The Minimum Viable Participation in Crypto: Web3 and Beyond
The future of crypto is bright, and it’s already in our hands. Web 3.0 runs on the blockchain, decentralizing modern societies globally. It was built to be censorship-resistant, private & secure due to its decentralized nature.
What Is Minimum Viable Participation in Crypto?
Getting started with crypto can be daunting. The prices of cryptocurrencies are often high, and the market is often volatile.
However, just buying a few dollars worth of crypto is still an essential step for increasing its adoption and ensuring that you’re part of this revolutionary new economy. This type of participation might seem small compared to some other ways people get involved with crypto, which we’ll describe below, but it’s still a critical step in any crypto journey.
The Minimum Viable Participation (MVP) model provides a simple framework for people to enter the market by taking actions within their means.
The three core tenets of MVP are:
- Start small and grow over time
- Take actions that you’re comfortable with
- Iterate and improve as you go along
This model provides a simple way for people to dip their toes into the crypto world without feeling overwhelmed or pressured to take significant and risky steps. It is also how the crypto market grew in the first place – it started with countable users and grew to have millions participating in it.
Some of the simplest ways to participate in crypto are:
- Buying and holding cryptocurrencies
- Trading tokens on decentralized exchanges (DEXs)
- Participating in DeFi applications
- Playing games like Gods Unchained and CryptoKitties
These products provide countless ways for people to participate in the crypto space, with some of them requiring more time or money than others.
The MVP model works well within these applications, because it helps users grow their participation. Users feel comfortable without feeling pressured by any investment.
What’s the Impact of Crypto on Business?
The advent of blockchain technology has made it possible for people to participate in the world’s economies without needing a central authority. Blockchain is an open, decentralized database that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and permanently.
You don’t need a bank or credit card company to verify your identity and ensure you’re not spending too much money; instead, blockchain creates digital cash with no centralized control over its production and distribution.
The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin (BTC), which offered many advantages over traditional fiat currencies:
- Anonymity
- Decentralization of issuance and distribution
- Low transaction fees
- International accessibility due to lack of exchange rates
- Universal acceptance by merchants around the world
So, blockchain-based products are decentralized, while traditional financial institutions rely on a centralized setup that requires trust in an entity to keep the system running.
After Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH) emerged as blockchain’s closest competitor with its smart contract technology, and Turing-completeness making it capable of creating any application imaginable. It wasn’t long before people realized how useful these technologies could be for various applications outside of just currency.
Ethereum gave rise to Decentralized Finance (DeFi,) consisting of decentralized applications that allow users to:
- Borrow money
- Invest in projects
- Trade tokens without the need for a third party
DeFi and DAOs saw the crypto market cap dramatically rise, and most successful DeFi projects on Ethereum use smart contracts to allow users to participate in their decentralized economy.
The NFT market is another exciting part of crypto. It allows people to stake tokens for a set amount of time (staking,) you can earn more as the value of those tokens increases over time (inflation).
This market is still in its early stages, it has seen a lot of success with projects like Gods Unchained and CryptoKitties.
As the market cap of cryptos surges, we can trace it all back to the 2017 ICO boom. Startups raised millions of dollars by issuing their tokens on Ethereum, using the capital for product development and also sales and marketing.
Many of these projects have seen success after launching their products, such as Brave Browser (BAT), a browser that blocks ads and trackers, and pays its users BAT for watching videos or for using the app.
The potential for crypto is endless, and it’s already in our hands. However, its success hinges on widespread, global adoption.
Prices Soar as Members of the Crypto Community Increase
The market prices for crypto products seem to be inhibitively inflated.
Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology that underpins them are still in their early days, but they have seen unprecedented levels of success in quick turnarounds.
The crypto community has been steadily growing over time, with more and more people getting involved in this revolutionary new economy.
The market prices for crypto products are often high, this is because the potential for crypto is endless. The sky’s the limit when it comes to what blockchain technology can do, we’ve only scratched the surface of its potential.
As the community continues to grow, the prices of cryptocurrencies and other crypto products will continue to rise. It’s a good thing, as it indicates that people are confident in the future of this technology and its potential to change the world for the better.
However, it keeps raising the bar of entry high enough to turn off new users.
Wallets, Etherscan, and Trading Bots
Experts in crypto markets understand Etherscan also how to use it. Etherscan is an explorer that helps you:
- Track transactions on the blockchain
- Check wallet balances
- View smart contracts
- More
It’s a valuable tool for any crypto user.
However, Etherscan has its limitations regarding tracking data about particular tokens or coins. For example, ERC20 tokens are not always listed on Etherscan, making it difficult to track them.
Enter: trading bots! Trading bots are software that automatically trades cryptocurrencies on your behalf. They can be used to trade any cryptocurrency, and they often have more features than Etherscan when it comes to tracking data about certain coins and tokens.
As the crypto community continues to grow, trading bots will become more popular as they offer a way for people to get involved in this new economy without having a deep understanding of how it all works. Trading bots can even be used by beginners who want to buy cryptocurrency but they don’t have enough money or experience yet.
However, they can cause mistakes, causing you losses through gas fees.
Early Internet vs. Early Crypto
The parallels between the early days of the internet and the early days of crypto are uncanny. Both technologies attracted initial skepticism and doubt, they both went on to see incredible levels of success.
Both technologies had a committed community behind them that believed in their potential and worked tirelessly to spread the word.
Just like with crypto, people were initially skeptical of using their personal computers to connect to other users on this new thing called “the internet.” But they eventually saw its potential and got involved in it anyway.
Similarly, early adopters of cryptocurrencies are often ridiculed for daring to believe in something most others consider ludicrous. But they continue to hold their coins and tokens, knowing that the potential for these technologies is limitless.
As the crypto community grows continuously, it will only become more difficult for people to get involved. The market prices for cryptocurrencies and other crypto products will continue to soar, making it harder and harder for new users to break into this space.
Let’s consider the gas fees increments on Ethex.market from 2017 to 2019.
In 2017, it cost around $.50 to execute a transaction on Ethex.market. The price was affordable for most people, as a result, the marketplace saw widespread adoption.
By 2019, the gas fees had increased to over $12 per transaction, making it prohibitively expensive for many people to use.
As competition between DeFi platforms increases, the gas fees will continue to rise due to the high demand for transactions on these exchanges. Thus, early adopters who could experiment and perfect their skills when the prices were still affordable are now at a distinct advantage over new users.
The Loot: A Never-Ending Oasis
Dom Hoffman’s The Loot is a perfect example of this phenomenon.
The Loot is an online game that allows users to earn cryptocurrency by playing. It’s a great way for people to get started in the world of crypto, as it doesn’t require any technical knowledge or investment.
The Loot is a never-ending oasis where users can keep coming back for their reward tokens of Ethereum or other coins/tokens they own. However, this game does have its limitations when it comes to earning money from new cryptocurrencies that are not listed on exchanges yet.
New entrants would need to find a way to cash out their earnings, which can be difficult.
