Metaverse is growing in a steadfast manner and it is the perfect place for new businesses to develop. Trace Network Labs is a complete decentralized protocol for enabling lifestyle for any multichain metaverse. With its help, you can create your personalized avatar to work, play and socialize in various metaverses. Your buddy avatar is made with standards that allow cross-chain movement to allow you to enter and interact in different metaverses. Analytics Insight has engaged in an exclusive interview with Lokesh Rao, co-founder, and CEO of Trace Network Labs

1. How have you seen the evolution of the industry? As you said that you have been here from the beginning, how has the growth been?

Ah, the journey has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. But, yes, I entered the blockchain industry in 2017 while building enterprise solutions using distributed ledger tech. Back then, the industry was pretty small with limited people. It was less of an industry and more of an exclusive club of people solving problems while using tech in the most democratic way they could.

From then on, I have been in the close vicinity of the industry before jumping full-fledged with Trace. I have observed the 2017/18 'crypto winter' from close quarters and have seen thousands, if not more, of people, quit the crypto market for good.

The crypto bubble had popped but then, I believe it was a much-needed wake-up call for everyone in this anarchical industry. Governments started to take notice and regulations were laid down. Meanwhile, there has been a great shift in the industry, from being a speculators' haven to being a builder's play zone.

Now, blockchain solutions find themselves in most industries, redefining the status quo while crypto is

2. As the Founder/CEO of the company, brief us about yourself and your contributions to the company and the industry.

Sure! Before taking a plunge into the blockchain/crypto industry, I worked in the enterprise technology space for nearly 12 years. I collaborated with luxury fashion brands from all across the globe and helped them implement supply chain solutions. Then, as I mentioned before, I got involved with the blockchain space in 2017. So, from then onwards, I've been actively building solutions for brands and enterprises using blockchain technology.

Then, when I came across the concept of the metaverse, I was really fascinated and closely observed the developments in this space. So, in 2020, me and my business partner Sunil Arora came up with the idea of the Trace Network Labs to create a protocol that eases the transition of individuals and businesses into the metaverse. 

3. Kindly brief us about the company, its specialization, and the services that your company offers.

Trace Network is a decentralized lifestyle protocol for the metaverse. Of course, we all know by now that the metaverse is an umbrella term for virtual worlds built on the internet to stimulate and enhance real-world experiences. Even mundane activities like work, education, social interactions, and business events will be held within these virtual worlds and people are likely to spend a significant portion of their time in the metaverse. However, to enter the metaverse, people require digital avatars, which are realistic representations of themselves and which can be used to login into any metaverse. And as such, the need for lifestyle protocols arises.

At Trace Network, we allow people to create these virtual avatars of themselves through our signature product Buddy. The avatar is an NFT minted on the Polygon network and is created with a simple selfie of the user. It embodies the users' unique personality traits and can be moved across different chains or used within various virtual worlds.

But that's not all. We also understand that your virtual self needs to be as presentable as your physical self. So, we also have a lifestyle NFT marketplace called BLING. The marketplace essentially helps you build a digital wardrobe and features the best outfits and accessories that can be worn on your Buddy avatar.

Moreover, we also have an SDK that allows brands to bridge the gap between web2 and web3 by creating unique products for the metaverse. Eventually, we will be enabling brands to enter into the metaverse by setting up experiential stores for them to sell digital wearable NFTs and in the future, one can claim the physical products as well.

4. What is your biggest USP that differentiates the company from competitors?

I believe our unique selling point is the fact that we are a complete lifestyle protocol and among the first in the industry. This realm so far has had a few protocols that help build digital avatars and an almost negligible number of NFT marketplaces dedicated to fashion and lifestyle. Trace Network not only helps users build a realistic representation of themselves but also takes care of the vanity part of it by building a marketplace dedicated to digital fashion and lifestyle. I believe we provide a holistic solution for users to get ready for various events in metaverses. The uniqueness is in the NFTs which will be interoperable and compatible for different metaverse environments. Both BUDDY Avatar NFTs and their worn digital wearable NFTs will be agnostic to different metaverses on multiple chains. Eventually,  like how google login is for web2.0 applications, BUDDY avatar NFTs will be a login for web 3.0 metaverses and for our enabled experiential stores of different brands.

Apart from this, we also give users complete ownership of their avatars and dissolve our own involvement with their data and content.

5. Where do you see growth coming in for the sector?

The metaverse is the next step in the evolution of the internet and the younger generations of millennials and Gen z are already spending time in the metaverse. Experts believe that the metaverse will become the new source of entertainment, information, and interaction for the next generation. I recently came across a survey that stated that 75% of Gen z shoppers have purchased a digital item in a virtual world and over 60% of them think that popular brands should sell in the metaverse.

So, I believe this is where the growth for the industry will come from. The metaverse is a technological mammoth that can change the course of our world and when it becomes a reality, a significant portion of the population will become the metaverse residents. Whenever people sitting in different geographies would like to connect and collaborate with each other in a more immersive way without leaving their seats, they would jump into metaverses. For example, if you wish to watch a football game with your friends, you will simply be able to book seats in the metaverse and join with your avatars.  As such, the industry is poised for exponential growth. J P Morgan Chase believes that the metaverse is capable of generating over $1 trillion yearly, disrupting major world industries.

6. What are some of the challenges faced by your company today?

Okay! While the scope of growth for the metaverse is huge, it is still in its infancy. And despite the fact that the NFT- metaverse sector is reaching new heights every day, the bulk of people still disregard its potential and dismiss it as a passing fad. This is also true in the world of digital fashion. People don't notice any immediate benefits of holding NFTs because the metaverse is still in its early phases. And without immediate benefits, they will find it hard to invest in the industry.

This, I believe, is the single biggest challenge for our company. We're building digital avatars for the metaverse, in a time where virtual worlds and experiences are still limited. So, we need to find a way to circumvent people's skepticism about the metaverse and NFTs and make people see the bigger picture.

7. What does your technology and business roadmap look like for the rest of the year? Also, a few words on the future ahead for the industry as a whole.

We at Trace Network, aim to create an entire ecosystem of products that will help users build their digital identities and navigate the metaverse. Our initial focus is on BUDDY and its successful launch. But soon after that, our NFT marketplace BLING will come to life and we also have plans for enabling experiential zones for the fashion and lifestyle industry, where people will be able to shop with their BUDDY avatars along with their family and friends. I remember the times when we used to go with family and friends shopping and make buying decisions together. Later, eCommerce replaced that experience with a convenient shopping culture. We will enable the same old experience and brand-customer connections keeping the convenience of eCommerce in our upcoming Experiential store's concept for brands.

For the industry, on the whole, the future seems to be bright. Yes! There will be problems with initial take-off and creating awareness among people about the metaverse. However, with tech giants pouring in billions of dollars and the brightest minds of our world working on metaverse startups, this tech mammoth will soon be a reality.