Pantera-backed Braintrust launches token on Ethereum mainnet

Decentralized talent network Braintrust has officially launched its BTRST token on the Ethereum mainnet, setting in motion a new governance framework as it aims to drive mass enterprise adoption of its services.

The project launched publicly in June 2020 and has now generated $31 million in gross services revenue, up from $3.5 million during the time of the unveiling, Braintrust announced Wednesday. Since June of last year, Braintrust’s community has tripled in size, boasting enterprise clients such as Goldman Sachs, American Eagle Outfitters, Atlassian, Porsche, Under Armour and Wayfair. The average monetary value of projects listed on Braintrust has grown to $57,000, with some as large as $300,000. Project listings have also tripled.

The newly distributed BTRST tokens give Braintrust’s over 50,000 members direct ownership of the platform, incentivizing community building and referrals. BTRST has been minted at a fixed supply of 250 million tokens, the company said.

Braintrust is looking to capitalize on shifting labor market trends in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. As nations began locking down their economies to fight the spread of the disease, businesses adopted remote work policies for their knowledge workers. According to many labor market analysts, remote work is likely to remain a semi-permanent fixture in the global economy moving forward.

Knowledge workers, meanwhile, have been able to forge new paths as independent workers straddling both traditional and gig-economy jobs. By 2027, it’s estimated that half of the U.S. workforce will be employed as freelancers in the gig economy.

Related: Blockchain technology can change the world, and not just via crypto

As the economy becomes more decentralized as a result of decentralized work, blockchain technology could take on newfound importance for companies that are still in the process of digitizing. Although many companies have been forced to adopt digital solutions, such as Zoom or Slack, the future of remote work could provide more use cases for permissioned environments and other forms of decentralized technology.