Today, we caught up with Bob Ras, CEO, and Co-founder of Sologenic, a foundation that synergizes different financial markets by tokenizing various asset classes on a decentralized ecosystem built on the XRP ledger. The Sologenic team is focused on bringing both cryptocurrencies and non-blockchain assets under one umbrella for the ease of trading.
During this conversation, Bob addressed the elephant in the room — the prevailing crypto winter before delving into its impact on different verticals of the industry. Then, he elaborated about Sologenic and shared the rationale behind choosing the XRP ledger as their underlying tech.
Talking about the NFT economy and the challenges posed to creators and artists, Bob reflected on the major concern of high-cost entry barriers. Furthermore, he dropped a couple of gems in the form of futuristic insights on how he perceives the crypto market will evolve in the upcoming years.
Please share your thoughts on the crypto winter that is unfolding. Apart from the price action, how do you think this setback will impact the industry?
Ah, the question I dread.
Tumbling markets are never a pleasant sight. However, there is a silver lining even for this muddle. I see bear runs as a demarcator of the fundamentally strong projects from otherwise. Protocols and projects that are sturdy are often the only ones that glide through the blood in the market.
While the dips themselves are demoralizing, the crypto winter also acts as a roadblock to probable institutional and governmental participation in the industry. This is a crucial adverse effect of such times. This also deters builders and developers from building solutions as the monetary stimulus dries up. Hence, crypto hiring which was recently booming might stall as firms shelve their crypto plans.
Another key issue is that communities fade away as the majority of the population i.e. retail users are driven by price action. This is also a time when the herd mentality kicks in and investors are pulling out of the market, often at a loss. Not only does this create a vacuum in the crypto market, but it also detests the generation of further interest.
However, on an ending note, this is not the first crypto Winter and these have previously shown to be great opportunities to invest in strong fundamental projects at very low prices for long-term upside.
Which are the key problems that you are striving to solve with Sologenic?
With the team we are focusing on the basics – good old high fees, and long transaction times. Whilst multiple quick fixes have popped up for these issues, an ideal solution is still far-fetched. Based on the XRP ledger, Sologenic has grown into the largest native DEX and NFT marketplace.
Moreover, we are solving the major concern of NFT economy by removing gas fees in order to waive the entry barriers for those who are new to the crypto world. Adding to this is the commission-free facility for the artists in the marketplace. These two solutions end the biggest problem of accessibility.
Another key concern faced by the multitude is the non-accessibility of several financial markets for the sundry. Hence, we are striving to tokenize assets, crypto, and non-blockchain, in a bid to bring all of them under one umbrella and ease access to the layman. At Sologenic, we are also gearing up for more fiat on-ramps in collaboration with CeFi giants to provide a seamless user experience.
Please delve into the challenges faced by artists and creators in the NFT economy. How can they be mitigated?
First up, is the cost of entering the economy. Creators and artists have to spend at multiple stages which not only adds to the cost but also makes it a cumbersome process. Listing fees, minting fees, marketplace commission, and the gas fees to transfer the NFT to the buyer – the process of listing and selling an NFT is painful and expensive.
Again, NFT tooling and software are still a gray area for the majority of the artists. There is no exact product or platform for creators to rely on. Also, they need to bear the brunt of latency issues of the blockchains. Building a business model based on unreliable waiting periods is a lost cause.
Also, educational material is limited. If a creator wants to learn the art and tech behind the NFT economy, they are in for a long haul as, currently, there is barely any resource apart from trial and error. So, courses or webinars, or even degrees can be designed and awarded to such artists.
What was the rationale behind selecting XRP as the underlying tech for Sologenic?
I still face a hard time reasoning why we selected the XRP Ledger for Sologenic. It seems to be an obvious choice amidst the competition.
The speed of transaction finality is unparalleled. Number’s game states that XRP ledgers can manage up to 1500 transactions per second. And with other networks stagnating with long waiting queues, XRP ledgers are an easy pick for any protocol being conscious about user experience.
Also, XRP ledgers are governed in perpetuity by the validator community which is a more sustainable approach. There is no need for complex software, mining equipment, staked tokens, etc. This also translates into having very low transaction fees to the equivalent of 0.00001 XRP which makes it efficient to build products on top.
When speed, governance, and low fees are provided in one single solution, there seems no reason for us to think of an alternative platform.
What do you think lies ahead for the crypto industry from a development standpoint?
Sitting in a bearish market and predicting the future is one of the tougher tasks I have ever had to do.
I sincerely believe in the ability of crypto and NFTs to disrupt various legacy systems and redefine the status quo with added ease and lesser barriers to entry. So, in this space, I have my eyes on certain developments. No-code is a great sub-niche that has attracted me. I believe it’ll open up the space for anyone to build, irrespective of the technical capabilities.
Alongside no-code, I am also looking at the building of interoperable solutions. I believe it’ll be a non-negotiable part of the crypto future. Developers will no longer be limited to a single blockchain and its tooling. They will have a wide array of resources to equip themselves with.
Moving on, open-sourcing the tech stack will be an industry practice and not just a USP for projects building in this space. This enhances collaborative efforts rather than competition.
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