WAX

About WAX

WAX is a blockchain optimized for digital commerce and NFTs that was launched in 2017 by the founders of OPSkins, the world’s largest marketplace for trading video game assets. WAX stands for Worldwide Asset eXchange. The goal of WAX is to be the most developer-friendly and user-friendly blockchain for ecommerce and digital collectibles.

History of WAX (WAXP)

WAX was founded by William Quigley and Jonathan Yantis, the creators of OPSkins, along with Malcolm Casselle. OPSkins has become the leading marketplace for buying and selling in-game virtual assets from video games like Counter Strike, DOTA 2, and TF2. However, OPSkins was limited by the clunky nature of cryptocurrency payments at the time.

To solve this problem, the OPSkins team launched WAX to be a purpose-built blockchain designed specifically for trading virtual goods and digital collectibles. WAX launched its mainnet in 2019 after running a successful ICO in 2017 that raised over $60 million.

How WAX Works

The WAX platform is designed around a decentralized exchange that allows anyone to operate a fully functioning virtual marketplace with zero investment in security, infrastructure, or payment processing.

WAX uses a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism to ensure transactions are confirmed quickly and the network remains highly scalable. The WAX blockchain can handle up to 10,000 transactions per second.

WAX also features Guilds, which are groups of community members who are paid to run nodes and maintain the network. This allows the WAX blockchain to remain decentralized and trustworthy.

WAX Blockchain

The WAX blockchain is specifically engineered to handle the demands of digital commerce and NFT trading. Key features of the WAX blockchain include:

• Optimized for speed and scalability, capable of up to 10,000 transactions per second
• Uses EOS.IO software architecture
• Delegated Proof of Stake consensus method
• Free user accounts
• Human readable account names
• Guild structure incentivizes community members to secure the network
• Low transaction fees, less than $0.1 per transaction

These blockchain characteristics make WAX ideal for supporting global ecommerce platforms, decentralized apps, and NFT marketplaces.

WAX Token (WAXP)

The native cryptocurrency of the WAX platform is called WAX or WAXP for short. It is used to pay for fees on the WAX blockchain.

WAXP is used to stake votes for Guilds and to pay transaction fees. It provides a way to instantly settle payments on WAX marketplaces without friction.

As of October 2022, the total supply of WAXP is almost 1.9 billion tokens. WAXP hits a peak price over $1.50 in 2021 during a massive run up in the NFT market. It has since cooled to around $0.10 per token as of late 2022.

Uses of WAX

WAX was purpose built for digital commerce so its primary use cases include:

• NFT Marketplaces – There are several NFT focused marketplaces built on WAX including AtomicHub and Element. WAX NFT trading volume remains among the highest of any blockchain.
• Video Game Asset Trading – WAX powers several video game asset trading platforms that allow gamers to buy, sell and trade in-game cosmetic items.
• Collectibles – WAX supports trading of digital collectibles like funko pops, shoes, and more. Major brands are using WAX to launch branded NFTs and digital products.
• Metaverse Virtual Goods – As metaverse platforms expand, WAX provides the blockchain infrastructure to purchase virtual goods and digital assets.

WAX dApps

Several decentralized apps and platforms are built on top of the WAX blockchain. Some of the top WAX dApps include:

• Atomic Market – WAX’s flagship NFT marketplace, which has handled over 100 million transactions.
• Killer Whale – Secondary NFT trading platform and exchange for WAX NFTs.
• Nefty Blocks – All-in-one WAX portal featuring auctions, trading, and NFT showrooms.
• Funko Digital Pop! – Official Funko NFT collectibles marketplace where fans can buy licensed digital Funko collectibles.
• WAX Cloud Wallet – Web and mobile wallet for storing WAXP tokens and NFTs. Includes access to dApps.

By building on WAX, these dApps can take advantage of fast transaction speeds, high throughput, and extremely low fees.

Trading WAX

As one of the top EOS blockchain tokens, WAXP can be bought or sold on most major crypto exchanges including:

• Binance
• Huobi Global
• Kucoin
• Kraken
• Gate.io

WAXP can be traded against Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other trading pairs. Its significant trading volume provides ample liquidity for traders.

WAX also operates its own decentralized exchange called WAX Swap that allows users to trade WAX tokens and NFTs directly on the blockchain.

Future Outlook for WAX

WAX entered the market with an early mover advantage in blockchain for digital trading. It continues to iterate and improve its technology to stay ahead of competitors.

With NFTs going mainstream, WAX stands to benefit greatly as more brands and consumers enter the world of digital collectibles. WAX has already established itself as one of the top blockchains for NFTs.

If the vision of owning digital items and goods becomes commonplace, WAX has positioned itself nicely to be the underlying blockchain infrastructure that powers this new digital economy. Just as PayPal paved the way for digital payments, WAX looks to establish the rails for digital commerce and ownership.

The user friendly and developer friendly nature of WAX should continue to foster adoption and innovation. The future looks bright for this blockchain purpose built for the evolving digital marketplace.