The crypto space once again proved to be robust as the episode in August when Story Protocol raised 82 million in a fundraising round. Such a successful round represents that the enthusiasm of investors has not vanished at a time when regulators all around the planet are surrounding digital assets and seeking to tighten their grip on them. It is rather arguing that the venture capitalists were not losing faith in the potential offered by the crypto especially in sectors that were not related to speculative trading. Story Protocol, a platform that market themselves as decentralized intellectual property solution and has ensnared in this trust. That it has managed to garner such a large flow of capital notes a remerged optimism in some quarters of the industry as well as renewing issues of sustainability and the dangers of overstocking.
Investor Confidence of Uncertainty
An interesting aspect of the success of this fundraising is its sheer contrast with the overall market situation. The cryptocurrencies have been under pressure with the fluctuations in the prices and regulation in the United States and European Union. Nevertheless, investors are ready to invest in huge amounts into those projects which suggest long term value. This proves that the speculative interest is warming but the institutional and venture capital interest is changing. Instead of short range profit chasing investors seem to be looking at infrastructure, intellectual property and platforms that purport to offer real world value.
The very fact that investors huddle in the Story Protocol round indicates they are willing to place a bet on blockchain technology despite basically mainstream adoption not being several years away yet.
The Seduction of the Intellectual Property on the Blockchain
The pitch of Story Protocol concerns empowering creators to exert their own intellectual rights with assistance of decentralized systems. This concept will be very compelling to the modern world of digital economy as ownership conflicts and copyright problems are common. Through blockchain the company structure will offer the ability to access information on transparency, immutable and ensure tractable ownership and licensing. This can be seen to raise wider issues regarding the content creation in an era of artificial intelligence, where all these issues regarding who owns the creative works are getting more pressing.
This use case is appealing to investors due to having a real world application of blockchain that is not just trading on a speculative basis of tokens.
Success of Story Protocol would generate a model that reinvents the approach to rights management within the creative industries.
Investor Manufactured Hype and Valuation Questions
Although such success stories are encouraging the scale of the raising and the hysteria surrounding Story Protocol cannot but leave a doubt. The crypto markets are known to boast of inflated prices more based on hype than on basics. The optimism is seen in the 82 million investment although there is a warning of risk. Money can be flowing into the idea where the success is not ensured. Most blockchain initiatives have touted their ability to revolutionize an industry but never followed through after having gained some early momentum. The issue that Story Protocol will face is how to transform the vision into an operational ecosystem where consumers and income are generated. This would have been another example of crypto fever that will later be recalled in the case of the huge fundraising round.
The Regulatory Smear
Regulation is another aspect of the study. The dangers associated with cryptocurrencies have become an issue of much concern to governments around the globe especially in areas relating to money laundering, fraud and the protection of the investor. Story Protocol is not concentrated on financial speculation but on intellectual property and thus cannot evade regulation altogether. Blockchain based rights management platforms are subject to the copyright law and licensing regulations and requirements and international agreements. Further additional control might be established through any integration regarding tokenized systems or financial incentives. Legal positioning can be viewed by investors as being of advantage to the platform although regulation authorities are still likely to intervene as decentralized platforms confuse the boundary between tech innovation and financial products.
What This Implies in the Future of Crypto
The high fundraising success of Story Protocol displays the fact that the crypto business is no longer only about digital currency exchange. Projects that suggest long term structural value in creative industries, finance and digital infrastructure are also attracting more attention of investors. Meanwhile the evolution sheds light on the contradictions of the industry, the industry is increasingly innovative, but the pitfall of overpromising and government retaliation are two realities. To become a mature industry the crypto world needs projects such as Story Protocol to demonstrate that they can commercialize what they offer as opposed to securing funds. The fact that they succeed (or fail) will act as a litmus test as to whether blockchain can be used in a serious way in other industries beyond finance or whether it will stay in the periodical troughs of hype and no longer than that.
The impressive milestone that Story Protocol raised 82 million dollars points to the potential and the dangers of crypto fundraising. On the one hand it indicates the faith of investors in the blockchain technology transformative power in IP management. What it brings on the one hand are the classic red flags of over valuation and untested businesses. The regulators are keeping a track, and the markets are volatile. Story Protocol has the potential to open the door of blockchain to cover more mainstream industries in the creative sphere in case it will be able to implement its ambitious plans. But in the case of failure, it also has a potential to strengthen the doubts surrounding the validity of enormous fund raising rounds in such an uncertain and experimental field. Investors and observers will have to strike a balance of excitement and caution as the next page of crypto turns.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.
