A look back at 2019

As 2019 comes to close, it is the perfect time to look back at what has been accomplished so far for Auctionity. A lot has happen since the inception of the project when DomRaider was holding the first French ICO. At the time, Auctionity was only a project and the crypto world was booming. Of course the crypto world is not what it used to be in 2017, but in a way that is probably for the best. It has allowed the truly serious projects to stand out as opposed to opportunistic projects which quickly closed shop. Auctionity was and is still one of the serious and stronger projects.

Our objective: to build a platform for real-time, ascending, blockchain auctions.

What we accomplished: we built the world’s first fully functional platform for real-time, ascending, blockchain auctions complete with several features such as community rewards, video auctions animated by auctioneers, a marketplace for digital assets.

So what has happened for Auctionity in 2019?

Live video auctions were all the rage

Auctionity’s live video auctions is a truly unique feature in the world of blockchain auctions and it is one we have loved showcasing through numerous partnerships this year. Starting in January 2019, we conducted a partnership with Etheremon for a Lunar New Year event and sold a series of Pigperus at auctions with 2 different auctioneers.

The next opportunity for live video auctions came from the crypto art world. We partnered with KnownOrigin.io to organize a creative challenge where artists could submit their artworks and have the winning pieces sold at auction on Auctionity. This generated some traction in the crypto art world and later allowed us to organize a live auction at the International Digital Art Festival in Manchester. For the occasion, our in-house auctioneer Kim Cardano animated 5 sales live from the festival while the event was simultaneously broadcasted on the platform. This format was particularly appreciated by artists and confirmed the added value of animated sales.

The year 2019 was also the year for other partnerships with CryptoMotors and Blockchain cuties which resulted in unique branded digitals assets being created for Auctionity (a crypto car and a musketeer blockchain cutie) that were later sold at auctions on the platform.

International, scientific recognition

Another major point of this year was the recognition of our blockchain auction protocol by the scientific community. After the publication of our yellow paper explaining the math and logic behind our ascending blockchain auction system, we got to present the paper in front of security specialists in Toulouse during the 12th international symposium on foundations & practice of security. This is an achievement we are quite proud of as it further establishes the legitimacy of our technology. You can find here the paper submitted on 15 Dec. 2019: Security Analysis of Auctionity: a blockchain based e-auction

New features for Auctionity

In 2019, the Auctionity platform evolved to be as close as possible to our user’s needs. Several features were reworked or added since the first version in 2018 and the platform is now fully functional with the following features:

• Submit your NFT for DApp developers
• Multi-auctioneer on the same sale
• New NFT categories (Chibi Fighters, Blockchain Cuties, KnownOrigin, MyCryptoHero, SuperRare)
• Embed auction feature
• New section dedicated to Auctioneers (edit profil, check rewards…)
• Use the search bar to type in your search criteria (formerly just a drop down menu)
• The Auctionity Club itself was closed but all its features will be incorporated into the saleroom
• A notification system is here
• Improved relevance for recommended auctions
• Rework of the ‘My followed auctioneers’ view
• Sales titles and descriptions can now be edited after their creation
• CryptoKitty listings which now displays the kitty’s jewels
• Withdrawal and voucher cashing tunnels are now easier to navigate
• Visual overhaul on parts of the home page as well as new animations
• Live chat in saleroom

The new and improved Auctionity Saleroom

Screenshot of the new Auctionity Saleroom

Events

2019 was also a year for event and we were eager to participate in international gatherings. This allowed us to broaden our horizons and stay up to date on the latest trade as well as giving us the opportunity to inspire new partnerships.

• NFT.NYC, 20 February
• Crypto Games Conference in Minsk, 25-26 April
• Paris Blockchain Week 16-17 April
• Malta AI & Blockchain Conference 23-24 May
• International Digital Art Festival 26-27 June

We met @Hackatao at the #idaf2019 and here's a collection of his artworks animated in AR through the @ArtiviveApp 😯 really nice to see crypto art come to life! #cryptoart pic.twitter.com/AFbgeoB4n9

— Auctionity (@auctionity) June 26, 2019

Throwback to the Malta AI & Blockchain Summit last month! #AIBCsummit #blockchain @BlockchainMT pic.twitter.com/qdw18in0sE

— Auctionity (@auctionity) June 18, 2019

The Auctionity team is at the Consensus in New York City! 🗽🇺🇸
Drop by our booth for a chat on blockchain technology and its usages. #Consensus2019 #blockchain pic.twitter.com/2YF1bDMZhy

— Auctionity (@auctionity) May 13, 2019

All eyes were on the end of the bid for this unique crypto-collectible at the #CryptoGamesConference 🐱 pic.twitter.com/uP1Vz5VF40

— Auctionity (@auctionity) April 25, 2019

Now what?

Let’s not fool anyone, the NFT industry is still very young and, after a spate of new projects back in 2017 and 2018, has slowed down somehow. But like in any new industry, NFT technology will eventually become simpler to use for the greater public and this is when greater adoption will be achieved. But if we look into our crystal ball we will see some trends emerging.

First off, privacy tools and oracles are becoming more and more common while blockchain protocoles tend to work towards more interoperability. Which is good news for blockchain tools! On the other hand, we do believe in the emerging NFT market. There have been some great applications made, especially in the field of sports.

The latest example being the Bayern Munich Football Club which merged crypto-collectibles and fantasy football through blockchain. There have been some other application in this field with Nike filing a patent for the tokenization of sneakers. These examples are very encouraging for the NFT market as they put forward various uses of the same technology.

That is why at Auctionity we remain very hopeful for the future of non-fungible tokens.  We keep on working on the platform to make it the go-to market place for NFT auctions. We are keeping the project alive and ready for when the world will be ready as we are one of the pioneers and always will be.