Another Perspective

FOMO Asia Genesis Conference | Hong Kong

FOMO Asia is the top blockchain convention in Asia with a mission to convert the public’s fear to trust for the global Web 3.0 community. While FOMO usually stands for Fear Of Missing Out, the FOMO ASIA team believes that FOMO should have a new meaning – Force Of Moving Onward – everyone in the Web 3.0 space should join forces to advance blockchain technologies. Its flagship event, FOMO Asia Genesis Conference, is a four-day event featuring keynote speeches, panel discussions, project showcases and networking opportunities.

Date: 20-23 March 2023
Learn more at https://www.fomoasia.co/

WOW Summit | Hong Kong

Stands for World of Web 3.0 Summit, WOW Summit is a worldwide event which brings together industry leaders, government officials, NFT and digital artists, investors, entrepreneurs, and multinational corporations to discuss the hottest topics in the Web 3.0 space. Following the successful editions in Dubai, UAE and Lisbon, Portugal in the past two years, WOW Summit is coming to Hong Kong and hosting 5,000+ attendees. The two-day event features talks and fireside chats on a variety of topics including Web 2.0-to-Web 3.0 transition and the future of the internet, blockchain adoption, real assets tokenizations, NFT and Metaverse use cases, regulations and more.

Date: 29-30 March 2023
Learn more at https://wowsummit.net/

NFT.NYC | New York

NFT.NYC was founded in 2018 by builders from within the NFT community with a deep commitment to elevating the entire NFT community. Since then, the annual event has grown to be the largest and most respected NFT event which attracts thousands of global NFT enthusiasts to New York City. Last year, NFT.NYC welcomed over 16,000 attendees from 70+ countries.

Date: 12-14 April 2023
Learn more at https://www.nft.nyc/

Consensus by Coindesk | Austin, Texas

Consensus is the world’s largest, longest-running and most influential event in the Web 3.0 space. Since 2015, the event has gathered the crypto, blockchain and Web 3.0 communities to discuss the future of finance and digital economy. In its 2023 edition, the three-day event will bring together industry leaders and bright minds to reflect and review the most tumultuous year in crypto history across multiple stages and workshops.

Date: 26-28 April 2023
Learn more at https://events.coindesk.com/consensus2023/

TOKEN2049 | Singapore

TOKEN2049 is the largest crypto conference in Asia where founders and executives in the crypto and blockchain space meet annually. The event made its Singapore debut last year as a flagship event of Asia Crypto Week and welcomed a record-breaking 7,000 attendees, 2,000+ global companies, and 250+ sponsors. TOKEN2049 is returning to Singapore this year with an extensive program of over 100 side events and networking opportunities.

Date: 13-14 September 2023
Learn more at https://www.token2049.com/

Yet, Goblintown went viral immediately after its launch and minted out in just a few days. The floor price of the project reached more than 2 ETH (~US$2,500) and rocketed up to 4 ETH (~US$4,800). Jaw-dropping, right? About a month after the project went live, the creators of Goblintown finally revealed themselves to be Truth Labs in a Tweet.

More Web 2.0 Brands Come into Play

In the Web 2.0 era, user behaviors are recorded which allows brands to reach their targeted market more efficiently and effectively. In the Web 3.0 era, online community building is emphasized which shows the potential to foster brand loyalty. Many brands have seen this potential and are developing Web 3.0 initiatives to interact and engage with their customers innovatively.

These brands span across a wide range of industries, including banking, fashion, food & beverage, entertainment and more. For example, Nike has unveiled .SWOOSH, a Web 3.0-enabled digital platform that allows Nike fans to learn about, collect and eventually co-create virtual creations with Nike, such as interactive virtual shoes or jerseys. Starbucks has also launched the Odyssey program, a Web 3.0 extension to its Starbucks Rewards program which combines customer loyalty rewards with NFT collecting and other gamified elements.

NFT Art Remains Strong

Last year, the rise of NFTs shook up the art world. Since then, there is growing interest in NFT art from the crowd. Throughout 2022, we have seen more digital art exhibitions being held, more galleries featuring NFT and digital arts, and more artists combining art with blockchain technologies, providing the public with more exposure to NFT and digital art. For instance, the world’s leading international art fair Art Basel exhibited numerous NFT and generative art pieces and hosted Web 3.0-themed panel discussions at their fairs in Basel, Hong Kong and Miami Beach; the innovative Web 3.0 fine art fair Digital Art Fair returned to Hong Kong with its Xperience show and welcomed more than 10,000 visitors over 18 days; American digital artist Beeple’s hybrid NFT sculpture HUMAN ONE made its Asia Premiere at M+ in Hong Kong.

What about the art collectors? A survey co-published by Art Basel and UBS shows that collectors are spending more on NFT art. Just in the first half of 2022, the average spending on art-based NFTs of high-net-worth collectors was US$46,000, higher than that of 2021 (US$44,000) and 2020 (US$35,000). Digital art accounted for 17% of their overall expenditure, including 10% linked to an NFT. It is safe to say that NFT art has proven itself not just a flash in the pan.

It has been a year full of ups and downs. Besides learning from the failure of LUNC and FTX, let’s not forget there are still many market players working around the clock to build the Web 3.0 ecosystem for the better. We are proud of everyone in the space for holding out against the toughest time ever and excited to see more people kickstarting their journey into Web 3.0. Cheers to 2022, and to a brighter, smarter, and stronger new year!

F

Fiat Notes are old-fashioned now and are so-called “fiat” in the crypto world. It’s another way of saying “paper money” which is physical currency notes in the real world.

G

Gwei Want to maximize profit? Watch out for how much you spend on Gwei! Gwei is a simplified way of saying “transaction fees” on the Ethereum network when discussing Ethereum gas.

H

HODL If the chat spam “HODL”, it may be time to cash out! HODL has become a popular term for crypto enthusiasts as it stands for “hold on for dear life” and is usually a reference to cryptocurrencies or projects that are having volatile price actions.

I

Initial Coin Offering An Initial Coin Offering is when a company decides to release a coin to the public for purchase in order to raise capital for the project.

J

JavaScript There is no doubt that every person who knows how to code has not heard of JavaScript before. It can be applied to a variety of applications to help support blockchain activities and can be used to develop front-end and back-end solutions.

K

KYC Don’t know who is running the crypto project? Is it an anonymous team? KYC, also known as “Know your Customer” is the first stage towards anti-money laundering regulations. This comes down to procedures being implemented to identify and verify relevant identities to ensure no scams or illicit activities are involved in the project.

L

Liquidity Can’t pay the bills with crypto? Well, it’s important to keep an eye out for the liquidity of a project in case you do need that fiat currency. Liquidity is the reference to how easily a token can be swapped to other tokens or to fiat currencies depending on the available supply and demand.

M

Minting “First come, First Serve” in the crypto world is usually called minting for many projects. This is the process of generating new coins through the authentication of data, creating new blocks and the information being stored on the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies and NFTs can be minted the same way.

N

NGMI It stands for “not gonna make it” and is often used as a “slang” for projects or cryptocurrencies that may be deemed as a scam or a bad investment opportunity.

O

On-Chain On-Chain transactions are what occur on the blockchain and are validated and authenticated which then leads to the entire transaction being updated on the network. Essentially stating that every transaction is available to view on the blockchain if it’s an on-chain transaction.

P

Public Keys Don’t lose your keys! A public key is a cryptographic code which enables users to receive cryptocurrencies and tokens into their wallets. It is publicly known and also used for identification, while private keys are hidden and used for authentication purposes.

Q

QR Code QR stands for Quick Response. A QR code is a barcode that stores information as a series of pixels in a square-shaped grid and allows users to scan with a digital device easily. Keep your eyes peeled when you are attending events, you may be able to claim an NFT/ POAP for free if you scan a QR code!

R

Rugpull Don’t want to lose your savings? Watch out for projects considered a “Rugpull”. A rugpull is a common term used in the Web 3.0 space where a developer would attract many potential investors to a project, and then leaves with all the funds before the project is developed and ever completed.

S

Shilling Hearing your favorite celebrities telling you about a project? Random messages on your Discord telling you to join an NFT community? This is commonly known as “shilling” which is a term used for users and developers promoting a cryptocurrency coin or NFT project through implicit advertising. This can usually be done through social media influencers due to their large follower count.

T

Tokens Almost every project has a token, but what exactly are they and why aren’t they called coins? Tokens allow developers to create a cryptocurrency without the need of having to build a blockchain for it, unlike coins such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. This allows developers to make tokens in a far easier and more efficient process.

U

UX/UI User Experience (UX) & User Interaction (UI) is always important for every crypto project. It’s always the first impressions that count, therefore, the UX & UI are the make it or break it.

V

Virtual Land Already working from home? Imagine entering a virtual office space, or checking out some creative projects. Virtual Land is all digital spaces or digital land plots that can be bought, sold or built upon when exploring virtual worlds.

W

WAGMI Stands for “we are gonna make it”, WAGMI is the opposite of NGMI. People usually spam this in the chat for projects that have increased in value or volume and have proven to become or will become successful. In fact, WAGMI is so popular that there is now a crypto sports company named WAGMI United, cool right?

X

xDai Chain Have you heard about this? Someone accepted an offer for a Bored Ape Yacht Club for 115DAI instead of 115ETH, meaning it was sold for US$115 instead of US$350,000. Definitely a costly mistake, so pay attention! Dai Chain is an Ethereum sidechain using a Proof-Of-Stake mechanism. It has a stablecoin (DAI) as part of its chain with “xDai” being its native cryptocurrency.

Y

YOLO Stands for “You Only Live Once”, YOLO isn’t a word coined by the crypto community, but crypto enthusiasts do love to say YOLO. This is usually a risky bet where investors place a majority of funds into a single asset hoping for a high-risk-high-return scenario.

Z

Zero-Knowledge Proof A secure way to verify the information for cryptocurrency transactions and identities while keeping their private data hidden.

A

Animoca Brands is a Hong-Kong based company that specializes in game software development, and venture capital investments, founded by Yat Siu & David Kim. Animoca Brands has a portfolio of more than 340 investments and is the developer of leading blockchain projects such as The Sandbox and Phantom Galaxies.

B

BlockFi allows users to buy, sell and trade crypto with little to no fees. Services include low-cost trading and crypto-backed loans. The cryptocurrency lending platform was founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez. In 2021, BlockFi achieved a US$3 billion valuation.

C

Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong through a US$150,000 investment from the Y Combinator Startup Accelerator program. Coinbase now supports over 100 cryptocurrencies and is currently known as one of the largest U.S regulated crypto exchanges.

D

DTTD is the world’s first mobile-based NFT social wallet designed for both crypto natives and the curious. Founded in 2021 by Bosco Lin and Chris Cheung, DTTD aims to make Web 3.0 accessible to everyone and drive mass adoption.

E

Enjin operates multiple blockchain products, including a wallet, marketplace and platform that revolves around Enjin Coin. Enjin Coin is a cryptocurrency launched in 2017 which is used for gaming as a currency to buy, sell and trade NFTs.

F

Fantom uses a network called Lachesis which offers the ability to secure the network, and provide a faster transaction speed which gives it a unique edge against other blockchains. Through Fantoms network, transactions are completed and confirmed in seconds compared to proof-of-work networks which take longer and have more complexities.

G

Gusto Collective was founded in 2020 by Aaron Lau and currently operates with over 200 employees in Hong Kong, Shanghai and London. Gusto Collective is Asia’s first BrandTech holding company which uses the latest technologies to help brands create content and experiences for both the physical and digital world.

H

Huddle01 is a peer-to-peer video conference platform that aims to be decentralized by not relying on centralized servers. And the benefits? Lower latency and higher performance.

I

Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC) is a token-only venture capitalist that invests in early startups based around the blockchain and Web 3.0 industry. Having started in 2015, IVC now has over 50 investments within the space.

J

JUST is a TRON-based DeFi protocol. The company provides three essential services – a stablecoin, crypto-based loans and a bridge to connect cryptocurrencies from the TRON network and other public chains to the JUST ecosystem.

K

Kenetic is a blockchain venture capitalist that invests in companies through Series A and Series B rounds.

L

Ledger is most famous for their secure hardware wallets which allows users to buy, exchange and grow crypto assets, supporting over 1,800 coins.

M

MoonPay is a crypto payment service which allows users to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies, as well as NFTs using multiple payment methods. Ever since its launch in 2019, MoonPay has been profitable with over 10 million customers in over 160 countries, as well as reaching a US$3.4 billion valuation.

N

Near Protocol is a Layer 1 blockchain that competes against chains such as Ethereum through its “Nightshade” technology. Near Protocol can process over 100,000 transactions a second, compared to Ethereum’s 30 transactions per second, proving a new type of innovation in the space.

O

OpenSea is one of the largest NFT marketplaces, supporting the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. Founded in 2017 by Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah, OpenSea raised US$2.1 million in funds through venture capitalists from 2018 to 2019 and now has over 1 million users.

P

Pintu has now grown to become a leading crypto trading and investment platform in Southeast Asia. With more than 4 million users and over US$113 million raised in its Series B funding round, Pintu is looking to expand its services in Indonesia with new products and services, such as digital assets and decentralized finance platforms.

Q

QuickNode consists of a multinational team that focuses on making it easy to build and power blockchain applications through an easy-to-read control panel. This comes in the form of building, testing and scaling blockchain applications with access to multiple blockchains.

R

Rollbit is a revolutionary Crypto and NFT casino. The main attraction of Rollbit began with their one-of-a-kind X-Roulette game in 2020 and has since released their own NFTs to reward users with profit-sharing and passive income.

S

Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol is a verification process that relies on miners to use clean energy sources to mine Bitcoin and is then approved for certification. Once certified that the Bitcoin was mined through clean energy sources, Sustainable Bitcoin Contracts will be provided to the miners and is considered a separate financial instrument.

T

Tether is the most widely adopted stable coin within the cryptocurrency space, with a 1-to-1 peg with the fiat currency, USD. Since its launch in 2014, Tether is the main bridge between the exchange of traditional currencies to digital currency without any complexities.

U

Uniswap Labs is a decentralized network protocol that works as a cryptocurrency exchange built on the Ethereum platform. Uniswap is known to be the largest decentralized exchange in 2020 and achieved fourth place for the most amount of daily trading volume.

V

Verasity aims to provide monetization options for content creators on video platforms. Launched in 2018 and led by Mark R.J, Versasity aims to get rid of ad fraud and produce a fair way for developers to earn and offer unique opportunities to advertisers.

W

Web3Auth is a pluggable auth infrastructure which allows Web 3.0 apps and wallets to connect. In other words, rather than having Web 2.0 login mechanisms, Web3Auth allows users to simply connect their wallets as part of their identity.

X

XCAD is a revolutionary platform that allows viewers of content creators to earn and trade their specific creator tokens through a “watch-to-earn” mechanism. Currently, XCAD has developed a plugin that operates on YouTube and is supported by several popular YouTubers.

Y

Yield Guild Games (YGG) is a “play-to-earn” gaming guild. Formed as a “Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)”, the community decides on what games to play, and what digital assets to invest in. YGG allows players in the same NFT game to work together to earn tokens, and to rent and use community owned NFTs.

Z

Zebec is a continuous settlement protocol built on Solana. Founded in 2021 by Sam Thapaliya, Zebec empowers real-time, frictionless and continuous streams of payments, bringing change to the Web 3.0 digital economy.