In a recent call, a DAO fren of mine shared about Gitpoap. GITPOAP is issuing POAPs (e.g. https://www.poaps.xyz) for contributors of Github. This led me to think about where the on-chain credential canvas is shifting and how I can effectively collect/use my POAPs in my kitty:)
“Self-sovereign identity shifts identity and credential management from the client-server model of centralised and federated identity systems, which creates silos to a peer-to-peer model. This is done through public-key cryptography, decentralised identifiers and blockchains.”
“Within the education ecosystem, the credential is a representation of the different types of learning acquired by an individual; a composite of accredited formal, informal and non-formal learning outcomes - the set of knowledge, skills and/or competencies acquired or demonstrated by an individual after completing a formal, informal or/and non-formal learning process that tends to include an issuing institution.”
Today, many of us have participated in multiple hackathons, fellowships, virtual/IRL events, and conferences and have done various transactions on the blockchain. These data points are condensed and are being assessed for access control. These access control and filtering mechanisms will be used in the future by multiple chains, protocols and Web3 projects to provide:
- Airdrops
- Early access to their projects
- Gated access to their communities
- Retroactive Public goods funding
- Utility club access based on levels
Airdrops: OP Collective has mentioned that future airdrops will consider a wallet’s interaction with the Optimism ecosystem. As this is an active Layer2 project, I have started learning about it and collecting some interesting NFTs.
Early access to their projects: Many of the DAOs, Guilds and dApps will give you early access to their projects if you have done certain on-chain transactions. A recent example from my personal experience is getting access to Lens.
If you hold a Rabbithole NFT and were active in their community early on, then it is easy for you to be onboarded into Lens. Some of the Rabbithole NFTs that I particularly enjoyed earning were:
a. Learning about DAOs
b. Learning about NFTs
For new users, Rabbithole is a way to learn by doing, earn crypto along the way, and build credentials to become a contributor to emerging protocols. Protocols find it easy to identify, acquire, and engage quality contributors based on their capabilities. For the broader crypto ecosystem, it is a way to make Web3 more meritocratic via an on-chain credentialing mechanism.
Similar to Rabbithole, I sometimes like the tasks of Layer3 to learn about new projects. Here based on your levels, you will be invited to participate in multiple projects and your levels will also open up doors for a plethora of Web opportunities for you.
Gated Access to Communities: Some of your on-chain transactions or your NFTs will allow you to access a specific community or a specific gated channel on Discord. Many new users assume that they have access to all the content/conversations on a server but that’s usually not the case.
LobsterDAO is an example of a gated community where you will get a lot of alpha.
Audius has tiered access and your tier gives you access to certain gated channels.
On-chain credentials from Galaxy help in distributing On Chain Achievement tokens to participants who are taking a leap into Web3.
Retroactive Public Goods Funding: The core principle behind the concept of public goods funding is simple: It’s easier to agree on what was useful than what will be useful.
The on-chain transactions of your contributions to the Public Goods projects will be taken into account while evaluating your on-chain reputation in a few protocols. I liked the concept of Gitcoin Passports. It acts as a self-sovereign data collecting tool for DAOs. With Passport, DAOs can seamlessly implement a system of establishing the identity of members. Passport identities are interoperable and portable across multiple chains and dApps. This allows your Passport to be a tool for provenance.
Exclusive Club Access: Many of the utility-based projects like FWB or Forefront will grant you access to their NFTs/Free Merch/Social Meet-ups etc. Based on the tokens that you hold/ or have earned by contributing to them early you will be elevated within their communities and eventually you will take an active role in the governance.
To be continued…