Bitcoin is gradually taking centre stage as different countries, industries and communities are adopting Bitcoin for various reasons. For some it is used as a hedge against inflation, for others, it is to utilize Bitcoin’s underlying technology to build more resilient infrastructures and censorship-resistant applications. The Bitcoin Network was designed with security and durability in mind, to act as the ultimate source of truth in the digital world (aka. Metaverse). This presents an attractive proposition for computer scientists, entrepreneurs, and developers to leverage bitcoin’s properties to build greater things.
We’re still at the nascent stages of blockchain technology, where infrastructure to better utilize blockchain technology are still a work in progress, likewise new use cases for NFTs have yet to be discovered.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been the talk of the town since the start of 2021, especially after Beeple sold his NFT artwork for USD 69million, one begins to wonder, can NFTs be secured on the Bitcoin Network as well? The history of NFTs can be traced back to 2012 on the Bitcoin blockchain (Colored Bitcoin). However, by design Bitcoin’s scripting language was never meant for such functionalities within its network, as security was the utmost priority when designing Bitcoin. With Stacks blockchain and the clarity programming language, complex applications can be built and secured by the Bitcoin Network. The likes of the “define-non-fungible-token” function on stacks blockchain are used to define a new non-fungible token class for use in the clarity smart contract and SIP-009 aims to provide a flexible and easy-to-implement standard that can be used by developers on the Stacks blockchain when creating their own NFTs.
Boom wallet provides a seamless gateway for users to interact with applications and NFTs secured on the Bitcoin Network via Stacks Blockchain. Stacks is a layer 1 blockchain that settles on the Bitcoin Network and makes Bitcoin programmable, enabling decentralized apps and smart contracts that inherit all of Bitcoin’s powers.
The team at RunRiot, creator of the Boom Wallet is pushing out exciting new use cases for NFTs and have built out a unique platform that allows users to manage their Stacks assets. Features such as the ability to mint custom NFTs, acquire yield generating NFTs and an NFT marketplace for creators and NFTs enthusiasts to interact with, all with the security of the Bitcoin Network. As an early Boom wallet user in Mar’21, it has since become my go-to dapp for managing my Stacks assets, minting and collecting NFTs, receiving meme tokens ($MNO), and acquiring boomboxes. I’m excited for what Boom Wallet will evolve to be in the coming months and years, as the team continues to excite their users with innovative new features. Below are 3 key features that I find useful:
Key Features
Boomboxes – possibly the first of its kind in the NFTs space. Boomboxes are limited edition collectables that act as an automatic claim certificate on yields generated from stacking stacks tokens. This enables owners of Boomboxes to transfer their yield-bearing NFTs to others prior to the payout of the yield, and the new owner of the Boombox will then be entitled to the payout. This is a revolutionary breakthrough in use cases as going forward these mechanics can be applied to essentially every other yield-bearing asset and bring greater liquidity and efficiency to the market. For example, a rental property title deed can be issued as a yield-bearing NFT or a company with a subscription-based revenue model and further monetize its future cash flow by issuing NFTs with regular cash payout based on its clients’ subscription contracts.
NFTs Minting – Boom wallet makes it extremely user-friendly for creators to mint custom NFTs, showcasing their work, and selling it to interested collectors, in a low transaction fee environment on the stacks blockchain and having your NFTs secured on the Bitcoin Network. This opens a wealth of opportunities for creators who are looking to enter the crypto space but lack the technical know-how, with Boom intuitive user-interface, minting an NFT is as easy as sharing a photo on your social media. At the same time via Boom, NFT creators can reach new demographics of audiences and are not limited to geographical and/or technological constraints. The following are some examples of how creators are using Boom Wallet to mint their artwork into NFT collections:
Marketplaces (upcoming) – From the art pieces showcased above and many more within the community, Boom has enabled creators to display their creativity and talent in different ways through digital art and NFT technology. With the upcoming introduction of the NFT marketplace via Boom Wallet, creators, collectors, and enthusiasts can interact via the marketplace and express their views/appreciation on art pieces through buying/selling on the marketplace. This provides a vibrant environment that enables creators to continue working on their craft, and the ability to get instant feedback on their work as they put it out on the marketplace.
Boom operates in a unique cross-section of the market, stretching across blockchain technology, art, decentralized finance, and software development. The launch of boombox which wraps stacks native yield generating feature into an NFT unlocks huge opportunities for market participants. Along with its NFT minting function, I’m excited to see what other asset classes can be issued as NFTs and be traded on its marketplace. We could potentially be seeing property deeds with rental yield NFTs being sold on the marketplace or even intellectual property rights, royalties and licenses being sold over the marketplace. Musicians are embracing blockchain technology and companies are introducing micropayments on the blockchain, the idea of buying and holding on to a royalty generating NFT that streams royalty payment to you in real-time is no longer a far-fetched fantasy. The above are just some areas that I’m passionate about and saw potential synergistic value with Boom, but when you put cutting edge technologies into the hands of creative individuals, the possibilities are limitless. To find out more about what Boom is working on and their upcoming releases, head over to their website and discord channel to connect with the team!
