Welcome to this week's Digital Bytes which has analysis on the following topics:

Blockchain’s impact on the agriculture sector - the use of blockchain technology in the agriculture sector is giving access to more information, new forms of finance, the ability to enjoy cheaper insurance, and reaches out to the unbanked farmers - all being just a few of the advantages it provides. There are without doubt challenges, but we are already seeing widespread adoption of blockchain technology (together with the use of digital assets) in the agriculture sector around the world. But to have greater adoption we will need to see more education in order to bring about change. The drive will come from consumer demand for greater information about sustainability and the provenance of what is being eaten.

NFTs, an alternative way to raise capital – There has been a huge increase in awareness and demand for NFTs. These digital representations of a wide variety of IP are being used by international brands as well as individuals to raise capital but also as a way to strengthen communities, build customer loyalty and fan bases on a global basis. NFTs do face challenges and legal advice ought to be taken in order to avoid regulatory and copyright infringements. However, as we see the growing adoption of the metaverse we are likely to see NFTs increasingly being used as an alternative tool to raise capital.

How to identify a winning cryptocurrency - perhaps the most important step to take before choosing a crypto to invest in its research. It is imperative to gather information about a coin before putting money into it; you should know that trading or investing in cryptocurrency is a two-sided coin - it can make you poor as much as it can make you rich.

If banks are from Mars, then cryptocurrency and blockchain are from Venus - this has largely been the status quo for over a decade since the birth of the Bitcoin network in 2008. However, could the planets be now aligning themselves as a convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi) becomes a reality?