Breaking down the crypto ecosystem

Crypto has undoubtedly been on everyone’s radar, regardless of the varied attitudes towards its growth or impact (yet) across industries and the mainstream. While the consensus on what kind of effect it really brings to our society is still shaping up, the data tell us how it is rapidly evolving and fuelling innovation across sectors attracting serious attention from diverse investors and governments, of course. India has bagged the second position in crypto adoption worldwide, according to the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain data platform Chainalysis. India is now only behind Vietnam but ahead of global powerhouses like the US, the UK, and China. 

India’s global crypto market, like other parts of the Internet economy, is powered by the growing requirement for transparency and decentralisation of archaic structures of authority. Blockchain, the technology behind crypto, delivers the solution as once any piece of information is written onto the distributed ledger (Blockchain), it is immutable creating transparency and security. Utilizing blockchain we can safely store information over the shared system, where everybody can see but can’t do any alteration. Blockchain technology should be utilized to monitor digital assets. According to a report by digital asset exchange CrossTower and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Blockchain technology and Web 3.0 innovations will enhance the price of the digital asset economy from $5 billion in 2021 to $262 billion over 11 years, culminating in a $1.1 trillion participation to India's GDP. 

According to several Indian and global reports reduction in transaction costs is further expected to propel this market growth in the next few years. In line with global trends, increasing adoption of the digital currency by businesses coupled with talks of a government-backed digital currency in the country, is further anticipated to bolster the growth of the cryptocurrency market.

In the present Web 2.0 environment establishing trust and creating social identities of the network participants has been an uphill task that the ecosystem is unable to overcome. And since almost all economic value is traded based on human relationships, it is a fundamental roadblock to innovation and growth in Web 2.0. However, the outburst of cryptocurrency and Blockchain has fuelled a rapid transition towards Web 3.0 where we have witnessed exponential growth especially in enablers like NFTs, which has made possible acquiring, storing, and distributing economic value among users. In fact, the introduction of SBTs (SoulBound Tokens) could be the final piece in the puzzle for the Web 3.0 ecosystem. SBTs help establish native Web 3.0 social identities that build social relationships of trust to tackle 'broader long-standing problems' of online communities.

Non-Transferrable Assets / Soul Bound Tokens

SBTs are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that a person can earn based in part on their job and education history. Unlike regular NFTs, they're non-transferable (though people can revoke them if they choose.) SBTs would represent a person's reputation and accomplishments, a kind of "extended resume". Once you receive an SBT, you hold it in a Soul wallet forever. A more technical definition would be that SBTs, or Soul Bound Tokens are non-transferable and publicly visible tokens linked to the soul address. The true power of this mechanism emerges when the SBTs held by one soul wallet can be issued or attested by others.

Web 3.0 companies have already started the distribution of this technology. For example, EQ8 Network since its launch in Jan’22 has attested close to a total of 300K XP Tokens (Non-Transferrable Fungible Tokens) on Polygon to approximately 1300+ of its users who successfully completed their Market Research campaigns after passing the industry-standard data quality checks. 

As more and more young Indian investors are excited to explore newer investment options, they are adopting cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon to make investments that promise them viable returns. These digital currencies along with other applications of DLT have garnered significant attention leading to the rapid growth of the Crypto-led business innovations in India. 

The article has been written by Madhur Prabhakar, CEO and  Founder, EQ8 Network