Cynthia de Wolf, Marketing Lead of Bright Union, Amsterdam-based, Web3 Enthusiast, Tree hugger & loves to dance, building a Web3 Insurance Marketplace.
What was your journey like to get where you are?
I started in the Social Good sector, helping big charities like Oxfam Novib and doctors without Borders with online fundraising. After I started for myself, helped startups and scaleups with growth while designing my life to work remotely. In 2017 I helped crypto projects with ICO and after the crypto winter, I was eager to get back into the space. Now I’m fully submerged in web3 and it has been a rollercoaster ever since.
In a simpler phrase, what is your company exactly doing?
On one side, we make it easy for people to protect their crypto against hacks, scams, and stable coin de-pegging. In 2021 alone more than 10.5 B was hacked. Today in Q1 of 2022 we have surpassed this amount and the amounts of hacks is ever increasing. On the other hand, we make it easy for any investor to ‘replace’ the insurer while earning high yields. We are the ‘booking.com’ for Decentralized Insurance. In the future, we’ll include insurance for the Metaverse NFT Gameplay as it’s a market full of potential. A small example: There is a game where space ships are worth 1.5M, but this could get lost due to Asteroid collisions. We could ensure that. In another game, we know people are growing crops because they can earn a yield on them, but these crops can get damaged due to the absence of rain or other ‘natural’ disasters. It sounds crazy, but there is a real market here. It already exists today, I have a friend who bought an ‘apple’ worth half an ETH, so his game character would have an extra life.
What about Metaverse are you most excited for in the future?
Ownership. Web3 is the internet of value. NFTs allow you to connect assets of value to your identity. We don’t need to drain the world from its resources now and buy the newest pair of Nikes, you can just get a JPEG. With those JPEG you’ll get access to different Metaverses that again unlocks access in the real world. For instance, with a Tommy Hilfiger or Gucci NFT, you could get early access to a limited collection, receive discounts or get access to real-life events like the Fashion Week. I’ve even heard about the move-to-earn sneakers NFT’s that reward you for the miles you run. Meaning you’ll get rewarded for associating with a certain brand. I see NFTs and the Metaverse as an advanced loyalty system, where customers can opt in to belong to a certain community – and opt-out if they want to. Insurance will play a role here.
Why should we be paying attention to the Metaverse?
It will be ingrained in our everyday life in a way we won’t even know we’ll be interacting with the blockchain. There is so much data that has value and could be monetized by the end-user. Web3 and the Metaverse will realize this. It is going to be HUGE.
