Healthcare, the Blockchain, and a Brand New NFT Launch This Week

In this space I usually write about JPEGs and tokens that we can hopefully turn into real money someday. That's fun. It can be profitable. But most projects are a long ways from having a revolutionary impact on society as a whole.  

But digging into NFTs has brought me into contact with some interesting projects with broader (and more positive) societal impacts using blockchain technology. One such project is the the Nectar Protocol being developed by Tamarin Health. If successful, this is the kind of project that could turn the healthcare system on its head, giving power back to users who have been in the healthcare data wilderness for so long. And this week, they have an NFT announcement on the way.

The Nectar Protocol

If the healthcare system is going to be disrupted by the blockchain, we need a blockchain to build on. That's what the Nectar Protocol is, creating the foundation on which other decentralized apps can be built. 

From Nectar's website: 

There are a few blockchain terms in here that I want to define before moving on. 

• Blockchain: A growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp, and transaction data.

• Zero Knowledge Proofs: From Wikipedia, a ZKP is a"method by which one party (the prover) can prove to another party (the verifier) that a given statement is true while the prover avoids conveying any additional information apart from the fact that the statement is indeed true."

• HIPAA Compliant: A medical compliance and in the case of Nectar means the verifying nodes would have similar regulatory compliance requirement as any doctor or insurance company.

• Rollup: Rollups perform transaction execution outside layer 1 and then the data is posted to layer 1 where consensus is reached. 

• Off-Chain: A blockchain transaction that happens off the base protocol and is eventually settled on the underlying protocol. See more here.

• Nodes: From Ethereum -- "Node" refers to a running piece of client software. A client is an implementation of Ethereum that verifies all transactions in each block, keeping the network secure and the data accurate.

• dApp: Decentralized application. Think of this like an app on your phone. It's just an app.

Still confused? I've created the visual below to try to explain how data sits on the blockchain, how it's accessed, and why users would have more control than today where records sit in a doctor's office. You can see below that if all of your relevant health data (for example, heart rate data from a smart watch, prescription data, allergies, or other medical history) is on the blockchain it can be shared with decentralized apps (dApps) relatively easily and with user control. 

Whew. If you're still with me, let's talk about the Shyro NFT launch and its potential impact on healthcare. 

Shyro and the new healthcare NFT

Shyro is the first dApp to be built for the Nectar Protocol. It's being built by Tamarin Health as a kind of proof of concept for the protocol and to gain awareness. Details on how the NFT will work are sparse outside of what's on the roadmap below, but the basic overview is that it will give buyers a waived membership fee through 2023 (valued at $400 according to Tamarin Health) and a higher percentage of profit sharing than any other Shyro member. 

https://www.shyro.health/nft

What is the Shyro dApp actually doing? It's collecting user healthcare data and selling it, if users opt-in. Based on user data, companies will also be able to advertise to the community. Sound crazy? Healthcare companies sell your data all the time to the tun of a $23.6 billion market annually. 

Here are a couple of examples of how Shyro could generate revenue and profits for NFT holders: 

• Data is sold to a company and some of the revenue goes into the Shyro member profit pool.

• Advertisers looking to reach qualified customers pay Shyro to target specific users who "opt in" to advertisements. Advertisers and users get qualified ads, Shyro generates revenue, and NFT holders/members get a share of the profit pool.

It's important to note that users have the ability to opt-in or opt-out at any time. But that's different from the traditional healthcare system where you're opted in if you like it or not and you get no cut of the revenue. In this case, you actually have an incentive to share as much data as possible. Here's what the roadmap for the dApp looks like: 

Shyro's mint/public sale

On Tuesday, February 22, Shyro is beginning a contest for early access to their Shyro NFT. You can participate if you'd like below (not a paid promo): 

https://www.shyro.health/nft-early-access-promo

Final details of the mint aren't out yet, but Tamarin Health CEO Kat Kuzmeskas said the price would be about $222 worth of Polygon cryptocurrency through sales on Opensea. So, if you want early access to purchase on February 26 or in the public sale on March 17, get your MATIC tokens ready.

***Use our Coinbase link for free crypto when you sign up.***

The NFT will give access to the Shyro dApp and elite membership. Users can earn for sharing their health and wellness data. The roadmap indicates that wearable data will be the first to connect to Shyro, but the long-term plan is for much more health data to be included. 

Like many NFT projects today, this NFT is a bet on the future of the protocol and the dApp. But the biggest challenge -- and opportunity -- will be getting people to adopt the Nectar Protocol and the Shyro app. Earning from sharing healthcare data is a great concept, but marketing to users will be a challenge and if the network doesn't grow there won't be profits to share. 

The mint itself may be an indication of the protocol and NFT's chance at success. If it sells out quickly the future could be bright, but if buyers aren't interested in healthcare on the blockchain this may be pushing a bolder uphill. 

I plan to buy an NFT, if nothing else because it's a project worth supporting. But I see this as a high risk, high reward investment. For the future of healthcare's sake, I hope it goes well, but I'm prepared to chalk this up as a learning experience if it doesn't. 

Disclaimer: Travis Hoium has not been compensated for this post and currently plans to buy a Shyro NFT in the future. The NFT Project DOES NOT provide financial advice. All content is for informational purposes only. The NFT Project is not a registered investment, legal, or tax advisor or a broker/dealer. Trading any crypto-related asset is extremely risky and could result in significant capital losses. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH