Cash.Tech Newsletter #4 — DeFi, NFTs, and blockchain gaming drive adoption of self-custodial wallets
When Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin, the idea of self-custody was a prominent theme. The anonymous inventor detested the idea of having to trust banks to hold the public’s money and the compromise that often follows.
For a while, it seemed that the cryptocurrency industry would slowly return to the banking model with many users preferring to store their funds using custodial exchanges and solutions. However, recent innovations in the crypto space and the prevalence of user-friendly self-custodial solutions like Cash Tech’s have tilted the industry back towards the path of self-sovereignty.
In this week’s Cash.Tech Newsletter, we review how decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and blockchain gaming is driving the adoption of self-custodial wallets.
Cash.Tech Development Update
The Cash.Tech team is on track to ship the NFT Display to mainnet in the coming days. We have completed the integration with the OpenSea API and this feature is already live on testnet and looking really sleek!
The team has also started research into integrations that will support video and audio display for NFTs. We will report progress on this front soon as many users have specifically requested to be able to hear or view NFTs in media format.
The development team also received an audit report from an established blockchain engineer contracted to review the Cash.Tech wallet infrastructure. We are happy to report that only minor security issues were detected and the team is already working hard to resolve them.
Lastly, we appreciate the awesome feedback from the community since the Cash.Tech Wallet mainnet release. We look forward to exploring your feature recommendations and pledge to keep the community updated regarding any new developments.
DeFi, NFTs and blockchain games promoting self-custody
For beginners, DeFi refers to decentralized applications built on top of blockchain networks to offer financial products to end users. Anyone with a wallet and an internet connection can access these products without relying on a third-party.
By design, DeFi apps require users to access them via a self-custodial wallet solution. Therefore, it is not surprising that an increased adoption of these DeFi products is fueling the demand for user-friendly solutions like Cash.Tech. At this time, there are an estimated 4 million DeFi users globally.
(Source: DuneAnalytics)
The above data only accounts for users on Ethereum protocols. DeFi-native applications are available on other blockchain networks, implying that the number of users could be significantly higher than the chart suggests.
A key takeaway is that there is still a large market of users within and outside crypto to be captured by the DeFi movement. There are an estimated 220 million crypto users and over 4.66 billion internet users. Hence, it is clear to see that providing a user-friendly and fully self-custodial wallet solution like the CashTech mobile wallet will play a role in onboarding even more users to DeFi.
NFTs
After a slow start in 2017, NFTs have garnered more mainstream attention in recent items. The emerging space is another corner of the crypto industry pushing the adoption of self-custody, since NFTs are normally transferred on-chain and between user wallets.
Although few crypto exchanges offer NFT-related products, a significant portion of NFT transactions are conducted using self-custodial wallets. In August, Statista reported that the total number of unique NFT buyers and sellers is approaching the 300,000 mark.
(Source: Statista)
Once again, we notice significant market opportunities. Despite the involvement of some of the world’s largest firms including DraftKings, Twitter, and Sothebys in the NFT movement, the number of NFT users is still low and has the potential to explode in the coming years.
Cash.Tech has optimized its NFT feature to meet the needs of investors, and the upcoming launch of the display feature is only a taste of what is to come. We anticipate that planned future integrations and support for more blockchain networks will make the CashTech wallet a preferred option for NFT users globally.
Blockchain gaming
Blockchain gaming is another corner of the crypto industry that has been prompting self-custodial wallet adoption. Blockchain-based games allow players to own and transfer in-game assets, among other things. The most popular gaming options require users to set up self-custodial wallets and the number of blockchain gamers has been on the rise in recent times.
(Source: DappRadar)
As the rest of the world catches up to blockchain gaming, Cash.Tech is optimizing its wallet to allow users to interact with these applications. Users will be able to play their favorite blockchain games and store in-game assets across multiple networks, all from a single application..
In line with Nakamoto’s vision and the expanding world of Web 3.0, the Cash.Tech team remains committed to providing users access to all the innovative possibilities of crypto in a self-custodial fashion. The Cash.Tech lending program, token swap, and merchant protocols are features we plan on releasing in the coming months. We will continue to explore other features that will improve the overall wallet experience and promote the adoption of CATE tokens.
Cash.Tech wallet is already connected to the testnet and fully functional for Android and iOS devices. Make sure to download the wallet to get a first-hand experience!
