Fractal Protocol is taking on the ad market duopoly, offering publishers and advertisers fairer access to data without compromising user privacy

Cookies have played a huge role in the ad market for over 20 years. These ever-annoying pop-ups have long been one of the main ways for advertisers to gain user data and browsing preferences, in turn enabling them to target their preferred audience more efficiently in an ever-competitive landscape.

The duopolistic reigns of Facebook, Inc. FB and Alphabet Inc. GOOG in the ad market mean that the two dominate the space by a combined market share of over 60%, with advertisers and publishers alike reliant on siloed user data from the two giants of industry as a cost effective way to target and acquire their users. But user privacy issues have been a long-running bone of contention when it comes to third-party cookies especially and this was one of several reasons that led Google to make the decision to rid completely of the use of third-party cookies on their browser by 2022.

With the cookie apocalypse incoming, the gargantuan data sets once accessible by advertisers and publishers will soon be walled off as Facebook and Google silo user data; this will only further reinforce the duopolistic structure of the ad market. When Google finally switches off life-support for third-party cookies, where are advertisers and publishers going to get user data from in a compliant and cost-efficient manner?

Levelling the playing field in a post-cookie world

Fractal Protocol aims to tackle the shortcomings of current ad market dynamics by introducing a new system: one that sees all parties benefit from incentivized rewards delivered through a trustless and transparent infrastructure. Building a future without cookies, the team behind Fractal Protocol believe that the flow of quality and cost-effective data for advertisers and publishers should not come at the cost of the privacy of the user and, by compensating them through innovative reward mechanisms, Fractal Protocol looks to regain equilibrium in the currently unbalanced ad market landscape.

Fractal Protocol connects publishers, content creators and advertisers to users in a way that preserves privacy but that also maximises cost-effectiveness for said advertisers, all made possible by blockchain technology. By leveraging the decentralized mechanics of blockchain, The Fractal Protocol rids the necessity for middlemen services that have long established themselves as gatekeepers to closed and often unverifiable user data ecosystems in the past. Advertisers can stop relying on others for their data requirements and having built an ecosystem that encourages the sharing of data from users that are being rewarded for their contributions, Fractal Protocol gives advertisers access to targeted and high quality data at a price that remains cost effective.

The project is coming off the back of a successful $2.2 million private fundraising round that closed this January and received participation from notable names in the blockchain, digital advertising and VC spaces; there will also be a public token sale launched on the popular decentralized platform Polkastarter on Thursday, 25th February 2021. Fractal Protocol is linked with several trailblazing projects in the blockchain space including Ocean Protocol and KILT Protocol, both aligned with the Fractal team’s vision to create a fairer, more open version of the free internet.

Disclaimer: the writer has a personal relationship with Fractal and used this relationship to source insights for this article. This article is educational and not meant to be investment advice. Please consult your financial advisor before investing in any digital assets.