Token Gated Messaging 💬
Tokens are a way to get people talking. Now we need better tools to allow the creators and owners of tokens to discuss things with one another. There are dozens of projects exploring this space.
There is about to be an explosion in a new form of communication: discussions among token holders through dedicated apps that care.
Today, everyone who buys a token jumps into a Discord channel, joins a Telegram chat, or follows a Discourse forum.
The problem with all these tools is the same: they are built by Web 2 founders for a Web 2 world. They do not think about how tokens change everything.
There are lots of services that have popped up to hide invite links to these services behind token gates. They are good attempts but ultimately just really hacky bandaids on broken tools.
We need Web 3-first teams to after this opportunity! Now we do.
Blockscan Chat from Etherscan
The team at Etherscan have started exploring this area. Today, it allows you message anyone with an Ethereum address. You can check it out here:
I think this a fantastic first prototype tool that anyone can use today. It allows you to see the power of messaging without worrying about full decentralisation of every part of the stack.
Spaces Creates Private Digital Token Rooms
I have been keenly following the development of Spaces, a token-gated discussion tool where it really feels like the founder understands the problem space. It allows you to build private chat rooms around tokens. This works for any kind of Ethereum-based asset. It is a great proof of concept you can try at:
XMTP is building open messaging infrastructure
I have invested in a project called XMTP which has the ambitious goal of trying to decentralise the entire messaging infrastructure entirely. They view wallet-to-wallet communication as being so important that they are making it their core mission to ensure this flow of online interactions does not end up routing through a single company. They want to avoid the mistakes of the early web by cracking the tooling early. Today, messaging is routed through a few major companies in Silicon Valley and Beijing—that is insane.
What is missing?
Token Gated Forums & Mobile Messaging With Thoughtful Notifications
I think there are two huge opportunities in the near term:
Token Gated Forums
We need ways to limit who can reply to debates among certain people. The problem is: not everyone has the same experience. We should respect that through tokens. For example: imagine having a $MKR and a $CORE token. Everyone could read the discussions of the Maker Core developers—but not everyone can reply.
Mobile Messaging Notifications
The best way to keep people in sync with a text-based conversation is thought mobile notifications. Once we find sensible patterns for mitigating spam, I think token-gated mobile debate could be so powerful. Instead of claiming you are interested in a project and ranting online, you can prove your interest.
Want to join the Balance token-gated Discord Channel?
Here are the steps you have to follow to get inside:
Join our Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/balance-wallet
Buy our NFT App icon: https://ricburton.mirror.xyz/dDdOFCxEYBJhBeobnIFXuYMdwZEJ5JQ4469MULnNgeg
Join our Guild: https://alpha.guild.xyz/balance
That will give you access to the #holders channel.
Send me a message on ric.eth!
You can use Blockscan or Spaces to send me a message directly.
Slide into my EMs*
*Ethereum Messages