Top 10 NFT projects in 2022! 

Maciej Zieliński

26 Jul 2022
Top 10 NFT projects in 2022! 

The increasing digitization of almost every sector of the economy has made NFT tokens more popular. The technology itself can offer a lot to its participants. The benefits can start from enhancing digital currency, to copyrighting music, movies and art, and even creating a single community. Interestingly - in 2021 alone, the NFT market generated token sales of about $75,736,378. Not surprisingly, many people are thinking about buying their own NFT, but don't know what its value might be. What projects are worth exploring in 2022? Why exactly is a particular NFT attractive? We write about it below! 

nft

How to assess whether a given NFT is attractive? 

The value of a given NFT is determined by a number of factors - from the team behind it to the technology that represents a particular NFT. The most important elements that suggest that a given NFT is attractive are the following:

  • Rarity - a determination of how difficult it is to obtain an NFT token. 
  • Utility - defining the use of a particular NFT in digital and physical versions. 
  • Tangibility - linking the digitization of the NFT to the physical world. 

Each of the functions can be checked with the appropriate tools. We wrote more on this topic -> here. If you check a given project using these tools and taking into account the factors mentioned above, you will be more aware of a potential NFT purchase. 

nft

Top 10 NFT projects in 2022! 

Nevertheless, we have prepared a list of the top 10 NFT projects for 2022. We point out here that this is the subjective assessment of the author of the text and is not intended to encourage anyone to make an investment/purchase of a particular NFT. You are welcome!

LazyLions NFT

This is an NFT platform based on the Ethereum blockchain. LazyLions offers 160 different features that distinguish each lion. The features in question include clothes, mane, facial expressions and more. LazyLions is also a meeting place for the NFT community in the form of Private Island. The benefits of NFT LazyLions include additional Airdrops, individual communication channels with the community, you get voting rights regarding the project. When you purchase a Lazy Lions or Lazy Bungalows NFT image, the art is completely yours. Whether you want to print and sell the merchandise, use it in advertising, or want it to be the star of your own show! You can read more about the project itself on its website, which can be found -> here. 

Unusual whales 

Unusual whales is an NFT project that collects 6,969 whales. Each of them has individual characteristics, which makes them rare. In addition, the project has special tools to help make investments. The site tracks whale transactions in the NFT market and follows the best portfolios in the space. According to the creators, the whales are supposed to help trade cryptocurrencies through relevant tools and cut off any speculators. An interesting point is that you can buy whales at attractive prices. In the future, it is planned to implement investment solutions from the capital market into the NFT project. Details about the project can be found on this page -> click. 

Cryptopunks

This is a project that was developed on the Ethereum Blockchain in 2017. It was developed using Larva Labs studio. It has 10,000 unique collectible items with ownership in its database. The very premise of the project is punks that can be purchased, auctioned and sold. Each punk has a background color, which indicates its situation i.e. whether it is for sale or not. This design is attractive due to the fact that, realistically, the supply of NFTs has been limited invariably to 10,000 pieces, which ensures that they do not fall in value. The graphics themselves are associated with childhood games on old consoles, which also has its own appeal. The project website can be found -> here. 

Sneaky Vampire Syndicate and NFT

At a time when every young person is familiar with the Twilight film series and is aware of the existence of B. Dracula. Stoker, it didn't take long for NFTs related to vampires. According to the creators, there are 8,888 vampires, where each of them has its own specific traits and characteristics. Interestingly - the NFT itself is in a way an aftermath of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and its creators. The plot of Sneaky Vampire Syndicate is set in a vampire house fenced off from the reach of sunlight, where each vampire takes action. The project itself is interesting for several reasons:

  • first - it has been a success right from the start, 
  • second - the people behind it are those who make up the Bored Ape Yacht Club with experience in this subject matter, 
  • third - the amount of NFT supply has been limited to 8,888 vampires, 
  • fourth - an NFT purchase reservation system was created, which led to saving hundreds of thousands of dollars for Ethereum gas. 

Are you interested in the concept of vampires in NFT? Read more about it -> here. 

Bored Ape Yacht Club

This is an NFT project that is already known almost everywhere in the cryptocurrency and blcokchain technology community. It consists of 10,000 NFT monkeys, where each monkey has its own uniqueness. The NFT itself is popular with global celebrities such as Eminem and Snoop Dogg. People who buy monkeys get access to the vip community. Access to the club itself gives many benefits - from earning from the increase in the value of the monkey, to participation in events organized with celebrities in the US.  In our opinion, the appeal of the project lies in the limited supply of NFT tokens, access to a cool group of people and organized events. Although the project is extremely popular, it is still worth learning more about it. You can find them -> here. 

The cryptoDads

The cryptoDads is a collection of 10,000 unique, randomly generated NFTs based on Ethereum blockchain technology. The NFT color scheme itself is reminiscent of the TV series "Bobs Burgers." The collection is a satire of mid-life crises in men who have been placed in the world of cryptocurrencies and graphics. It's an interesting design that deviates in its construction and behavior from others. The cryptoDads focuses on quality in artwork, rather than the rarity of the piece. The goal of NFT's founders is for people to identify with the virtual figures and have an emotional approach to them. The approach to people owning NFT on cryptoDads is interesting - they have access to channels on a variety of topics, including sites with memes and jokes about fathers, pets, the garage, etc. A very cool aspect is that members can also ask any questions or seek help with issues they are facing. The satirical page of the NFT itself can be found here -> check it out. 

CyberKongz

This is a project that means more than just NFT. The randomly generated avatar can appear in 2D or 3D. The graphic process itself is based on the evolution of humans from monkeys. Each monkey has specific features that make them visually appealing. The project makes NFT monkeys affiliated with charities and donates about 10% of profits to them , to play their key role in improving the world. It's a cool initiative that focuses on helping others, seeing people's development and directing their thinking towards charitable actions. Do you like CybreKongs? Check out their website

VeeFriends

The creator of the NFT platform is Gary Vaynerchuk - an American entrepreneur, author of four New York Times bestsellers, motivational speaker and internationally renowned Internet personality. He created NFT aimed at developing and supporting his business and creative ideas. Each token within the Series 1 collection is based on one of 268 characters that were originally hand-drawn by Vaynerchuk as representations of human traits. Interestingly, he displays qualities that he himself uniquely values in another human being. NFT buyers get access to Gary's materials and have a real impact on the development of his ideas. It's an interesting concept, because there is a real successful man behind it, who can be supported by us. We encourage you to check out more information about the project on his website. 

uUnicorns

Uunicorns stands for Uninterested Unicorns. The project is based on the Ethereum Blockchain, and the number of unicorns is 6900. It was founded by Terence Ting, who is also the owner of esports company Team Flash, Co-founder of The Asian Mint. The creators believe that their project is the development and expansion of the Internet economy, metaverse and video games. uUnicorn is to create an online entertainment destination for every token holder. The unicorns themselves have a nice and aesthetically pleasing design in the climate of a digital fairy tale. uUnicorns has its own website, which presents more information about the NFT in question. 

Doge Pound

The NFT platform consists of attractive artworks depicting dogs in hipster outfits. This NFT is created with the help of complex algorithms that combine many individual features on the dogs, for example, clothes, fur, hat, eyes, background and more. Each Doge Pound is aesthetically pleasing and individual. A very important advantage is that  each Doge Pound NFT carries a different initial value, which is determined by considering various factors. It is not the most popular project, but it is gaining interest. Work is underway regarding the creation of tokens and accessories for the Metaverse. Early entry into the Metaverse will make Doge Pound one of the first NFTs in the new technological world.

You can read more about the project itself on its website, which can be found -> here. 

Summary 

As you can see, the NFT token market is becoming more and more popular. However, we should remember to check each platform with the right tools. An important aspect is to check the history of the project, team members and token supply. Tokenomics, is an essential element that should be analyzed before buying NFT. The above list is our subjective discussion of projects and should not be taken as an offer or investment proposal. 

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Token Engineering Process

Kajetan Olas

13 Apr 2024
Token Engineering Process

Token Engineering is an emerging field that addresses the systematic design and engineering of blockchain-based tokens. It applies rigorous mathematical methods from the Complex Systems Engineering discipline to tokenomics design.

In this article, we will walk through the Token Engineering Process and break it down into three key stages. Discovery Phase, Design Phase, and Deployment Phase.

Discovery Phase of Token Engineering Process

The first stage of the token engineering process is the Discovery Phase. It focuses on constructing high-level business plans, defining objectives, and identifying problems to be solved. That phase is also the time when token engineers first define key stakeholders in the project.

Defining the Problem

This may seem counterintuitive. Why would we start with the problem when designing tokenomics? Shouldn’t we start with more down-to-earth matters like token supply? The answer is No. Tokens are a medium for creating and exchanging value within a project’s ecosystem. Since crypto projects draw their value from solving problems that can’t be solved through TradFi mechanisms, their tokenomics should reflect that. 

The industry standard, developed by McKinsey & Co. and adapted to token engineering purposes by Outlier Ventures, is structuring the problem through a logic tree, following MECE.
MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive. Mutually Exclusive means that problems in the tree should not overlap. Collectively Exhaustive means that the tree should cover all issues.

In practice, the “Problem” should be replaced by a whole problem statement worksheet. The same will hold for some of the boxes.
A commonly used tool for designing these kinds of diagrams is the Miro whiteboard.

Identifying Stakeholders and Value Flows in Token Engineering

This part is about identifying all relevant actors in the ecosystem and how value flows between them. To illustrate what we mean let’s consider an example of NFT marketplace. In its case, relevant actors might be sellers, buyers, NFT creators, and a marketplace owner. Possible value flow when conducting a transaction might be: buyer gets rid of his tokens, seller gets some of them, marketplace owner gets some of them as fees, and NFT creators get some of them as royalties.

Incentive Mechanisms Canvas

The last part of what we consider to be in the Discovery Phase is filling the Incentive Mechanisms Canvas. After successfully identifying value flows in the previous stage, token engineers search for frictions to desired behaviors and point out the undesired behaviors. For example, friction to activity on an NFT marketplace might be respecting royalty fees by marketplace owners since it reduces value flowing to the seller.

source: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFDTNKsIJs/8Ky9EoJJI7p98qKLIu2XNw/view#7

Design Phase of Token Engineering Process

The second stage of the Token Engineering Process is the Design Phase in which you make use of high-level descriptions from the previous step to come up with a specific design of the project. This will include everything that can be usually found in crypto whitepapers (e.g. governance mechanisms, incentive mechanisms, token supply, etc). After finishing the design, token engineers should represent the whole value flow and transactional logic on detailed visual diagrams. These diagrams will be a basis for creating mathematical models in the Deployment Phase. 

Token Engineering Artonomous Design Diagram
Artonomous design diagram, source: Artonomous GitHub

Objective Function

Every crypto project has some objective. The objective can consist of many goals, such as decentralization or token price. The objective function is a mathematical function assigning weights to different factors that influence the main objective in the order of their importance. This function will be a reference for machine learning algorithms in the next steps. They will try to find quantitative parameters (e.g. network fees) that maximize the output of this function.
Modified Metcalfe’s Law can serve as an inspiration during that step. It’s a framework for valuing crypto projects, but we believe that after adjustments it can also be used in this context.

Deployment Phase of Token Engineering Process

The Deployment Phase is final, but also the most demanding step in the process. It involves the implementation of machine learning algorithms that test our assumptions and optimize quantitative parameters. Token Engineering draws from Nassim Taleb’s concept of Antifragility and extensively uses feedback loops to make a system that gains from arising shocks.

Agent-based Modelling 

In agent-based modeling, we describe a set of behaviors and goals displayed by each agent participating in the system (this is why previous steps focused so much on describing stakeholders). Each agent is controlled by an autonomous AI and continuously optimizes his strategy. He learns from his experience and can mimic the behavior of other agents if he finds it effective (Reinforced Learning). This approach allows for mimicking real users, who adapt their strategies with time. An example adaptive agent would be a cryptocurrency trader, who changes his trading strategy in response to experiencing a loss of money.

Monte Carlo Simulations

Token Engineers use the Monte Carlo method to simulate the consequences of various possible interactions while taking into account the probability of their occurrence. By running a large number of simulations it’s possible to stress-test the project in multiple scenarios and identify emergent risks.

Testnet Deployment

If possible, it's highly beneficial for projects to extend the testing phase even further by letting real users use the network. Idea is the same as in agent-based testing - continuous optimization based on provided metrics. Furthermore, in case the project considers airdropping its tokens, giving them to early users is a great strategy. Even though part of the activity will be disingenuine and airdrop-oriented, such strategy still works better than most.

Time Duration

Token engineering process may take from as little as 2 weeks to as much as 5 months. It depends on the project category (Layer 1 protocol will require more time, than a simple DApp), and security requirements. For example, a bank issuing its digital token will have a very low risk tolerance.

Required Skills for Token Engineering

Token engineering is a multidisciplinary field and requires a great amount of specialized knowledge. Key knowledge areas are:

  • Systems Engineering
  • Machine Learning
  • Market Research
  • Capital Markets
  • Current trends in Web3
  • Blockchain Engineering
  • Statistics

Summary

The token engineering process consists of 3 steps: Discovery Phase, Design Phase, and Deployment Phase. It’s utilized mostly by established blockchain projects, and financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund. Even though it’s a very resource-consuming process, we believe it’s worth it. Projects that went through scrupulous design and testing before launch are much more likely to receive VC funding and be in the 10% of crypto projects that survive the bear market. Going through that process also has a symbolic meaning - it shows that the project is long-term oriented.

If you're looking to create a robust tokenomics model and go through institutional-grade testing please reach out to contact@nextrope.com. Our team is ready to help you with the token engineering process and ensure your project’s resilience in the long term.

FAQ

What does token engineering process look like?

  • Token engineering process is conducted in a 3-step methodical fashion. This includes Discovery Phase, Design Phase, and Deployment Phase. Each of these stages should be tailored to the specific needs of a project.

Is token engineering meant only for big projects?

  • We recommend that even small projects go through a simplified design and optimization process. This increases community's trust and makes sure that the tokenomics doesn't have any obvious flaws.

How long does the token engineering process take?

  • It depends on the project and may range from 2 weeks to 5 months.

What is Berachain? 🐻 ⛓️ + Proof-of-Liquidity Explained

Karolina

18 Mar 2024
What is Berachain? 🐻 ⛓️ + Proof-of-Liquidity Explained

Enter Berachain: a high-performance, EVM-compatible blockchain that is set to redefine the landscape of decentralized applications (dApps) and blockchain services. Built on the innovative Proof-of-Liquidity consensus and leveraging the robust Polaris framework alongside the CometBFT consensus engine, Berachain is poised to offer an unprecedented blend of efficiency, security, and user-centric benefits. Let's dive into what makes it a groundbreaking development in the blockchain ecosystem.

What is Berachain?

Overview

Berachain is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 (L1) blockchain that stands out through its adoption of the Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism. Designed to address the critical challenges faced by decentralized networks. It introduces a cutting-edge approach to blockchain governance and operations.

Key Features

  • High-performance Capabilities. Berachain is engineered for speed and scalability, catering to the growing demand for efficient blockchain solutions.
  • EVM Compatibility. It supports all Ethereum tooling, operations, and smart contract languages, making it a seamless transition for developers and projects from the Ethereum ecosystem.
  • Proof-of-Liquidity.This novel consensus mechanism focuses on building liquidity, decentralizing stake, and aligning the interests of validators and protocol developers.

MUST READ: Docs

EVM-Compatible vs EVM-Equivalent

EVM-Compatible

EVM compatibility means a blockchain can interact with Ethereum's ecosystem to some extent. It can interact supporting its smart contracts and tools but not replicating the entire EVM environment.

EVM-Equivalent

An EVM-equivalent blockchain, on the other hand, aims to fully replicate Ethereum's environment. It ensures complete compatibility and a smooth transition for developers and users alike.

Berachain's Position

Berachain can be considered an "EVM-equivalent-plus" blockchain. It supports all Ethereum operations, tooling, and additional functionalities that optimize for its unique Proof-of-Liquidity and abstracted use cases.

Berachain Modular First Approach

At the heart of Berachain's development philosophy is the Polaris EVM framework. It's a testament to the blockchain's commitment to modularity and flexibility. This approach allows for the easy separation of the EVM runtime layer, ensuring that Berachain can adapt and evolve without compromising on performance or security.

Proof Of Liquidity Overview

High-Level Model Objectives

  • Systemically Build Liquidity. By enhancing trading efficiency, price stability, and network growth, Berachain aims to foster a thriving ecosystem of decentralized applications.
  • Solve Stake Centralization. The PoL consensus works to distribute stake more evenly across the network, preventing monopolization and ensuring a decentralized, secure blockchain.
  • Align Protocols and Validators. Berachain encourages a symbiotic relationship between validators and the broader protocol ecosystem.

Proof-of-Liquidity vs Proof-of-Stake

Unlike traditional Proof of Stake (PoS), which often leads to stake centralization and reduced liquidity, Proof of Liquidity (PoL) introduces mechanisms to incentivize liquidity provision and ensure a fairer, more decentralized network. Berachain separates the governance token (BGT) from the chain's gas token (BERA) and incentives liquidity through BEX pools. Berachain's PoL aims to overcome the limitations of PoS, fostering a more secure and user-centric blockchain.

Berachain EVM and Modular Approach

Polaris EVM

Polaris EVM is the cornerstone of Berachain's EVM compatibility, offering developers an enhanced environment for smart contract execution that includes stateful precompiles and custom modules. This framework ensures that Berachain not only meets but exceeds the capabilities of the traditional Ethereum Virtual Machine.

CometBFT

The CometBFT consensus engine underpins Berachain's network, providing a secure and efficient mechanism for transaction verification and block production. By leveraging the principles of Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT), CometBFT ensures the integrity and resilience of the Berachain blockchain.

Conclusion

Berachain represents a significant leap forward in blockchain technology, combining the best of Ethereum's ecosystem with innovative consensus mechanisms and a modular development approach. As the blockchain landscape continues to evolve, Berachain stands out as a promising platform for developers, users, and validators alike, offering a scalable, efficient, and inclusive environment for decentralized applications and services.

Resources

For those interested in exploring further, a wealth of resources is available, including the Berachain documentation, GitHub repository, and community forums. It offers a compelling vision for the future of blockchain technology, marked by efficiency, security, and community-driven innovation.

FAQ

How is Berachain different?

  • It integrates Proof-of-Liquidity to address stake centralization and enhance liquidity, setting it apart from other blockchains.

Is Berachain EVM-compatible?

  • Yes, it supports Ethereum's tooling and smart contract languages, facilitating easy migration of dApps.

Can it handle high transaction volumes?

  • Yes, thanks to the Polaris framework and CometBFT consensus engine, it's built for scalability and high throughput.