4K
4K is a decentralized solution for tokenizing physical assets on-chain by coordinating a network of actors to appraise, verify, and audit assets.
Website: https://4k.com/
HQ: Beverly Hills, California, United States
Active Markets: Global
Problem Addressed
As of 2023, the global collectibles market was valued at $398 billion. The tracking of physical assets and ownership history is critical to markets where assets are sold, but can be an unreliable process that is subject to manipulation, falsification, or destruction. Additionally, intermediaries that profit from asset sales can be incentivized to preserve information asymmetries, producing barriers to access and participation in asset markets.
Project Description
4K tokenizes "real world assets" (RWA) as physically backed NFTs (non-fungible tokens), creating a digital representation or certificate of ownership that can be easily traded. With 4K Protocol, users submit information about their item, ship it to a storage vault called a “Guardian” for physical verification, appraisal and insured safekeeping, and then receive an NFT in their crypto wallet that can be used to track and verify provenance in marketplaces connected to the 4K protocol. The protocol coordinates activity across a global network of asset holders; appraisers, authenticators, and auditors; and marketplace consumers and vendors.
Business Data
Status: Active
Constituency Served: General Public
Networks: Ethereum, Polygon
Known Investors: Electric Capital, Infinite Capital, Crosscut Ventures, Consensys, IDEO CoLab Ventures
Additional References: Whitepaper
Progress to date
4K launched in September 2021, with over 5,000 pre-signups for their website drops and over 10,000 early marketplace access registrations. Prior to launching, the company had raised $3 million in seed round funding. 4K plans to expand chain functionality to Solana, Polkadot, Avalanche, Algorand, Binance Smart Chain, Optimism, Arbitrum, and Cosmos in the future.
Business Model
4K generates revenue and pays for services through various transactional fee structures, insurance offerings, and minting services.
Traction
As of February 2024, 4K’s watch collection insured over $1.8 million of assets, with the highest insured asset valued at $250,000. Across 4K’s two existing vaults, the network total value locked is over $3.8 million.