Let’s Learn About Binance

Binance is relevant to the MetFi Community because it is the ecosystem upon which MetFi is built. MetFi Tokens (MFI) and MetFi NFTs were developed on the BNB Smart Chain.

Binance is well known as one of the world’s top crypto exchanges. In fact, as of the publishing of this article, Binance is far and away the world’s number one exchange, with 30% of spot volume market share as of March 2022. 

Binance launched its own native utility token, the Binance Coin or BNB, in 2017. The coin and its underlying blockchain have evolved a lot since then.

As of 2022, BSC (which stands for BNB Smart Chain) extends well beyond the Binance Coin to a network upon which numerous crypto projects are built. Many tokens are now deployed on the BEP-20 protocol, similarly to how there are countless tokens deployed on Ethereum’s ERC-20 protocol. 

Some key aspects of the BNB Smart Chain are

In contrast to Bitcoin and Ethereum which are proof-of-work verification blockchains, BSC uses the proof-of-stake verification protocol. Proof-of-stake is more eco-friendly because it does not use energy-sapping crypto mining. 

Another feature of BSC is considerably lower gas fees and faster transactions.

In addition BSC facilitates blockchain projects developing into multi-chain solutions, meaning that BSC-based tokens and NFTs can also reside on other blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, etc. 

As a proof-of-stake blockchain, BSC features rewarding token holders for “staking” their tokens, since this serves to verify transactions in the proof-of-stake verification process. 

BSC is closely related to Enthereum, and thus functions smoothly with ETH. For example, although the default network of the top DeFi crypto wallet MetaMask is Ethereum, it is very easy to add the BNB Smart Chain to it. 

As far as decentralized exchanges, the prominent platform supporting BSC is PancakeSwap, and there are many other both centralized and decentralized exchanges that support it. 

The BNB Smart Chain is versatile and user-friendly, with growing adoption, including with BSC-based NFTs, a growing number of BSC-based tokens, and a robust ecosystem.

So What Really Are NFTs?

NFT stands for non-fungible tokens. Ummm, ok, and what is that? We’re gonna try and demystify it here. 

Something which is fungible is interchangeable and not unique. Money is fungible. One 100$ bill is indistinguishable from another in value. The banknote itself may be unique, but its value is not. Furthermore, the 100$ banknote can be exchanged for five 20$ bills, the combined value of which is still exactly 100$. 

In contrast, something non-fungible is not interchangeable. It is genuinely unique. It may be tradable, but yet non-fungible. You could have two completely interchangeable and indistinguishable mp3 files of the song Bohemian Rhapsody. They would be fungible. The actual song itself, however, is completely unique and original, and thus non-fungible. 

That brings us to the point of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, because they provide the digital means to record and secure the originality of something. In the case of the classic and priceless song, Bohemian Rhapsody, the fact that we can make limitless and lossless digital copies of the song, somewhat trivializes its value. However, if or when an NFT of the original manuscript and digital master of the song is created, the value of that would be astronomical, and such an NFT would more accurately represent the true value, or at least perceived value of the song. 

NFTs are based upon blockchain technology. The immutable or unchangeable nature of blockchain technology ensures the authenticity and integrity of NFTs. When the originality of something is ensured, its value becomes much more defined and enhanced. 

The NFT art sensation took the world by storm, bringing fortune to some, but ruin to more. That is the nature of hype, and we can not deny the fact that the trend was overly hyped up and some NFT purchases were downright nonsensical, with perceived value that is very likely hugely inflated. But who knows? Time will tell. Regardless of what becomes of the NFT pop art craze however, NFT technology itself has hugely untapped potential. 

Art NFTs fall under the broader category of collectible NFTs. Blockchain technology allows us to verify without manipulation, the originality and uniqueness of various digital media, ensuring genuine ownership. 

However, NFTs can also be a utility asset. They can be used to store and ensure the originality of any form of digital information. Utility NFTs may prove to be even more valuable than collectibles due to broad and tangible functionality. Some experts believe that NFTs will serve as a verified storage medium for stocks, property and other assets. This is very plausible considering the fact that NFTs have the functionality to store accumulating information. In the case of property NFTs, they could include photos of the real estate, occupation history, and more, bringing enhanced usability and value. 

MetFi has cleverly used NFT technology to serve as users’ virtual proxy in the MetFi ecosystem. MetFiers’ staked MFI tokens are recorded with their NFTs, along with all records related to users’ performance in the attractive MetFiers Reward Program. This creates an innovative and unique scenario where MetFi NFTs are both collectable and utility NFTs combined. And importantly, MetFi NFTs determine users’ voting power in the MetFi DAO. As MetFiers build their community and refer more and more people to MetFi, the value of their NFTs increase. Users have complete ownership of their NFTs and have the freedom to sell or transfer them at will. MetFi gives us a clear user case for the wider potential of NFT innovation which is sure to impact our lives in countless ways in the near future. 

Blockchain. What is it anyway?

Blockchain is disrupting the tech space, is a key component of Web3 and metaverse, and is going to impact our lives in huge ways. But what is it? Read on.

Blockchain and its related technologies have taken the world by storm in recent years. Blockchain is significant as a core component of what makes Web3 possible, and that is because blockchain allows transactions that are decentralized, distributed, trustless and yet still secure. This brings potential disruption to so many industries. 

Blockchain is a method for storing data “blocks” over a distributed network. Most established blockchains are virtually tamper-proof because all block records and transactions must be verified across their distributed networks or thousands of nodes.

Today’s world has fully entered the digital age, but most of our digital activities involve interacting with centralized systems, including centrally controlled servers. Blockchain is able to change that. 

So what is blockchain? It is defined as a distributed ledger. What does that mean? A ledger is simply a table of records with a list of entries. Traditional ledgers were books of accounts listing all credit and debit transactions. Digital ledgers maintain such lists of transactions digitally. Many of us are familiar with maintaining a spreadsheet using Excel or Google Sheets. Today we use databases that are cloud-based, so we can access them from anywhere by simply going online. 

So what is different about blockchain? Well, remember the definition “distributed ledger”. Most of the online products and services we use are centralized. Finance and accounting systems use advanced security protocols to protect the sensitive information they store. Leading online platforms have backup servers and backups on the backups to avoid a single point of failure and ensure smooth operation as much as possible, but still, all of these systems and services are under centralized control. This provides them with undue power and access to personal information, which as we have seen, can fall into the hands of those who seek to profit from it. In fact our private information is even bought and sold. 

• Blockchain allows safe storage of information and transactions which are decentralized and unable to be controlled by any particular entity. How does this work?
• Blockchains exist on distributed networks of “nodes” which are devices like personal computers, or even smartphones. 
• In order for transactions to be executed, they must be simultaneously verified or approved by a majority of those nodes. This makes manipulation and tampering virtually impossible, since leading blockchains exist on thousands of nodes. 
• Information is stored in a series of “blocks”. To modify data on one block, all subsequent blocks must also be changed, again making modification virtually impossible. 

Blockchain technology rose to prominence with cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin. However, blockchain disrupts so much more than financial transactions. It provides a secure, yet private method for storing information of all kinds. A recent application of blockchain technology is NFTs which verify the uniqueness and originality of all forms of digital data, in particular media like art and music; even movies! 

Let’s look at a practical example of how blockchain could work. Modern hospitals have huge databases of patient information, including health records, case doctor data, medicine and dosage, lab results, etc. Centralized systems are vulnerable to hackers, even when they employ advanced security systems. Once a hacker penetrated a hospital’s database, he/she could modify patient records. If the hospital switched to storing data on blockchain, the hacker would have to find a way to commandeer 51% of the nodes and modify data on all of them at once. If the hospital system was using the Ethereum network, this would be accessing more than half of the approximately 300,000 nodes Ethereum exists on (as per information accessed at the time of this writing). Even if the data was distributed over 20 locations, this would pose a huge challenge to a coordinated attack. Once in the hundreds, it would already become practically impossible. 

Blockchain has completely disrupted the world of finance through making cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and the Binance Coin possible. However, blockchain can be used in countless other applications, removing the need for manual control and centralized verification mechanisms. This is disrupting countless industries already, and we are just getting started. Some examples include: logistics, power grids, academic curriculums, social networks, gaming applications, art and media, citizen data, healthcare, and more. 

Blockchain is a core component of the metaverse and Web3 – the next major tech revolution which is characterized by decentralization. Blockchain allows much more privacy and personal freedom, because it replaces central control with personless auto-executing actions. This also removes the possibility for interference and manipulation by central authorities which has been the case with tech giants.

MetFi allows everyday folks to access the next wave of tech unicorns through membership in the MetFi DAO which aspires to be the world’s #1 metaverse and web3 incubator, and shares the profits from those ventures fairly with the MetFier community.