Every Blockchain category has a market leader who is widely regarded as the go-to platform. When most people think of NFTs, they think of OpenSea. Even when people are asked about blockchains, the only ones that come to mind are Ethereum and Bitcoin. This is also true for every DeFi vertical.
People, however, underestimate the size of the crypto sector. Frequently, the focus is on the major platforms, without investigating alternatives that would save consumers time and reward them better. Hundreds of new platforms emerge every day, and the vast majority of them outperform the market leaders in terms of utility.
Consider the alternatives in each Blockchain category, such as lending, NFTs, DeFi, and P2E platforms.
Protocols for Liquidity
In the non-custodial liquidity market, Aave has been one of the most talked-about platforms. The platform features DeFi’s third largest TVL. The only issue with Aave is that it has a poor APY when compared to other platforms. As a result, the demand for an alternate platform has increased. Here are several Aave alternatives that are gaining traction in the cryptoverse:
BENQI
The current performance of BENQI Avalanche has boosted Benqi Finance to $3.7 billion in TVL. Although Aave has a higher TVL, lenders are more interested in APY, which Benqi excels in. It provides approximately 6.25 percent for USDC, whereas Aave provides approximately 3 percent for USDC.
Benqi is an Avalanche-based decentralized non-custodial liquidity market system that allows users to lend, borrow, and earn interest with their digital assets. The protocol democratizes access to decentralized financial products by providing a platform on which users can instantly contribute and withdraw liquidity, as well as use their supplied assets as collateral in a shared liquidity market.
It gives a real-time and clear depiction of interest rates based on market supply and demand for the asset. It also serves as a link between Ethereum and the Avalanche, providing existing Ethereum users with a cheaper, faster alternative money market. Benqi reduces the $300 gwei fees on Ethereum as well as the three-minute transaction time.
Avalanche is in a hyper-growth stage, making it an excellent time to invest, and with BENQI bridges, it is simple to transfer your coin from ETH.
Alkemi Network
The Alkemi Network is designed for institutions or individuals seeking more regulation-compliant DeFi liquidity. Alkemi has developed the technology that enables people to participate in DeFi, adding a tight KYC/AML layer into the liquidity network to mitigate some of the more major risks and anticipate institutional needs.
The goal is to make the transition from centralized financial infrastructure to the expanding on-chain ecosystem as smooth, safe, and well-planned as possible. Alkemi has enabled centralized exchanges, trading platforms, and neobanks to connect to a KYC/AML-approved DeFi network with an one click.
The platform’s combination of allow-listing and the inherent transparency of blockchain transactions, especially on an institution-grade settlement layer like Ethereum, dramatically reduces risks such as smart contract attacks and fraud.
Professional DeFi is also possible with the Alkemi Network for financial institutions (built on Ethereum). The protocol, which focuses on trusted counterparty liquidity, addresses the regulatory, capital, control, and connection obstacles that are now prohibiting CeFi players from joining DeFi.
Gluwa
Gluwa Invest is ideal for people who want to help others while earning a high APY. The platform gives everyone unlimited access to a social-impact venture-debt fund that pays a 12 percent APY while delivering much-needed funding to developing market unbanked and underbanked.
Gluwa’s objective is to connect global investors to significant yields and growth opportunities in emerging markets while investing as little as possible. The platform’s stake fund pooling provides liquidity to various partners, and as a result of the investment, credit opportunities for people who need it most but do not have access to standard lines of credit are generated.
Furthermore, the site employs Infura transactions (ITX), which provide its customers with a 15% decrease in Ethereum gas prices. This integration with ITX is intended to address the issue of delayed or failed Ethereum transactions caused by a lack of adequate transaction fees, as well as to improve gas management in Gluwa.
Gluwa was just named a winner of the 2021 Inclusive Fintech 50, a program aiming at identifying and utilizing early-stage fintech to enhance financial inclusion that addresses the needs of internationally disadvantaged customer groups.
NFT Exchanges
NFT markets such as OpenSea provide a diverse choice of NFTs. However, with the growth of Ethereum gas taxes, minting NFTs on the network has become difficult. Here are a few OpenSea alternatives for NFT aficionados to consider:
InfinityDAO
Although OpenSea is the most popular NFT marketplace, InfinityDAO is hoping to change that by creating an incentive program to lure OpenSea customers over. With 600 million tokens ready to be released, Infinity, a new NFT marketplace, is targeting OpenSea.
Infinity is a community-driven, decentralized NFT marketplace built for the future of discovering, generating, and owning NFTs. As an alternative to OpenSea, it attempts to better represent and accommodate the interests and desires of the NFT community.
The first version of Infinity is built on a fork of OpenSea’s technology, however it has a lower transaction cost of 1.5 percent, compared to 2.5 percent for OpenSea. The distribution is similar to the vampire attack that drew attention to SushiSwap’s beginning, though Infinity’s strategy isn’t nearly as vampiric.
However, it is more akin to a wood nymph attack in that it entices Ethereum users to another field to play in by promising to shower them with gifts if they do.
As NFTs gain popularity, investors are searching for new ways to trade these assets. Because Infinity is compatible with programmed NFTs, it is an excellent alternative to OpenSea and other analogous centralized trading environments. The platform’s objective is to essentially aid in the construction of a DAO-controlled marketplace, protocol, and treasury supported by an ever-growing sea of community members who get to share in the protocol’s success.
CXIP
CXIP is another OpenSea competitor that has declared plans to airdrop its tokens to everybody who has ever minted an NFT on Ethereum. By addressing three persistent market issues: royalties, creator-owned smart contracts, and permanence, the platform aims to create the most robust and secure NFT minting solution.
This is accomplished through the use of a variety of technologies, including pre-mint signatures, on-chain identities, validated provenance, double permanence, complicated royalty systems, and cutting-edge smart contracts.
These features make it possible for any creative to receive what is really theirs. There are no middlemen or registrations. Furthermore, the introduction of the CXIP DAO ensures that those creators will be able to vote on proposed features and improvements, as well as administer the community treasury: focusing on critical areas of industry-wide NFT minting governance, such as NFT royalties, creator-owned minting contracts, and metadata permanence.
In addition, an advisory council of famous artists and activists has been formed to support the CXIP DAO, including Jen Stark, Pharrell Williams, Daniel Arsham, Chad Knight, Justin Aversano, and Jeff Gluck, co-founder CXIPLABS and artist rights lawyer.
Blockchains
When most people think of blockchain networks, they think of Ethereum or, more recently, Solana. However, there are some hidden gems that provide significantly more value than the market leaders. Here are a handful that try to solve real-world problems:
Tezos
Tezos has made a name for itself as the go-to blockchain for low-cost, environmentally friendly NFTs. It is the only self-amending cryptographic ledger that can scale to meet business demands without being forked on a regular basis.
On the Tezos platform, stakeholders can manage the protocol. It is a well-established digital commonwealth, a network where all parties involved can have their voices heard and their truth communicated.
Tezos does this using on-chain governance, which allows you to participate in the protocol’s governance if you possess a share in Tezos. It is also a blockchain-upgrading system, with code updates encoded in the protocol and determined by shareholder vote. Though anyone can modify the code, it is up to the core developers and token holders to decide whether or not such modifications should be implemented into the protocol.
Recently, the platform supported incredible deals with RedBull, McLaren, the Eve Online tournament, and even Linkin Park music star Mike Shinoda for the Art Basel Miami event.
EOS
EOS was one of the first Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain platforms. It had the largest ICO ever, and within two years of its launch, it had established itself as one of the top five cryptocurrencies, pitting market leaders against new comers. Despite such an amazing start, the success was short-lived, and the project was prevented from reaching its full potential due to Block.one’s mismanagement.
However, recent events have resulted in the EOS community reclaiming authority and electing the ENF (EOS Foundation) to lead EOS into a new future. To counteract the chaos of decentralization, the new EOS Foundation will be able to seize control of the project’s narrative and branding.
The project is poised to be the blockchain’s future. It has been approached by venture capital firms interested in investing $150-$200 million in the ecosystem, and the EOS Foundation is ready to assist in the deployment of that capital after supervising $7 million in awards.
EOS has a promising future with features such as programmable accounts and money, upgradeable smart contracts, transparent Protocol improvements, free transactions, C++ contracts, and smart contract data management.
Flare
While other blockchains strive to do the same thing better, Flare is attempting to innovate by bringing smart contracts to all “dumb” chains such as LTC, DOGE, and XRP.
The Flare Network is the first Turing Complete FBA network in the world. Using this one-of-a-kind consensus mechanism, it is able to avoid many of the pitfalls inherent in PoW and PoS chains.
Flare’s sister chain, Songbird, was recently launched successfully. The chain represents a watershed moment in the industry, allowing tokens on networks without smart contracts to be used trustlessly and in a non-custodial manner for the first time with scalable smart contracts.
Platforms for People-to-People
The most talked-about game in the play to earn space is Axie Infinity. However, when it comes to the most popular blockchain game, Splinterlands has risen to the top. It has been the top-performing blockchain game for months, according to DappRadar.
Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a blockchain-based trading card game in which users may play, trade, and earn real money. Players compete for a prize pool of Dark Energy Crystals (DEC), the in-game cryptocurrency, and the game also awards users with rare and precious NFTs for completing tasks and tournaments.
The game has some of the best prizes, with reports of people winning tens of thousands of dollars. A gamer recently turned $10 into $10,000 by trading in-game NFTs. Many others have been inspired to play the game as a result of the story. The game is simple to play and does not require any prior knowledge of cryptography.
In addition, their success has resulted in the pre-sale of one million packs of their upcoming Chaos Legion card set. The game is well on its way to ushering in a new P2E age.
Summary
Every Blockchain category has its own collection of different platforms that provide users more value than the industry leaders. Given the current rate at which the crypto-verse is expanding, it is critical for investors to keep up with the pace and identify the best choices for their funds as compared to traditional approaches that have been popular in blockchain investment.
