The age of social media is upon us. Everything you do can now be seen by your followers if you prefer, and sometimes not. Social media has become such an integral part of daily life that it’s hard to imagine why it has taken so long for cryptocurrencies to become integrated. The answer to this question turns out to be much more complicated than you might expect. Here’s a deep dive into social media crypto integration and future projects.
Understanding the Types of Crypto Integration Underway
When you examine the social media market in terms of crypto adoption, you will notice two distinct types of platforms. You already have social media networks such as Twitter (X) and Facebook (META) joining the race. These massive networks have billions of users and hold considerable influence on the population.
The other type of social media cryptocurrency integration is from the ground up. These are social media networks that were built to leverage blockchain technology since day one. Networks like Steem have leveraged the added transparency and efficiency of blockchain to create new ROI opportunities for followers and those who make content and distribute it.
Understanding the different types of social media integrations will help you to better grasp the types of roadblocks to adoption faced in each sector. Large social media networks have to deal with a totally different set of adoption issues versus startups and new lesser-known projects.
There are too many Advantages to Ignore
Regardless of the type of network crypto will integrate into, there are so many advantages. The developers behind these protocols can improve the UX and efficiency of the entire system by integrating cryptocurrencies. Here are the top ways that blockchain integration into social media networks could benefit you in the near future.
More Transparency
One of the main ways that a blockchain-based system improves on traditional centralized social media networks is through the added transparency. Blockchain public networks make it easy to track and monitor every aspect of the system.
Social media on the blockchain would provide a lot of benefits. For one, you could use these systems to verify if a user was a human or a bot. Bots currently control the majority of social media sites. These programs continue to skew statistics and make the experience less human.
Blockchain-based social media users could leverage easy-to-find and free-to-operate blockchain explorers to monitor or verify digital assets on the network. They could also use these systems to integrate more democracy in these networks via community governance systems.
Easier Onboarding
Joining social media networks used to be a snap. They only required you to make up a handle and a username. However, today’s biggest networks have become much more intrusive. Many social media networks require you to provide your actual identification and other info to join.
The problem with this scenario is that many people may not want to provide this sensitive information to the project. Additionally, there is no guarantee the company can responsibly hold this data. In many instances, your information is sold or lost.
Blockchain-based social media networks simply require a network wallet to utilize. This structure provides an excellent and streamlined manner to prove your identity. The process is faster and leaves you safe from data breaches at a later date. As such, blockchain social media networks are a more secure alternative to the status quo.
Better Engagement
One of the main reasons why blockchain assets such as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) continue to gain momentum in the market is because they open the door for a new level of engagement with followers. Content creators can take digital moments and even real-life items and tokenize them into digital tokens.
These tokens can then be distributed to your fans and followers. The cool thing about NFTs is that they can easily be verified regarding authenticity and even scarcity. Additionally, they can be made from music, images, code, and much more.
This flexibility means that an artist could take a special digital moment and share it with fans. They can then use these tokens to reward their most engaged and active followers. The tokens can gain value, be traded, and may even function as tickets to other real-world or digital events.
More ROI Opportunities for Users
The added benefits for users brought on by the integration of digital assets on the blockchain go beyond holding tokens and trading. There are blockchain social media platforms that enable users to leverage powerful DeFi features to improve their returns.
More ROI Opportunities for Content Creators
Content creators gain so much from the integration of blockchain assets. NFTs provide a new way for creators to provide value to fans. Additionally, there are social media networks that allow content creators to receive tips for their efforts and even residuals on their NFTs. These options have all helped drive ROIs higher for creators recently.
Seamless Marketplaces
Another major reason why so many people want to see social media and cryptocurrencies together is the opportunity for massive seamless marketplaces. Platforms like Facebook Market offer users an easy and direct way to sell goods and services.
The introduction of a payment system into this market makes it easy for anyone to conduct business in a peer-to-peer and secure manner. For massive networks that already have thriving marketplaces, the integration makes perfect sense. Users gain more opportunity and a seamless buying experience. Whereas, buyers enjoy faster payment and fewer fees.
The Race to Social Media Tokens
There has been no shortage of attempts to make social media on the blockchain the new normal. Some of these efforts failed because they were too grand, while others are still in their fledgling states. The main thing to consider when discussing social media crypto integration is the size of the network.
There have been many attempts to make the integration happen. Some of these attempts have seen success, while others were met with harsh pushback from the community or regulators. Here’s a look at some blockchain social media integration attempts and successes.
Libra
First on the list is Libra. Facebook raised eyebrows across the market when it announced its Libra project in 2018. The project started off with a lot of hype as it was headed by two well-known payment tech gurus, David Marcus and Morgan Beller. The Libra coin was to be launched on Facebook and revolutionize the platform.
Libra was a stablecoin that leveraged reserves to decouple from the normal market volatility experienced by cryptocurrencies. The reserves were to be a mix of low-risk assets, which were to add to consumer confidence in the project.
However, the token never saw the light of day as regulators had a fit when they heard about it. Facebook, which had already been dealing with multiple privacy-related scandals and election issues, was seen by many lawmakers as a serious risk to democracy.
The thought of the massive firm controlling all the data it has already plus your finances was enough for regulators to put the brakes on the coin before it took flight. Attempting to keep the project alive, the team rebranded the crypto to Diem.
Facebook even went as far as to hire an array of former regulators on the Libra Association non-profit panel in an attempt to make explaining the merits of the project easier. Regardless of these efforts, there was no way regulators were about to give Facebook any additional influence. As such, the project was scrapped and has gone down as a massive failure for the company.
Telegram
Telegram is another billion-strong social media network that has had to fight for any crypto integrations. Back in 2020, Telegram announced that it had developed a crypto for its users called TON. The network held a hugely popular ICO that secured $1.7 billion in funding.
The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) stepped in after the event and issued a cease and desist and took the platform to court. In court, the SEC argued that TON equated to the sale of unregistered securities. The network eventually settled out of court.
Part of the settlement was refunding all the investors. Additionally, Telegram was ordered to pay around $18 million in fines. All of this made it seem as if the project was over. However, this week saw the revitalization of the TON wallet as developers announced it was now integrated into 800 million active users’ wallets.
The integration will enable Telegram content creators to send and receive digital assets and cryptocurrencies with ease. To initiate the feature, users simply need to go to the settings and select activate TON wallet. The process is streamlined, which demonstrates the amount of research and time put into making the project a success.
Blockchain-based Social Media on the Rise
There has been lots of progress on the other end of the spectrum in terms of blockchain-based social media networks built from the ground up using the tech. These networks continue to push the boundaries of the technology to create new and innovative ways for users and creators to connect and prosper. Here are some noteworthy crypto-backed social media networks to check out.
Steemit
Steemit is one of the most popular blockchain-based social media projects today. The network enables anyone to secure returns by simply posting content. Users can tip content creators leveraging the network’s utility token STEEM.
The Steemit network is unique in many ways. For one, it resides on the custom-built Steem blockchain. Additionally, it’s one of only a few social media networks that offer rewards for curating content and sharing it. This structure makes sense as it ensures the best content continually gets shared.
Binded
Photographers have much to gain using blockchain-based social media sites. Since the dawn of the internet, photographers have struggled to keep tabs on their works. In the past, anyone could just copy your work and use it. If they were never found, they never had to pay.
Binded takes the photographer’s interests and makes them the priority. The network integrates advanced NFT technology and blockchain tagging to ensure your works remain under your control. The system leverages a copyright vault protocol that streamlines the creation process.
Users can simply tag #Binded to their Instagram posts to automatically add their photos to the network’s vault. The simplicity of this approach and the seamless nature of how it works with Instagram has helped it become a great option for photographers.
Audius
Audius offers musicians a way to share and track their music in real-time. The network functions by enabling anyone to upload their music, bio, and other cool information for fans. You can listen to other artists and like and share their info to gain Audius tokens.
The project offers censorship resistance and is open to anyone to use for free. Audius was built on Ethereum and leverages the blockchain’s advanced features to remain secure and validate transactions. The main advantage of Audius is that you can engage with fans in meaningful ways while tracking your creations online.
Verasity
Verasity is a blockchain video social sharing network that continues to gain traction in the community. The network makes it easy to monetize your creations and offers more flexibility and trackability than YouTube. Another major benefit is the network leverages smart contracts to authenticate views and followers.
All payouts are automated and handled by smart contracts. The network operates as a secure ecosystem for sharing, viewing, and securing returns off your video creations. These advantages, plus the other selection of user options like ad-blocking, have helped Verasity become a top contender on this list.
Social Media Tokens Will Be the New Normal
You don’t have to do much research to see that there are endless reasons why social media and crypto are destined to merge. While there have been a lot of attempts in the past, the market is finally at the point where many are seeing success. As such, the world could be one massive social media integration away from mainstream crypto adoption.