Cointime

Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

CATASTROPHY: The Bridge Between Web3 Builders and Tools

Cointime Official

　　The Rise and Fall of NFTs

　　Since 2020, the popularity of NFTs has skyrocketed. From Cryptopunks and BAYC to the emergence of Doodles, Azuki, and Moonbirds, numerous NFT projects have captured people's attention.

　　At the same time, influential celebrities such as Neymar, Jay Chou, and Eminem have also entered the NFT space, bringing a massive influx of attention and gradually introducing NFTs to the mainstream audience, resulting in their rapid rise in popularity.

　　The wealth creation myths surrounding NFTs have not only attracted insiders but have also enticed outsiders who wish to have a slice of the pie. Capital sees the syphoning effect of the NFT market and has begun to participate and invest accordingly. Moreover, NFT project teams, fueled by capital influx, have been exploring innovative ways to integrate their projects. They started with avatar NFT projects that created social scenes, catering to the preferences of different investors through various art styles. Then came the introduction of Pass NFTs, offering holders analytical tools or Alpha community benefits. Subsequently, new gameplay mechanics that generate income and value recognition, such as token issuance, IP development, and integration with GameFi, have emerged. With these various enhancements, the NFT market has flourished and entered what is known as the "NFT Summer."

　　During the past year's "NFT Summer," the total market capitalization of the NFT market once exceeded $38.6 billion. With various players engaged in cyclic gaming, NFTs rightfully became the killer application of 2021.

　　However, as we entered 2022, signs of market decline began to surface, and NFTs were no exception. In June 2022, the search popularity of NFTs on Google Trends plummeted to 20, an 80% drop from its peak of 100 in January. This downward trend was also reflected in the market.

　　The bear market eroded the collection value of NFTs, depleting their liquidity. Today, many once highly sought-after NFTs have experienced declines of over 90%.

　　In fact, since the birth of NFTs, they have been criticized for their poor liquidity and limited use cases. As blockchain technology has evolved, interconnectedness within the entire ecosystem has gradually become the mainstream trend. In this context, NFTs undoubtedly need to explore new narratives. Today, we will introduce a NFT project called CATASTROPHY, which attempts to break new ground by using DID (Decentralized Identifiers) as a narrative breakthrough.

　　CATASTROPHY: The Cross-chain Journey of DID and NFT

　　In my understanding, CATASTROPHY is a combination of PFP (Profile Picture) and Pass cards. By using PFP NFTs as decentralized identifiers (DID), CATASTROPHY enables NFTs to function as cross-chain and cross-application membership tokens, referred to as MultiPass by the project team. It aims to provide WEB3 BUIDLers (builders) with easy access to advanced memberships of multiple tools required for product development and management. This not only enhances product iteration efficiency but also significantly reduces production costs.

　　In communications with the project team, they have expressed their desire for CATASTROPHY to not become a financial product focused solely on collecting and appreciating value, as traditional NFTs often are. Instead, they envision CATASTROPHY having a certain level of liquidity.

　　When WEB3 BUIDLers need access to development resources, they can acquire or lease CATASTROPHY NFTs in the secondary market to obtain the necessary resources, improve development efficiency, and reduce costs. After completing the development process, BUIDLers can then list the CATASTROPHY NFTs for sale in the secondary market, allowing them to circulate to those who need them more.

　　Through this cycle, CATASTROPHY actively contributes to the construction of the Web3 ecosystem in various aspects while giving NFTs more practical use cases.

　　The CATASTROPHY NFT series initially released 3,360 NFTs with a WEB3 BUIDLer theme in November 2022. The price for these NFTs was set as "Free Mint," with the team retaining 360 of them. The main character is an adorable cat with a distinct personality. They wear T-shirts and hats with slogans like "CODE IS LAW," "DMOR (Do My Own Research)," and "BUIDLER Never Rug," and carry various "lethal" weapons. This design pays tribute to the nonconformist spirit and challenges existing structures.

　　Project progress

　　According to reports, since November, the CATASTROPHY team has formed partnerships with several platforms and tools for the implementation of MultiPass. These collaborations include MAP Protocol, which is a fully decentralized infrastructure based on lightweight nodes (Light Client) and zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), QUESTFLOW, a cross-channel Go-To-Market platform, MintKitAI, specializing in whitelist management, identification of high-value users, and prevention of bot and witch attacks, as well as Particle Network, a Web3 development platform.

　　CATASTROPHY's CEO, Ding Mingming, explained, "When a BUIDLer wallet holds an ERC-721 Catastrophy NFT, they can directly connect their wallet to access the advanced membership benefits of these platforms and tools. For example, users holding CATASTROPHY NFTs can enjoy gas fee reductions for cross-chain applications through the cost-effective cross-chain technology provided by MAP Protocol. Additionally, QUESTFLOW offers fee waivers for NFT holders."

　　"Our partner platforms and tools can directly verify authentication and reconcile based on publicly available on-chain data through the NFT Gate and the cross-chain protocol provided by MAP Protocol. This seamless process is made possible by the high efficiency brought by the trust and transparency of WEB3 and on-chain data, breaking down data silos and completely disrupting the operational models of traditional rights and membership products."

　　Ding Mingming, who was a founding team member of several successful WEB2 projects, is a believer in crypto culture and has contributed to the engineering community. Prior to the CATASTROPHY project, she was a partner at the Digital Creative Agency oookini, responsible for digital and technology-related businesses.

　　Conclusion

　　In my opinion, CATASTROPHY is an intriguing project that targets the relatively niche group of WEB3 BUIDLers, offering a unique approach.

　　As stated by the CATASTROPHY team, traditional NFTs have been heavily driven by speculation, lacking substantial use cases, which is also why it's challenging to establish a stable pricing mechanism for NFTs. While this approach creates many myths and hype, its long-term sustainability is questionable.

　　Web3, to some extent, mirrors the real world in that the development of things often requires a transition from the virtual to the tangible. CATASTROPHY has undoubtedly made an interesting attempt in this regard.

　　The article discusses the rise and fall of NFTs, the challenges they face, and introduces CATASTROPHY as an NFT project bridging Web3 builders and tools using DID.

NFT
Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • Walsh: Federal Reserve Meeting Schedule to Change Next Fall, No Rate Vote in 2027

    On October 29, Federal Reserve Chair Walsh stated that the schedule for the Federal Open Market Committee will begin to change next fall. In 2027, there will be one meeting that will neither conduct a rate vote nor issue a policy statement. It is expected that there will be two FOMC meetings in 2028 that will not conduct a rate vote.

  • BTC Surpasses $81,000

    Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $81,000, currently priced at $81,001.26, with a 24-hour increase of 0.54%. The market is highly volatile, so please ensure proper risk management.

  • Bank of Canada Raises Interest Rate by 25 Basis Points as Expected

    On October 28, the Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate from 2.25% to 2.50%, marking the first rate hike in over three years and aligning with market expectations.

  • Tether Launches FASE Foundation with 11 Partners

    On October 28, Tether announced the establishment of the FASE (Financial Access and Systemic Empowerment Foundation) in Switzerland, a nonprofit multi-stakeholder foundation focused on four key pillars: financial security, financial freedom and inclusion, connectivity and clean energy, and access to end medical resources, as well as responsible AI and robotics. Founding stakeholders include Anchorage Digital, Bitfury, Bybit, Chainalysis, Fasanara Capital, Kraken, Opera, Pave Bank, Prosper Global (formerly Mercy Corps), Solana Foundation, and Tether, with technical consulting provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The first three projects include: forming a global youth alliance with the social enterprise Goodwall to provide digital education and fraud prevention tools to up to 10 million young people in high-risk areas in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia; piloting stablecoin humanitarian aid with Prosper Global, initially covering up to 1 million people as a template for future crisis response; and expanding cybercrime prevention networks in Africa, Asia, and Central America based on existing collaboration with UNODC, along with partnering with the United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking to fund NGOs that assist survivors of human trafficking. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the most vulnerable populations have long been overlooked by traditional financial systems. Prior to the official launch, the founding members held a meeting in Lugano, Switzerland, to establish strategic priorities.

  • Morgan Stanley Warns S&P 500 May Drop Another 8%

    On October 28, Mike Wilson, Chief U.S. Equity Strategist at Morgan Stanley, stated in a client report that a combination of AI financing pressures, the U.S. midterm elections on November 3, and tightening financial conditions could push the S&P 500 index down to around 7100 points in the coming weeks, representing a decline of about 8% from recent levels. This would mark the largest adjustment since the market turmoil triggered by the Iran war earlier this year. The firm noted that approximately 60% of the Russell 3000 index components have fallen over 20% from their peaks since early June, and about 96% of semiconductor stocks have also declined by more than 20%. They anticipate that the semiconductor sector may drop an additional 10% to 15% before mid-November. Credit spreads on bonds related to data centers have widened, with CoreWeave's debt entering distressed territory this month. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to 3.75% to 4.00% in September, leading to rising bond yields. The firm maintains a year-end target of 8000 points for the S&P 500 and a fundamental target of 8300 points over the next 12 months, noting that markets typically perform better after midterm elections, with data from 1950 to 2022 showing an average increase of about 8% in the three months following elections.

  • Israeli Parliamentary Election Vote Counting Completed, Netanyahu's Camp Currently Leads

    On the 28th local time, according to Israeli sources, the vote counting for this round of Israeli parliamentary elections has been completed. The Likud party, led by current Prime Minister Netanyahu, remains in the lead with the highest percentage of valid votes counted so far. The Likud party continues to be the largest party in the parliament. However, there is a deadlock in the allocation of seats between Netanyahu's right-wing camp and the opposition camp led by Esenkot, with no single camp able to directly reach the majority of seats required to form a government.

  • Anthropic IPO Filing Warns of Risks from Trump Administration Retaliation

    On October 28, Bloomberg reported that in its IPO filing, Anthropic warned that its public advocacy for AI safety regulation and statements from executives could expose the company to risks such as government pressure and selective scrutiny. The document stated that even if other similarly situated companies are not treated equally, Anthropic could still become a target for specific government agencies, a risk associated with the company's multiple conflicts with the Trump administration: one stemming from disputes over the requirement for the U.S. Department of Defense to set safety limits when using its AI technology, and another related to disagreements over the safety and export controls of the Mythos model. The filing also indicated that future government interventions, export restrictions, and cybersecurity or biosafety incidents triggered by AI models could affect its product deployment, international expansion, and business growth. Furthermore, if the regulatory measures advocated by the company are implemented, compliance costs would rise, product development and release would be restricted, and its growth could slow down. Anthropic publicly submitted its S-1 filing on October 26, intending to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT.

  • AI Simulation System Sim Fed Previews October Rate Meeting: Seven Votes, Five for Pause

    On October 28, ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision, an AI simulation decision-making system called Sim Fed completed seven simulated votes: five opted to maintain the current interest rate, while two supported a rate hike, aligning closely with the market's mainstream expectation of a pause this week. The system was developed by Tara Sinclair, chair of the economics department at George Washington University, and Sophia Kazinnik, a research scientist at Stanford University's Digital Economy Lab. The two invested approximately a year and a half into the project, with a preliminary research paper set to be published by the end of 2025. Researchers clarified that the aforementioned votes are results of a simulation experiment and do not reflect the Federal Reserve's actual decisions; the real monetary policy decision is expected to be announced at 2 AM Beijing time on October 29.

  • Casap Completes $56 Million Series B Funding Led by Base10 Partners

    On October 28, Fortune reported that financial AI startup Casap announced the completion of $56 million in Series B funding, led by Base10 Partners, with Synchrony and Experian participating as strategic investors. The company's total funding has reached $90 million. Founded in 2023, Casap's AI tools assist banks and credit card companies in handling disputes and chargebacks. The company disclosed that clients using the tool have seen first-party fraud losses reduced by up to 51%, with chargeback win rates increasing to 96%, compared to the industry average of 60%. The average dispute resolution time has been shortened to 8 days, while traditional methods can take up to 90 days. The valuation for this round has not been disclosed.

  • Kalshi Plans to Tighten Deposit Restrictions for Users Under 21

    On October 28, Bloomberg reported that Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated that the prediction market platform is discussing increased user protection measures with U.S. regulators due to research showing that most users are in a losing position. Kalshi is willing to accept raising the participation age threshold to 21 years. The specific measures include a monthly deposit limit of $2,500 for users under 21 and the establishment of special accounts to curb high-risk trading. Mansour noted that Kalshi is an exchange regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and does not directly act as a counterparty for user trades, with users' lost funds flowing to other traders. However, he also acknowledged the need for the platform to work with regulators to establish protective rules to address existing regulatory gaps.

Daily Must-Read

Popular Activities

RaveDAO at Terra Solis by Tomorrowland: A Female-Led Techno Night Where Web3 Culture Converges

RaveDAO at Terra Solis by Tomorrowland: A Female-Led Techno Night Where Web3 Culture Converges

April 30 - April 30
Dubai

Popular Tags

Cointime
News
Contents
RSS
Company