CRYPTO ONRAMP
Crypto for Everyone | Tutorials to Ramp Up, Interviews w/ Folks Making the Leap, & Playbooks to Rip It.
Step by step:
How to set up your wallet
Step by step:
How to fund your wallet
WHAT THE FRICK?
What's this all about?
TLDR: This is your onramp to crypto.
Check out the tutorials to take control of your identity & money [aka a Wallet], tap into a permissionless financial ecosystem [aka the InternetOfValue], then collect art, manage proof of ownership for digital & IRL assets, access to communities & events, and demonstrate proof of attendance/experience/expertise [aka NFTs].
Then dig into interviews with folks who've made the leap, caught air, and landed on the other side.
Or catch us at an event with activities designed to help get you up the ramp!
Have doubts? Need tangible examples, inspiration / places to start? Check out the Playbooks.
WHY CRYPTO?
Icons & Plebs | Interviews w/ Tech, Art & Biz Folks on Why Crypto & What It Means for You
HEY, YOU!
Catch us at places like #Permissionless, Solana #HackerHouses & local Speak-Easy #meetups.
We're into whatever it takes to onramp folks into crypto, like running "Not-Quite Genius Bars" for n00bs, putting on pie-eating contests (winners get chicken dinners/badges of honor), and raffling off NFTs for free just to get folks into space.
Sample NFTs from stellar artists we've purchased / given away to support creators & onramp folks:
SHOW ME
What if instead of paying for things, you earned from using things. That's what crypto does for you. It's what an ownership economy means. You don't need to spend a lot / any money, you can get ownership/revenue by participating in communities and engaging with products and services.
Crypto isn't only coding, trading, and art. It's a business model that unlocks new ways to work together / new plays for unlocking the value of assets, making the most of your time, activity, or the things you rent/own. Imagine the opportunities for individuals, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. Crypto can power your biz and open up new ones - either online / digital or In Real Life / physical spaces.
Don't believe it? Here's a case study we did: The LongTail Building | Louisville, Kentucky.
We turned a drug den into a mixed-use space for under $500, with no coding, accessible to anyone.
In this use case, the Longtail Building showcases the power of Helium | The People's Network to rejuvenate space, impact community, and unlock new business models by turning cost centers like rent and mortgage into revenue generators. More broadly, crypto allows virtually anyone, anywhere, to repeat this model and expand its impact, transforming business models and innovation, public goods, and community.
Here's the Deets:
The LongTail Building started in 1860 as a graveyard, a home for orphans, then a bank, grocery store, and a bourbon bar named after a Triple Crown-winning horse, Whirlaway. Located in an Opportunity Zone, down the street from Churchill Downs, next to the University of Louisville. The space had a variety of illicit activities, including paraphernalia-related fires, and was a community eye-sore, neighborhood safety risk, and government / law-enforcement expense / issue.
Rather than bulldozing the historic building and building mini-storage or a parking lot, a small plastic box from Helium was run, a device costs under $500 and requires wifi/cell service and a computer/phone to use an app. Helium uses very little energy and relies on proof of coverage, meaning it creates a network that prioritizes new places / physical locations, especially those often off the beaten path. In other words, being outside traditional power hubs like San Francisco and New York was a benefit. The lower costs of spaces and services in fly-over county, coupled with Helium's business model that prioritized geographic diversity, created an extraordinary impact.
The earnings from the Helium node were able to cover the cost of the building, the adjacent spaces, the renovation, furnishings, outdoor green spaces, trees, plants, landscaping, and a host of services, both technical and traditional. Today, the building is fully renovated, with outdoor carbon-positive green spaces and historical murals from local art students. It currently serves as offices for crypto funds and companies and hosts various educational and art/cultural events.
Crypto benefitted the local neighborhood and created jobs, including tech finance, research, and ops positions, but also created revenue for preexistent jobs and small businesses like construction, maintenance, clerical and legal, all sourced locally. The change impacted the community by reducing safety risks, historically restoring a beloved regional icon, increasing the tax base for an at-risk geography, and physically transforming private and public spaces through clean-up, new sidewalks, lighting, and art.
The neighborhood is transforming and now boasts new student housing with every potential for continued rejuvenation from additional retail, food, and entertainment. All this was done privately, independently, and quietly, requiring minimal initial resources but merely an awareness of the new opportunities for crypto as a business model. In this case, crypto serves as an economic engine to make difficult problems and questionable economics for IRL projects viable for transformation, recreation, and renaissance - real-world impact.
Early adoption pays, and crypto prices are volatile, but this use case shows the power of the crypto as a business model. The horse, Whirlaway, was nicknamed "Mr. Longtail," and the name of the new space is the Longtail Building, in a wink and a nod to that heritage. Mr. Longtail was known as "The People's Champion." The Longtail logo uses a horse's tail drawn as a distribution curve, representing access, impact, and opportunity for people along the long tail, white-collar, blue-collar, everyone.
TLDR: Onramping to crypto pays. It's early days. Knowing a/bt & participating opportunities are key.
List Your Costs
Make a list of the products, services, and things you pay for, including the 'free' things that adverstise to you. Music, rent/mortage, payment systems, employment services, etc.
Find Crypto Versions
Do a little research to find the "Web3" version of these products and services, and projects that let you unlock the value of your time & assets. Search "Web3 Music" or "Web3 browser."
Start the Switch
Start using the Web3 versions products where you can. They won't be as slick or easy, but often offer ways to earn by using them or contributing (listen to music, share, create, etc.).
Let It Rip!
Go further / deeper / faster. Explore new projects, services and products. Find those you like and dive in. Often the communities and ownership is open connect to broader ecosystems.
Roll on...
You've created a wallet, funded it, put NFTs in it. You're earning and owning by particiapting. Connect to marketplaces, exchanges to take earnings, reinvest, support others!
Need Some Inspiration? Here's A Few Examples. Don't Be Shy, Go Explore & Let It Rip!
Listen to Music?
Try Audius
Earn by listening, curating playlists, sharing, and of course creating. Are you a small biz paying big fees?
Pay for Space?
Try Helium
Pay rent, lease, or a mortage? Have an internet connection? Personal or small biz locations work.
Take Payment?
Try Solana Pay
Small biz, entrepreneur, or have a side gig? Instead of paying fees on each transaction, earn/gain/stake.
Hire / Get Hired?
Try Braintrust
Looking for work or a project? Need to hire for specific job? Earn ownership in your 'agency'.
Use a Browser?
Try Brave
Do you use the Internet? Like privacy? Want to earn by browsing the web vs being advertised to?
Video Rendering?
Try Render
Into gaming, graphics or video editing? Use a graphics card on your rig? Need a project rendered?
Psst... Into Sports?
Try Socios
Spend time watching or following sports? Ever dream of owning part of a team? Yes, in IRL.
Privacy / dVPN?
Try Boring
Interested in privacy, for yourself or providing it to others? (H/T: Do you already run Helium?)
Investing?
Try Delphia
Into investment? You partcipate, you earn. And your activity makes the product better!
Pay for Content?
Try Story DAO
ALPHA: Watch movies, read stories? Want to create, and own, with top-flight talent?
BUT REALLY, WHAT THE FRICK?
So really, what's this all about?
We want you to get into crypto, take control of your identity, and tap into new financial powers.
We're super into folks adopting participatory biz models that turn cost centers into rev generators.
Narwhal Ventures and sister fund The 6ixth Event support the Solana Ecosystem & More.
Doing something cool, we've got your back.
Here's a sample of things we've backed:
Communities & Events
Teams & Projects
Are You Next?
Hit us up
SHOUT