Dictionary
Blockchain
It's the technology that powers Crypto, NFTs and all the Web3 Ecosystem.
Blockchain is a relatively new method of storing data online, which is built around the two core concepts of encryption and distributed computing.
Encryption means that the data stored on a blockchain can only be accessed by people who have permission to do so – even if the data happens to be stored on a computer belonging to someone else, like a government or a corporation. The owner or government can never access or change the data without the keys to the encryption that proves they own it.
And distributed computing means that the file is shared across many computers or servers. If one particular copy of it does not match all of the other copies, then the data in that file isn’t valid. This adds another layer of protection, meaning no one person other than whoever is in control of the data can access or change it without the permission of either the person who owns it or the entire distributed network.
Other important concepts that are often used in relation to the blockchain is that's open, meaning largely built on open-source software, trustless and permissionless.
Trustless means that interactions and transactions can take place between two parties without the need for a trusted third party. This was not necessarily the case on web2 or below because you would have to be certain that whoever owned the medium you were using to interact or transact was not manipulating your communications.
Similarly, "permissionless" means that neither party in a transaction or interaction have to seek permission from a third party (such as a service provider or government) before it can take place.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are electronic peer-to-peer currencies. They don't physically exist. You can't pick up a bitcoin and hold it in your hand, or pull one out of your wallet. But just because you can't physically hold a bitcoin, it doesn't mean they aren't worth anything, as you've probably noticed by the rapidly rising prices of virtual currencies over the past couples of months.
Becuase cryptos are hosted in the blockchain, it offers a number of potential advantages, but is designed to cure three major problems with the current money transmittance system.
First, blockchain technology is decentralized. In simple terms, this just means there isn't a data center where all transaction data is stored. Instead, data from this digital ledger is stored on hard drives and servers all over the globe. The reason this is done is twofold:
I ensures that no one person or company will have central authority over a virtual currency.
It acts as a safeguard against cyberattacks, such that that criminals aren't able to gain control of a cryptocurrency and exploit its holders.
Secondly, as noted, there's no middleman with blockchain technology. Since no third-party bank is needed to oversee these transactions, the thought is that transaction fees might be lower than they currently are.
Finally, transactions on blockchain networks may have the opportunity to settle considerably faster than traditional networks. Let's remember that banks have pretty rigid working hours, and they're closed at least one or two days a week. And, as noted, cross-border transactions can be held for days while funds are verified. With blockchain, this verification of transactions is always ongoing, which means the opportunity to settle transactions much more quickly, or perhaps even instantly.
NFTs
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other. Unlike cryptocurrencies, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency. This differs from fungible tokens like cryptocurrencies, which are identical to each other and, therefore, can serve as a medium for commercial transactions.
Each NFT can only have one owner at a time, and ownership is managed using a unique ID and other metadata that can’t be replicated. Smart contracts assign ownership and manage the transferability of the NFTs. Currently, the largest NFT marketplaces are OpenSea.io, Rarible, and Foundation.
The distinct construction of each NFT has the potential for several use cases. For example, they are an ideal vehicle to digitally represent physical assets like real estate and artwork. Because they are based on blockchains, NFTs can also work to remove intermediaries and connect artists with audiences or for identity management. NFTs can remove intermediaries, simplify transactions, and create new markets.
An NFT is minted as a representation of a digital or non-digital asset. NFTs could represent:
Collectibles like trading cards
GIFs
Music
Videos
Animation
Legal documents
Signatures
The deed to a car
Most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin or dogecoin, but Ethereum also supports NFTs that store additional information. Other blockchains can implement their own versions of NFTs, and some of them already have.
Much of the current market for NFTs is centered around collectibles, such as digital artwork, sports cards, and rarities.
Metaverse
The metaverse is a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually.
It also translates to a digital economy, where users can create, buy, and sell goods. And, in the more idealistic visions of the metaverse, it's interoperable, allowing you to take virtual items like clothes or cars from one platform to another. In the real world, you can buy a shirt from the mall and then wear it to a movie theater.
Right now, most platforms have virtual identities, avatars, and inventories that are tied to just one platform, but a metaverse might allow you to create a persona that you can take everywhere as easily as you can copy your profile picture from one social network to another.
If you want to better understand what the metaverse is, I invite you to watch the following video: https://youtu.be/ExUovs0n4bA
Digital Fashion
Digital fashion has had a huge acceleration during the pandemic exclusively because when we could not interact in real life we were forced to interact digitally.
Every day we worry more and more about the followers we have, the opinions of people in online forums, and even a lack of likes on a post where yeu think that you look beautiful could make you rethink if you really should have uploaded it or if you were really pretty, among other things.
Digital clothing isn’t made of fabric or anything tangible. The garments are made using computer technologies and 3D software. So you’ll probably never wear an item of digital clothing in real life.
True, it only exists in a digital dimension. But it is not less real because of that. Digital fashion opens limitless doors for self-expression.
It could be made from the most incredible, fantastic, unrealistic fabrics and textures, and have all possible and impossible color mixes and not always follow the laws of physics.
There are many clothes that are bought just for a couple of Instagram posts, and then are buried in the closet for years.
Digital clothing is in line with today's usage of people needing an "outfit of the day". People wouldn't necessarily have to buy the physical garment, they could use some mechanism that powers digital fashion, such as WRTH, to digitally wear that garment they want so much.
In this way they could save thousands of dollars that a designer garment can cost just for doing one post, also reducing much of the pollution that could generate the physical garment (The carbon footprint of producing a digital garment is 95% lower than that of a standard physical garment).
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