I’ve been actively investing in ICOs since last year – and the longer I do it the more apparent it is to me that it pays to be discriminating with which sectors you choose to invest in. When considering a new crypto project to back, the most important question you’ve got to ask yourself, before you do the due diligence on the background of the team, before you start to consider the use case of the token, before you even read the whitepaper, is “how much is this industry actually worth?”. With so many ICOs out there now, competing for your attention and your hard-earned cash, is it really worth sinking your stake into something that is a clever idea, but has limited room to grow?
One of the key industries where I think crypto has the potential to really blow up and generate virtually unlimited returns is gaming, which has a current net worth of around $109 billion. I believe the industry is on the threshold of making some exponential gains backed up, in part, by the meteoric rise of crypto and mining, which has sent vast sums of money to Nvidia, and pouring into GPU development. This, in turn, I believe will support a huge boom in advanced game engines and, notably, VR, which up to this point has been held back by technological limitations and prohibitive costs for the average end user. Once we have affordable, fully-functioning VR at our fingertips, it’s going to be like the Nintendo Wii on steroids: every household is going to want a headset. The International Data Corporation predicts that the AR/VR headset market will hit 81.2 million units by 2021[1], whilst Goldman Sachs anticipates that the industry itself will be worth $35 billion by 2025[2]. By the time we reach this mark, the games and experiences on offer will represent truly unmissable, ground-breaking experiences – they will be mainstream.
And the ramifications don’t just stop at the gaming and entertainment industries. AR and VR will be increasingly leveraged by businesses and companies the world over, looking to draw consumers into fully immersive experiences – particularly in the world of online retail. Online shopping is better than the high-street equivalent in almost every respect, price, the range of products on offer, information available – every respect, that is, bar one: the fact that looking at static, 2D thumbnails is so much less immersive than being able to consider a product from all angles and interact with it. It’s why my wife, who shops almost exclusively online (we have two hyperactive kids who make high street shopping a nightmare 😊), continues to buy premium items such as clothes and jewellery from brick and mortar shops. The AR/VR revolution, when it comes, is going to blow away this final obstacle.
But what practical considerations could hold this development back?
Well, cost, for one. Namely, the exorbitant cost of employing professional digital artists to render objects and product lines and convert them into 3D assets. Think how expensive it would be for a games developer to commission, from the ground up, a bespoke set of props and objects to populate their game worlds every time they launch a new title or franchise. Maybe the biggest studios would be able to afford this, but it’s highly inefficient - and what about the smaller, more risk-taking developers; the indie scene? As graphics in VR improve and expectations become ever higher, there will be more pressure on games and immersive virtual environments to be populated with high quality, photorealistic assets. It’s a real problem in need of a solution.
This is where Cappasity comes in: an elegant solution to an obstacle in a rapidly evolving market. Founded in Santa Clara in 2013, Cappasity has been doing ground-breaking work helping clients, from large merchants to luxury fashion brands such as Claris Virot and Jazmin Chebar ,to effortlessly create and embed 3D content into their websites, mobile apps, and VR/AR applications via a cloud-based platform. However, whilst their existing business is an exciting and profitable one (the Cappasity platform currently serves more than 1M views of 3D content each month), I believe the real game-changing thing about Cappasity lies in their recent blockchain project and their truly revolutionary vision for the future.
Cappasity is currently developing the world’s first platform to draw upon the power of the blockchain to facilitate the creation, rental and sale of 3D content: a fully decentralised approach that permits trustless copyright storage and content exchange within a vast global AR/VR ecosystem. Cappasity grants digital artists and photographers the ability to create bespoke assets and tap straight into the market through their payment vehicle: the ERC-20 compliant Cappasity token (CAPP). In their turn, games developers, retailers and other buyers are able to participate in this self-same market to access a huge range of custom assets and props and to commission work from the best talent in the 3D modelling industry – all without need for a middle man and the loss in revenue that would entail. In effect, it could be exactly the foundation the AR/VR revolution is looking for: a vast, international 3D asset depository, governed by market forces rather than corporate or political interests.
I don’t know about you, but for me this is incredibly exciting. Moreover, it ticks my top three checklist for finding worthwhile ICOs and blockchain projects:
- It has a use case within a number of extremely high net worth global industries
- It is addressing a very real problem
- Its use of the blockchain is relevant and fundamental, rather than a gimmick or attempt to cash in on a trend
Moreover, this is so much more than a fairytale dream for the future. Unlike many ICOs, they already have a functioning product, an existing business and an enviable network of clients, partners and collaborators, ranging from Intel and Nvidia, to Chinese multinational Alibaba. Just a few days ago, they secured a $2.5m investment from the private investment and advisory group, Decema[3]. And the momentum is showing no sign of letting up.
Therefore, whilst this isn’t investment advice and I’m certainly not telling you to go straight out and put all your money into their ICO – I do think Cappasity is a uniquely interesting company poised on the threshold of achieving some incredible things, and I would urge you to check them out, do your own research and see if you come to the same conclusions.
Ultimately though, the way I see it, Cappasity is a project that looks promising from every angle.
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For more information:
Whitepaper: https://ico.cappasity.com/whitepaper
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[1] IDC, https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43105017, 09/2017
[2] Goldman Sachs, http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/technology-driving-innovation-folder/virtual-and-augmented-reality/report.pdf, 01/2016
[3] Cappasity, https://www.coinspeaker.com/2018/02/19/decema-commits-2-5-million-investment-cappasity-accelerate-growth-development-efforts/, 02/2018