How Getting Scammed Created the Best AI Tool for Digital Asset Research Vijay Pravin was sitting on his sofa, head in hands, defeated. It was the 2021 NFT bull market, he'd invested in a number of collections that turned out to be fraudulent, and they soon plummeted in value.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Vijay Pravin was sitting on his sofa, head in hands, defeated. It was the 2021 NFT bull market, he'd invested in a number of collections that turned out to be fraudulent, and they soon plummeted in value. This resulted in Vijay losing more money than he was willing to admit.
"Never again," he told himself. "After that, I realized the importance of proper research and went on searching for tools to help identify the fake and counterfeit assets, only to realize none were available."
With more than six years experience in data analytics—working at large companies like Volkswagen, Siemens and Telefonica—Vijay had a lot of experience breaking down large amounts of data at a high level. But, even as an experienced data analyst, he struggled in the world of NFTs. As a result, he set out to create a tool that simplified and empowered investors to parse through data surrounding NFTs.
"That's when I decided to take matters into my own hands and started building
bitsCrunch." Vijay said. "I decided to become the police of the digital asset space."
Founded by Vijay and 3 others, bitsCrunch is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to create a platform for investors to research NFT projects before putting their money down. One of the key issues the AI company is addressing is identifying manipulative market activities such as wash trading—the process of buying and selling the same asset to artificially inflate its market value.
"Wash trading affects around 58% of the NFT market's transaction volume." Vijay
explained, "We have developed an AI tool that takes into account valuable metrics like trade patterns, and volume of trade for a specific NFT or collection to detect and flag malicious transactions."
The importance of research had been drilled into Vijay while studying for his Master's Degree at the Technical University of Munich. A sentiment that he's carried over into the world of NFTs.
"My time at university taught me that research is not just about gathering information. It's about diving deep into the intricacies, questioning, analyzing and synthesizing to create new ideas and innovations." He explained, "bitsCrunch is not just a tool, it's a reflection of the lessons I've learned along my journey!"
The innovative platform that bitsCrunch has developed is using AI to protect the everyday man, rather than pose risk to humanity like a lot of AI models currently do.
"Every coin has two sides. Yes, people use AI to make a lot of copycats or infringe IPs on digital arts," Vijay said. "But as more projects, like bitsCrunch, use the good side of AI, that's when the perspective on the technology changes."
Vijay explained that bitsCrunch is looking to become the "AI-powered CoinMarketCap for NFTs with forensics added on top." The company believes that AI can be a force for good which can make the NFT ecosystem safer while fostering innovation in both the AI and Web3 sectors.
"Currently, the risk of IP frauds and forgeries is huge, which casts a dark shadow on the digital asset space. So, we've developed a powerful AI solution that helps solve this issue," Vijay said.
"Our advanced machine learning algorithms and image recognition technology, verifies the originality of digital assets, ensuring that the sellers have the
rightful ownership to sell the assets!"
A rising tide lifts all boats. By pioneering an AI system that protects the IP of NFT brands, investors, artists, and the wider Web3 ecosystem all benefit. In turn, Vijay is taking one step closer to an NFT utopia by creating a tool that would have protected him back in 2021.
"My ideal world has a strong emphasis on authenticity with robust verification systems—no fakes, no forgeries, no wash trading." He said, "The industry must be transparent, inclusive and supportive, where all artists are fairly compensated and collectors can build meaningful investments. bitsCrunch is working towards this goal and I can't wait to see what the future holds."
It's now 2024, the bull run has kicked off again, and more people are entering the NFT space. Through the power of AI, those fresh-faced collectors can open up bitsCrunch to avoid falling to the same fate that Vijay and so many other investors faced in 2021.
