A London-based teenager on the verge of launching his own hotly-anticipated Web 3.0 platform has articulated a thought-provoking vision of how we all might live and work online in the very near future.
“The metaverse as a concept is widely misunderstood,” claims 16-year-old crypto visionary Denis Seleznev. Seleznev has already – while still at school – turned modest sums of money pooled together from friends into a winning series of investments on the nascent crypto market, through smart trades on assets such as Bitcoin, Solana and Fantom.
“It’s ironic to me that Facebook has decided to go all-in on the metaverse, when they’re really more of a walled garden.
“The metaverse is supposed to be free. It’s meant to be democratic. That’s just not what they are offering.”
Seleznev, who was born in Russia but raised in London, first became aware of the revolutionary potential of crypto-finance four years ago.
“I was 12 during the 2017 Bitcoin bull run,” he remembers.
“Ever since then I’ve been hooked. Researching, studying, showing up at conferences and teaching myself to trade.”
With a keen mind and a healthy interest in economics, Seleznev soon turned his attention from leveraged trades to focus on the potential for more ambitious blockchain applications.
“It struck me that people could become more free. Use their own money, be their own banks. Communicate without censorship – truly be themselves online. The principles Satoshi Nakamoto outlined in the original Bitcoin white paper.”
To this end Seleznev decided to go all-in on the idea of the Web3– an alternative version of the internet which aims to directly reward the creators. NFTs are becoming an integral part of the Web3 evolution as they are useful in proving ownership of digital assets.
“The biggest concepts to look out for over the coming years are the creator economy, GameFi and Web3.”
“Web 3.0 will undoubtedly be the next evolution of the internet. Creators will generate income, and receive proper credit for their work, because Web 3.0 is all about enshrining the principle of ownership. This shift is already underway – just look at last year’s NFT boom.”
Seleznev’s platform, launching later this year and featuring arguably the most user-friendly interface on the market, will be called “Deedy,” referencing the word “deed” which is synonymous with ownership. Because ownership, in Seleznev’s view, is the core idea behind NFTs and Web3.0.
“There”s plenty of non-financial applications of crypto technology,” he says. “But cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, are the lifeblood.”
One of Seleznev’s plans for the platform is to merge DeFi – decentralized finance – and NFTs into next generation financial products. Think of collateralized loans based on NFTs, or mechanisms to borrow or rent NFTs peer-to-peer. Digital real estate in the metaverse will also be traded on his platform.
“The goal is to introduce much-needed liquidity to the space, something NFT enthusiasts have been talking about for a while now.”
And though Seleznev’s skillset marks him out as a born trader, for now, he doesn’t believe in the pure pursuit of wealth.
“At the moment I’m 16, I’m still ideologically driven,” he smiles. “My goal for now is to increase participation in the cryptocurrency space.”
How?
“By lowering the barrier to entry, so anybody can utilize the potential of cryptocurrencies, for doing business, for having fun and expressing themselves in a democratic space rooted in the immutability of the blockchain.
“I don’t know anybody else my age doing this. It’s very exciting.”