AMA Recap: Quidd Token × BTSE
14th October 2021
BTSE community had an AMA with Quidd Token.
🎤 Speaker for Quidd Token: Co-Founder and CEO, Michael Bramlage.
The AMA event offered insights about the Quidd Marketplace and the upcoming Quidd Token.
$QUIDD Token is the official token of the Quidd ecosystem.
A fungible ERC-20 utility token built on Ethereum, QUIDD is the cornerstone of a new, cooperative economic system that aligns the interests of collectors, creators, and developers.
First things first, an introduction of Quidd Co-Founder and CEO, Michael Bramlage.
I’m Michael Bramlage, CEO and Co-Founder, of Quidd Inc. I’ve been working on Quidd for 5 years already. Before Quidd, I have spent 3 years in The Topps Company which is best known as leading producer of sports and pop culture trading cards and collectibles. I’ve also spent a total of 7 years in Nokia and Microsoft as Head of Product and Lead Product Manager respectively.
Question #1: Can you please introduce the project at Quidd?
Quidd is the world’s first — yes first — marketplace for digital collectibles…
Today, Quidd has over 7,000,000 registered digital collectors from over 325 of the world’s best brands, including Disney, Marvel, Rick And Morty, Game Of Thrones, and the NBA…
On Quidd, our collectors can buy, hold, and sell their digital collectibles — off-chain — for real money (and withdraw!) or they can choose to mint their digital collectibles as NFTs on-chain, to their blockchain of choice…
The QUIDD Token, which we will soon launch, is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum. It is the official and native token of the Quidd community and will be used, spent, and staked by our vast network of collectors, creators, and developers!
Question #2: What is the main problem that the team is targeting to solve?
One main problem is that our off-chain digital collectibles are growing in value in our aftermarket. Many are highly sought after and trading for thousands of dollars of USD. As the value increases, we need to offer our collectors the ability to own their collectibles forever and have a greater degree of freedom on what they can do with them…
Enter NFTs and the blockchain. Basically, NFTs and the blockchain are vastly superior technical solutions that add real value to digital collectors. Zooming out, we got into this business five years ago with the conviction that collectors would, in the future, no longer prefer products made of cardboard or plastic, but that “code” was the coolest medium for a collectible. NFTs and the blockchain allow purveyors of digital collectibles to reach parity with physical collectibles, and in many use cases, exceed the value of physical collectibles…
Another problem is collectors should reap more benefit for their contribution to our ecosystem. Successful collectibles markets thrive on the contributions of a sea of individual collectors — they perpetuate demand, provide after-market liquidity, and they are the cohesive force between the collector community. We think that these collectors should have a seat at the table in order to reap greater benefits from the markets that benefit so greatly from their contributions…
As students of markets and collectors ourselves, the community does most of the work! For instance. The Pokémon community of collectors actually does the majority of the work to make collecting Pokémon trading cards awesome….less so the makers of Pokémon! By putting utility tokens in the hands of our collectors, we help empower them economically and provide them benefit to match their contributions to our great community.
Question #3: How is the team going about solving the problem?
As the world’s first marketplace for digital collectibles with over 7 million registered collectors and 325 well known brands, Quidd wants its collectors to own their collectibles forever, and Quidd wants to give them the agency to determine what *and where* that happens by integrating blockchain technology to our already established marketplace, allowing collectors to choose whether they want to mint a certain item on-chain, and on which chain. Also by fusing a token system into Quidd, it allows collectors to monetize their collection if needed and enjoy perks if they hold the token, which I will explain further later.
In short, we want to maintain Quidd’s legacy of always being “mainstream-ready” for OG collectors, but we also want to capitalize using blockchain (Ethereum, layer-2s, Solana, Flow, etc) as technical solutions allowing collectors to preserve their collection forever and monetize their effort…
In doing this, Quidd, we believe has the best shot of bringing the next 100,000,000 people to the blockchain, in large part by attracting no-coiner fans, getting them to enjoy off-chain officially-licensed digital collectibles, and then converting them to the blockchain for huge benefits like metaverse interoperability, access to new markets like OpenSea, etc.
Question #4: Could you please tell us why is it called Quidd?
For two reasons. First, we thought it sounded nice. :) Second, “quid” with a single “d” is short for the Latin word “aliquid”, which loosely means “something.” We liked the idea of the items in our marketplace being digital “things” floating around forever on the Internet.
Question #5: What is the misson statement of Quidd?
The mission of the token is to “enable 100 years of Quidd.”
We all need to remember that collectibles is a game played out over decades, and for us “longevity and steady growth” are far more interesting than being “this weekend’s hot NFT project” that shoots up in market cap, establishes high floor prices, but then stays locked with very low liquidity as NFT collectors ape into the next “hot NFT project.”
The mission of our marketplace where collectors can buy, hold, and sell limited-edition digital collectibles for USD is to introduce the mainstream to NFTs. And our plan is to do this in a way that is very natural to real collectors…
For instance, trading cards, which are ON FIRE right now, have an pattern….you buy a bunch of packs, some of them are valuable but MANY of them are not. Collectors want to authenticate, grade, insure, vault, and protect their valuable items. To us, that’s the role of blockchain and NFTs in our marketplace (and why we’re the best place for a no-coiner to get their first NFT)… in effect, “pull an awesome digital collectibles? MINT IT and own it forever on-chain!”
Question #6: What are the major milestones that Quidd has achieved and what are your future plans for 2021 and beyond?
Looking backward, we’ve done quite a lot. We’ve built a world-class digital collectibles marketplace available to download right now on iOS and Android. I’m biased, but we have the best — and in some cases only — digital collectibles marketplace, and we’ve been up and running for 5 years. Like, it exists, and has been thriving for half a decade.
Today, our collectors can buy and sell for USD, and cash out in a fully AML compliant manner. There are collectors, right now, earning real money that they can use to buy textbooks, pay for rent, or assist with down payments based on the way they collect on Quidd.
We’ve not just signed major licensors, like Disney and Marvel, but we did this years ago and turned this beloved IP into highly-sought after digital collectibles. There are vintage Spider-Man digital collectibles, on Quidd, that you can buy right now for cash that were first issued 4 years ago….
In terms of future plans, we run two concurrent roadmaps. First is the marketplace. We are inventing never-before-seen functionality that will dramatically boost liquidity; these are features that eBay, StockX, and other physical collectibles haven’t yet built, and actually can’t be built.
Second is the token. We’re actively working to fuse our token through our ecosystem, ensuring “day 1 utility” within our marketplace.
Collectors will be able to buy and sell digital collectibles and NFTs, on Quidd, using their QUIDD Token. They will be able to earn more QUIDD Token for positive contributions to the collector community. They will be able to stake QUIDD Tokens, in an innovative staking mechanic, that unlocks “collector superpowers” in the form of premium services.
Question #7: If you may, please share with us your investors/partners and are there plans for partnerships with other projects?
We are partners and/or licensees, current and past, of the world’s best media and entertainment companies, including Disney, Warner Bros./HBO, Warner Bros/Cartoon Network, the NBA, the MLB, Funko, Hasbro, etc. The list goes on.
We were originally backed by Sequoia Capital, the pre-eminent VC firm out of Silicon Valley, CA. Now, we’re a wholly-owned subsidiary of Animoca Brands, the blockchain gaming and NFT unicorn based in Hong Kong.
Animoca Brands is an investor is a who’s who of NFT and utility token projects, including Dapper Labs, Flow, SkyMavis and Axie Infinity, OpenSea, and the Sandbox.
Question #8: On what blockchain is it built?
What key pieces of technology should the community know about that sets you apart from the competition?
The digital collectibles in our marketplace that can be minted, on-chain, as NFTs, will be mintable to that collector’s chain of choice. Yes, the collector has the agency to say, “I want my collectible to go onto this chain, not that chain.” The chains we are most excited about are Ethereum, Solana, and Flow. Our first mint will be before the end of the year.
The QUIDD utility token is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum.
Question #9: What makes you feel confident about the survival & sustainable success of Your project in the near future?
We’ve been doing digital collectibles for 5 years. This is anything but new for us.
Our partnerships are strong. The sheer volume and diversity of brands on Quidd that you can collect is staggering. The number will only grow.
Crypto, in general, is breaking out and having a moment, proving that it is an essential technology to enable new experiences and business models. We have 7,000,000 registered collectors that joined Quidd years ago because they love Mickey Mouse or LeBron James, and just wanted to collect them. We have the massive opportunity and privilege of introducing these collectors to NFTs and to utility tokens. We already are and will continue to be the front-door for these regular people to get into crypto.
Question #10: Tell us more about your token, $QUIDD. Can you explain the main utilities and use-cases of your token?
This is the next-generation of NFT marketplace tokens, with utility built-in from the bottom up. Some use cases include:
- Earning Proportional To Long-Term Value Creation: Quidd collectors can earn more QUIDD by performing activities that create long-term value, as opposed to solely through weekly trading activity, which is known to have the adverse effect of creating wash trading.
- Staking For Collector Superpowers: advanced collectors can stake their QUIDD tokens in return for exclusive access to professional-grade collector tools and services, including bidding on wholesale purchases, storefront analytics, and volume discounts on sales fees.
- Real Purchase Utility: enabling millions of buyers and sellers around the world to price and settle transactions in the QUIDD Token instead of only fiat. Holders of QUIDD Token may receive discounts on aftermarket sales fees as well as exclusive buying windows.
- Supply-Side Governance for Collectors: token holders, proportional to their holdings, can provide advisory votes to determine how funds in the Quidd’s content and licensing budgets are deployed. Token holders become active participants in current production decisions and can use votes to protect the value of their older collectibles by limiting future supply.
- Developer Ecosystem Benefits: Quidd is a platform ripe for third-party development. Quidd will deploy QUIDD to motivate third-party software developers to build integrated apps, games, and metaverses.
Question #11: Why would the token be a good long-term investment?
It’s the combination of the macro trends around us AND our unique position and head start in the space.
Our head start is apparent since we have been in the digital collectibles business for 5 years already.
Now, as it relates to the macro trends, it’s always best to invest in really big markets. Turns out, the space is large and growing larger every day.
— The Physical Collectibles Market Is Booming. The Global Sports Trading Card Market was valued at USD 13.83 Billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 98.75 Billion by 2027.
— More And More Of This Market Is Shifting To Digital, Led By NFTs. NFT sales volume surged to USD 2.50 Billion in the first half of 2021 as total crypto wallet holders grew to 75 Million by July 202.
— Utility Tokens Are Essential Instruments To Nurture And Grow NFT Communities. DeFi token hit USD 84 Billion in total locked value as of August 2021.
Question #12: Quidd is the marketplace for buying and selling digital collectibles. Does the project have competitors, and if so why is Quidd better?
As far as we know, no one has invented the time machine, granting them the ability to go back in time and start issuing digital collectibles when we started. That is inimitable. It is just impossible to match a Gane Of Thrones digital trading first issued in 2017. And this matters because, collectibles like art, wine, cars, watches, and other scarce luxury goods, have an essential quirk — the older the thing, the more valuable the thing. We simply hold, on behalf of our collectors, a number of historical digital assets that cannot be replicated or matched by anyone else doing “new drops.”
Question #13: Many people will want to know what are the strengths of your project, but I want to know the weaknesses and problems that your project faces? How do you plan to solve it?
That’s a good question because the strengths speak for themselves. We’re the oldest, original, and most authentic place to collect, buy, and sell digital collectibles. Look at CryptoPunks … it took 4 years for this NFT project to just absolutely explode. Why did this happen? The collectibles and art categories are interesting in that the older items get, the more valuable they get. We’re a lot like that. We’re sitting on over 80,000 unique #1 items, with a market cap of nearly $150,000,000. All these items — these hidden gems — are just waiting to be discovered and turned into NFTs.
As for weaknesses, there are few. We don’t engage in hype or FOMO. That’s not our thing. We’re not going to show up on the cover of TIME magazine. We show up every day and do what’s best for collectors, and will continue to do so for the next 100 years.
Second part of AMA event were live questions from the audience!
Question nr. 1: Can any NFT be traded on Quidd or only authenticated digital collectibles from the world’s greatest brands?
Right now our marketplace allows off-chain trading, for USD. Soon, there will be off-chain to on-chain minting (convert it to NFTs!) as well as on-chain trading.
Question nr. 2: Currently most investors only care about profits at the moment but ignore the long-term benefits. So can you give them some reasons why they should buy and hold $Quidd token in the long term?
We are VERY long term focused. Some evidence of this is our long lockup periods for team, advisors, and investors.
Question nr. 3: Can you list some of the features with which you are most confident about your platform? How can you advertise Quidd worldwide and make it popular?
- Solid native mobile apps on iOS and Android that out of the box integrate with a billion credit cards on file.
- Great liquidity features like wishlist and (soon) auctions.
- Ranks and leaderboards that family our collecting experience and provide utility to items.
- Relationships with metaverse players like Sandbox for even more post-mint utility.
- Localizations into new languages coming in 2022.
Question nr. 4: Where do we expect to see #Quidd in the short-term (at some point in 2021) and 2022 and beyond (long-term goals)? In the next 6–12 months, what features will you be launching that will make you really stand out from the rest?
Features upcoming:
- Wishlists
- Message Center
- Auctions
Question nr. 5: Investors seeks more attention towards project when the token has more utility, So what makes users to hold tokens for their benefits ,is there any loyalty program for holders?
There’s “Collect-To-Earn” mechanisms so positive contributions unlock more token. Tokens can be staked to unlock “collector super-powers” akin to gaining exclusive to subscribers. Tokens can be used for peer to peer transactions and as the most efficient minting currency if the destination chain incurs gas fees.
Useful links:
https://t.me/QUIDDToken (Telegram group: Quidd announcements)
https://t.me/quiddmarketofficial (official Quidd Telegram group)
https://t.me/quiddtokentraders (unofficial community-run Telegram group for trade, Token and price related talks)
https://twitter.com/QUIDDToken (Twitter account for Quidd Token)
https://twitter.com/quidd (Official Quidd Twitter account)
