Autor Cointelegraph By Rachel Wolfson

While many nonfungible token (NFT) projects continue to suffer losses due to the bear market, a number of organizations have begun using NFTs to solve real-world problems. In particular, NFTs for subscription/membership-based models, or loyalty programs, are gaining traction. This point was highlighted in Forrester’s 2023 NFT and metaverse predications report, which notes: “Brands will pivot from ‘cool’ non-fungible tokens (NFTs) towards loyalty. In 2023, brands will shift their focus to NFTs linked to loyalty, brand experience, and deepening customer relationships.”Indeed, NFT use cases such as these are being implemented today. For example, Starbucks recently announced an NFT-based loyalty program. Industry experts have also begun explaining why subscription-based services should implement NFTs to improve relationships between brands and consumers. NFT memberships for wellness clubsAlthough the concept of applying NFTs for loyalty programs or membership models is new, mainstream sectors are beginning to understand their potential. The billion-dollar fitness industry may be the next sector to implement NFT-based memberships, as a handful of innovative gym owners have already begun exploring this model. Deni Zulic, CEO and founder of Global Fit Club — a blockchain-based fitness platform — told Cointelegraph that Global Fit Club will soon be offering NFT memberships to allow users access to a full suite of fitness services. Zulic explained that Global Fit Club is partnering with well-known fitness centers like Anytime Fitness and F45 Training, to ensure that members gain access to more benefits when they hold an NFT membership. “This isn’t just a gym membership. NFT holders will get discounts on fitness related services such as supplements, personal training and equipment, as Global Fit Club has a number of partners lined up to provide this,” he said. Zulic also noted that Global Fit Club will incentivize users to workout through its move-earn-platform that pays NFT holders cryptocurrency when movement is recorded. An image of Global Fit Club’s standard membership pass. Source: Global Fit ClubWhile the concept behind Global Fit Club is innovative, Zulic explained that an NFT-membership model is capable of solving many challenges currently faced by the fitness industry. For example, he pointed out that gym membership prices fluctuate over time, which can create financial difficulties for gymgoers:“Some gyms have been around for years, once offering memberships for $6 a month. These same gyms are now offering memberships for $50 a month. Users that have $6 membership rates may not use their membership, but continue to keep it so they don’t have to pay more if they decide to go to the gym again. Or, some members may be forced to pay higher fees due to things like increasing inflation.” Zulic believes that an NFT-based gym membership could solve this problem, as members can purchase the nonfungible token at its floor price and then continue to reap the benefits for life. He added that if a member chooses to cancel their membership, they could resell their NFT and even make a profit depending on the asset’s value over time. “With NFTs, gym members can have full ownership of their memberships. They can lock in a certain rate and then sell their membership if they choose,” Zulic said. Additionally, Zulic mentioned that while some gyms have loyalty programs that allow members to earn rewards for working out, an NFT membership can ensure that crypto payments are sent directly to a user’s wallet when movement is tracked: “There is actual money behind this, which will help with customer retention and satisfaction.” Recent: What Musk’s Twitter acquisition could mean for social media crypto adoptionTo Zulic’s point, one survey has found that 67% of gym members never actually use their membership. Recent findings also reveal that Americans spend $397 million a year on unused gym memberships. An incentive program that uses crypto payments could very well solve this problem. Zulic noted that Global Fit Club plans to launch in Quarter 1 of 2023. As such, it’s yet to be determined if NFTs will actually solve challenges associated with traditional gym memberships. In the meantime, industry experts within the wellness sector are starting to take note of the potential behind NFT membership models. Lavinia Errico, co-founder of Equinox Fitness Clubs, told Cointelegraph that she believes NFTs will have a huge value for membership-based companies:“Fitness, wellness, social, private clubs, etc., all of these businesses are ripe for this huge disruption. Any companies who do not embrace this will be left behind. It’s best to get on board now.” Errico said that she recently joined the board of advisers for Rafi Lounge, a wellness and fitness space based in Malibu, California, that is currently offering NFT memberships. Rafi Anteby, founder of Rafi Lounge, told Cointelegraph that while the firm has been open for over two years, he recently became aware of the need for a more efficient membership model. “There are many wellness clubs around the world that over-promise and underdeliver benefits for their members. Members also typically get locked in to high rates even if they don’t leverage their membership. There are also security issues associated with traditional gym memberships,” he said. The main mandala image will be used to represent Rafi Lounge NFTs. Source: Rafi LoungeIn order to solve these problems, Anteby has begun pre-selling a handful of NFT memberships to current members. “This is a new membership model, so trust is key. I am starting with people who trust me, as I have been an existing business for over two years. I believe it’s important to know who is behind an NFT drop before users jump in,” he explained. Anteby added that the official Rafi Lounge NFT mint will take place on Nov. 11. Echoing Zulic, Anteby explained that using NFTs as memberships provide users with full ownership. “This gives members the opportunity to reap more benefits, along with the ability to sell their membership on a secondary market if they choose to do so,” he said. However, Anteby hopes that Rafi Lounge members will retain their memberships, noting that community building is also important with this model. “Rafi Lounge is about bringing Web2 and Web3 together, and this is made possible by using NFTs,” he remarked. More importantly, Anteby pointed out that NFT-based memberships are capable of ensuring greater security, noting that verification is based entirely on the nonfungible token. “We have an app that creates a unique QR-code for each member holding an NFT. It also uses facial recognition. This ensures that members are the only ones able to come in and take a class.”Will NFT memberships appeal to the mainstream? Although NFT-based gym memberships appear to have potential, it remains to be seen whether they have mainstream appeal. Indeed, hacks and scams associated with NFT projects, along with expensive floor prices, could serve to hamper adoption. Yet, Zulic remains optimistic, noting that Global Fit Club’s standard NFT membership is priced low and allows members lifetime access to partnering gyms in the United States. “According to our research, Global Fit Club’s move-to-earn platform will also likely cover the cost of a member’s NFT within seven months,” he said. Moreover, Zulic and Anteby have noted that their NFT memberships can be sold on secondary markets, allowing members the opportunity to earn more than what they paid. However, some industry experts are critical of NFT membership models that can be resold on secondary marketplaces like OpenSea. Lee Hnetinka, founder and CEO of FastAF — an NFT platform focused on utility — told Cointelegraph that NFTs have evolved to become more than just investment vehicles: “NFTs are now being used to provide on-chain utility. While these could be sold, this defeats the purpose behind these models.” Hnetinka added that while NFT memberships provide a number of benefits, he believes the most important factor to consider for mainstream adoption is interoperability. For example, Hnetinka explained that certain fitness clubs with NFT memberships should consider giving members access to additional health apps or to other gyms. “Merchants want a new engagement protocol and NFTs allow for this.” This point in mind, Zulic noted that Global Fit Club plans to integrate with fitness applications that have open-source APIs during quarter three of this year. Recent: Tokenization at the crossroads of the trucking industry to ensure efficient paymentsMicah Archibald, CEO of Ninja Media and a spin instructor for the company Spinning, also told Cointelegraph that while the concept behind NFT-based gym memberships may not catch on immediately, she does see value in providing members access to fitness apps if they own certain NFTs. However, she doesn’t think many gyms are capable of building out the technology and infrastructure needed to incorporate NFTs into their membership models. With this in mind, Zulic noted that Global Fit Club is responsible for adopting the technology. “Gyms that typically implement the newest technologies for their equipment or within their apps have become aware that Web3 and crypto are here to stay. I believe in the next five years innovative fitness clubs will have Web3 integration,” he said.

The trucking industry is one of the most important sectors in the world. According to recent statistics, the global freight trucking market was worth over $2.7 trillion in 2021. In addition, it’s been found that millions of commercial driver’s license holders are employed by trucking companies within the United States, a market that is responsible for delivering 70% of all freight.Given these statistics, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that technology has become a critical component for ensuring the advancement of the trucking industry. Yet while GPS tracking, autonomous driving and other mainstream technologies may be apparent, a couple of organizations are aiming to bring decentralized finance (DeFI) to the trucking sector to advance its payment systems. Faster, fairer payments for trucking companies Philip Schlump, chief commercial officer and lead developer of TruckCoinSwap (TCS) — a Wyoming-based fintech and freight company — told Cointelegraph that there are more than one million trucking companies and third-party logistics firms in the United States relying on banking entities to get paid. Schlump, who is also a former truck driver, explained that this has become the case due to how the full truckload industry’s payment system operates. He explained:“When a truck picks up a full load of potatoes, for instance, a bill of lading is generated. This is essentially proof that the trucker and the trucking company are responsible for the potatoes during the shipment period. Once the potatoes are delivered, the bill of lading becomes account receivable, yet it often takes a net 30 to 180 days for trucking companies to receive payments.”While Schlump pointed out that smaller full truckload companies tend to have better payment terms, 45 days is the average time it takes within the United States for truck drivers to get paid. As a result, trucking companies have become reliant on factoring firms to help truckers receive quicker payments, as these entities ensure payments are made within 10–14 days. Yet, Schlump noted that this alternative eats away at drivers’ salaries. “Factoring companies typically charge 3% gross on every invoice, so a 20–25% interest rate is annualized over the term. These banking entities are collecting up to 90% of net revenue on every load simply because most carriers cannot wait the industry standard of 30–180 days to be paid directly by shippers,” he remarked. Schlump believes that cryptocurrency, combined with DeFi concepts, can potentially solve this problem. For example, Schlump explained that TCS replaces factoring companies with a token-based settlement service that allows trucking companies to get paid at face value within a few days. In order to ensure this, Schlump explained that TCS launched its “TCS Token” on the CrossTower crypto exchange in September this year. TCS will then work directly with trucking companies to buy a bill of lading using the tokens. He said:“We are swapping the bill of lading for tokens. We are now able to pay trucking companies at the face value for their bill of lading, and they get instant liquidity in return by selling TCS Tokens.” Schlump added that while trucking companies obtain liquidity faster, TCS becomes assigned with the commercial rights associated with the bill of lading. Yet Schlump mentioned that these accounts receivable are typically inexpensive to handle, noting that once the money is collected from this process, TCS will buy back the TCS tokens from the trucking companies. Recent: WhatsApp crash: Are decentralized blockchain messengers a real alternative?“We end up being the largest buyer of our token over time. We have a fixed number of tokens. The trucking companies act like token miners in this case. They’re not investing in crypto, as TCS has built the tokenomics model around that,” Schlump pointed out.Although this process may sound complex, Schlump believes that such a model could result in a $20,000 to $60,000 income increase for truck drivers. “We are currently beta testing this model and are working with trucking companies to ensure this works,” he said. TCS isn’t the only company using cryptocurrency and DeFi concepts to advance trucking payment systems. Myron Manuirirangi, founder of Truckonomics — an organization focused on fair salaries for long-haul truck drivers — told Cointelegraph that he also believes cryptocurrency, combined with blockchain technology, can be extremely beneficial for truck drivers. Like Schlump, Manuirirangi is a former truck driver. Through this experience, Manuirirangi became aware of the fact that there is a shortage of truck drivers across the globe. “I started researching why this was the case and came to the conclusion that there is a shortage of truck drivers due to inadequate compensation.” To put this in perspective, a FrieghtWaves article published in 2018 noted that a trucker in 1980 earned an average of $38,618. Almost 40 years later, in 2018, they earned around $41,000. “The driver shortage isn’t a problem, but rather a symptom of a much larger issue that Truckonomics aims to solve with a token-based model,” said Manuirirangi. He explained that Truckonimics has created a digital token known as “GDPC” for trucking and shipping companies to use as a payment method. In addition, GDPC will be tied to all activities taking place during the shipment process, using blockchain tech to provide transparency and a single source of truth between shipment companies, retailers and consumers. “We are building this model on the Avalanche blockchain. We will then build our own blockchain platform to facilitate trade and transactions using the GDPC token.”By connecting GDPC with freight shipments, Manuirirangi believes that this will add intrinsic value to Truckonomic’s token. “As more trucking companies use GDPC, the more the price will be impacted.” In turn, truck drivers will be able to receive payments faster at much higher rates — as long as the token is used and becomes implemented on a crypto exchange. At the same time, Manuirirangi thinks that the blockchain component will help advance the trucking industry’s infrastructure. “The trucking industry has needed blockchain for a while, yet no one has found a way to properly implement this technology. Having the GDPC token associated with Truckonomics can modernize the industry by helping pay the high costs associated with blockchain implementation, while also bringing transparency to freight shipments,” he said. Is the trucking industry ready for DeFi? Although cryptocurrency and DeFi concepts have the potential to revolutionize payments within the trucking sector, a number of challenges remain.First and foremost, getting truck companies and drivers involved with such business models could be difficult since cryptocurrency remains misunderstood by many individuals. Schlump is optimistic, however, noting that 21% of Americans are familiar with using cryptocurrency. He added that TCS has conducted internal surveys and has found that 17% of truck drivers are open to receiving crypto payments. He said:“It becomes less challenging when there are a million trucking companies and you only need to work with about 500 to be successful. In terms of value, this can add thousands of dollars per year to trucker drivers’ salaries, so this generates positive attention as well.” From a regulatory perspective, Schlump further mentioned that TCS Token is not an investment, as it functions as a commodity with a fixed supply. Moreover, he mentioned that TCS is a Wyoming-based company, a factor that has helped TCS gain regulatory clarity due to the state’s crypto-friendly stance. Manuirirangi also pointed out that Truckonomic’s GDPC token has been put through the Howey test to prove that it’s not an investment vehicle. “This is a decentralized native token with smart contract functionality,” he said. While these points are notable, some industry experts believe that DeFi adoption by enterprises and institutions will be slow, given the sector is still in development. For example, Mike Belshe previously told Cointelegraph that while he believes DeFi will overtake traditional financial institutions, it will take at least another two to three years before real progress is made. Yet real-world DeFi use cases may help speed up adoption. “We have a real-world use case, unlike many crypto-based projects. TCS is targeting a $500 billion a year market, with a significant dollar-value added when trucking companies run payments through our settlement service,” highlighted Schlump. Meanwhile, trucking companies have been successfully implementing blockchain without cryptocurrencies. For example, Xavier Fernandez, chief technology officer and technical lead for Smart EIR — a blockchain-based container management system — told Cointelegraph that Smart EIR uses the Antelope blockchain network (previously EOSIO) to document the history of containers. Recent: US Election update: Where do the pro-crypto candidates stand ahead of the election?“We focus on the equipment interchange receipt, which is a form that is generated every time a container goes from one interchange point to another.” According to Fernandez, photographic data from these containers are stored on a private IPFS network, while metadata is stored on the Antelope blockchain network. While Fernandez mentioned that this use case comes in handy for dispute resolutions, there is no cryptocurrency element involved: “Crypto volatility and regulatory concerns have created too much controversy. We are just using blockchain as a ledger, and a single source of truth to create trust within an ecosystem.”

The global decentralized finance (DeFi) market size was valued at $11.78 billion in 2021. This number is expected to increase as DeFi advances, yet it is still in its infancy. Therefore, a number of banks and traditional financial institutions still tend to be unaware of DeFi’s potential. While this may be, industry experts within the crypto sector are predicting that decentralized finance will overtake traditional financial institutions in the coming years. For instance, Mike Belshe, CEO and co-founder of BitGo — a digital asset custody provider — told Cointelegraph that he believes DeFi will replace institutions in the next three to four years. Belshe elaborated on this point during an exclusive interview conducted at Activate, which was BitGo’s developer conference that took place in Mountain View, California on Oct. 25, 2022. Cointelegraph: Why do you think DeFi will replace institutions? Mike Belshe: I think DeFi will replace institutions based on innovative use cases that we are starting to see today. For example, automated market makers, or AMMs, have a lot of potential for disruption. While market makers have played a critical role in ensuring markets and exchanges effectively work, markets that move fast like crypto can make it difficult for individuals to determine asset prices. This also tends to be the case with traditional markets, like stocks and commodities. For example, if a market is tanking, market makers may think assets should be sold, yet this could drive prices down even more. Market makers also tend to shut off operations at volatile times, which can be harmful. Moreover, market makers are heavily regulated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Regulators watch market makers daily, which involves many hours of manual work. DeFi applications are now capable of plugging market maker research into smart contracts, eliminating the need for human brokers. Known as AMMs, money makers can now become a piece of code that the SEC or FINRA can review. Investors can review this code as well. As a result, regulators don’t have to monitor broker deals and investors can get a better price on assets. Of course, there are challenges that come with AMMs, like code bugs and security issues associated with DeFi applications. But, we are now at a point where computer science programmers are working to ensure that smart contracts will have fewer bugs and that code will be safer and easier to review. Even so, regulatory and compliance questions remain. Given this, it’s still too early for DeFi to overtake traditional financial institutions, yet I believe with three to four years of hard work, the industry will see changes occur.CT: Is BitGo focused on enabling DeFi for institutions? MB: Not at the moment, but we are currently focused on the developer community. For example, a number of new blockchains want to build gaming, DeFi and nonfungible token (NFT) applications. This is where the BitGo development platform comes to play. We want to make sure the APIs we provide are fully capable of plugging into DeFi platforms, so those applications can build on top of BitGo. This will enable faster applications while connecting those blockchain networks with our clients. BitGo is also adding features around DeFi for smart contracts. For example, MetaMask currently enables blind signing for transactions. BitGo wants to create transaction emulation to solve this problem. This will essentially show users what will happen step-by-step before transactions take place. This is important because DeFi will only conquer institutions once we figure out how to solve security concerns the industry is currently facing. CT: Given this innovation, do you think crypto companies will eventually overtake traditional banks?MB: I believe that software changes everything, and it’s currently changing the financial services sector. Banks now need to think about how to use software to advance financial services, or else smaller companies will get ahead of the game. I also believe that Wall Street is facing an innovator’s dilemma. They know crypto is coming and has the potential for disruption, but at the same time, crypto is too small to currently make a real impact. Therefore, Wall Street isn’t ready to change operations, but smaller crypto companies will continue to iterate. As a result, larger companies will take much longer and won’t be able to get in as fast. This is what we have seen happen in the tech sector for decades, which is why smaller players usually beat the big guys. We are also seeing big tech companies take an interest in DeFi, while the banks sit on the sidelines. For example, Google Cloud is now deploying infrastructure for crypto. This will put banks at an even greater disadvantage. CT: Changing the subject a bit — You are passionate about the passage of a spot-based Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Why is this important for the crypto sector?MB: I think the SEC is increasingly to blame for anyone who has lost money within the crypto industry. If the SEC would approve a spot-based Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the industry would have a much safer investing structure. This would allow individuals to get exposure to the asset class through traditional firms that are regulated and monitored. Instead, the SEC continues to deny this and we end up with insolvent exchanges and bad actors.