Guides / 114 posts found
What Is Proof-of-Stake? Sustainable Blockchain Explained
Proof-of-stake is a mechanism for achieving consensus on a blockchain. Blockchain is a technology that records transactions that can’t be deleted or altered. It’s a decentralized database, or ledger, that is under no one person or organization’s control. Since no one controls the database, consensus mechanisms, such as proof-of-stake, are needed to coordinate the operation of blockchain-based systems. While Bitcoin popularized the technology, blockchain is now a part of many different systems, enabling interesting applications such as decentralized finance platforms and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. The first widely commercialized blockchain consensus mechanism was proof-of-work, which enables users to reach consensus […]
Blockchain 51% Attacks: What to Know to Stay Safe
While undoubtedly complex and necessary for the world of crypto and NFTs, the ideas that underpin and connect to blockchain technology are relatively simple to understand. One of its most important concepts is the so-called “51 percent attack:” an almost unrivaled threat to decentralized technology (and the crypto industry it supports). To understand what that is and its potential wide-reaching implications for Web3, we need to look at the fundamentals of the blockchain itself. The blockchain is a distributed digital database that moves and tracks data in blocks that link together to form a chain-like record of information flow. The […]
9GAG’s Memeland: Meet The Studio Behind The Potatoz and Captainz
On January 4, 2023, The Captainz NFT collection began its 48-hour mint period. Priced at 1.069 ETH per mint, the collection of 9,999 pirate-themed NFTs has seen 6,790 ETH (more than $9 million) in trading volume in the first five days of its existence. With a floor price currently sitting at a healthy 5.34 ETH, The Captainz is tracking on OpenSea’s Top 10 collections list by both 24-hour and 7-day trading volume. But The Captainz’ success didn’t come out of nowhere. The collection is just the latest iteration of one of the NFT space’s most successful and irreverent communities: Memeland. […]
Blockchain 101: All the Basics Explained
Web3 can be a confusing place. If you’re new, words like “blockchain,” “NFT,” and “smart contract” are opaque terms that do more to suppress curiosity than invite it. That skepticism shows up in the data: globally, just 1 in 10 working-age internet users own some form of cryptocurrency, the digital tokens needed to engage with much of the Web3 ecosystem. This is ironic, since Web3 is the latest version of the internet, founded on ideas of accessibility and equity. Don’t let the critics fool you; the stereotype that crypto and NFTs belong to an exclusive and unwelcoming “crypto bro” niche […]
Owning Our Coverage: Here’s How We Decide What’s Fit to Print
Making sense of the news cycle can be exceptionally challenging. We live in an age of information overload, and parsing out what’s factual and relevant from what’s sensational and reckless is tricky for even the most seasoned internet denizen — and journalists are no exception. As a publisher, it is our job to produce objective and impartial coverage of notable and newsworthy events. We owe it to ourselves and our readers to take this responsibility seriously and focus our attention on subjects that matter — on the stories that uplift, inspire, or highlight valid concerns. And we also owe it […]
NFT Timeline: The Beginnings and History of NFTs
There’s no denying it: NFTs are fundamentally reshaping the digital economy, taking blockchain to unprecedented prominence in a new era of Web3. It all started with the first NFT ever created, called Quantum, which was minted by Kevin McCoy on Namecoin in 2014. But several other NFTs were launched on pre-Ethereum blockchains over the following years — for example, Spells of Genesis launched in 2015, and stands as the first-ever blockchain-based game. Rare Pepes came out in 2016 and helped kick off the first crypto art market. However, these projects failed to reach widespread popularity. They remained mostly unknown to […]
ApeCoin Staking Is Live: Here’s Everything You Need to Know
It’s official, ApeCoin staking is live, and as of December 12, the first $APE rewards have accrued. But whether you’re an early Bored Ape holder that claimed every subsequent Yuga Labs airdrop, or an NFT enthusiast who only recently purchased their first bit of $APE, staking can seem like a daunting task. A process that has long been a facet of the crypto industry, if done right, staking has the potential to be a significant win for token holders. But if mishandled, it can have catastrophic consequences. With so much misinformation being circulated throughout the metaverse, it’s become more important […]
The Sandbox: A Web3 Outlet for Minecraft Lovers
If you’ve spent any amount of time paying attention to the developing metaverse space, there’s one name you’re sure to have encountered at one point: the Sandbox. Creators across the entire NFT space have been onboarded onto the game, hosting projects and (at times) full-blown concert productions within the game. But what is The Sandbox, exactly? Is it a play-to-earn (P2E) game? A virtual world? A literal digital sandbox? Try all of the above. And several IPs and major firms have staked their claim in its world, including The Walking Dead, Warner Music Group, and surprisingly, even Shaun The Sheep. […]
The Rarest NFTs From the Best-Selling PFP Collections
Among the best-selling NFT collections out there, some pieces hold a strong potential to become uniquely defining assets of the mythos of each collection. But these don’t always sell for the highest price on the open market. Sometimes, they possess one of the most highly sought-after qualities across the entire NFT space: rarity. In the case of generative PFP NFTs, the rarest pieces are generated at random. How? They possess the rarest combination of traits found in each collection. If you ever wondered what those pieces might be within the top NFT collections currently available on the market, then look […]
Twitter Fiasco Reveals Why Web3 Social Media Platforms Are the Future
Elon Musk’s recent Twitter takeover has the internet split. On the one hand, some users are high on the idea that the billionaire maverick’s uncompromising leadership style can truly realize the micro-blogging platform’s massive potential. For others, the acquisition sets an alarming precedent for the future of the internet at large. Think about it. Hand one person the keys to one of the most widely-used information portals on the internet. What could possibly go wrong? Even in the early stages of that takeover, we’ve already seen a glimpse of the chaos to come. So how do we avoid situations like […]