Top 5 Blockchain Startups to Watch in 2022
Blockchain technology is still at the forefront of technological innovation, and is deeply affecting businesses large and small. It is an exciting technology that is revolutionizing how people interact and do business, with implications in industries ranging from finance and healthcare to logistics and gaming, to name a few.
Every year we see dozens of new blockchain startups launch with innovative new ideas that have distributed ledger technology at their heart. This year is no different, with hundreds of exciting projects emerging in recent months that promise to bring about blockchain-based change.
The possibilities for crypto, Web3, and the metaverse are nearly limitless, and the following companies represent some of the most exciting plays to watch out for in 2022:
The dust project
The dust project is a unique NFT-based project that aims to build up an archive of household dust samples taken from around the world, put them all in a ‘time capsule’ and then blast it into space where they can be retrieved in the future as an archaeological artifact.
Household dust can be surprisingly insightful because it is made up of all kinds of DNA particles, chemicals, fibers, crumbs, bacteria and fungi that provide detailed information about how people live, including their family structure, the animals they keep, the clothes they wear, the food they eat and much more besides.
The dust project’s supporters say that dust found in the home represents a microcosm of life taking place in a particular household, telling the story of the residents’ habits, diets and general lifestyles. Once they have collected 30,000 dust samples from homes around the world, they will be placed inside a “Dust Sheet” arranged according to their geographic location.
This sheet is meant to act as a time capsule. It will be launched into space and orbit the Earth, with the intention that it will one day be rediscovered far into the future – perhaps at a time when it has long been forgotten, or perhaps when someone remembers it and believes it may hold important answers on the most pressing problems of the future. The idea is that Støvarken will provide unique insight into people’s lives and behavior during the 21st century.
To determine who should provide dust samples, the project uses NFTs. The 30,000-strong NFT collection acts as a sort of “ticket”, with each one representing one dust sample placed aboard the Dust Ark. Each NFT holder will be sent a sample box plus a “ticket” that allows their sample to be placed aboard the Ark on its journey into orbit.
Trust machines
The goal of Trust Machines, which announced itself to the world last February, is to create an entire ecosystem of Bitcoin-based DeFi applications to expand Bitcoin’s functionality beyond that of a cryptocurrency and a store of value.
Co-founded by Princeton computer scientists Dr Muneeb Ali and Professor JP Singh, Trust Machines announced that it has raised a hefty $150 million in venture capital funding from the likes of Breyer Capital, Digital Currency Group, GoldenTree, Hivemind and Union Square Ventures.
Trust Machines intends to take advantage of the unique features of Stack’s blockchain, which was built by Ali and acts as a kind of programming layer for Bitcoin. With Stacks, it is possible to bring smart contract functionality to Bitcoin via its unique Proof-of-Transfer consensus mechanism, which connects it to the Bitcoin blockchain. In other words, Stacks make it possible to build applications on top of Bitcoin. In this way, Bitcoin can function in DeFi protocols as permissionless lending and borrowing.
Trust Machines aims to leverage stacks to make Bitcoin more dynamic and useful beyond its primary function as a store of value.
The project has been tight-lipped about the exact nature of its plans, but Ali has previously talked about an idea he calls “decentralization of trust”. He argues that Bitcoin has been central to decentralizing trust by giving people full control over the economy. Once you own Bitcoin, no one can take it away from you, not any bank or government body. No. Trust is decentralized, there is no longer dependence on intermediaries. This is key because trust forms the basis of virtually all human actions, such as financial transactions, governance, identity, arbitration, etc. While centralized entities have always underpinned this trust, Bitcoin changes this. With Bitcoin, trust is automated without the need for any intermediary. As a result, Bitcoin-based applications have the potential to be more reliable, transparent and efficient than any other.
Trust Machines hasn’t said much about the applications they’ve built. Still, it recently announced the hiring of an all-star advisory team that includes Dan Held, the director of emerging markets at Kraken and the director of product at Blockkchain.com. Trust Machines’ hires also include Asiff Hirji, the president of Fugue, Rena Shah, who is Binance’s chief strategy officer, Manas Mohapatra, who previously worked for Twitter and BNY Mellon; and Aubrey Strobel, a social media wizard and communications consultant who was formerly Lolli’s communications manager.
Carbon only
With its noble goal of trying to reduce carbon emissions, JustCarbon is getting a lot of attention. The project is a blockchain-powered carbon marketplace where companies can reduce their carbon emissions by purchasing JustCarbon Removal tokens. One JCR token corresponds to one verified tonne of carbon that will be removed from the atmosphere. Companies can retire, sell or buy JCRs and use them to offset their future or past carbon impact.
The idea of JustCarbon is to support a “just transition” to an economy where carbon emissions are a thing of the past, and clean technology and energy are the norm. It has established a transparent, nature-based carbon sequestration marketplace to facilitate this transition.
Through the JCR tokens, JustCarbon provides a way for companies, developers and individuals to monetize their carbon removal efforts. Essentially, anyone who is able to take steps that remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere, and verify this through nature-based projects like Verra (VCS) or the Gold Standard, can mint JCR tokens that can be sold on the marketplace. VCS credits must also provide an additional certification such as a climate, community and biodiversity accreditation. This ensures that each JCR token represents valid climate change action that is independently certified according to international standards.
Governing everything is the JustCarbon DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization where voting rights are granted to holders of the JustCarbon Governance Token (JCG). Through this DAO governance model, JustCarbon aims to democratize the carbon market and ensure that no single entity can take control of the project and manipulate things.
JustCarbon is primarily aimed at conscientious businesses and organizations that want to find a way to reduce their carbon footprints to help tackle climate change. Once JustCarbon starts calculating the amount of carbon removed by associated projects, it will start issuing JCR tokens and offering them for sale.
Fashion League
Fashion League has burst into the blockchain as the industry’s very first game to earn mobile fashion design game, where players get to own their own fashion store. There, they can meet other players, crypto fans, fashion lovers and brands and collaborate to design new outfits and expand their virtual, metaverse-based fashion stores.
One of the central aspects of the game is that players have the freedom to express their creative side by designing and showcasing their own outfits. As they progress, budding metaverse fashion designers can increase their reputation and earn prizes as they do so.
Not surprisingly, Fashion League targets a female audience. It is an idea that has great potential. After all, Fashion League’s creator is a female gamer, and she notes that there are currently very few female-focused blockchain games in Web3. It’s a shame because women are generally much more likely to play games on mobile devices than men. Moreover, they often spend more on games than their male counterparts.
With Fashion League, new outfits can be designed and represented as NFTs. The game is centered on building out and slowly expanding a fashion store, designing various clothes and accessories, participating in competitions, earning rewards and building a reputation. Players can even sell their NFT-based designs in their shops to willing buyers, who can add them to their avatars to create a distinct look.
Moreover, the Fashion League believes that it is an idea that will appeal to established clothing and apparel brands. They can also build their own digital stores within its metaverse and showcase new items. Players can then model these outfits virtually and use design tools to change the appearance of these products. In addition, brands will receive detailed analysis of users’ tastes and preferences, allowing them to perfect the look of their latest collections.
Minimum
Another eco-friendly blockchain project is Minima, which also aims to be the most decentralized protocol of all through its mobile-first nature.
Minima is an ultra-lightweight blockchain protocol that can run on low-power devices such as smartphones and “Internet of Things” sensors. The idea is that many thousands of users should be able to run a fully validating node, and build a highly scalable and inclusive network that grows to be incredibly robust.
To date, Minima already has more than 32,000 nodes up and running in 128 countries worldwide, and they have ambitions to grow this to more than one million by the end of the year.
Because it is so decentralized, Minima has some unique advantages, the main one being that it is highly resistant to censorship. Additionally, with so many thousands of nodes, no single entity will be able to take over control of the network, meaning it is an ecosystem that is fully autonomous and accountable. This ensures that it will be able to maximize the benefits blockchain offers while eliminating any vulnerabilities that arise due to centralization.
Minima says the protocol is also incredibly resilient, with no single point of failure. Additionally, all participants in the network are equal, meaning there is no need for on-chain governance or mining to secure the blockchain.
