An interview with Nansen CEO Alex Svanević (exclusive).

Understanding on-chain parameters can be challenging in the rapidly evolving world of blockchain and crypto-cryptocurrency. Alex Svanević, CEO of Nansen, navigates this chaos and sheds a clear light. Founded in 2019, his platform is dedicated to tracking on-chain activity, providing users with a clear picture of the crypto realm.

In an interview with CryptoPotato held at Token2049 in Singapore, Nansen CEO explained what Nansen is all about and what makes it one of the largest on-chain data companies, if and how NFTs will come back, where will the next boost come from (from DeFi and NFTs later), and it all started for him, personally.

From dismissal to establishment of Nansen

Reflecting on the journey, Svanević humorously recalls his first reservations about Bitcoin in 2013.

“I thought seriously about crypto… and I made a big mistake by concluding that Bitcoin is only used by moneylenders and criminals,” he laughed.

But it was Ethereum that he discovered in 2017, which really captivated him. Drawing on the potential for “unauthorized innovation,” he said, “If somebody's going to produce that new currency, they're probably going to build it on top of Ethereum.”

Svanević's journey into the crypto domain has been nothing short of adventurous, from his start as a data science manager in Barcelona to his unexpected layoff in Hong Kong. These twists of fate pushed him into crypto consulting and eventually the creation of Nansen.

Describing the unique capabilities of the platform, Svanevik points out one of its first features is “Token God Mode, which allows you to stake a token, and then you can see who the buyers of this token are.”

The standout aspect? Ability to name Nansen Wallet Addresses (EOA).

“What's unique about Nansen is that we have tags on the addresses to see who the addresses represent,” says Svanevik.

The growing web3 games in 2021-22 to release

In the year Growing up after the DFi boom of 2020 and navigating the wave of NFT events, Nansen has steadily carved out a niche for himself. Svanević refers to the platform as a “data super-app for anything on the chain.”

Svanević's excitement is palpable when examining future trends on the chain. He is bullish on the Web3 gaming horizon and highlights platforms like Friend.tech as game changers. “Many Web3 game projects have raised funds in 2021 or 2022… so now we're at a point where these games are ready to launch,” he speculated. Additionally, real-world property tokens like T-Bills are on his radar.

Yet, the road to mass adoption of cryptos is fraught with challenges. Swanevik identifies regulatory barriers and user experience as a dual barrier.

“Regulation is one of those things…there's not enough regulatory transparency, especially in the US,” he explains. On the user experience, Svanevik doesn't mince words, saying, “The user experience is still beautiful, frankly.” Explaining the pain points, he said, “The fact that you have to mess with genealogies… if you're a normal person who never uses crypto, it's just a huge barrier to use.

NFTs: down but bright future

When asked about the existing narrative that NFTs (Non-Fundable Tokens) may face a downward trend, Nansen's CEO was not far from the truth. “The reality is that the amount of NFTs has decreased significantly; the market values ​​for various sets of NFTs have decreased,” he said. However, he remains coy about their future, stressing that “they will come back, but not necessarily in the same form.”

Indeed, while some NFT clusters have seen their decline, others are thriving by expanding beyond the Web3 ecosystem. Svanević says that the representation of NFTs as “cartoon animal JPEGs” may only be the tip of the iceberg. He believes the infrastructure being built around NFTs has a wider range of uses, including the authentication of real-world assets.

Expanding on this:

“If you see your house as an NFT and you want to collateralize that and borrow against it, you can use this same NFT infrastructure.”

His point highlights the enormous potential of NFT technology beyond the more popular domain of digital art.

Interestingly, the use of NFTs is not limited to the common domains we know. Svanevik shared, “In Singapore, the regulator MAS wrote a white paper on purpose-built funds (PBMs)… money that can only be used for a specific purpose. This is an indication of the evolving scale of blockchain-based solutions that are attracting government interest.

Be where the party is: Nanson's goal

At the center of all this analysis and data is the Nansen platform. The main focus? To be where the “party” is, spotting trends and checking for temporary “pump and dump” situations. The main CEO shared that the information on the chain is combining and using a wide social network.

Discussing Nansen's approach, Svanevik explains, “If you want to understand what's going to be hot in six months or two years, you have to talk to VCs, angel investors, and builders. On-chain data shows current features, while these conversations provide insights into what's on the horizon.

In addition, Nansen's extensive observational skills demonstrate his commitment to a comprehensive analytical perspective. However, the challenge remains in distinguishing between wallets and users. As Swanevik rightly puts it, addresses on a chain are similar to “cookies or sessions” in web analytics, which are an approximate but not specific number of users.

Ending the interesting discussion on a forward-looking note, Alex teased about “Nansen 2.0,” the upcoming product that is estimated to be 10-100 times faster, with a multi-chain-first approach. It promises to further improve analytics across the chain by providing personalized experiences and leveraging more AI.