November 11, 2022

When In Doubt, Zoom Out

Most of us who have been involved with cryptocurrencies for at least a few years, understand the importance and recurrence of market cycles, or as some like to call them, bull/bear runs. And although looking at previous timelines and charts can give some indication of which cycle might come next, certainty is not something one can truly achieve. What’s left then, is to adjust to whatever market conditions are present at a given time, and adapt to the probability of different kinds of change.

Mainstream media, though sometimes very convincing with its opinions on financial instruments, has the same limitations in predicting the future as any individual does. Most financially influential events that take place are reflected in token or stock prices almost immediately — no real way to compete with high-frequency traders in this sense.

What a reasonable individual could do instead is recognise and acknowledge the given cycle in accordance with the current abstract state of the global economy, and start making careful decisions. It is very easy and relatively convenient to fall into the traps of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, otherwise known as FUD, and start acting irrationally with crypto wallets or trading accounts.

Defining “Zoom Out”

Now, when tackling the often sore subject of doubt in finance, one might simply want to zoom out for a bit. But what does zoom out really mean ?

Zooming out is not just about looking at industries from a bird’s-eye view to recognise patterns that appear internationally, or at scale. The beauty of zooming out is that it enables you to gain perspective and view the intrinsic value and utility of the underlying technology that extends far beyond one market crash.

Furthermore, a white paper describing a given ecosystem and its tokenomics in detail does not necessarily make a project’s technology valid and usable in the real world.

The underlying infrastructure a project is built upon is key, no matter what the group is aiming to achieve — DAOs must have voting mechanics and payments systems properly set up, NFT drops have to be made accessible through any of the numerous possible platforms, ICOs or IDOs must have certain safety measures set in place.

Considering Who & What To Trust

If we truly believe that decentralisation is the way to operate in a world governed largely by greed-or-outrage-fueled decisions, our ecosystems need to get working.

Moreover, we cannot get these ecosystems functioning if we pour our investments and resources into short-term money-grabs with no fundamental value, instead of fueling projects that have already proved themselves to be real innovators.

It rarely makes any difference what the lady on TV says about bond fluctuations, or which token a celebrity promotes for a fee, or what platform a famous YouTuber makes a funny thumbnail-face about.

What really matters when it comes to making market-based decisions are the things recognised scientists and technologists have developed or are still developing. Take the Avalanche Network as an example, one of the biggest competitors to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a series of other tokens. This blockchain utilises subnets to handle infinity transactions, finalises them under two seconds, and offers a development ecosystem to those willing to actually build.

At SparkWorld*, we have followed Avalanche and built our platform and the surrounding ecosystem on this very blockchain. When creating on top of a network that is flexible, highly resourceful, and inclusive, true exponential innovation can happen. And as both the quality underlying blockchain gets improved, and so does SparkWorld*.

Since its early beginnings, SparkWorld* has focused on utility, with an understanding of how irrational markets can be. The problem we are solving is often overlooked yet is one of the biggest pain points for people involved with NFTs.

We invented Fair Prediction Launches, or FPLs, in order to make NFT drops a level playing field for all, no matter the starting resources of a participant.

On Abstractions, Uncertainty & Incentives

One of the best ways to act during uncertain times is to focus on what you can do right here, right now. Whether it’s about current holdings or a transaction to be sent to a friend — predicting events that are often highly random is next to impossible, particularly the longer into the future you try to look.

We can only be sure of things that have proven themselves to be able to inherit value on their own, in other words, we might want to take a more utilitarian approach to NFTs and crypto long-term.

As competing opposite market cycles come and go, the investment aspect of cryptocurrencies should certainly not be dismissed, it’s just that by ignoring the value of the underlying technology, and making snap decisions based on mainstream media, you could end up empty handed.

It should also be noted that news should not be the number one motivator for the crypto hobbyist or investor; the process should go back to the fundamentals — how much market can a given product win, what motivations do people have to use this product, what is the future potential of this or similar technologies?

The crypto market, despite being decentralised, has products being sold and used in a very similar fashion to traditional markets. Teams still have to optimise for the customer’s satisfaction and effective use, and not for how much a product can “pump”.

SparkWorld* & Our Future With Utility

We aim to make SparkWorld* the go-to place for utility, reward, and fun, because as much as our ecosystem shall be fair and rewarding, gamification will never leave.

While doubt may be normal, it is important to remember that valid, inventive projects like SparkWorld* or the ecosystem powering it, Avalanche, exists. Projects like these make the cryptosphere a lot more meaningful and robust, and separate the quick-buck chasing audiences recently introduced to crypto.

The next time Fear arrives, tell it to go look for the susceptible enthusiasts in places where no real-world use or utility can be found. In the meantime, why not treat yourself to a few predictions on SparkWorld* that may lead to some of the best-quality NFTs!

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