The Rise of Cryptocurrency and NFTs
The development of cryptocurrency is happening in real time.
Everyday there is a new crypto listing on an exchange platform.
One of the major cryptocurrencies that has increased in popularity over 2021 has been Ethereum.
Ethereum, which has been around since 2015, is used in blockchain to open contracts. Decentralized applications are operated without fraud or interference from a third-party.
With cryptocurrency gaining recent popularity, crypto exchange Crypto.com came to an agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to rename the venue in Downtown Los Angeles, STAPLES Center, to Crypto.com Arena.
Some local Los Angeles sport fans are displeased with the name change because of the history that was made inside the STAPLES Center.
Allen Louck, student of Long Beach State University and L.A. native, doesn’t like the rebranding of Crypto.com from a sport fan perspective.
“Personally as a Laker fan for the majority of my life, I don’t like the change. I think the STAPLES Center has a sense of legacy with the name. You hear the ‘STAPLES Center’ and you think about Kobe and Shaq, but cryptocurrency is the next big thing,” said Louck.
The exchange already had prior sponsorships with Formula 1, the UFC, Italian soccer; Serie A, the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, and the French soccer team Paris Saint-Germain.
The renaming is a big stepping stone for cryptocurrency and their relativity in society.
Don’t be shocked if the arena accepts different cryptocurrencies for a payment method.
Crypto.com will be promoting their exchange in L.A. starting Dec. 25.
The craze of crypto’s has brought forward digital artists to show off their skills and sell their artwork digitally.
They’re known as NFTs and to put it simply, they’re basically collectable trading cards worth a lot of money.
Some NFTs are just art, while others can be an avatar for a video game.
Guillermo Amador, a student and young investor at UC Santa Cruz, taught himself about cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
“It’s hard to place a value on art. Some NFTs that rely on art are pump and dumps based on hype, the more known it is the easier it is to sell. The big use for NFTs right now are definitely video games, a play to earn or having skins in the game,” said Amador.
NFTs can be viewed online through a NFT marketplace such as Opensea and they’re available to purchase in ethereum.
“NFTs that have uses make the project stand out. The project I’m in now is Axie Infinity. They created their own metaverse where you can utilize your NFTs to have new gameplay,” said Amador.
The “metaverse” is a virtual world with digital avatars and cryptocurrency is the main asset.
Companies that are developing their own metaverse currently are Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Roblox, and Unity Technologies.
“The metaverse can be described like different worlds. The best comparison I can give is the movie Ready Player One. The metaverse is kind of like that where you can go to different “worlds” but it’s not under one regime, it’s gonna be seen throughout different blockchains,” said Amador.
Daniel Moreno, who has relatives who work with hedge funds, tells us why people should pay more attention to investing in crypto.
“You always want to use your money to appreciate. A bank is not enough. That 1.1% interest rate is not going to do you justice. If you’re really consevative with your money you can put it towards Bitcoin or Ethereum and stake it to get interest. The interest in staking cryptocurrency is 100% better,” said Moreno.
A website to view live crypto price action is coinmarketcap.com.
“The metaverse cryptos can grow exponentially. Different companies like Decentraland and The Sandbox entered competition to develop their own metaverse,” said Moreno.
One can only believe that we are at the pioneer stage or the “.com” era once again.
The rise of cryptocurrencies has been seen with the development of blockchain software and technology.
Cryptocurrency has integrated itself into society and new projects are in expansion.
