Greetings, bitsCrunch Community!

Are you an adopter interested in contributing to the future of early-stage crypto projects?

bitsCrunch, an AI-enhanced data network that delivers high-quality #NFT analytics and forensic data, is running a phased incentivized testnet to test all aspects of the protocol as it progresses towards decentralization.

Today, we are calling all eligible users in our community to join “Task 3” of bitsCrunch’s incentivized testnet!

Complete the required activities on the bitsCrunch's UnleashNFTs platform and earn rewards for your contributions

Announcing bitsCrunch’s Incentivized Testnet

Our Testnet is now live, allowing users to participate and earn rewards. Participate now and be among the early adopters of Advancing Transparency in #NFTs and Digital Assets 💪💡

🔊 Participate in Task 3 on the UnleashNFTs by bitsCrunch platform!

🛰️ Test the performance, stability & scalability of bitsCrunch network API.

💎 Complete activities, earn points & be eligible for token rewards.

Participate Now, Earn Rewards! Visit UnleashNFTs by bitsCrunch for more details.

Entering Task 3, where we shift our focus towards testing the performance, stability, and scalability of the bitsCrunch network API.

Participants will engage in daily activities on UnleashNFTs by bitsCrunch

✍️ Offering Feedback,

🐛 Finding Bugs,

📝 Contributing Content,

🧐 Browsing Pages,

👨🏻‍💻 Participating in Marketing Tasks

🏆 💵 Earn points and Qualify for Token Rewards.

This Testing phase will allow us to fine-tune our API in a real-world scenario, and ensure that it can seamlessly handle and aim for a reliable experience for all users.

Prerequisites to participate in Task 3

Accept the cookie banner when opening the UnleashNFTs by bitsCrunch for the first time

Connect an Ethereum wallet $ETH (eg: Metamask) to the platform

Supported browser: Google Chrome

Certain jurisdictional limitations apply, as outlined in our Terms and Conditions ‘Eligibility for Testnet’ section

Eligibility

Users must meet the following criteria to be eligible for Task 3 participation:

Certain jurisdictional limitations apply, as outlined in the 'Eligibility for Testnet' section of the bitsCrunch Terms and Conditions.

Participants will need a device with a basic internet connection.

A non-custodial Ethereum wallet (e.g., via Metamask) is required to connect and engage with the UnleashNFTs by bitsCrunch platform.

Timeline

Task 3 of the bitsCrunch testnet began July 1st and last through the end of August. Users will be able to earn points by completing a number of tasks that will be updated daily or weekly at any time during this period. Additional information on the subsequent Tasks will be made available as the testnet progresses.

Leaderboard for Task 3

Navigate to the UnleashNFTs website to find the leaderboard and find your rank and score along with ongoing activities, upcoming activities, and the FAQ.

You’ve probably heard that #NFTs can easily be copied. This is a criticism that has been levelled against them ever since they came on the scene. However, it can’t be further from the truth. An NFT, by nature, remains unique. Its rarity gives it value, making it a digital certificate of ownership to a specific file minted on the blockchain.

Yet, there are ways to make people think that the NFT they are purchasing is in fact the original one, while the file it represents can be an image that has simply been copied off the original.

These are copycat NFTs which create confusion over the authenticity of a specific piece of art, and consequently affects its value. They can be so easy to pass off as originals, and can be quite difficult to sniff out as well.

BAYC - A Case Study in Copycats

Take the popular Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT collection for example. Consisting of unique jpeg images of apes in a variety of cool gear, this collection has garnered high sales volumes and engagement since its inception.

Bored Apes NFTs have sold for nearly $2 billion as of May 2022 with a lot of scope for further volumes as new NFTs are minted.

Here’s a look at some crucial information regarding the collection’s sales since they were minted:

Bored Apes NFTs sell for very high amounts, making them a valuable commodity on the NFT market. Their rarity makes them very desirable, making it easy for blockchain users to fall prey to copycats. No good.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a buyer. You pay a huge amount of tokens or currency to add a Bored Ape to your collection. You showcase it on your social media channels, only to find that somebody else owns the very same NFT, and even claims that it’s the original.

How do you find out which NFT is the original? Is it even possible to get your money back at this point?

If only there was a way to identify copycat NFTs from the get-go? Hmm.

How Do You Identify Copycats?

There’s good news on that front!

From the stables of bitsCrunch, Forgery Detection is an AI powered tool that sniffs popular blockchains and marketplaces for potential copycat / forged NFTs.

You can do your due diligence on an NFT with ease, gaining a lot of insights about collections and individual NFTs, along with tracing their authenticity.

For instance, an analysis of nearly 850,000 #opensea storefront assets against the top 40 NFT collections on #Ethereum gave us very interesting results regarding the Bored Ape collection!

We found nearly 144 exact matches from the collection, meaning that there are as many duplicate NFTs in circulation at this very moment:

What’s more, there were 231 NFTs that were flagged as nearly exact matches, 814 NFTs that were extremely similar, and likewise we have categorised our findings into 6 buckets : Exact matches, Near exact matches, Extremely similar, Similar, Moderately similar, Mildly similar.

Overall the value impacted by these copycats with regards to just Top 40 collections in Ethereum alone sums up to 4.49M USD. Imagine what value will be impacted if we snipe through the entire blockchains available?

Exact Matches

Take a look at the example copycat mints of BAYC token id 840 in the Opensea marketplace.

Another example from Bored Ape Chemistry Club (BACC) token id 69!

Near Exact Matches

In the below examples, you could witness the near exact matches, with minor changes to the originally minted NFT from Azuki and mfer collection.

It can be very confusing for a potential NFT enthusiast / collector to find the right NFTs on the marketplace of their choice, and trace its history without the proper tools to help them.

When you think about the sheer number of popular NFTs, collections and marketplaces, coupled with an ever increasing volume of new art and concepts, it’s easy to grasp the scope of this problem!

Backtracking on the Blockchain:

bitsCrunch adds a layer of security to your searches by not only flagging copycats, but also providing you with the originating / minted wallet address linked to that NFT.

This lets you compare your specific purchase against the original minted data to verify authenticity, given that each NFT has a unique hash associated with it and the owner’s wallet at the time of minting.

If the flagged address is indeed the one that’s trying to sell you the NFT, you know that you are likely to end up with a fake.

‘With the power of our AI-enabled tools and the best of the blockchain to go with it, we aim to make copycat NFTs a thing of the past.’

As with all crypto assets, due diligence pays off, and bitsCrunch makes doing your homework all the more easy. Without further ado, check our UnleashNFTs.com and get in touch with us.

For more interesting updates on the latest NFT trends, follow bitsCrunch!

AI-powered #blockchain analytics aims to protect NFT users from security issues haunting the ecosystem.

The unhinged growth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) has come with undesirable costs, and the tech sector is stepping up to fix it. In less than a decade, the NFT space has expanded from pixelated punks to an established proof-of-ownership for digital and physical assets. Like decentralized finance (DeFi), another subset of the crypto industry, the NFT market grew without traditional regulatory oversight.

While the uninterrupted expansion enabled true #decentralization across the NFT ecosystem, the lack of standardization caused the same adverse effects that the DeFi space faced during its infancy. The fragmented structure of the current NFT ecosystem leads to confusion for users between different marketplaces, diverse collections and inconsistent pricing methods — turning an informed decision for NFT purchases into a complex task.

Having so many unchecked transactions also leaves the door open for NFT-specific issues, starting with plagiarism, wash trading and copy minting. Without proper standards and toolkits, the NFT ecosystem will continue to witness malignant NFT owners using wash trading to artificially increase NFT prices via fake transactions, copy-minting another creator’s original work, or indulging in other malpractices and foul play.

The unhinged growth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) has come with undesirable costs, and the tech sector is stepping up to fix it. In less than a decade, the NFT space has expanded from pixelated punks to an established proof-of-ownership for digital and physical assets. Like decentralized finance (DeFi), another subset of the crypto industry, the NFT market grew without traditional regulatory oversight.

While the uninterrupted expansion enabled true decentralization across the NFT ecosystem, the lack of standardization caused the same adverse effects that the DeFi space faced during its infancy. The fragmented structure of the current NFT ecosystem leads to confusion for users between different marketplaces, diverse collections and inconsistent pricing methods — turning an informed decision for NFT purchases into a complex task.

Having so many unchecked transactions also leaves the door open for NFT-specific issues, starting with plagiarism, wash trading and copy minting. Without proper standards and toolkits, the NFT ecosystem will continue to witness malignant NFT owners using wash trading to artificially increase NFT prices via fake transactions, copy-minting another creator’s original work, or indulging in other malpractices and foul play.

Keeping the NFT market secure

The #NFT ecosystem needs to take a leaf out of DeFi’s playbook to hold its ground against the ever-growing security issues and threats. Blockchain analysis tools have so far been helping users to get instant, unbiased information about any DeFi protocol, token or marketplace, effectively ending the “Wild West” era of decentralized finance. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the NFT space is well-positioned to detect security threats and provide users with a safe, accessible and trustworthy experience.

“While NFTs have been around for over seven years now, they were only recently recognized as one of the revolutionary technologies the world has seen,” noted Vijay Pravin Maharajan, the co-founder and CEO of bitsCrunch, a team of data analysts and AI experts focused on blockchain technology. He added that, apart from acknowledgment and development, “this industry needs more trust and transparency in the form of accurate and accessible NFT insights.”

Utilizing AI, bitsCrunch recently launched an NFT analytics and forensic platform named UnleashNFTs to equip users and creators with reliable insights into the NFT market, including NFT marketplaces and fast-growing collections. The in-depth analysis, research and statistics about the NFT ecosystem found on the UnleashNFTs platform aim to help users make informed decisions for each NFT transaction.

For more interesting updates on the latest NFT trends, follow bitsCrunch!

One of the most crucial obstacles to the growth of #NFTs is that they are still a relatively new asset class. This makes buying and purchasing them challenging, as it can be difficult to estimate their value accurately.

The difficulty in gauging the value of an NFT arises due to their subjective nature. Given that NFTs are generally tied to digital art in some form, the biggest/most important factor affecting their price is their rarity, or on how unique the concept behind them is.

Further complicating this process of price estimation is the fact that there are those who seek to inflate the value of NFTs. They achieve this through practices such as wash trading, where an NFT is repeatedly sold between two or more than two accounts at increasing prices.

The situation may seem dire, especially considering that as per bitsCrunch analysis, 46% of all the NFTs volume in #Ethereum is affected by wash trading and carry inflated price tags. But can the value of an NFT be accurately estimated?

Assessing NFT Value — How is Price Estimation Useful?

First of all, it is important to understand that NFTs come with an inherent component of price volatility. It is difficult to estimate the value of an NFT given this volatility, as well as due to disparities in trading volumes for NFTs across collections.

Factors such as the NFT collection, its trading volume and history, the last traded price, and who bought it all factor into estimations of its price.

Studying these many parameters before a trade is very beneficial.

It not only verifies that an NFT is genuine but also protects users from wash trading, floor sweeping and many other practices that may manipulate NFT prices. It also ensures that they buy NFTs from verified wallets and do not fall prey to those with ulterior motives.

While collecting, curating and sifting through this data can be tedious for those who constantly purchase and trade NFTs, there is a simpler solution for NFT price estimation — bitsCrunch’s most accurate #ai price estimation.

Data-Driven — How Can NFTs Be Accurately Estimated?

Estimating the price of an NFT need not be tedious. Indeed, it need not even be difficult, as long as one is using the right tools.

We studied the data from over 2200 NFT collections, covering more than 30 million NFTs overall! And from this ocean of data, a clear-cut solution to price estimation for NFTs emerged.

bitsCrunch has an AI-driven machine learning tool for assessing the value of NFTs. Our solution builds on a simple concept to bring advanced data and analytics right to a user’s fingertips.

It is aimed at facilitating informed decisions regarding NFT purchases and trades, while also creating value in other ways. By studying the many useful parameters of an NFTs journey, finding an estimated value to pay for it becomes as simple as clicking a few buttons!

Let’s see our AI model in action with an example case study of token id 1137 from popular BAYC.

As you can see in the example above, we have predicted the price of the #token ID 1137 as 77.33ETH with a price interval having a lower bound value of 61.66ETH and a higher bound value of 168.94ETH along with the last updated timestamp of the prediction.

Broadly speaking, an NFT has three important data points to analyse:

Transaction History: Historical sales data from the time an NFT was minted.

Buy/Sell Intent: Off-Chain prices for the NFT as listed in different marketplaces.

Traits: Information from an NFT’s #SmartContracts that shows any assigned benefits or value to it.

Our baseline price estimation models utilize these data points and present them as broad categories of price drivers.

Collection Drivers: Our models gauge the interest in a specific collection as well as in collections similar to the one in question.

NFT Sales Drivers: Analyzing its sales history provides further insights into its value.

NFT Rarity Drivers: Like its sales history, looking into any unique traits an NFT possesses can help determine an estimated price for it.

There are additional parameters that are looked at, such as date-derived metrics, the type of marketplace where the NFT is being sold, and any bundles associated with the NFT.

Once the baseline price is established, the real work begins!

To manage factors that baseline models — generated with tree-based algorithms — cannot account for, there are robust models that are built on top of them to create a clearer picture. For instance, baseline models cannot account for a collection’s wide price range and price volatility.

Our high-level machine learning models account for these disparities by simulating different transformations to the target NFT and using the one that is closest to its actual distribution.

With a lot of firepower, our in-house wash trading detection suite creates strong signals that boost the accuracy of our prediction estimates.

As a result, it is simple to gauge the estimated price of any NFT, while also generating a price interval for which it can be traded. Our tools also help understand the impact of key price drivers, and their contribution to an NFT’s value.

Accuracy and Security (Going Forward)

Our efforts at creating the perfect price estimation model for NFTs do not stop here. The roadmap for further improvements is aimed at profiling wallets that hold NFTs. Using the feedback we have received on our predictions to further train our machine learning models is also on the horizon.

Clearly, gauging the price of an NFT is not as much of a hassle as one would believe. What is important is that it is done using the right tools and methods.

Our price estimation tools have got you covered on both fronts.

Visit UnleashNFTs: https://unleashnfts.com 

to find out more, and begin your NFT trading journey today!

For more interesting updates on the latest NFT trends, follow bitsCrunch! https://linktr.ee/bitsCrunch

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are unique digital assets that use #blockchain technology to certify ownership and authenticity. In 2022, the NFT market experienced a significant surge in popularity, with a record number of new collections created. The rise of #NFTs has been driven by several factors, including the increasing adoption of blockchain technology, the growing interest in digital art, and the emergence of new marketplaces and platforms for NFT trading.

According to our data, 613K new NFT contracts were created in 2022, representing an 860% increase from the previous year. The vast majority of these contracts were deployed on #Ethereum , although other blockchain networks such as #Polygon and #Avalanche also saw significant growth. In total, approximately 85.8 million new NFTs were minted across these platforms.

The popularity of NFTs has led to a growing ecosystem of platforms, marketplaces, and communities that are focused on NFT creation, trading, and ownership. These include platforms such as OpenSea, Rarible and SuperRare, which allow artists and creators to mint and sell NFTs, as well as marketplaces such as Nifty Gateway, Foundation, and KnownOrigin, which specialise in high-end NFT auctions.

The rise of NFTs has also created new opportunities for artists, musicians, and other creators to monetise their work in a way that was previously not possible. By creating and selling NFTs, creators can retain ownership of their work while also generating revenue from the sale of unique digital assets.

Despite the growth and potential of the NFT market, there are also concerns around its sustainability and accessibility. The high energy consumption required for NFT minting and trading on blockchain networks has raised environmental concerns, and the high costs associated with NFT creation and trading have made it difficult for some creators and collectors to participate in the market.

Wash trading is a fraudulent practice that involves buying and selling assets to create the illusion of volume and price movement. It can harm the integrity of the market and lead to unfair advantages for certain players. Our compliance and surveillance tools use advanced algorithms and machine learning to detect and prevent wash trading, ensuring a level playing field for all participants. Wash trading is a growing problem that threatens the integrity of the ecosystem. At bitsCrunch, we're taking action to protect our users and the market.

Check out bitsCrunch 2022 wash trade report: https://bitscrunch.com/#washtrade_reports

Our tools also help NFT marketplaces comply with regulatory requirements and prevent fraud. With the increasing popularity of NFTs, regulatory scrutiny is also increasing. NFT marketplaces must ensure that their platforms are compliant with regulations, such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws. Our compliance tools help marketplaces meet these requirements, reducing their risk of legal action and protecting their users from fraud.

At bitsCrunch, we are committed to helping NFT marketplaces succeed by providing the tools and support they need to operate in a fair and transparent manner. Our compliance and surveillance tools are just one part of our comprehensive suite of services designed to help NFT marketplaces thrive.

Check out our bitsCrunch wash trade report 2022: https://bitscrunch.com/#washtrade_reports

If you are an NFT marketplace looking to prevent wash trading and protect your users, we invite you to contact us to learn more about our compliance and surveillance tools. Our team of experts can provide a demo of our tools and answer any questions you may have. 

Check out our bitsCrunch wash trade report 2022: https://bitscrunch.com/#washtrade_reports

Together, we hope to promote a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for all users. If you want to learn more about our tools or partner with us to protect your users, contact us today.

For more interesting updates on the latest NFT trends, follow bitsCrunch! https://linktr.ee/bitsCrunch