💠 How Tokens Changed My Life
There are a bunch of tokens I use on a weekly basis to help me survive & thrive. I suspect that many more people will make the transition from trading to using soon. We have to help people do it.
There are a few tokens that are emotional for me: $MKR, $NXM, $GRT & $BAE all taught me something important about Ethereum and myself.
Today, many people make a website or app their entire identity. They are an Instagram influencer or a member of the Twitterati. They care more about likes than being liked. It is absolutely insane when you take a step back.
Tokens are Religions, Cults, Systems, Currencies & Tools
A token is like a website. It is a flexible piece of software that can be moulded by the eye of the beholder. The creator of a token imbues it with their values. In most cases, those token creators have no taste, no skill, no care, and no moral backbone whatsoever. Their tokens will be washed away by the digital tides of technology.
In a few rare cases, a group of people can create tasteful tokens.
Those are the special ones. The edge cases. The 0.01%.
I have exceptional taste in tokens. I know what to buy.
I know that because I research the people who make them very deeply. The people who create things are the ones who define a token’s utility or futility.
99% of startups die. 99% of tokens will too.
That’s a glib statement made by many hollow crypto influencers. The much more interesting question is this:
Which tokens are tastefully designed?
The answer: anything with a sensible valuation, honest team, and focused community. It turns out that is remarkably hard to find. Most projects are overvalued, full of liars, and have a haphazard excuse of a community.
Tokens must bring people and resources together to solve a problem in an interesting and profitable way. This is pretty similar to how shares in a startup gather people around to create something new.
When you think about joining a community that has a token, ask yourself this:
Do these people truly care about other people? Do they focus on creating?
I think these are the hallmarks of the best protocol and dapp founders I have met. They want to use their token as a new form of coordination. They want help push humanity forward.
Tasteful tokens are incredibly inspiring!
What does the most powerful token interface look like?
I used to think that integrating lots of protocols into a single wallet was the right move. It was the right idea for the time, but it was also a tough thing to develop. It meant that you needed to build custom code for everything. This is slow, expensive & extremely brittle.
We already have the right paradigm for creating flexible interfaces: browsers
Today, every mobile wallet has had to shove a browser inside their app. With Safari iOS Extensions, we can now put a wallet inside the most popular mobile browser in the world. This changes everything.
The best designed token in the world is ETH
ETH started at $0.33. That is when I got some. Then I sold loads at $9. I made a 30X gain and I shared my Ether with more passionate believers.
Ethereum has minted a million millionaires. We are all soldiers for life.
That is why the Ethereum community is so powerful—we are grateful.
If you want to build a community, you must supply them with liquidity. Then they can use that money to go and build up the defences around your protocol or project. This is why I hate it so much when projects have large private valuations before dumping on the general public—it is wrong!
Ethereum has soul.
Want to be financially free? Embrace the ERC-20.
If you bend the knee to the ERC-20, you will be free. Support the standard and build for its needs. It will release you from the drudgery of government decreed fiat and give you what you need: your time.
I strongly believe this is true.
Want to learn how?
Like so many of your other posts, I found this both insightful and inspiring. Thank you for taking the time to share your candid perspective and experience. Super valuable. 🙏🏼
PS — That’s such an epic snow kiting pic!