UREEQA, BarnBridge and Ferrum Network: The First NFT
After coming out of stealth 2 weeks ago, things have been moving faster than we expected at UREEQA.
We’ve had our first interview and referrals have been coming to us hard and fast from the crypto community and beyond.
Remember that although the blockchain ethos and experience are woven into the fabric of the platform we are building, our fiat friends can have an end-to-end experience on UREEQA without knowing anything about crypto.
Some folks have started thinking of us as “copyright on blockchain” but the world doesn’t need just that. As per the Berne Convention, creators automatically benefit from copyright protection the moment a work is created and fixed in some form (eg. mp3 for music, .doc for book etc.).
You may have copyright protection but can you prove it? That’s where UREEQA comes in.
Think of us more like a Package of Proof and Enforcement company. Copyright registration doesn’t actually prove authorship, ownership or originality. These are the things courts look for when settling copyright disputes. That’s where we shine and where we work to help protect creators. We also work to find and settle infringement claims. Watch our Explainer Video through this new lens and the power of our platform should become apparent.
We are less than 45 days away from our closed beta and folks have started pre-registering at UREEQA.com.
We have been signing up Validators who will be trained and certified by us to perform the Validation steps for URQA tokens and Creators who want their creative work protected by UREEQA during the closed beta.
For those of you interested in signing up, there is still time. We won’t begin pre-screening applications until Mar 8.
We have been heads-down working on building the team, platform, systems and processes and we haven’t fired up our marketing efforts yet. That is about to change.
There are some exciting groups within and outside of crypto who have pledged creative assets for protection during our closed beta and we will be sharing some of the related news starting this month.
However, there is one special work that will be protected on UREEQA that I’m excited to share. It will be the very first NFT to be minted on UREEQA because it will be an important part of our company’s history.
When I announced my journey from a value investor into crypto, I spoke about Ian Friend from Ferrum Network and how open and sharing he was with his knowledge, experience and network. What I didn’t mention is someone else who helped with my soft landing into this new world.
That person is the Founder of a DeFi project with $500 million locked in its smart contracts:
He has built such a solid company that even Coinbase likes it.
Tyler Ward from BarnBridge was so busy pouring his heart and soul into his new venture yet he found the time to share his thoughts and experience with me as UREEQA was being sculpted into its final form.
It was Tyler who recommended we launch on Ethereum (a decision I am fully on board with and can discuss later).
It was also Tyler who opened our eyes to a new use case for our platform.
Unlike traditional companies which are registered entities, DAOs currently don’t have a convenient way to “own” creative assets like whitepapers, websites and smart contracts.
By being staked by UREEQA and being put through our Validation process, those items can be minted as Validated NFTs which can be held in DAO accounts.
This allows for secure ownership of the assets. It also allows for easy transfer when mergers and acquisitions inevitably become more common in the crypto world.
For these reasons and more, Ian Friend from Ferrum Network and Tyler Ward from BarnBridge will always be an important part of UREEQA’s journey.
To thank them and cement their place in UREEQA history, we have commissioned an artist to create an item that symbolizes their contribution to UREEQA.
This piece of digital art will be the very first NFT to be minted on our platform.
For those of you interested in seeing the art and learning about the artist, information will be provided below this article.
This is also a convenient time to announce the UREEQA Collection of Pledged Assets.
We have been collecting creative assets that will be protected during our closed beta. Together, those assets form the UREEQA Collection of Pledged Assets.
Apart from our first NFT, Ferrum Network has pledged their whitepaper, website and smart contracts to be Validated and minted as NFTs during our closed beta.
Although Tyler is an avid supporter of UREEQA, the control of BarnBridge (as of a couple weeks ago) was transitioned to a DAO and it would ultimately be their decision to participate in the closed beta (along with several other crypto projects we’ll be announcing in the coming weeks).
There are other exciting works in the Collection and those will be disclosed and shared progressively from now until TGE (and our closed beta) planned for late March.
Enough stories from me. We’re going to release the marketing department now.
Onward!
Now, let’s reveal the digital art of the First UREEQA NFT to be minted, designed by digital artist KERB.
KERB has been creating digital art since the days of 8-bit. Originally from the UK, he spent a couple for decades creating digital experiences for international brands around the world including PlayStation, Disney, Adidas and the BBC. He climbed aboard the cryptoart train in mid-2019 with his genesis piece on KnownOrigin and has never looked back.
You can find more work from KERB here and follow him on twitter here!
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