Basic Attention Token
Founded by Brendan Eich, the creator of Javascript programming language, Basic Attention Token (BAT) is an open-source, de-centralised advertising exchange platform based on Ethereum. The project comprises of various components such as machine learning algorithms, analytics dashboards, and action measurement systems. The platform has monetised human attention to the content produced with a pay-to-surf business model. The BAT tokens can be used by the advertisers to purchase advertising space or user attention, by the publishers to receive advertisement revenue, and by users to view BAT ads.
The platform is also integrated with the Brave web browser and is now listed on Coinbase Pro. The team behind this project has already been tremendously successful with their non-blockchain startups. The three famous personalities who need to be mentioned are Brendan Eich, Yan Zhu, and Marshall Rose. The company raised $30 million in 30 seconds through ICO. The token is performing stably in the markets. The market is expecting a bullish trend due to the increase in BAT tokens adaptations by various platforms.
Bytom
Bytom is a public blockchain protocol designed to solve interoperability issues specifically for asset management operations. The mission of Bytom is to connect the physical world with the decentralised digital world to enable the exchange of physical assets on its platform. The native assets of Bytom blockchain are Bytom Coins.
Their value is generated by measuring the digital economic activity on the blockchain. Bytom coin ownership represents the ownership of a part of the Bytom blockchain – the holders receive the benefits of participating in the e-governance of the blockchain. Bytom coin can also be used for transactional purposes. The token has performed fairly well even in the extreme bearish phases of the market. The team based in China, the founder of Bytom Chang Jia, has previously founded 8BTC.com and the co-founder Duan Xingxing is the former vice-president of OKCoin.
ChainLink
Ethereum’s smart contracts brought a revolution in the blockchain industry. According to Novum Insights, more than 91% of blockchain projects are still operating on Ethereum. However, there is one limitation in Ethereum’s architecture: integrating off-chain data with the smart contracts of Ethereum’s blockchain. ChainLink targeted this limitation and created a way to use oracles to pull data from off-chain sources. These ChainLink oracles will make data pools, APIs, and other real- world data sources accessible by Ethereum smart contracts.
Currently, these oracle nodes are designed only for Ethereum smart contracts but in future, the company is planning to include other blockchain networks and smart contract ecosystems in their operations. The biggest development by ChainLink has been seen in the partnership with the SWIFT banking transaction network. The two teams are developing SWIFT Smart Oracle to possibly integrate the gigantic SWIFT financial industry to ChainLink. ChainLink has not released a formal roadmap anywhere so it is hard to figure out what are the upcoming milestones of the project. The oracles might be needed in the future to unfold the full potential of blockchains and this can boost the value of LINK tokens notably. The LINK token is available for purchase on all the major exchanges.
Metaverse
Metaverse is another public and open-source blockchain platform but it will be competing with all the projects involved in digital assets, digital identities, and oracles in a smart contract network. The objective is to build a network of smart properties and a decentralised exchange with a secure infrastructure. Metaverse was founded by Eric Gu and Chen Hao in 2016. Gu was one of the co-founders of Neo and has been involved in other high-profile blockchain projects.
The team has already developed a DAPP Supernova which is running on the mainnet. Other developments which are next in the roadmap is improving the compatibility of Metaverse blockchain with ERC-20 tokens with the help of cross-chain solutions. Metaverse ETP the token running on Metaverse blockchain, has shown unusual trends in the market by showing its largest spike in June 2017 and not in January 2017 when the entire cryptocurrency market was its peak. The tokens are generated through PoW mining. Although, the company is planning to switch the validation model to PoS or a Hybrid PoS. The project is not focussing on replacing Ethereum or Neo in the future. The three prongs of the project collectively will make Metaverse highly scalable and a unique project to evaluate in the future.
Nexo
Nexo has recently garnered a decent amount of interest in the cryptocurrency community. Nexo aims to provide crypto-loans while using cryptocurrencies as collateral. These cryptocurrencies can be locked as collateral in exchange for fiat currency. This fiat can be transferred to the user’s bank account or to a prepaid credit card. This credit card also has the feature of adjusting the market value of cryptocurrency in case of market volatility. Most of the 14 team members of Nexo hold high-level positions in a European fintech company Credissimo. Both Nexo and Credisomo share the same co-founder Kosta Kantchev. The team has noteworthy experience in the financial services, investment banking, e-commerce, and the technology surrounding them.
The closest competitor to Nexo is SALT, based in the US and 30 other countries. SALT is better in terms of inclusiveness as the platform supports additional fiat currencies besides USD. However, Nexo accepts loan repayments in other cryptocurrencies, fiat, or NEXO tokens, not just in fiat which is the case of SALT. 30% of profits generated by Nexo goes to a dividend pool which is then distributed to the Nexo token holders. Currently, these dividend payments are done in Ether (ETH), however, there is a good chance that this service will expand to other cryptocurrencies. Nexo also has an inbuilt oracle to monitor all the aspects of the platform which include analytics, loan distribution, asset monitoring, wallet maintenance and others. The cryptocurrencies are generating real-world utility in case of transfer of value and this will increase belief in projects like Nexo. There is a high possibility that cryptocurrency lending can become a multi-billion industry which fuels the Nexo opportunity.
