Learning the friendly way

Convex Finance has been dubbed a "DeFi 2.0 protocol," and is part of the ever-growing subset of second-generation decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols that offer yield farming services to users. Deeply ingrained in the DeFi space, Convex empowers Curve Finance users to further benefit from earning and optimizing yields. 

What is Convex Finance (CVX)?

Convex Finance is a revolutionary DeFi platform that offers enhanced staking rewards and works on top of the Curve Finance network, a decentralized exchange (DEX) liquidity pool designed for the swapping of stablecoins. By focusing on stablecoins, the Curve exchange platform is able to bypass volatility typically associated with the cryptocurrency industry, as well as offer lower trading fees and less slippage.

Curve Finance functions using its native CRV tokens which are earned when users deposit crypto assets into its liquidity pools. Both protocols, Curve and Convex, are built on the Ethereum blockchain. Convex acts as a yield optimizer for both Curve CRV token holders and Curve liquidity providers on the network. 

Convex offers a simple user experience alongside extra advantages such as low-performance fees and zero withdrawal fees, which allows liquidity providers and CRV stakers to earn higher returns. Convex Finance CVX tokens are the platform's native token and are ERC-20-based utility tokens with additional governance incentives.

The Convex Finance protocol offers two ways in which users can optimize their yields: staking and providing liquidity.

• Staking: users can stake CRV tokens on Convex (instead of staking on Curve directly) to receive additional rewards (CVX and a portion of the protocol's earnings). CVX can also be staked on the Convex platform, and in return, users earn a share of Curve liquidity providers' CRV earnings. 
• Liquidity providers: as a reward for providing liquidity on the Curve platform, liquidity providers earn Curve LP tokens. These tokens can be staked on the Convex platform in return for CRV tokens and additional rewards. The more CRV tokens that are staked, the higher the reward distribution. 

CVX token holders can earn governance rights by locking their tokens on the platform for a specific amount of time. 

Who created the Convex Finance platform?

Convex Finance was launched in May 2021 by a pseudonymous founder, C2tp. Little is known about this person or group but it is assumed that they came from a software development background. Despite anonymous founders generally being a red flag for risky investments, Convex has defied this norm and is considered to be one of the most influential and important protocols in the DeFi industry. 

In its first month, Convex Finance recorded $68 million in total value locked (TVL), reaching its peak in January 2022 of $21 billion. TVL refers to the sum of all the crypto assets deposited in a DeFi protocol at any given.

Soon after launching, the Convex platform was whitelisted on the Curve platform. Due to a large number of CRV tokens being deposited on Convex, Curve granted Convex permission to participate in Curve's governance. 

How does Convex Finance work?

The Convex Finance protocol provides users access to liquidity and earning trading fees through Curve's established stablecoin pools. In order to do so, users need to deposit Curve tokens into Curve's liquidity pools and then stake them on Convex. Acting as an intermediary, Convex then auto-harvests these tokens and reimburses liquidity providers with the gained rewards. 

CRV tokens and curve liquidity providers

These rewards can be distributed as either CRV or other tokens such as LDO or SNX. Liquidity providers can also increase their returns by further compounding their earned CVX tokens through the staking mechanism. Both CRV stakers and Curve’s liquidity providers are entitled to Convex liquidity mining rewards. 

Convex Finance CVX tokens were designed to simplify staking on Curve's platform with an added fee-earning nature. When a user deposits CRV into Convex, the platform converts these tokens into veCRV (vote escrowed CRV) and credits the depositor with cvxCRV on a 1:1 ratio. Users can then exchange the cvxCRV tokens for CRV using the Curve liquidity pool and earn higher yields by locking up more CRV. 

When users have deposited a certain amount of CRV tokens into the Convex protocol they receive wrapped cvxCRV tokens. These tokens can be staked for CVX tokens and are entitled to CRV rewards earned through the protocol. These rewards include receiving a part of the CVX token airdrop and a 10% share of the CRV harvested by the vaults. 

By providing users the opportunity to earn staking rewards and trading fees without having to lock in CRV, Convex offers a secondary source of income for tokens users already own through Curve. This is the core reason for Convex's success and growth. 

What are CVX tokens?

Convex Finance CVX tokens are ERC-20-based tokens with both utility and governance functionality. The token is used to receive a share of Convex platform fees and reward CRV stakers.

The token has a maximum supply of 100 million, with 50% of the tokens assigned to rewarding Curve liquidity providers. 25% of the remaining tokens are allocated to liquidity mining distributions over the next four years while 9.7% are held in the platform's treasury.

How can I buy the Convex Finance CVX token?

Tap grants its users the freedom to trade securely while retaining their cryptocurrencies in its integrated wallet or the choice of withdrawing them for use on DeFi platforms. Tap offers a secure space to not only trade digital assets but to store them long term too. 

Unlock the power of Tap's mobile app by creating an account and completing your account verification steps. You'll then enjoy access to a wide array of vetted crypto markets and fiat currencies, from where you can buy or sell Convex Finance CVX tokens in a click. All that stands between you and get started with Tap is getting the app today.

After its launch in 2020, Yearn.finance (YFI) quickly became one of the fastest-growing DeFi projects, attracting over $800 million in digital assets in its first month. In eight months, the total value locked (TVL) on the platform had grown to $1 billion. Yearn Finance offers a range of lending and trading services that provide impressive earning potential for crypto asset holders.

What is the Yearn Finance platform?

Yearn.finance (YFI) is a decentralized finance platform consisting of a group of protocols built on the Ethereum blockchain. These protocols allow users to maximize their digital asset-earning potential through staking, lending aggregation and yield generation services.

The aim of the Yearn Finance project is to make DeFi (decentralized finance) trading less complicated and more accessible to less technically-minded traders. The platform utilizes automation to allow traders to maximize profits from yield farming.

Yearn Finance consists of four core products:

• Earn – establishes the highest interest rates that users can earn from lending crypto assets. 
• Zap – groups together several trades in one click, reducing costs and labor.
• APY – comprehensive data table that analyzes interest rates across various lending protocols. 
• Vaults – investment strategies developed to yield the highest returns from other DeFi projects.

Through locking supported cryptocurrencies in Yearn Finance smart contracts integrated into the Curve DeFi and Balancer trading platforms, users earn YFI tokens and can engage in yield farming practices. The more crypto assets that users lock into these protocols, the more tokens they receive.

In order to operate efficiently in a decentralized manner, Yearn Finance built an impressive system of automated incentives rewarding participants who act in accordance with the outlined governance proposals with its YFI tokens. These proposals are voted in by YFI holders.

Who created Yearn Finance (YFI)?

Yearn Finance was launched in February 2020 by a prominent contender in the crypto space, Andre Cronje. Cronje led the launch of the platform having received no funding or reserving any tokens for himself, an exceptionally rare occurrence in the crypto assets and DeFi projects space. 

On top of that, he also holds important roles at smart contract ecosystem Fantom and CryptoBriefing - a premier go-to resource for anyone interested in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) or crypto media.

How does the Yearn Finance (YFI) platform work?

Yearn Finance offers users custom-built tools that act as an aggregator for other DeFi projects such as Aave, Compound, and Curve DeFi trading platforms. 

Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Yearn Finance deploys contracts on other compatible decentralized exchanges such as Balancer and Curve to maximize the earning potential for its users. 

These contracts can be categorized into the four core products mentioned above, with most of the platform's services centered around lending or trading digital assets, and generating a passive income.

Earn

The earn product acts as a lending aggregator and searches across a selection of reputable different lending protocols to find the best interest rates, allowing users to tap into the best rates when lending cryptocurrencies. Users can then deposit USDT, USDC, DAI, sUSD, or TUSD into liquidity pools directly through the Yearn Finance platform to tap into those interest rates. 

Zap

Saving time, costs and transaction fees, the zap product allows users to conduct several transactions in one click. For example, a user can trade DAI for yCRV in one smooth movement, as opposed to several transactions on other DeFi projects. 

APY (annual percentage yield)

Aggregates the earning potential on an annualized basis based on how much capital is invested by searching across the various lending protocols utilized by the Earn product. 

Vaults

The more complex of the services offered by Yearn Finance, the Vaults product allows users to tap into active investment strategies designed by the platform's own self-executing code. These essentially work as actively managed mutual funds with Yearn Finance being the financial intermediary.

Users looking to engage in this product, noting that it is still in experimental stages, would need to have some technical know-how to investigate how these strategies work as they are presented in Solidity (a smart contract-orientated programming language). Utilizing the product, however, is less complicated, simply requiring users to deposit USDC or DAI in each strategy which then invests the funds in various liquidity pools.

What is the YFI token?

Launched in July 2020, the YFI token is based on the ERC-20 token standard and operates as a utility and governance token across the ecosystem. While anyone can make a proposal, only YFI holders are able to vote on proposals put forward regarding the governance and future development of the platform. The higher one's YFI token holding, the more voting power the YFI holders have. A proposal requires more than 50% of the votes in order to be passed.

The maximum supply of YFI tokens was 30,000, however, YFI holders voted to increase this. Following the successful proposal, the total supply is now 36,666 YFI tokens.

Holders are able to earn YFI tokens through revenue received through fees charged on the platform. These are generated through the 0.5% fees charged for using the Earn feature and 5% for the Vault service. Users can also earn YFI tokens by providing liquidity on the platform.

How can I buy the Yearn Finance token?

Whether looking to actively engage in the yearn.finance (YFI) platform, other DeFi protocols, or simply acquire and hold the YFI token, Tap provides a simple and secure solution. Fully regulated and licensed, the Tap mobile app requires users to create an account and complete the account verification process in order to gain access to a wide range of vetted cryptocurrencies. 

Once approved, users can buy, sell, store and trade the YFI token or any of the other supported cryptocurrencies from the convenience of their mobile phone. 

Since Bitcoin came into existence in 2009, the use of the term fiat currency has significantly increased. But what is a fiat currency? In this article, we take a look at the origins of the term and why it's called fiat currency, how it functions, some examples of fiat, and what threat crypto has posed to it. Let’s dive in. 

What is fiat money?

Fiat money is money declared as legal tender by the government and acts as a nation's currency. The term "fiat" is a Latin word and loosely translates to "by decree" which is an authoritative order with the force of law. The government declares fiat money legal tender by decree. 

Fiat money acts as a national currency and is printed by the government. Citizens can use it for payments of goods and services, facilitating trade in the area. 

In 2020, all currency traded internationally was officially declared as fiat money. This means that the value of fiat money isn't linked to anything physical like gold or silver but rather to the faith and credit of that government. All fiat currencies are operated by a central authority, in most cases central banks, that carry out a nation's monetary policy and are responsible for controlling its money supply.

Until 1971, foreign currencies were fixed in value relative to the US dollar whose worth was based on an amount set by Congress expressed in terms of gold ounces. That year President Richard Nixon did away with that system completely in what was called  "the Nixon shock." 

Fiat currency vs fiat money

Fiat currency and fiat money essentially refer to the same thing. Both represent the government-issued currency used in a country or region. There are around 180 different types of fiat currencies in use globally. Examples of fiat include the United States dollar, Canadian dollar, Euro, and British pound sterling, or Japanese yen. 

The value of one fiat currency in relation to another is referred to as the exchange rate.

Fiat money vs commodity money

Fiat money is essentially the opposite of commodity money. The major difference between the two stems from their intrinsic value. In general, a commodity currency has an intrinsic value that comes from what it is made of, a physical commodity such as gold or silver coins.

Fiat currency does not have any intrinsic value and only exists because a country's government or country's central bank says it can be exchanged for other goods with equal value.

How did fiat currencies come into existence?

All money is a certificate of debt. In the past, if someone needed to be paid back for something at a later date, they would receive an IOU that said how much was owed to them and when it could be collected. 

Bartering system

For example, let's say a farmer traded 2kg of flour today for ten pumpkins come harvest time. 

To keep track of this arrangement and to avoid forgetting or getting confused about what was owed, the person providing the flour would be given a piece of paper indicating that it could be exchanged for pumpkins after harvest. This piece of paper effectively becomes worth ten pumpkins and could be used to trade for milk, bread, or any other goods. 

The bartering system only allowed trade to happen when each person had what the other one desired. To make it more efficient, people started using something that everyone wanted as a basis for trading, a physical commodity. For a long time, rocks that shine (gold) served that purpose.

Gold to coins

However, weighing gold for each transaction was complicated, so governments started to create identical gold coins made from a specific amount of gold. They put raised lines around the edge of every coin as proof that no one shaved off any bits of gold, making trade easier since everyone knew how much each currency was worth.

Introduction of banks

However, gold is heavy to carry and became dangerous to keep on oneself at all times, so people started storing their gold in bank vaults. Bankers would provide a certificate as proof that each person owned a certain amount of gold, which could later be redeemed at the central banks for gold. This shifted the legal tender from gold to a piece of paper. 

Gold to paper money

As the government was typically the largest holder of gold, it began printing its own paper currency that people could use to trade for gold at the national treasury, representing the origins of the gold standard. However, people stopped going to redeem the paper for gold and instead just used the paper itself. 

Supply/demand logistics

At this stage, a currency's value was still tied to the value of gold, which had some problems in itself. Firstly, if a new source of gold emerged or another country suddenly released a significant amount of gold, the currency's value would drop. Secondly, anyone could manipulate the price of gold thereby throwing the currency's value. 

Fiat money emerges

Hence, the gold standard was dropped in the 1930s. Instead, the currency became worth the amount printed on the piece of paper instead of the gold it represented. IOUs once again became the official source of money and held value "by decree" instead of based on an underlying asset. 

Is fiat money still relevant today?

Since the advent of cryptocurrencies (digital currencies not managed by a central authority or government), the way we think about money has changed significantly. While mainstream adoption of these digital currencies continues to grow (several countries have declared Bitcoin as a legal tender) the use of fiat money isn't going anywhere. 

Fiat currencies still hold a significant place in the global economy and will continue to do so for a long, long time. And while some grow skeptical of governments' power to mint new fiat money or the central banking system in general, it's unlikely that fiat currencies are going anywhere. 

CBDCs

One new development that is gaining popularity is the CBDC, merging the worlds of fiat currency with digital currencies. The Central Bank Digital Currency is maintained and operated by central banks, uses blockchain technology to operate, is pegged to the value of the local fiat currency, and works in parallel to the national currency. Eradicating price volatility, the CBDC uses a more secure means of distributing and facilitating the movement of fiat currency. 

While cryptocurrencies are unlikely to replace fiat currencies anytime soon, it's worth noting how significantly the concept of money has changed over the last century and considering how things could change in the future for fiat currency as we know it.

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Gala Games, the company behind GALA tokens, is a disruptive force in the gaming industry. Harnessing Web3 and blockchain technology, Gala Games aims to redefine the player landscape and break away from the traditional gaming model, granting players unprecedented freedom, control, and rewards.

Poised to challenge mainstream platforms, Gala Games has already established a thriving Web3 gaming ecosystem with its play-to-earn games, in-game assets, and high game quality.

What is Gala Games (GALA)?

Gala Games is a blockchain-based play-to-earn gaming platform that launched in 2019 to tap into the growing adoption of blockchain platforms in the gaming community. Hosting a wide range of game genres, including real-time strategy (RTS), multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), and role-playing games (RPGs), Gala Games offers players a diverse and unique gaming experience.

Originally operating on the Ethereum blockchain, the Gala Games platform has since expanded to Polygon and BNB Chain and leverages Web3 technology to create a secure, immersive, and accessible gaming environment. One key feature is the ability for players to truly own the items they earn through gameplay, thanks to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Players are rewarded for their in-game accomplishments with the GALA token and NFTs. GALA is the native token within Gala Games, used for in-game purchases and as a medium of exchange. It also rewards Founder's Node operators and facilitates transactions in the Gala Store. Additionally, GALA enables governance voting, giving players a say in the platform's future developments.

Gala Games provides a unique opportunity for players to engage in play-to-earn gaming, where they can not only enjoy immersive gameplay but also earn tangible rewards. Gala Games allows players to enter a world where blockchain meets Web3 meets gaming, and ownership is emphasized.

In early 2022, Gala Games expanded its Web3 offering beyond gaming to incorporate Gala Music and Gala Film. Later that year, it launched its “games-first” layer-1 blockchain solution called Project GYRI which bridges to the Ethereum blockchain and uses GALA as gas for all transactions. The collected GALA tokens are burned or distributed to Founder’s Node operators. 

Who created Gala Games?

Gala Games was founded in 2019 by Eric Schiermeyer and Michael McCarthy, combining the expertise of gaming industry veterans with a focus on blockchain gaming. 

Eric Schiermeyer, the CEO and co-founder of Zynga, brings his digital gaming background, while Michael McCarthy, the President of Games, contributes over 20 years of gaming industry experience. 

In 2021, the US-based gaming platform partnered with C² Ventures to create a $100 million fund for blockchain gaming development, allocated to game developers and new blockchain-based gaming projects.

GALA tokens are distributed daily according to its annual halving schedule and shared among Founder's Node operators and the Gala Games Conservatorship. Each year the number of tokens distributed each day is cut in half.

How does Gala work?

Gala Games offers a diverse selection of blockchain games prioritizing gameplay over monetary incentives by relying on two key elements: Gala Nodes and the Gala ecosystem. 

The immersive games are created by their in-house studio and award-winning external gaming studios like Ember Entertainment, GAMEDIA, Kung Fu Factory, 22cans, and more. In-game items, such as weapons and skins, can be bought and sold on the Gala Store and OpenSea as NFTs.

Gala Nodes

Instead of a centralized server, Gala Games operates on a distributed network of computers. Participants, known as nodes and owned by users, contribute computational resources to the decentralized gaming network and in turn receive rewards.

There are currently four main types of nodes on the platform:

Game Nodes

Game nodes host gaming servers and are granted special allowances in the games they support, i.e. NFTs.

Founder's Nodes

There are only 50,000 Founders Nodes available and these can be bought using GALA tokens directly through the Gala Games website. These nodes hold governance rights and are able to vote on future developments. 

Player Nodes

Users that allow network listeners to share and play music through NFTs. 

Film Nodes

Similar to Gala Games Player Nodes, Film Nodes host entertainment and film experiences. 

Gala Games Ecosystem

The platform offers a range of engaging blockchain games that have been enjoyed by millions of players. Popular titles include Fortitude, Town Star, and Echoes of Empire. Each game offers unique gameplay and rewards for player achievements as well as distinctive in-game assets.

What is the GALA token?

Built on both the Ethereum blockchain (ERC-20) and BNB Chain (BEP-20), GALA tokens are designed to provide a medium of exchange for all in-game assets and transactions made within the Gala platform. GALA tokens are also used to reward Founder Node operators, as in-game player rewards, and provide governance rights. These tokens can also be used to purchase a license to operate a node. 

Gala Token Distribution

The total supply of the GALA token sits at 50 billion. Each day, half of a pre-specified number of GALA tokens are given to Founder's Node operators, and the other half is given to the Gala Games conservatorship for future growth and funding. Each year, this number of tokens is halved.

For example, from July 2022 to July 2023 the Gala Games network planned to distribute 8,561,643 GALA tokens each day. From July 2023 this number will halve.

When GALA is used to buy NFTs in the Gala Games store, that GALA is burned and an equal amount of GALA is then added to a pool for future distribution within the Gala Games ecosystem.

How can I buy the GALA token?

Whether you want to tap into the Gala Games ecosystem or simply diversify your portfolio, you can easily buy or sell the GALA token directly through the Tap app. As a fully licensed and regulated fintech platform, Tap offers a secure means to not only buy and sell but also store and spend your GALA token. 

Simply download the app, create an account, and verify your identity (a legal requirement that takes under 5 minutes). Once your account is up and running you can load either crypto or fiat funds and start trading GALA tokens. The platform supports a number of top crypto and fiat currencies, allowing anyone anywhere to tap into the world of streamlined finances. 

When exploring the world of blockchain and its endless possibilities, it’s likely that you’ve come across the term dapps. But what are dapps? In this piece we explore the concept, decipher their place in the industry, and look at several networks that currently support them.

What are dapps?

Decentralized apps, or dapps as they’re more commonly known, are applications that are built on top of peer to peer decentralized networks. Instead of being built on one computer, with one single entity in control, dapps utilize a network of computers based anywhere around the world. With multiple computers operating and maintaining the network, dapps are able to incorporate many streams of content consumption, be it providing content, trading or consuming it. 

The advantages of dapps

Compared to standard web apps, like Twitter or Uber, these apps can handle multiple users but only one authority has control over the backend of the app. Dapps provide a more decentralized and secure approach. So while Uber connects passengers to drivers through the app for a portion of the payment, dapps essentially allow the drivers and riders to connect directly, taking no payment for the connection.

Another advantage to the world of dapps is that all transactions are transparent and stored on the blockchain of the network it is built on. Dapps also need a token to operate, which enhances the security of both the dapp and the transactions taking place. Typically dapps are also open source, allowing other developers to view the code and further drive development in the industry.

The disadvantages of dapps

As with anything in life, there are also disadvantages. As the world of dapps is still in its infancy stage, the user base is relatively low. When it comes to blockchain based projects, the more users a network has the higher functioning the network is. Unfortunately, many dapps still have a relatively low user base decreasing the functionality, however that doesn’t speak for all of them. As the blockchain and crypto worlds continue developing and reaching wider audiences, both the usability and users will increase. 

Another disadvantage is the potential vulnerability to hacking. As most dapps are created using open source smart contracts, this leaves them open to potential probing from hackers. This isn’t a given, however it has happened in the past that hackers found weaknesses in the network and were able to conduct illicit activities through them. 

How many dapps are there?

According to a dapp monitoring website, State Of The Dapps, there are currently roughly 3,500 dapps in the industry. These are spanned across a wide range of networks, including the likes of Ethereum, EOS, TRON, NEO, Steem and more. The website further reports that over $257 million has passed through the dapps industry in just twenty four hours (at the time of writing). Dapps also cover a broad range of subjects, with dapps catering to industries like energy, exchanges, finance, gambling, games, health, identity, insurance, marketplaces, media, property, security, social, storage and wallets. The most widely of which are finance, security and exchanges.

A look into Ethereum dapps

The most widely used network to create dapps on top of, Ethereum has over 2,700 dapps built on its network. Ethereum was the first network designed to provide a blockchain platform on which developers could build their own decentralized applications. Ethereum was also the first network that allowed developers to create and execute their own smart contracts, an essential ingredient to the making of dapps. 

According to DappRadar, the three biggest dapps currently on the Ethereum network are DeFi projects and an exchange. Coming in at first place based on its current market cap is Uniswap, a defi protocol (exchange) that facilitates the trading of cryptocurrencies. Uniswap has an estimated 48,950 active users. Also dabbling in the world of DeFi, the second largest dapp on the Ethereum network is compound, a protocol that allows users to lend and borrow crypto. The third largest is MakerDAO, a smart contract that facilitates user interaction with the Dai stablecoin system.

A look into EOS dapps

Similar to Ethereum but with fewer transaction fees, the Entrepreneurial Operating System was designed to provide developers with a platform on which to build their blockchain based endeavours. As the second largest platform on which dapps are currently created, let’s explore the three largest dapps currently operating on the network. Coming in first place is Joule, a dapp which promotes financial inclusion and social change through determining the Global Popularity Index in real time. The next two entries both fall into the DeFi category, being Defibox and VIGOR.

The power of dapps

While many dapps are still in the experimental phase, there is also a large amount of money circulating in the industry and millions of users indicating a promising market. Thanks to dapps’ wide use range and the amount of innovation in the industry at present, the dapp industry is likely to continue growing and become a permanent fixture in many peoples’ lives, whether crypto inclined or not.

Civic (CVC) is a blockchain-based identity verification platform focused on providing secure, cost-effective identity management solutions. As digital identity verification becomes increasingly important in today’s world, Civic distinguishes itself with its decentralised approach and user-centric control over personal data. 

Let's explore how this platform is addressing the challenges of digital identity verification, privacy, and security.

TLDR

• Decentralised identity verification: Civic provides secure personal data verification without storing user information centrally, reducing fraud and identity theft risks.
• User-controlled identity: Users maintain ownership of their personal data, selectively sharing only required information with service providers through the Civic app.
• Multi-layered ecosystem: Utilises the Identity Verification Marketplace and Civic Pass for DeFi access control.

What is the Civic network all about?

Founded in 2015 by Vinny Lingham and Jonathan Smith, Civic launched its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in June 2017, raising $33 million. The platform enables users to verify their identities on the blockchain while maintaining control over their personal information.

It aims to overcome traditional identity verification drawbacks, such as centralised data storage, repetitive KYC processes, and privacy concerns—and it uses blockchain technology to achieve this. The platform’s infrastructure allows for reusable KYC, minimising the need to repeatedly share personal documents with different service providers, all while reducing verification costs.

In June 2017, Civic conducted its token sale, selling $33 million worth of CVC tokens. Since then, the platform has continued to evolve, introducing Civic Pass in 2021, serving as an identity gateway for DeFi apps, NFT platforms, and DAOs requiring compliance. 

At the time of writing, it remains one of the notable blockchain-based identity verification solutions in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

How does the Civic platform work?

Civic's core architecture revolves around three main components that work together to provide comprehensive identity verification services:

• Identity Verification Marketplace - connects identity requesters with trusted validators to verify user information.
• Civic Pass - provides access control for DeFi applications and other services requiring compliance checks.

It’s worth noting that their product Civic Pay was quietly retired in 2020-2021. 

The Identity Verification Marketplace operates on the blockchain, creating a trusted ecosystem where validators (trusted entities that verify identity information) and service providers can interact. When users provide identity information through the Civic app, it's encrypted and stored on their device, not on Civic's servers.

By distributing the verification process across the blockchain and putting users in control of their data, Civic promises to deliver security, privacy, and convenience without compromises. Because users can reuse their verified identity across multiple platforms, this makes it an efficient solution for both individual users and businesses requiring KYC processes.

Civic created CVC to be the utility token across its ecosystem, used for paying for verification services, rewarding validators, and incentivising ecosystem participation.

The advantages of the Civic platform

According to the Civic team, the platform significantly reduces verification costs compared to traditional identity verification methods. It's also capable of completing verifications in minutes rather than days. This makes it a superior solution for businesses looking to streamline their KYC processes while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Beyond that, Civic is designed to address major issues facing identity systems today: data breaches and identity theft. This is done by eliminating centralised databases of personal information, ensuring that even if Civic were compromised, users' personal data would remain secure.

It's also highly inclusive. While many identity verification systems require extensive documentation, Civic works to provide solutions for the unbanked and underbanked populations globally, potentially bringing financial services to billions of people.

In 2021, Civic expanded its offerings with enhanced DeFi protection tools and NFT verification services, ensuring that its identity solutions remain relevant in the evolving blockchain ecosystem. The platform continues to develop new use cases for its technology, particularly in combating bot activity and fraud in decentralised applications.

Civic use cases

The Civic network allows individuals and businesses to verify identity information securely and efficiently, whether for account creation, age verification, or compliance with regulatory requirements.

It is one of the first platforms to combine blockchain technology with identity verification to create a user-centric system that puts individuals in control of their personal data while still meeting the verification needs of businesses.

Due to the platform's focus on privacy and security, businesses can implement strong KYC procedures without creating vulnerable centralised databases of user information. This provides them with compliance solutions that protect both the business and its customers.

How to buy CVC

If you’re looking to incorporate CVC into your crypto portfolio, users can effortlessly buy and sell the token on the Tap app (after completing the account registration process). Download the app to get started. 

FAQs

How does Civic protect user data?

Civic employs a decentralised identity architecture where users’ personal data is stored locally on their devices, not on central servers. Data is encrypted and hashed, and Civic leverages zero-knowledge proofs in some cases to validate information without exposing the data. Only attestations (proofs of verification) are stored on the blockchain, not the personal data itself. Users maintain control over what information is shared and with whom.

Can you mine CVC tokens?

No, CVC tokens cannot be mined. The total supply of CVC was created during its token generation event in 2017, and no new tokens were issued. As an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, CVC transactions are secured by Ethereum’s Proof of Stake mechanism, but CVC is not mined or staked for rewards.

What is the CVC price?

As the market is known to change regularly, please check the Tap app to find the most relevant CVC price.

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