> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://bearlabs.gitbook.io/whitepaper-bearlabs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://bearlabs.gitbook.io/whitepaper-bearlabs/abstract.md). # Abstract The emergence of the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) sector over recent years has thus proven to be a leading catalyst for the larger Cryptocurrency space. In just a short period, between early 2020 to mid-2022, the NFT market cap experienced a 30x increase, surging from $100 Million to $3 Billion. Amid this explosive growth, in March 2021, an [article](https://morningconsult.com/2021/04/05/millennials-nfts-collectibles/) revealed that 29% of U.S adults (which made up over half of all NFT investors) were interested in NFTs. Combining the two with the fact that experts have forecasted the market cap to expand from $3B to $13.6B in 2027 further proves the immense opportunities ahead for this space and the parties involved in it. Even amidst the overall crypto bear market of 2021, astonishingly, NFTs continued to thrive and establish new milestones. In early Q3 of 2022, there were estimated to be around 360,000 NFT holders, pushing NFT monthly trading volumes to record highs, reaching $6.3 billion. Coincidentally, it was also around this stage where the many flaws that most NFT projects shared were exposed to the masses. Unfortunately, as investors learned, most of these projects never made it to their 3rd and 4th milestones on their roadmaps. It is estimated that over 80% of all NFT projects fail within 18 months of the initial launch, and most times, it is much earlier than that. That 18-month duration primarily unfolded during early to mid-2022 since most of the projects were started in early 2021. There are various factors attributing to the overwhelming statistics, with the main ones being; a lack of roadmap clarity, a failure to engage and grow the community, un-sustained hype, lack of utility, and worse of all, rug pulls.. Traditionally, it's common practice for a new project to form a collection, a back story, and hype and then rushes to identify ways to provide utility to the supporting community. Once the project has advanced far enough, the game of falling dominoes begins as the project hype begins to wear, the community starts to become restless, and the founders scramble to keep the ship from sinking. A clear sign of overpromising without having any direction or grasp of how to provide value to their community. Soon, the trading volume begins to decline; investors start to lose faith, and the project loses steam, appeal, and traction. Similar stories unfold across the NFT space affecting the various blockchain ecosystems and the tens of thousands of community members involved. During bull markets, such activity is often seamlessly absorbed by the massive influx of daily capital and attention attracted to the crypto space; however, during weaker times, especially in bear markets, like activity has proven to be impactful enough to assist in dragging the markets down. In addition to lack of clarity and direction, the lack of utility is perhaps the primary factor leading to project instability during those times. Although the growth accomplished by this sector up to this point was bewildering, like all industries, the market began to mature and demand more from projects other than profile picture (PFP) NFTs.