DeFi
DeFi (Decentralized Finance) burst into 2020 with resounding success, rising from a combined $900M market cap in January 2020 to $253B by the end of 2021. DeFi offered true decentralization of finance by automating transactions through the blockchain. DeFi also provides optional yet lucrative features such as staking. However, the cryptocurrency market moves quickly, with innovation always one step ahead. As 2022 began, Google search trends started to slow down for DeFi, with GameFi growing in popularity.
GameFi
GameFi expanded upon this by building DeFi and blockchain features onto the foundation of a game. These features capitalized on the growing population of professional gamers, E-Sports, Twitch streamers, and YouTubers. Previously, Esports streamers made income playing and competing in a game – Hobby becoming a career. This profession was not without faults. Professionals would be subject to the rules and popularity of their platform, strict advertising criteria, and trending games.
Thus, GameFi was born. Using DeFi, control is taken away from centralized companies and back into the hands of the investor. From the first-time investor to the professional gamer – GameFi welcomes all to take control of their assets and accrue wealth. An example of this is NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). NFTs are assets turned into holdable tokens. Due to this, DeFi features such as staking and renting, become usable on NFTs. Therefore, rather than money squandered on a virtual asset in a standard game, they are an ownable, financial asset in GameFi. Traditional video game companies have noticed this growing market and intend to capitalize on it. Ubisoft CEO Yvette Guillemot states: “We consider blockchain one of those revolutions… Play-to-earn will enable more players to… earn content, own content, and we think it’s going to grow the industry”.
FireZard
One project revolutionizing the GameFi and the P2E market is FireZard and its BSC (Binance Smart Chain) token $ZARD. A decentralized NFT Trading card game powered by blockchain technology that creates a wholly user-focused GameFi experience. The game revolves around investors forming a team of unique NFTs to battle other investors and gain further rewards. FireZard innovates on the limitations of GameFi competitors by removing entry requirements and ensuring consistent profit. Further, despite being a young project, the team has already procured a security audit through Solid Group. The rapid deployment of a security audit demonstrates how FireZard prioritizes investor safety and experience. Future goals include; an exclusive trading marketplace, battling other players, competitions, a mobile game, non-competitive gameplay, a web series, a free-to-play system, and more.
An investor begins their FireZard experience uninhibited by purchasing $ZARD to stake in their dApp. Doing so produces $FLAME – which has no dollar value and is not tradeable on an exchange and has an unlimited supply. This feature makes FireZard a unique and innovative product in GameFi. A limitation in competitors is the large entry requirement to playing, with many games requiring ownership of costly $1000 NFTs. FireZard invents a new system in which any player, regardless of investment, can create a FireZard NFT. Thus, any barrier of entry is removed, creating a more globally accessible GameFi product. The innovation continues as FireZard also provides ‘Instant win BNB’. When investors create (summon) an NFT, they expend $FLAME to produce it. If this NFT is above a common rarity, the investor is rewarded a set amount of BNB directly to their wallet based on the card rarity. The rates of BNB rewards are as follows: Common (0 BNB), Uncommon (0.1 BNB), Rare (0.25 BNB), Super rare (0.5 BNB), and Ultra-rare (1 BNB).
FireZard is an example of how cryptocurrency creates innovation. From Cryptocurrency to DeFi, to GameFi, and now FireZard. The project prioritizes investor security while providing a new, innovative take on the NFT based GameFi market. With no barriers to entry, compelling art, numerous future goals, and tangible BNB rewards – FireZard is set to explode into the booming GameFi trend.