the matrix. Some academics and economists have criticized the process by which new bitcoins are created, often called mining, claiming it fuels climate change.

They say that mining consumes too much electricity generated from fossil fuels like coal, a major source of carbon emissions. For example, Fairplanet argues that “each bitcoin transaction uses around 2,100 kilowatt hours (kWh), which is roughly what an average U.S. household consumes in 75 days.”

Much less is said about electricity usage involving legacy, monopoly financial institutions like commercial lenders.

In August 2018, Dr Katrina M. Kelly-Pitou, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, published her “Stop worrying about how much energy bitcoin uses” article, which tackles the notion that mining is inherently energy wasteful and thus dangerous to the environment.

Regarding the oft-cited estimation that “BTC mining used 30 terawatt hours in 2017” – as much as Ireland, she explained:

“This is a lot, but not exorbitant. Banking consumes an estimated 100 terrawatts of power annually. If bitcoin technology were to mature by more than 100 times its current market size, it would still equal only 2% of all energy consumption.”

Methane ‘not get out of jail card’ for BTC

Batten, however, also emphasizes that methane emissions is not a ‘get out of jail card’ for bitcoin.

“We need to do both methane and CO2 reduction together,” he urged. “While methane is more lethal, carbon dioxide is much more prevalent. So reducing our emissions of each by 50% is super important.”

Willy Woo, a bitcoin analyst who looks into nuances of data mining and the environment, said there is need to revisit studies that claim crypto mining is bad for the climate.

“If you think bitcoin hurts the environment, dig deeper. It`s the best technology we have to accelerate the adoption of renewables,” Woo tweeted, quoting the argument by Batten.

What do you think about this subject? Write to us and tell us!

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Why Web3 Requires an IFTTT-like ‘Notification’ Aspect for Bridging Blockchain with Consumers https://beincrypto.com/web3-requires-ifttt-notification-system-to-bridge-blockchain-with-consumers/ Sun, 10 Apr 2022 18:39:55 +0000 https://beincrypto.com/?p=197112 Live from ETHDenver, Be[In]Crypto sat down with HAL.XYZ about their IFTTT-like ecosystem to help inject automation into the Blockchain.

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One of the biggest pain points for DeFi and blockchain is the automation process, which allows for a one-sided submission by users to the Blockchain. However, we are still faced with an exhaustive process of understanding what’s happening on-chain at any given time.

Imagine an entirely new infrastructure of technology that is logically, architecturally, and politically centralized as the traditional IT systems we have come to accept and grow comfortable with, but are not custodial, replaceable, and have an extremely low failure rate. 

For decades, the economic system has been run by centralized technologies, such as email, APIs, CRMs, ERPs, SQL databases, and cloud computing – until the notion of decentralization came about, allowing for a tectonic shift that we now come to call Web3. 

As we continue building towards Web3, it is up to the entire community – innovators and consumers to have enough information, context, and understanding to be able to fully embrace these new technologies so that we can actually transition into Web3.

Right now, we have only focused on solutions that are maximally decentralized, which has limited our ability to notice and embrace acceptable compromises that make our traditional IT systems easier to use. 

These technologies, or “gluers,” don’t need to be perfect (nor entirely trusted), but they do need to be fully functional. The reliability of any system is based upon the sum of its components, requiring many gluers to help keep the machine running.

To better understand this new form of technology, it’s worth comparing IFTTT technology, or “if this, then that” services, as means of understanding how blockchain can be truly bridged back to consumers with an IFTTT-like notification system.

A $63 million-backed connectivity web

Back in 2010, IFTTT, or “if this, then that” services launched, allowing for software platforms to be integrated with connected apps, devices, and services from different developers such as Ring and BMW, in order to trigger one or more automations involving those apps, devices, and services. 

These “automations” are accomplished via applets, or macros that connect multiple apps to run customized, automated tasks. Users are able to turn “on” or “off” an applet using IFTTT’s website or via a mobile app. 

For example, the ability to connect a smart light bulb to your smart home assistant like Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Home provides consumers the ability to set IFTTT commands upon an individual walking into their home or leaving it. 

As of 2022, there are over 90 million activated applet connections, according to IFTTT. Upon its initial launch, the company raised $63 million in venture capital funding from investors that include Andreesen Horowitz.

By encouraging the industry to shift its focus towards these “gluers,” it will enable our digital economy to enable an economic system based on an intensive interaction between decentralized and centralized components where developers and companies will judiciously decide how to mix them depending on which components need to be trustless or not. 

In other words, centralization doesn’t have to be made out to be “evil” – if it’s replaceable and not custodial. 

Solving for blockchain and DeFi’s lack of ‘visibility’

Right now, some believe that two of the biggest pain points DeFi and blockchain technology face involve visibility and automation. 

“It’s still pretty hard to understand what’s taking place on the blockchain,” said Manlio Poltonieri, co-founder and CTO of HAL to Be[In]Crypto at ETHDenver.

“It’s pretty hard to have visibility of the types of actions that are occurring, because you’re spending most of your time refreshing – whether it’s Ether Scan or your various dashboards to see if your NFT has arrived or been transferred correctly.  You constantly have to roam the web to understand what’s going on, and it’s inefficient.”

HAL.XYZ is a U.S.-based digital asset management tool for developers, protocols, and companies to query, trigger, monitor, and automate blockchain data. In plain, think of Web3’s modernized version of IFTTT.

Back in January, HAL raised $3 million in a seed funding round from CoinFund, Eden Block, Animoca Brands, with participation from Piquet Ventures, Hashkey Capital, imTokenVentures, SkyVision, Wintermute, and Bitcoin.com, among others. 

HAL’s mission is to merge centralized and decentralized platforms into one single tech landscape by helping anyone, not just developers and coders, automate and query blockchain data – from tracking gas fees and blockchain transactions in real-time on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Polygon, to monitoring and triggering notifications for companies across Twitter, Telegram, Discord, Slack, and more. 

Currently, the company holds over 40+ API-integratable “recipes,” that the company says enables any project to consult with HAL to resolve time-exhaustive processes, by enabling simple automation of updates.

Route DeFi and blockchain ‘visibility’ into workflows

Poltonieri continued the conversation by emphasizing what they consider to be an even bigger problem – the automation process. 

A year ago, he said the company launched its first prototype to help make it easier for developers to create workflows and automation around common-use cases, beginning with DeFi. Currently, HAL has shifted its focus to NFTs and the gamer economy. 

“What we realized was quite technical,” Poltonieri said. “We came up with the idea of ‘recipes,’ which are pre-packaged triggers that focus on a specific use case. For example, if you wanted to track your health factor to prevent liquidation – instead of having to exhaustingly refresh a website as you traditionally may be accustomed to, you can set up a trigger on how you notify across different channels (email, Twitter, Discord, Telegram, etc.) to create workflows. This kind of automation of what’s on-chain to notification and action off-chain, is crucial and has so much untapped potential to it,” he explained.

Describing HAL as a sort of “IFTTT” for blockchains, the CTO pointed to Oracle, distinguishing its mission to bridge the gap between blockchains and Web2. “You have this connection between Web2 such as transmitting data into the blockchain; we are doing the exact opposite. Instead, we are connecting exactly what happens on a blockchain, back to Web2,” he noted.

In improving the efficiency of modern-day workflows, HAL says that by creating workflows, it has the ability to “pipe that notification into a web hook, which can then power an API, product, or anything a project needs.”

For developers and builders, conferences like ETHDenver, NFT.NYC, and NFT LA serve as both a perfect networking opportunity, as well as the ability to interact with other dApps, exchanges, and protocols to improve retention as well as UX capabilities that may still be lacking in certain forms. 

“With Web2, these companies have spent years developing user experiences to help maintain retention and make the customer’s life easier – and notifications have been crucial in that sense,” Poltonieri says.

However, he said the one thing that Web3 is lacking as we begin to dip our toes in, is the “notification” aspect.

“You interact from a technical point of view with the blockchain, so you provide things to the blockchain – but the Blockchain has no way of contacting you and telling you events that are happening inside of it. So, our focus is how to help projects achieve a better user experience. If there’s anything to take away from these conferences, it’s that UX is about to get significantly better,” he concluded.

What do you think about this subject? Write to us and tell us!

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The Ultimate Guide to Blockchain Consensus Mechanisms https://beincrypto.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-blockchain-consensus-mechanisms/ Fri, 04 Mar 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://beincrypto.com/?p=189345 Proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, or rather proof-of-authority? To guarantee the trustworthiness of a blockchain, participants need to reach an agreement on the status of the network. To achieve this, many new consensus processes have been developed over the years. In this article, we take a closer look at what constitutes a consensus mechanism and why it is … Continued

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Proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, or rather proof-of-authority? To guarantee the trustworthiness of a blockchain, participants need to reach an agreement on the status of the network. To achieve this, many new consensus processes have been developed over the years. In this article, we take a closer look at what constitutes a consensus mechanism and why it is critical to the functioning of any blockchain.

Blockchain technology has been around since 2009 when the pseudonymous figure Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin blockchain. What started as an experiment is now a global movement. Because of this growth, purpose-built hardware is now required to mine Bitcoin using the consensus mechanism called proof-of-work. 

In the past, mining was possible on your own computer. First computer processors were sufficient, then you had to upgrade to graphics cards. Today, mining only pays off if you’re a professional farm with cheap electricity.

In the case of Bitcoin, a lot of electricity is required for mining via proof-of-work. This is because specialized mining devices expend computational power to solve an algorithm. The algorithm is called Sha-256 and if the solution is successful, a so-called block reward is paid out – and that reward is Bitcoin.

Due to the high energy consumption, many blockchains are now moving away from proof-of-work as the preferred consensus mechanism. With the impending update “The Merge”, Ethereum will no longer be dependent on proof-of-work. Consensus will then be reached through a different method, the so-called proof-of-stake. 

But what exactly is the consensus mechanism, and why is it necessary? Let’s take a closer look at how blockchains work.

This is how the blockchain works

The word consensus means “agreement”. More specifically, it means the unanimous opinion of people on a question. It represents the central element of every blockchain.

In a blockchain, transactions are stored in blocks by so-called validators. These then form a chain that continues indefinitely. Hence the name “blockchain”. A blockchain is a public, distributed database maintained by an independent community of computers around the world. 

Blockchain, proof-of-stake, proof-of-work, technology

This independent community forms a peer-to-peer network managed by nodes and validators. They confirm the status of the blockchain. In order to guarantee that the database is not tampered with, the majority of all participants must recognize the same status of the blockchain: find a consensus.

A consensus mechanism is therefore an algorithm that achieves agreement on the status of a blockchain between its participants. These mechanisms are used to ensure that all participants have an identical copy of the database.

In this case, the network can only be overturned if the majority agrees to the same manipulated status, referred to as a 51% attack. This is a danger, especially for small proof-of-work blockchains, since you can rent computing power on certain websites.

Partly due to high energy consumption and 51% attacks, other consensus methods have been developed in recent years. Some have been more successful than others. As yet, the perfect consensus procedure does not exist.

The most well-known consensus procedures

Proof of Work

Proof-of-work (POW) is the oldest consensus method. This is where consensus is achieved through computational power. Participants are presented with a complex arithmetic problem that they have to solve using hardware. They receive a reward for the use of resources (hardware and energy). There currently is a move away from PoW, mainly due to the high energy consumption. Well-known blockchains based on POW are Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Monero.

Proof of Stake

Proof-of-stake (POS) is probably the most popular consensus mechanism after POW. It stands for “proof of stake” because consensus is reached here by the assets provided and the duration of the provision. Proof-of-stake was launched in 2012 in response to Bitcoin’s high energy consumption. Since there is no mining at POS, it is not possible to leverage the network with computing power. Attackers would have to acquire more than half of the circulating coins to do this. Well-known examples of proof-of-stake blockchains are Solana and Avalanche.

Delegated Proof of Stake

DPOS is a well-known advancement of proof-of-stake. Here delegates are democratically elected who are responsible for certain tasks in the network. Tasks include validating blocks and confirming the status of the blockchain. The voting right of the voters is usually weighted according to the number of tokens. Blockchains like Cardano, EOS, Tron, and Cosmos make use of DPOS.

Lesser-known consensus mechanisms

Proof of Person

Proof-of-person is a lesser-known consensus mechanism. Here network participants prove that they are real people thus authorized to participate in the network activity. This proof can be provided by certain tasks or even by biometric data. This is particularly advantageous for decentralization since each person can only be represented once in the network. Blockchains based on some form of POP include Idena and Humanode.

Proof of Authority

Proof-of-authority is used to select trustworthy participants who are then allowed to carry out certain tasks. The selection usually depends on the reputation of the participants. Participants undergo an application process before they are considered as validators for the blockchain. The process is usually based on the real identity of the applicant. This ensures a high level of trustworthiness for POA networks, but at the same time involves security risks. The most well-known example of a proof-of-authority blockchain is BNB Chain, formerly known as Binance Smart Chain.

Proof-of-work vs. proof-of-stake: which is best?

Although proof-of-work is considered the most secure consensus algorithm, many blockchains now prefer proof-of-stake. This mainly has to do with environmental factors, but the scalability of blockchains also plays a major role. The Bitcoin network, as digital gold, can get by with a low transaction volume and choose security as the first priority, but the situation is different with networks such as Ethereum, which are fundamentally dependent on fast and cheap transactions.

Therefore, proof-of-stake is the more attractive consensus method for these blockchains. But there are also some weaknesses here. The main criticism is that it makes the “rich richer” and usually creates centralized networks. For example, Ethereum network validators need 32 ETH (approximately $87,000) to be approved. This creates a major barrier to entry for newcomers and small investors, while investors with the necessary capital easily collect staking rewards, widening the gap between small and large investors.

The blockchain trilemma applies to the choice of consensus procedure. This states that a blockchain cannot meet the desired qualities of decentralization, scalability, and security at once, since one of the factors can only be achieved at the expense of the other. As a rule, scalable blockchains are not very decentralized and secure blockchains are rather slow. The only question is– which of the desired qualities do you prefer?

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Metaverse Real Estate: Investment Hits Millions of Dollars – Here’s Why https://beincrypto.com/metaverse-real-estate-investment-hits-millions-of-dollars-heres-why/ Thu, 10 Feb 2022 05:18:32 +0000 https://beincrypto.com/?p=184306 Metaverse real estate: Are you struggling to understand why so many people have plunged in and are snapping up virtual land? Expert Tatiana Revoredo breaks it down for you.

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Metaverse real estate: Are you struggling to understand why so many people are snapping up virtual land? Expert Tatiana Revoredo breaks it down for you.

Many of us sat back and watched as investors snapped up land in the metaverse. Some transactions were completed via auction. Or, the investor bought land at a pre-determined price in virtual worlds like Decentraland and The Sandbox. But why are they buying this virtual land?

Metaverse real estate: Skeuomorphic

The established virtual worlds use the “skeuomorphic” approach to guide the acquisition of digital real estate. Skeuomorphs make something new feel familiar in an effort to speed up understanding and acclimation. They have elements that were used in the original object, but have no purpose in the new system. For example, many new electric cars don’t need a grill on the front of the car to cool down the engine using airflow. But they have ornamental versions of grills anyway, so the car doesn’t look weird.

In this context, just as land in the physical world is scarce, it must also be a scarce resource in virtual worlds.

Virtual land prices (which in 2017 were around $20 each) have had an upward trend over the years, taking a significant leap forward with “the 2021 NFT tsunami.”

Land now sells in the metaverse for between $6,000 and $100,000. It can even sell for $4.3 million. This amount was paid by a virtual real estate development company called The Republic Realm, for a property in The Sandbox.

What led to the explosion of virtual real estate prices?

As we have seen, virtual lands follow the same approach as the real world. They tend to appreciate in value because their supply is limited.

Land at The Sandbox is scarce, with a supply of 166,464 lots available, each 96 x 96m2. The SAND, its native token, soared nearly 14,000% in 2021, trading at $5.15.

Likewise, the Decentraland metaverse, which is governed by an autonomous decentralized organization (DAO), has 90,601 plots of land, but only about 44,000 of them are allocated for private purchases and sales.

Each Decentraland lot is a non-fungible token (NFT) and is 16 x 16m2 in size. The land is quoted in MANA, the platform’s native token. MANA’s price has risen more than 4,300% in 2021, reaching $3.41.

Undoubtedly, the immutability and demonstrable scarcity provided by NFTs contributed to the appreciation of virtual real estate.  But the real reason for this explosion in digital land prices in recent months goes beyond that.

What has really impacted the online real estate market? Why has the price of some plots been driven up by 14,000%? It is because virtual worlds will become the metaverse; more specifically, a fully functioning metaverse. This has the potential to fundamentally alter the way people interact with the digital world and transcend it, merging it with the real world.

metaverse mortgages

What drives an investor to pay millions for land that doesn’t exist in the physical world?

In this online space of interconnected 3D worlds, people (using avatars) will be able to socialize, work, shop, play and much more. And, for a real estate investor, owning a well-used space adds value to the investment.

Add to that, a recent Grayscale survey pointed out that in the near future, the estimated turnover in the metaverse will be around $1 trillion. People can generate multiple income streams from their land.

The potential to make money from virtual real estate at this projected level adds value to a virtual land, and leads an investor to pay millions for it. It involves three factors of appreciation: scarcity, utility, and consumption.

Scarcity: Users acquire the virtual land plots, which are limited in quantity (value due to scarcity).

Utility: The limited number of landowners defines how it will be used. Or, if it will only be a mere investment (valuation for utility/valuation for scarcity).

Consumption: The third factor is related to how users of virtual worlds will consume content created by landowners (valuation through consumption).

Metaverse real estate: What should an investor evaluate before buying?

Remember that virtual worlds follow the skeuomorphic approach, mirroring the physical world.

In the same way, an investor in the virtual real estate market uses all the traditional metrics that they would use in the real world. These include the location, the possible traffic that a certain virtual street will have, the social media announcements of the projects that will be developed in the virtual worlds, and anything they think can generate some income.

For example, a plot of virtual land might have an owner who has not yet worked out what they want to create on the land. This land will certainly be of less value to an investor than a land located on Decentraland’s Fashion Street, intended for holding fashion shows with luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Burberry.

Ergo, both virtual land and real land have the same big question – who are your neighbors and what are they doing?

Have you already acquired a virtual land? Or do you think it’s crazy for someone to invest in this kind of thing? Write to us or join the discussion in our Telegram channel.

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SoviFinance AMA With BeInCrypto https://beincrypto.com/sovifinance-ama-with-beincrypto/ Thu, 28 Jan 2021 14:57:43 +0000 https://beincrypto.com/?p=102655 Sovi Finance aims to introduce the possibility of combining liquidity mining and Non-fungible tokens (NFT) gamification, allowing users to participate in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and enjoy the gaming experience.  Sovi delivers an open module for users to participate in the creation of the game story, as a player and a creator. Full details on the … Continued

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BeInCrypto held an AMA with SoviFinance in our public Telegram channel on January 19.

Sovi Finance aims to introduce the possibility of combining liquidity mining and Non-fungible tokens (NFT) gamification, allowing users to participate in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and enjoy the gaming experience. 

Sovi delivers an open module for users to participate in the creation of the game story, as a player and a creator.

Full details on the project can be found herehttps://sovi.finance/

This AMA has been edited for clarity.

BeInCrypto: Welcome to our BeInCrypto AMA! Today we have Alan from Sovi Finance joining us! Thanks to everyone for being here.

First of all, I think it would be interesting to know a little more about your background so please feel free to write a short paragraph about your experience with blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and so on. By the way, can you also explain your current roles to us!

Alan:  I’m Alan Rose – Senior Community Manager Sovi Finance. I have been involved in the crypto market for a long time, about four years, and have been through two bull runs and I hope there will be many more bull-run in crypto in the future for us to participate in. 

1. BeInCrypto: That’s great, thanks for providing such info for us. Well, let’s get to the main topic of our session then. As far as I know, Sovi Finance created an interesting blockchain-based strategy game and I would like to start by asking some questions about it. Thus, how does SoviFinance differ from other current blockchain-based games?

Alan: Well I think SOVI has many different and stand-out advantages.

First of all, as mentioned above we are not just purely liquidity mining or NFT gamify but Sovi combines both of the popular DeFi models into this project.

Secondly, the DeFi revolution story that we want to build in the real world will be factored into the Sovi game, and each of the game participants can suggest the story direction as they want. Mining power is the key to deciding which direction the game should follow. In this way, we connect our users with us by creating an exciting user experience within the game.

Third, Sovi does not limit itself by launching only on ethereum (eth) but we recently launched as well on the Heco chain (Huobi) and we look forward to launching on other blockchains like Binance chain and Polkadot.

2. BeInCrypto: Awesome. So, I assume you have developed innovative tasks within the game in order to make it both interesting and valuable to the players. Could you please tell us what types of activities players are able to do and what they get from doing that?

Alan: There are lots of things a gamer can do within Sovi, not only play the game but also they can submit the story direction and vote for it. 

For example, just like how we want the Defi revolution to be, we want five years from now everyone using BUSD as digital cash and Heco Chain becoming the most popular blockchain in the game industry or even if they imagine most bank institutions will close down and we finally have full control of our money…. all of this they can write and submit and the community will vote for it through mining pool power. 

For more info about what participants can do within the game, I suggest everyone look at: https://docs.sovi.finance/game-mechanisms/commanders-guidance

3. BeInCrypto: This is really new to me! In fact, a token is surely needed in this game model. What tokens are used in Sovi Finance’s game? Also, could you please share some technical info about it?

Alan: The main token of Sovi Finance is $SOVI. Beside that, we have $hSOV and $hSOV2, h= hope. hSOV and hSOV2 are used for establishing ref or the relationship between users, transferred between people. That’s why it is called “Hope.” The campaign to claim free $hSOV2 is still ongoing.

I suggest everyone hurry up and claim it because you can also use $hSOV and $hSOV2 to mine the main token $SOVI. Please be aware that $hSOV and $hSOV aren’t for sale. The official contract address: hSOV on Ethereum:

https://etherscan.io/address/0x9D83D493688caF9D34f04B3c0d50D197d44aBbCA

hSOV on Heco:

https://scan.hecochain.com/address/0x96D4d7EbA4F7962A6355C32B752447Db61232e13

hSOV2 on Heco:

https://scan.hecochain.com/token/0x8f80ffe983802c230f9a0950cbd654ed04fef789

4. BeInCrypto: It sounds good! I like the idea to use SOVI, hSOV, and hSOV2 tokens in your project. However, let me ask you a question that is probably asked multiple times right now… What is the relation between SOVI and hSOV tokens?

Alan: $hSOV and $hSOV2 are the ingredients for your $SOVI earnings. You can use hSOV and hSOV2 at the mining pool on our main website to mine $ SOVI. Currently, we support two platforms: Ethereum and Houbi ECO Chain
Houbi ECO Chain – https://heco.sovi.finance/staking
Ethereum- https://sovi.finance/staking

5. BeInCrypto: Ok, got it. It looks impressive. This explanation provided lots of value to our session. I’m sure many members are curious about the current ways of getting tokens. So, without further ado, how do you get them? How do you make them available to the community?

Alan: Due to the great interest in SOVI Finance at its official launch, 45 million hSOV on Huobi ECO Chain were fully distributed in less than 20 hours after launch.

Currently, you can claim hSOV2 at Huobi ECO Chain at: https://heco.sovi.finance/claim

and hSOV at Ethereum chain: https://sovi.finance/claim

Also, you can earn more hSOV and hSOV2 by inviting friends. You can refer to our Gitbook: https://docs.sovi.finance/how-to-establish-an-invitation-relationship/how-to-invite-friends

Not only that, but you can also join our regular airdrop activities to receive more hSOV2: such as airdrops on telegram, twitter, joining AMA, …

You can follow the events on our media channel:

Telegram channel: https://t.me/sovi_finance_channel

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoviFinance

Telegram group main chat: https://t.me/sovi_finance

6. BeInCrypto: Wow, it is definitely worth grabbing some tokens to enjoy this game. It’s very well structured and players can have some fun and also get real rewards at the same time. Good job, guys! By the way could you please tell us the main idea behind the Sovi Finance project? I mean, what do you expect to bring by launching your game?

Alan: Well, our team was formed by members who have a long and rich experience in the game industry and in blockchain technology, in total 20+ years experience.

Moreover, blockchain’s revolutionary potential reaches far beyond the financial sector. The gaming industry, ever-hungry for change, is now embracing blockchain – and the new technology looks set to disrupt the $100 billion-dollar global industry. 

We come up with this idea because we believe: 

  1. The potential of NFT as a virtual asset and real assets will generate value just with its own mechanism instead of just speculation.
  2. Gamification is about creating consensus of the virtual world, just like traditional games. SOVI intends to have users become a part of the world creation thus becoming the believers, this is what will truly bring value to NFT assets.

With Sovi we aim to become one of the most popular strategy games that have been built on blockchain to allow transferring the ownership of in-game assets from developers to players.

Not only that, by simulating the DeFi revolution into Sovi, we also want to memorize this revolution between the Decentralized Financial concept and the old. The process of this historical revolution should be told to the next generation. 

7. BeInCrypto: This is fantastic, it is good to learn more about your thoughts on this topic. You certainly have a long and successful path to go towards mass adoption. In order to make it true, what steps do you have in mind regarding a roadmap? Are there any exchange listings in sight?  

Alan: Yes, we have been working on what the roadmap should be in order for us to expand and gain more users in our game….SOVI looks forward to launching major mining by the end of Jan. 2021. There’s also the NFT battleground and the story creation competition starting in early Feb.

Then SOVI will steadily operate with the community to deliver a fancy story that users can participate in and recognize its value, by delivering more impressive NFTs and more innovative mechanisms for interacting with NFTs. We also will expand our network and collaborate with key players in the gaming and Blockchain industry.

Since the Sovi community is very strong and spreading rapidly every hour we look forward to getting $SOVI listed with some major exchanges like Huobi, Binance, or Gate.io.

Community: Smart contracts are prone to failure and many projects fall victim to this, costing users money and a bad reputation. How reliable and secure is your smart contract? Have you audited it through any of the parties?

Alan: The SOVI contract is being audited by Certik, and so will the upgrades.

Community: What is the thing that makes your project special and better than other similar projects?

Alan: SOVI tries to bring an Intelligent Property Feature as an added value to NFT assets. Instead of pure speculation, we believe the best way to bring true value to virtual assets is to make it generate value, and the holder of the asset is a fan of the story, just like peripheral products from movies and games, Pokemon cards for example.

Community: Your project has great features. There must be an experienced team behind it. Can you tell us about your team and their experiences in the market?

Alan: Yes, our tech team is based in Belarus and Germany, while our marketing team is located in multiple countries including Vietnam, Singapore and Europe.

On average we have over four years of experience in blockchain, we believe not only in financial tools, but more user scenarios are needed to enrich the ecosystem, and among those, the gamification assets is definitely an interesting idea and one with the most potential.

Community: What milestones do you have in place?

Alan: We are looking forward to launching the major NFT mechanism in early Feb, and then we look forward to implementing more varieties of characters (NFT) with functionalities.

This is a very exciting process because with an existing setting of SOVI, many more possibilities could be introduced, and so far we have established a good foundation for them. You would like it, not only staring at the APY, but truly like and enjoy it just like real games.

Community: Do you have any plans to attract non-crypto investors to your project? Because it’s the success of a project that gets more investors who are still not in the crypto world. What are your plans to increase awareness around the non-crypto space?

Alan: Good question, this is exactly what we are planning to do.

SOVI is about to announce a background story with a magnificent world view. Imagine you could participate within a financial product just like playing a card collection game, becoming one of the participants while the story unfolds page by page.

This experience would be completely fresh, we believe not only within blockchain, but also gamers and cyberpunk novel lovers will dive into SOVI. You will see.

Community: SOVI Finance is a really interesting project. But are there too many similar projects so I don’t know much about the technical issues. Can you give more practical reasons to become an investor?

Alan: Well SOVI intends to become the first of its kind, a DeFi gamification with a whole grand story that backs it up, and all NFT assets are objects and characters within the story.

Please feel free to read the first chapter, this should clearer for you to understand what difference SOVI is trying to bring.

https://docs.sovi.finance/story-line/background/chapter-1

Community: What are the biggest challenges you expect to face and how do you plan to overcome these challenges?

Alan: I would say the biggest challenge would be transferring real-game features onto a blockchain-based system. We understand the game very well, but in order to implement those mechanisms within a blockchain, many new issues would result.

For instance, a user needs to pay gas fees for every single action, therefore we need to design a mechanism that wouldn’t require a high frequency of operation, but still provide fun and a challenge. 

However, this process is challenging and we are so excited about it. Who wouldn’t love a game that you could enjoy while earning real fortune out of it? Blockchain made it happen.

Community: So many projects speak about the “long-term vision and mission” but what are your short terms objectives? What are you focusing on right now?

Alan: Instead of panicking and trying to clone others, SOVI focuses on its own goal, delivering the product and the story as promised. Nothing like this has ever existed, a path that no one ever stepped onto.

We are fascinated during the process of developing this project and you guys will also feel the same when experiencing it.

BeInCrypto: Thank you so much Alan. We’ve really learnt a lot from you.

Dear BIC members please make sure to follow Sovi’s social media channels:

Telegram Chat: https://t.me/sovi_finance

Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/SoviFinance

The post SoviFinance AMA With BeInCrypto appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Black Friday Crypto Deals Aplenty While Bitcoin is at a Discount https://beincrypto.com/black-friday-crypto-deals-aplenty-while-bitcoin-is-at-a-discount/ https://beincrypto.com/black-friday-crypto-deals-aplenty-while-bitcoin-is-at-a-discount/#respond Fri, 27 Nov 2020 08:36:18 +0000 https://beincrypto.com/?p=96557 Bitcoin’s bull run has aligned perfectly with this year’s Black Friday. Holders have a plethora of deals that they can capitalize on. 2020 has been an extraordinary year for crypto, even by its wild standards. From the lows of March to the rapid rise of the past few months, the year has seen a great … Continued

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Bitcoin’s bull run has aligned perfectly with this year’s Black Friday. Holders have a plethora of deals that they can capitalize on.

2020 has been an extraordinary year for crypto, even by its wild standards. From the lows of March to the rapid rise of the past few months, the year has seen a great deal of excitement and activity. Setting aside price, we’ve also seen major developments like support from PayPal and further regulatory clarity.

Perhaps these developments have helped to give Bitcoin a push to near all-time high levels. Investors will be pleased to know that there is still time yet for the cryptocurrency market to appreciate further. Still licking its wounds from yesterday’s losses, BTC is showing resilience and determination to cross $20,000.

Historically, Bitcoin has done well in the last month of the year, and the increasing interest from institutional investors bodes well for the asset. Investment bank JPMorgan Chase noted that Q3 saw even more institutional funds flow in compared to Q2 2020. Investment activity so far has aligned with Tyler Winklevoss’ prediction of the arrival of a “tsunami of investors.”

bitcoin

The Bitcoin bull run has coincided nicely with this year’s Black Friday retail event, as multiple deals and bargains become available online. This is particularly useful for those looking for exchange deals to get some of the best prices.

Those who are becoming more serious about their cryptocurrency investments can also take a look at Black Friday deals for wallets. This can be especially helpful for hardware wallets, which are the best tools to store and protect funds.

Investors can also set aside some funds for cryptocurrency trading courses. This is a great way to learn how to get the most value out of the current Bitcoin bull run as well as the chance to learn a valuable skill at an affordable price.

But perhaps many cryptocurrency holders will just want a place to spend their Bitcoin. Several platforms are offering Black Friday shopping deals with Bitcoin support. With the asset as high as it is now, this may be the perfect time to cash in. These promotions range from technology services to payment cards and toys.

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