Poloniex, a global cryptocurrency exchange that has been on the scene since 2014, collaborated with APENFT to integrate a one-stop NFT platform. Eddie Jiang, Poloniex Head of Marketing, discussed the reasons behind cooperation and the future development of NFT and metaverse in a recent interview with Bitcoinist.
Q: Can you tell us what led Poloniex to partner with APENFT and integrate the NFT marketplace?
A: Since its launch in 2014, Poloniex has been following its mission to connect the world to the power of cryptocurrency. Though NFT became a crypto household name, it is still at the beginning of its growth.
In 2021, the NFT market achieved a preliminary breakthrough. It’s not only something limited to the crypto world but has become mainstream. It seems that everyone is talking about NFT. In the future, I believe the trend toward the metaverse is inevitable, and NFT is one of the infrastructures of the metaverse. It has a wide range of potential applications, and the need to prove ownership of digital assets will grow dramatically.
Many of the users have never interacted with NFTs yet. Lots of Poloniex’s users are also interested in NFTs and wish Poloniex could have a one-stop NFT marketplace, so it will be much easier for them to step into this exciting world. To cater to our users’ needs and to make ourselves keep up with the market trends, we had this strategic partnership with APENFT and integrated their marketplace.
By integrating the NFT marketplace with the minimum threshold to enter, Poloniex plans to make NFT get-at-able investment to the users and directly contribute to the building of the NFT space and the metaverse.
Poloniex users now can access NFT in a flash on the Poloniex website or an app.
Q: Poloniex is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world and could have its pick of any NFT project, why APENFT?
A: APENFT aims to transform world-class artwork from being elite-exclusive items to being accessible to everyone. Though it’s a relatively new player in the industry, it has already made many achievements by providing secure, reliable, efficient and decentralized services to NFT art lovers across the globe. The marketplace encourages NFT artists and developers to use the platform by providing zero initial transaction fees and minimal gas fees.
In addition, APENFT really focuses on the NFT industry and has devoted many resources to supporting artists and good projects.
Poloniex shares similar views with APENFT, we believe that art and investments should be available to everyone. This partnership leverages our shared potential to increase the reach of NFTs and further develop the industry.
Q: One might say Poloniex is a bit late to the party given that exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance already have NFT marketplaces. How would you respond to that?
A: Poloniex is developing at its own pace. Moreover, our team has always been exploring this industry and learning about the latest trends for a long time, even though we didn’t have the NFT marketplace before. We spent a lot of time polishing our product and making sure everything presented to our users is the best. Now the team has adequate knowledge and experience, and it’s a perfect time for us to step into this new world.
Just as I mentioned above, although NFT and the metaverse have been such heat for a while, they are still in the early stage of development, and there is still huge room for development and imagination. NFT market is here to stay and flourish. Thanks to various use cases of NFT, it has become an inevitable part of many fields, such as gaming, fashion, logistics etc. What is more, NFT is the underlying concept in the metaverse, a major game-changer these days. Looking at the number of global companies entering the metaverse, we can say that it will underpin the NFT presence. It is never too late to enter.
Q: Since Poloniex is committed to contributing to not only the NFT space but metaverse development, should we be expecting any partnerships with metaverse projects?
A: Integrating the APENFT marketplace marks Poloniex’s debut into the NFT and metaverse realm. We always keep a close eye on the industry, like NFT, Gamefi, and DAO, which are all important infrastructures of the metaverse, and are always ready to support these trends.
We offer top GameFi, DAO and Web3 tokens for trading. Besides, to make quality applications more accessible to our users, we cooperated with leading ecosystems such as Fantom and Polygon.
We definitely hope to work together with more quality metaverse projects. We will support more INO events and provide more token listing support for outstanding NFT & metaverse projects. In this way, we can together drive the mass adoption and the development of the industry.
Q: If you were to pick any metaverse project to partner with, which would it be?
A: I would say Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Since its first creation in the summer of 2021, BAYC has been quite prominent in the NFT space, and the BAYC community is steadily growing. The team has developed in the direction of building an ecology, the metaverse.
Through BAYC, we see that NFT players are becoming more and more interested in projects with practicality, and what they want is not just a piece of digital artwork, but also identity and community. They want a larger world to which they belong. BAYC gives the community a sense of belonging, from which to gain benefits and a sense of identity.
BAYC represents the spirit of decentralization. The team’s vision is to build a homeland and a metaverse that everyone can participate in together. This goal is also more in line with mine.
As one of the most important infrastructures in the blockchain industry, the exchange helps more people enter this field faster and participate in the development. It can also leverage its own resources to empower projects like BAYC, to build the metaverse and community together.
Q: Poloniex is offering NFT rewards to users based on their trading volume. Will these be unique NFTs from the exchange or APENFTs?
A: Yes, there will be a series of trading volume-based airdrops with a total prize pool of $1,5mln. Users reaching the specified threshold can claim a limited-edition Genesis NFT and TRON Ecosystem Badge NFT such as BAYCTRON, MAYCTRON, and TRONMeebit. These NFTs are from APENFTs, however, Poloniex will also provide more benefits for users who are holding these NFTs. For more information of this, you can visit: https://bit.ly/39NXPNs
APENFT and Poloniex also launched a sale event for 1,000 H.E. Justin Sun exclusive special edition NFT covers created by Valuart x Vanity Fair. APENFT has a prize pool of up to 200,000 TRX for this series of NFTs and Poloniex airdrops $25 futures trail funds for users that purchase this unique cover. More details: https://bit.ly/3ajC4pf
Q: When will the Poloniex NFT marketplace be live?
A: Poloniex NFT marketplace went live on the 25th of May, both on the web and mobile APP.
Q: Where do you see the NFT and metaverse space in the next 5-10 years?
A: I believe the trend to the metaverse is irreversible and is accelerating; in the medium and long term, entertainment, life, and work will continue to be digitized. The ultimate metaverse form will maximize the connection between the virtual world and the real world or may become the mainstream way of life.
According to Eddie, in the future, the needs and some problems of various industries are expected to be alleviated or solved with the help of the metaverse; in turn, this will also promote the progress of the underlying technologies of the metaverse. The metaverse may become a mirror of real life, with an independent economic system, where everyone is a creator and consumer, satisfying higher spiritual needs.
Finally, Eddie also mentioned that the metaverse has not really been realized yet, but with the improvement and popularization of technology, it will have a deeper and wider impact on the world.