What is IMPT? Your ultimate guide
By Peter Henn
09:00, 8 October 2022
IMPT aims to fuse non-fungible tokens and carbon credits in a bid to create a greener kind of crypto. Let’s take a look.
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Crypto and the environment
Something that makes a lot of people wary of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in general, whether they are potential investors or just people who might use one of the many crypto systems out there, is its environmental impact. Many cryptocurrencies use the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to add blocks of data to their blockchains, and so mint new coins, and that “mining” uses a lot of electricity. PoW involves people using their computers to solve increasingly difficult mathematical equations, and that means that, as blockchains using PoW get older, the problems the computers have to solve are going to get harder, which means that they need to use more power, which can damage the environment. Data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index says that Bitcoin (BTC) uses 104.2 terawatt hours of electricity a year, which means it consumes more electricity and, therefore, has a larger carbon footprint than the wholw of Pakistan.
One way to try to reduce the impact of cryptocurrency on the environment is to use a blockchain that makes use of the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. This means that people who use a blockchain can get chosen to add blocks to the blockchain based on how much of the blockchain’s native token they hold. Ethereum (ETH), the world’s second largest blockchain, recently completed its much-heralded switch from PoW to PoS, dramatically reducing the amount of energy it used as a result.
What is IMPT?
There are, however, other ways of being greener within the world of crypto and crypto investing. One such potential blockchain-based network is IMPT. This platform is designed to link in with carbon trading.
In carbon trading, the carbon pumped out by fossil fuel related emissions, which adds to global warmiong, is given a value. This means it can be traded between companies, individuals, and even countries. In turn, this means that someone who buys carbon, or at least a carbon token which represents a certain amount of carbon, has, in effect, the right to burn it and release it into the earth’s atmosphere. The seller gives up that right. You can charge more for the token if you can store carbon effectively and not release it into the atmosphere. Incidentally, when countries get involved in the carbon trade, it is usually industrialised nations, ones which pump out a lot of CO2, that are the buyers, and countries which have fewer carbon emissions that are the sellers.
The carbon trade makes use of tokenisation, the idea that if something that can be traded – pretty much anything that can be traded – it can be turned into a token with a certain value. Therefore, with tokens being a key part of cryptocurrency it was, perhaps, inevitable that, at some point, someone would come along and combine blockchain technology with carbon credits, which is, to put it simply, what IMPT is designed to do.
The system has another trick up its sleeve, though. Throughout the second half of 2021 and rolling on, albeit to a lesser extent, this year, one of the hottest subjects in the world of crypto has been that of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These links to individual pieces of digital art have won their fair share of both fans and critics. However, NFTs promise to be around for some time yet. With people not only buying, selling and trading NFTs, but also collecting them, the people behind IMPT were able to spot an ecologically conscious gap in the market and do something a little bit different.
The IMPT whitepaper says: “We tokenise carbon credits so users receive them in the form of NFTs. The NFTs are further displayed in a decentralised ledger that can be tracked by users, thus ensuring transparency and traceability. When the user retires carbon credits, burned NFTs are sent to a null address, ultimately eliminating their NFTs from circulation.
“The blockchain records this transaction and the NFT is no longer available. As all transactions between platform participants are recorded on a distributed ledger, they are almost impossible to tamper with, which helps us avoid fraud and double counting. Moreover, when users retire their carbon credits, they receive unique NFTs created by artists. The users can trade these NFTs on the marketplace.”
People who operate on the IMPT platform will also see some of the earnings sent to charitable causes working in the environmental sector. The platform is run by a team of six people, led by its CEO, the Irishman Denis Creighton, who has a background in the IT sector, having been in charge of such companies as the Irish firms Conduit and Data Fusion International. However, the system plans to switch control to a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) at some point in the future.
IMPT explained
Every blockchain and blockchain-based network needs to have its own native token, and IMPT will have the IMPT cryptocurrency. The token is designed to help run the system, with people paid out in the crypto and using it to buy carbon credit NFTs. Since IMPT is based on the Ethereum blockchain, then the IMPT cryptocurrency is a token, so references to the IMPT coin are inaccurate. There will be three billion IMPT in total, with 15% put into the ecosystem, 5% going to the team behind the platform, 10% to be spent on marketing and another 10% going to early adopters. There will also be three official presales, with the first two both selling 22% and the third and final one selling 18%. The first presale started on 3 October 2023. If you are looking to buy the IMPT crypto, signing up to a presale is one option, while waiting for it to enter the open market and purchasing it from an exchange is another.
Neither the IMPT platform nor its native token should be confused with the immopet meme coin, which uses the IMPT ticker handle.
By the end of 2022 the system aims to have launched its smart contracts, launched its NFTs, completed its first presales and started the second, created a market prototype, developed a community and carried out marketing activities. By the end of March 2023, the presales should be complete, an airdrop of IMPT tokens should have been carried out and merchandise will be available to buy. Finally, by the end of June next year, the token should be available on the open market and the marketplace should be launched.
Final thoughts
We do need to remind you that IMPT has not been launched yet, so we do not know how well the token can or will behave once it is on the open market.
Second, there is some scepticism regarding carbon credits and whether offsetting genuinely works, which might have an impact on the IMPT price.
Finally, we do not know how popular the mixture of carbon offsetting and NFTs is going to be. NFTs could be back stronger than ever by the time the IMPT token hits the open market or, just as possibly, they could have disappeared as yesterday’s fad. As always with cryptocurrency, it makes sense to do your own research and be sure what you are potentially getting yourself into if you want to invest in IMPT.
FAQs
Is IMPT a buy?
It is hard to say at this stage. It may be best to wait until it reaches the open market at some point in 2023 before making a decision. Before you do that, though, you will have to do your own research, remember prices can go down as well as up, and never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Should I invest in IMPT?
IMPT aims to combine carbon credits and NFTs, so checking the status of both the NFT market and that of carbon credits before investing makes sense. Ultimately, though, this is something you will have to answer for yourself. Just make sure to do your own research, remember prices can go down as well as up. Never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Will the IMPT price go up or down?
It is impossible to tell right now, because the token has not entered the open market. Remember that prices will go down as well as up.
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