Blockchain Foundry Inc. (CSE: BCFN)
Develops and commercializes blockchain-based business solutions and provides consulting services to corporate clients seeking to leverage blockchain technology in their businesses.
2021 was a defining year for crypto. From wide-ranging mainstream acceptance, which saw everyone from grandma to Wall Street clamouring to get in on the action, to a slew of new digital tokens and the exploding popularity of NFTs, it was a busy year for cryptos.
But it hasn’t all been fun and games. 2021 also saw historic volatility in an already volatile market. By far the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Bitcoin started the year on a rally that took it to new all-time highs before losing nearly 50% of its value in a series of panic sell-offs. Bitcoin regained some momentum during the summer, and by November, it had climbed back to near-record prices but took a bearish turn later in December.
2021 has been a rocky ride for cryptos, to say the least, but what crypto trends are in store for 2022?
Blockchain is coming for the internet. Web3 is the next evolution of internet technology, promising to return personal data control to the people through a system of decentralized blockchain-based applications. Rather than large corporations monetizing the web by leveraging personal information for advertising purposes, Web3 users will be rewarded for their attention with crypto tokens.
DeFi (decentralized finance) applications, built on blockchain infrastructure, were first introduced as a means of processing financial transactions without the need for third-party intermediaries, enabling faster, cheaper, and more secure services. 2021 witnessed DeFi applications, or dApps, take off, with the total value locked in DeFi protocols surging from US$20 billion last year to over US$250 billion today. This crypto trend is looking to accelerate in 2022 as more financial services providers begin shifting to blockchain platforms.
What would 2021 have been without NFTs? These enigmatic collectables were big news, with artwork collections like CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club fetching eye-watering prices. More NFTs began to emerge with innovative features allowing users to enhance their artwork and connect to larger communities. In early December, the Merge sold more than 312,000 units to 28,983 buyers, which collectively form the entirety of the artwork. The total price from the 48-hour sale? US$91 million.
There is also the potential for increasing tokenization of real-world assets like real estate or cars, adding a whole other dimension to NFTs.
With a thriving secondary market and skyrocketing demand, the NFT crypto trend will likely continue in 2022.
Gaming for a living was not new to 2021; however, blockchain-based games exploded onto the scene. Games like Axie Infinity (AXS) and Sandbox (SAND) revolutionized the concept of play-to-earn gaming, giving players the ability to earn in-game tokens and rewards that can be swapped on a crypto exchange for cash.
Combined with improved graphics, better gameplay, more NFT gaming options and a growing number of players, the play-to-earn crypto gaming trend is expected to intensify in 2022.
The end of 2021 saw the emergence of the metaverse, a crypto trend that could really take off in 2022. Meta (previously Facebook) is building a 3D social universe while Microsoft is working on Mesh, a collaborative virtual workplace. Popular games like Fortnite and Roblox have already developed into virtual worlds. The metaverse will be an extension of that concept, with new ways for people and businesses to monetize the experience.
Blockchain Foundry Inc. (CSE: BCFN) is a North American pioneer in the blockchain space. The company has been developing and commercializing blockchain-based solutions for businesses and corporate clients looking to leverage the power of blockchain technology within their organizations since 2016.
BCFN is the developer behind Syscoin, a public blockchain protocol that enables developers to build, launch, and grow blockchain projects unencumbered by slow speeds or high fees. The Syscoin platform includes Syscoin LUX, a highly scalable NFT platform, Z-DAG, an on-chain payments scaling solution capable of processing up to 140,000 transactions per second, and Bridge, a dApp that facilitates interoperability between Syscoin and other Ethereum blockchains.
Many of Blockchain Foundry’s blockchain innovations are proprietary IP, and the company is exploring ways to productize these innovations in the future.
Blockchain Foundry recently introduced three new products aimed at the bourgeoning NFT space: NFTGen, LastKnown, and NFKeys Web3 NFT Loyalty Platform.
NFTGen will help improve the process of minting NFTs by making it easier to mint, deploy, and market original NFT offerings. The technology has already been used to help consulting partner House of Kibaa sell approximately C$6.2 million worth of NFTs in less than 40 minutes.
LastKnown is a curated NFT marketplace offering white-glove service to help content creators and artists bridge NFT development and deployment. The first project listed on LastKnown will be a limited collection from internationally acclaimed and award-winning artist Carson Ting (aka Chairman Ting). “Billion Buns” is set to drop on January 10.
NFKeys Web3 NFT Loyalty Platform aims to create a tiered, cross-platform loyalty network featuring members-only NFT airdrops, exclusive access to real-world and metaverse events, and games, hunts and puzzles that earn rewards. NFKeys is expected to launch in Q1 2022.
On December 6, 2021, BCFN released the highly anticipated Syscoin NEVM upgrade. Designed with scalability in mind, Syscoin’s NEVM combines Ethereum’s smart contract functionality with Syscoin’s existing innovative features. These capabilities aim to address some of the pain points on other smart contract platforms, providing low-cost, scalable, and compliant tooling for DeFi, NFTs, Metaverse, and Web3 applications without compromising security and decentralization.
Disclaimer: The company described in this article is a customer of NAI Interactive Ltd. This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a recommendation or offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities or financial instruments, or for transactions involving any financial instrument or trading strategy.
