The WAXP blockchain network has garnered significant attention for its innovative approach to digital asset ownership and trading, particularly in NFTs. But who is behind this groundbreaking project?
The Founders
WAXP, short for Worldwide Asset eXchange Protocol, was founded by a team of diverse backgrounds in the blockchain and gaming industries. William E. Quigley is a seasoned entrepreneur with a deep-rooted passion for blockchain technology. As a co-founder of Tether, one of the most popular stablecoins in the cryptocurrency space, Quigley brought invaluable expertise to the project. He also co-founded OPSkins, a leading marketplace for virtual assets, which served as the foundation for the development of WAXP.
Jonathan Yantis, another co-founder of WAXP, boasts a wealth of experience in the gaming industry. With a strong background in game design and development, Yantis understood the pain points faced by gamers when it came to trading virtual assets. His insights were instrumental in shaping the WAXP blockchain network's architecture and user experience.
William Harries, an early investor and also a co-founder of WAXP, provided invaluable strategic guidance and financial support to bring the project to fruition. With a background in finance and a passion for blockchain technology, Harries played a pivotal role in driving the project forward.
Malcolm CasSelle, a well-known figure in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, joined the founding team as well. CasSelle's experience as the former CTO of tronc (formerly Tribune Publishing) and the president of the digital division at SeaChange International brought a wealth of knowledge in media and digital asset management to the table.
The Birth of WAXP Blockchain
The founders above recognized the need for a decentralized platform that would enable users to trade virtual assets seamlessly. In 2017, leveraging their collective expertise, they embarked on a mission to create a blockchain network that would revolutionize the way digital assets were traded.
WAXP based much of its tech strategy on the concept of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that represented ownership of virtual assets, allowing users to securely buy, sell, and trade them on the blockchain. This breakthrough also provided gamers, collectors, and enthusiasts a transparent and efficient marketplace to transact and exchange their virtual assets associated with given digital environments as well.
A key advantage of the WAXP blockchain network was it being designed to be fast, scalable, and user-friendly. It leveraged the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm, which facilitated speedy transaction processing while maintaining a high level of security. This approach ensured that the WAXP blockchain could handle a large volume of transactions without compromising performance. While there are still plenty of scams on WAX like any other network, they are initiated by human baiting to approve bad transactions and error, not necessarily failure of the WAX blockchain itself and its validation process. One of the most common scams is to convince a user to approve a trade that, within the contract code, allows the perpetrator access to and the ability to swipe all the NFTs in a person's account via an automated trade. However, it only happens with a user's click in the first place.
The network's launch marked a significant milestone in the blockchain and gaming industries, as it addressed many of the challenges faced by traditional centralized marketplaces. WAXP created an ecosystem where users could safely trade virtual assets without the need for intermediaries, ensuring a more equitable and transparent marketplace.
Gaming and NFT Collection as a Standard
While there are other choices available, today the WAXP blockchain network stands as a for how to apply and design decentralized NFT gaming and digital asset production. However, it's also beginning to grow a bit stale with too much of the same. WAXP struggles to bring in the artistic and multi-media possibilities of NFTs, something which other platforms like OpenSea have been more successful with so far. Much of the reason has to do with a lack of art-oriented developers using WAXP as well as the more practical reason: OpenSea sells assets for bigger values and returns. Money dictates creativity many times.
WAXP can definitely be more, but its perceived paradigm at the moment is gaming and only gaming. Until that perspective is broken with serious developer activity in other avenues than just pay-to-play, WAXP won't get beyond its niche place in the blockchain community.
