The case for Data being the new Oil has been argued for a long time. I am partial to the opposing view. Too much data remains locked up in proprietary databases for it to be more broadly useful. Presently, the incentives to share data are less lucrative than the incentives to keep it locked up for proprietary use.

This bleak-looking scenario may be on the cusp of a change. Web3-enabled economic incentives of true digital ownership are combining with blockchain primitives in a way that has never been possible before. Blockchain-based access control of Data Assets may just be the thing that unlocks proprietary data.

If this happens, there are a couple of scenarios that unfold naturally from this premise. First, private data becomes an asset, not a liability. Private companies and individuals will not just be willing but eager to make data more valuable so that they can price and sell it on open markets. Second, markets for data become more liquid (in money and data-size terms) and more efficient as more participants start pouring in. Third, greater participation will beget greater innovation - think Data Assets as collateral, Data Asset-backed fiat loans, Data Asset-backed derivatives, Staking on Data Assets and so on. In other words, Data-centric Decentralized Financial Applications - Data DeFi.

If the premise and the conclusions laid out above make sense to you, it should also follow that we are early in this process. Curious, early learners of disruptive technologies are often disproportionate beneficiaries of the process playing out.

This gentle introduction to the world of Data DeFi through Ocean Market was written for the curious learner - student, researcher, data scientist, data executive, DeFi degen - in mind. If you've read all the way through, I thank you for your attention and hope that you found this guide useful. If you didn't, would you be so kind as to help me make it more useful by providing feedback on Twitter @antaraxia_kk?

If this guide piqued your curiosity or made you think differently about a topic, please consider subscribing to my free newsletter, where I write about the infinite possibilities that the intersection of two disruptive technologies - Web3 and AI - will bring.

Thanks and Bon Voyage!