OPSkins, the global leader in sales of in-game virtual assets, is also the number one bitcoin merchant on the planet. With a worldwide following of users who frequently make cross-border micro-payments, the company it a prime candidate in terms of market size and user demand for a decentralized protocol. However, while OPSkins is the leading marketplace for virtual assets, there are limitations to the technological capabilities of any centralized technology, making the decentralized marketplace for virtual assets the natural next step in the progression.

The creators of OPSkins are launching a new blockchain platform for virtual asset trading, called WAX (Worldwide Asset eXchange™). WAX is a P2P marketplace for the trading of virtual assets built upon a foundation of blockchain and decentralized smart contracts that will allow buyers and sellers to efficiently trade virtual assets with one another.

WAX solves two of the biggest problems in virtual asset markets, fragmentation and fraud, and does so with a simple blockchain-enabled widget that lets all users instantaneously buy and sell virtual goods without ever clicking off their game.

WAX’s Blockchain Unites a Fragmented Virtual Asset Market

Within the current virtual asset trading ecosystem, we see a hodgepodge of local and regional marketplaces that are hamstrung at the outset because of payment processing, language, and security concerns that tend to restrict most to their own countries or regions. The only solution to this “fragmented” market is the blockchain, and WAX Token is pioneering the application of blockchain to eSports by creating a frictionless market that allows buyers and sellers to efficiently tokenize and sell their assets in a fraud-proof setting powered by the blockchain.

The WAX Platform enables users to tokenize their gaming assets and instantaneously buy and sell gaming assets from other players without clicking off their screen. With WAX’s simple blockchain-enabled widget, all users will be able to immediately purchase assets from one another without frictions.

WAX will also solve the geographic fragmenting problem. When a user transacts on a platform that does not use a common utility token, they are not able to transact with users whose goods are denominated in differing cryptocurrencies without using middlemen. WAX Token will become a common currency for all gamers that will eliminate FOREX problems that currently plague virtual asset markets.

WAX’s blockchain technology is powered by its Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) consensus algorithm, which is the fastest, most efficient, most decentralized, and most flexible consensus model available. Unlike commonly-used Proof of Work (POW) systems, DPOS utilizes “elected” confirming nodes (called “Guilds,” of which there will be 64 initially) which are chosen by users who vote for proposed delegates, making WAX’s architecture particularly democratic and decentralized. The number of votes each particular Guild receives determines its rank, with each Guild being weighed by whichever particular game it supports.

WAX Tokens act as stored value for acquiring in-game items and as smart contracts for buying, selling, renting and trading. The WAX platform will allow the global pool of buyers and sellers to access the global supply of virtual goods in a decentralized market while eliminating financial risks that users encounter from the prevailing consignment-based marketplace model.

WAX’s Blockchain Solves Fraud in the Virtual Asset Market

The virtual asset market is rife with fraud and security issues. Users of centralized marketplaces for virtual assets often suffer from receipt of incomplete assets or delivery issues on the part of the seller, and this is a problem only the blockchain can solve. With centralized marketplaces, a plethora of intermediaries are necessary to prevent or stop fraud, but this is costly and drives up the transaction costs of a sale. While OPSkins has done a fantastic job mitigating these issues, the fraud-proof purchase or sale of a virtual asset can only be accomplished by a smart contract, which will guarantee delivery of the asset.

WAX solves the massive fraud problem in the virtual asset industry, and does so while also eliminating the need for intermediaries. Blockchain smart contracts have the power to eliminate a majority of transactional intermediaries and ensure that goods are delivered and that buyers and sellers follow through on their promises without the need for third-party intervention that drives up the price of buying and selling up.

Blockchain Smart Contracts = A Safe and Efficient Virtual Goods Market

Blockchain and smart contracts enable new types of user operations and market efficiencies that a centralized technology cannot provide for users. The virtual asset trading community will benefit hugely from WAX’s decentralized, global exchange given the heavy fragmentation of the trading industry across hundreds of trading marketplaces. These massive inefficiencies stemming from economic frictions can be quickly thanks to the blockchain technology deployed by WAX. And beyond this, WAX supports the specific needs of the virtual video game asset trading market, providing both a broad, global marketplace but also one that is carefully tailored to provide the most optimal virtual asset trading user experience.