Project Galaxy (GAL): Building Web 3.0 Credentials in Crypto

When the World Wide Web — now known as Web 1.0 — was first brought online, users could view information from all over the world. Beginning in 2004, Web 2.0 boasted better usability for the end user, as well as more user-generated content. Today, an increasing percentage of internet users require decentralized systems that are private, secure, and owned by the community.

The greater need for Web 3.0 means that new technologies and platforms are required to accommodate data consumer and developer needs. This article takes a closer look at the Project Galaxy infrastructure and what it does for Web 3.0.

What Is Project Galaxy?

Project Galaxy is the most expansive Web 3.0 credential data network available. The purpose of networks like Project Galaxy is to help projects and developers use NFTs and digital credentials to build stronger communities and products.

Whether you’ve recently begun to invest in crypto, or have been an investor for years, you may be wondering what GAL is. This project has been in development for several years and has already been used to launch over 500 Web 3.0 projects. The many different types of Web 3.0 projects that have been based on Project Galaxy infrastructure include loyalty programs, bootstrapping communities, custom voting systems and growth-hacking campaigns.

Project Galaxy initially began in early 2021 and has since been accessed by over 200,000 users across seven separate blockchains. Since its inception, Project Galaxy has quickly become among the most popular Web 3.0 credential data networks because of how collaborative and open it is.

Project Galaxy’s Rapid Expansion

Initial development of Project Galaxy was handled by the Nekrutenko Lab, which is part of the Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics at Penn State University. The core Project Galaxy team also consisted of members from the Goecks Lab at Oregon Health & Science University, as well as the Taylor Lab at Johns Hopkins University. Project Galaxy has since turned into a global effort with continual improvements being made to the project.

Even though this Web 3.0 credential data network was initially created in 2021, numerous milestones have served to provide even more benefits to users. By July 2021, more than 10,000 credential-based NFTs had already been minted and fully claimed, via BNB Chain and Ethereum.

Before the end of the year, Project Galaxy would go live on Arbitrum, Fantom, Avalanche and Polygon. Project Galaxy functionality also expanded with the introduction of Galaxy OAT and Galaxy Dashboard, the latter of which provides users with a web-based editor that facilitates the use of plug-and-play modules.

To understand just how large the Project Galaxy infrastructure has grown, it was announced toward the end of April 2022 that around 500,000 NFTs are minted through Project Galaxy every month. Some additional milestones that indicate widespread adoption of Project Galaxy include:

• More than 2,000 digital credentials have been created among 4 million Web 3.0 users

• Around 300 separate protocols are currently using the Project Galaxy infrastructure

• The number of registered users of Galaxy ID has recently passed the 1.2 million mark

How Does Project Galaxy Work?

Project Galaxy is largely based around the idea of providing data consumers and developers with the infrastructure they need to deliver data to networks and to curate digital credentials. It's possible for contributors to use this infrastructure to curate various types of digital credentials, including on-chain and off-chain.

To understand just how beneficial the Project Galaxy infrastructure can be, let's take a look at how digital credentials are curated without Web 3.0 infrastructure. With Web 2.0, credential data is segregated throughout closed databases, which are owned and fully permissioned by institutions and applications.

The problem with this approach is that it leads to a fractured system in which the individuals who should own the data don't have easy access to it. In comparison, Project Galaxy provides developers with an aggregated Web 3.0 credential data network. With this type of network in place, users have control over their own data and digital credentials.

While Project Galaxy consists of a bevy of unique and useful features, the following section details some of the key features which define GAL.

Credential Data Network (On-Chain and Off-Chain Credentials)

If you want to know what GAL is, the truth is that this project is centered around a credential data network that accommodates on-chain and off-chain digital credentials. By offering both types of digital credentials, the Project Galaxy infrastructure allows curators to contribute credentials via multiple data sources.

When it comes to on-chain credentials, it's possible for curators to contribute their data from seven separate chains with wallet snapshots or sub-graph queries. As for off-chain credentials, curators have the ability to contribute digital credentials through data sources that are already integrated into Project Galaxy, including Discord, Twitter and GitHub.

Galaxy On-Chain Achievement Token (Galaxy OAT)

Another notable feature of Project Galaxy is the Galaxy on-chain achievement token, which is referred to as Galaxy OAT. This token serves as a lightweight solution that community managers and event organizers can use to create and distribute NFT campaigns without issue, after which community members can be rewarded. These on-chain achievement tokens are a kind of digital record of various achievements that have occurred.

Let's say that you buy tickets to a concert or NFL game. These tickets could come with a separate NFT that serves as a digital record of an event you attended. You would then be able to access this record and showcase the credential whenever you recall the memory.

When using OAT, event organizers are able to form their own pages on the galaxy.eco platform. They can also create events, as well as digital credentials, by simply submitting the badge design and parameters.

Event participants can also claim the NFT from their email via gas-less minting, which is a transaction-free solution for NFTs. In the short term, it's believed that Galaxy OAT will mainly be used for loyalty programs with DeFi, metaverse, NFTs, or other Web 3.0 projects. In the long-term, however, these tokens may be used for life experiences and real-world events.

Galaxy ID

If you decide to take advantage of the Project Galaxy infrastructure to build digital credentials, you'll also benefit from the Galaxy ID feature, which is essentially Web 3.0 LinkedIn. Every individual on Galaxy can use Galaxy ID for their universal username, which can be taken across multiple wallets and chains in Web 3.0. Users are also able to display their digital credentials and showcase their achievements once they have a Galaxy ID.

This feature accommodates Metaverse Digital ID as well, which allows developers to integrate the basic Galaxy ID tool kit and effectively provide custom features to users based on the digital credentials that they have. Galaxy ID creates many possibilities when it comes to Web 3.0 and its future.

Hashflow DEX

Before you use this Web 3.0 credential data network, you should understand what the Hashflow DEX feature is. Hashflow is a decentralized exchange that was founded in 2019 which differs in many ways compared to other decentralized exchanges. 

The Hashflow protocol is known to be relatively unique because of its ability to connect top crypto market makers with on-chain users. With this protocol in place, swapping tokens becomes considerably more gas-efficient and capital-efficient. Hashflow displayed some strong metrics early on in development. In fact, the alpha and beta phases of development increased the TVL to $1.2 million and $3.2 million respectively.

Despite Hashflow’s many advantages, it wasn't paired with a token early on, which limited its adoption among users. With this issue in mind, Hashflow has worked together with Project Galaxy to launch the Hashbot Genesis campaign with the Project Galaxy infrastructure. This infrastructure has given Hashflow the ability to incentivize users with exclusive NFTs. Since the introduction of Project Galaxy technology into the Hashflow DEX, the platform's weekly active users have increased from 3,000 to 13,000.

What Are GAL Tokens?

GAL tokens are a form of governance token that's used alongside the Project Galaxy DAO. Keep in mind that governance tokens can be used for voting on decisions pertaining to the ecosystem or one of the Web 3.0 projects. Token holders are able to shape the platform's future whenever new features or changes to the governance system are proposed. By issuing GAL tokens, the future of Project Galaxy rests in the hands of the users who claim these tokens.

GAL token holders can dictate the platform fee percentage that's collected by Project Galaxy. They can also control funds that are held with the community treasury. Any developer who uses data that’s been curated by Project Galaxy must pay platform fees with the GAL token. These fees are then distributed directly to the data curators, who use GAL tokens to determine the value of a data set.

Earlier this year, Project Galaxy announced a GAL token airdrop to reward early adopters, as well as PancakeSwap fixed yield stakers. The purpose of this airdrop was for Project Galaxy to show appreciation to their dedicated community. This airdrop provided 3.65 million GAL tokens to early adopters, which amounts to 1.83% of the total GAL supply. The distribution of these tokens occurred when the GAL token was launched on May 5, 2022.

GAL Tokenomics

Now that you know what is GAL, you should know more about GAL's price and how GAL is set to be distributed in the coming years. Project Galaxy launched on May 5, 2022, at which point a certain number of GAL tokens were unlocked. Keep in mind that Project Galaxy is distributing 200 million GAL tokens. Of these tokens, just under 2% are early adopter rewards, with 1.5% being allocated to Binance Launchpool. Another 4.5% are attached to the Project Galaxy ecosystem. The tokens for these three segments were fully unlocked at the token generation event that occurred on May 5.

Further distributions of GAL tokens differ, depending on who or what the distributions are going toward. For instance 15% of the 200 million GAL tokens are being used for marketing purposes. Around 20% of this allotment was unlocked at the token generation event. The remainder of this allotment is set to unlock quarterly in equal amounts for a period of three years. The available trading pairs include GAL/BTC, GAL/BUSD, GAL/USDT and GAL/BNB.

GAL Price Prediction

Even though it's impossible to predict the price of Project Galaxy and its token because of its recent launch, there are some pieces of information that can be used to gain a reasonable estimate of what GAL will be priced at over the next few years. The best aspect of the GAL token is that Project Galaxy solves one of the most notable problems associated with Web 3.0. The exponential growth that this token had even before its official launch indicated that it was in high demand, and would have a similarly high price.

Project Galaxy has formed partnerships with BNB Chain and Solana, which implies a focus on long-term growth. Project Galaxy has a fantastic outlook for the foreseeable future. The road map that they've created for 2022 and beyond shows that they want GAL to quickly appreciate in the months following its launch, and grow even further over the next few years.

Is Project Galaxy a Good Investment?

Whether looking at Web 3.0 infrastructure, which includes Project Galaxy and other aspects of decentralized systems, it's always going to be challenging to identify how valuable this infrastructure is going to be on a long-term basis. However, Project Galaxy is built on sturdy foundations, indicated by the aforementioned road map and its use in many Web 3.0 projects.

Features like a credential data tag system and permissionless credential creation are set to launch later this year. The iterative updates they plan for 2022 and 2023 show that Project Galaxy isn't content with what it already delivers to users. At this moment, there's every indication that Project Galaxy will be a sound investment in the coming years.

The Bottom Line

While Project Galaxy has been around for a relatively short period of time, it has already proven to be invaluable to developers and data users alike who wish to create digital credentials and NFTs. In fact, the GAL token is already expected to quickly appreciate in value over the next few months. Now that you know what GAL is, you can determine if this token is right for you.