Putting Web 3 in the Picture

Putting Web 3 in the Picture

Web 3 has the potential to radically change current business structures across multiple sectors. Common problems, such as monopolistic rent seeking (manipulating for profit), high barriers to entry and rapacious fee structures will be torn down by a peer-to-peer model that is fueled by tokens. Cutting out middlemen will unleash a wave of commerce and creativity that could be as energizing as the Industrial Revolution.

Take photography. Every 30 seconds there are as many photographs taken around the world as there were in the entire 19th century. The digital provision of stock content – photos and videos - for websites, films, magazines, presentations or any other use case is a $4 billion a year business. It is dominated by just two traditional Web 2 companies that take up to 85% in fees from both buyer and seller.

This model means the two providers are the only real buyers for content creators. They are also the only real sellers to institutions, such as media agencies and TV producers, who want to buy stock media. They have the curious distinction of being both a monopoly and a monopsony at the same time.

This is all going to change. Using blockchain technology a new platform called Envision is facilitating the peer-to-peer exchange of stock content where content creators sell directly to the buyer. This avoids the hefty fees and the forfeiting of copyrights, as is the case now. Within the creators’ portal, photographers and videographers upload directly to the content marketplace, setting their own price for their own content. This gives power back to the creator and takes it away from the middleman, all while providing the buyers with better-quality content at a fraction of the price. Envision has plans to partner with the largest media buyers in the world, who will use Envision’s VIS token to purchase media.

What makes this different from one middleman being replaced by a new platform is the use of Web3 technology – namely tokens, blockchain and smart contracts. Envision will exchange stock content for its VIS native ERC-20 token. Because the smart contract within the ERC-20 verifies the transaction on the blockchain platform and hands over ownership automatically, it eliminates the need for inconvenient ownership contracts and paperwork. Instead, it keeps a digital record and proof of authenticity and decentralized payment settlement.

Furthermore, each piece of content will be accompanied by a non-fungible token (NFT) which corresponds to that specific piece of content. The NFT will provide proof of ownership, which is validated by participants on the network so there can be no dispute over who owns the rights to said content. The functionality of NFTs gives the content creator the control to either sell complete ownership rights, rights to one in a limited collection or single rights to one of many. Once a user has the account verified, he or she is free to buy/sell/trade in a completely decentralized fashion. Meanwhile, the VIS token will be distributed for rewards used in exchange for content rights and used to receive staking rewards.

Envision will launch the VIS token presale on April 19 on EktaChain, a new rapidly growing layer 1, or base, ecosystem that aims to bridge blockchain with the physical world. The VIS token will be available on Uniswap shortly after the Ekta presale concludes.