The latest Gitcoin Grants round showcased an impressive array of 649 projects across 15 funding pools, offering nearly $1.5 million in matching funds. In the previous round, I utilized a scoring algorithm to determine which projects to support. I had intended to deploy an improved version of the scoring script with new data sources in time for this round. However, I was unable to complete it on time. The number and diversity of projects available was overwhelming. Each pool of projects requir...

The latest Gitcoin Grants round showcased an impressive array of 649 projects across 15 funding pools, offering nearly $1.5 million in matching funds. In the previous round, I utilized a scoring algorithm to determine which projects to support. I had intended to deploy an improved version of the scoring script with new data sources in time for this round. However, I was unable to complete it on time. The number and diversity of projects available was overwhelming. Each pool of projects requir...

The ProblemMost family-oriented educational placemats suck. They look like color photocopies of text books. They encourage kids to memorize arbitrary facts like state capitals, multiplication tables, or words in foreign languages. Here is an example of a placemat on Amazon that retails for $10.A typical educational placematHow many 6 year-olds are interested in learning that Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri while they eat a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch on a Saturday morning? Parents...

The ProblemMost family-oriented educational placemats suck. They look like color photocopies of text books. They encourage kids to memorize arbitrary facts like state capitals, multiplication tables, or words in foreign languages. Here is an example of a placemat on Amazon that retails for $10.A typical educational placematHow many 6 year-olds are interested in learning that Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri while they eat a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch on a Saturday morning? Parents...

Any proceeds from collecting this essay will go towards Gitcoin Grants!IntroThis is my first attempt at creating a series of modular, oracular impact assessments for Gitcoin Grants. Each assessment is modular because it is derived independently, is self-contained (within a round), and is easy to combine with other assessments. Each assessment is oracular in the sense that it is automated and built on top of public datasets that capture real-world events. Communities of projects and funders ca...

Any proceeds from collecting this essay will go towards Gitcoin Grants!IntroThis is my first attempt at creating a series of modular, oracular impact assessments for Gitcoin Grants. Each assessment is modular because it is derived independently, is self-contained (within a round), and is easy to combine with other assessments. Each assessment is oracular in the sense that it is automated and built on top of public datasets that capture real-world events. Communities of projects and funders ca...

Food is more than just a calorie-delivery mechanism. It has cultural and spiritual significance in many communities. Its cultivation and consumption have a direct impact on the material and living world. It contributes deeply to the social and experiential fabric of our lives. What are some of the dimensions beyond taste and nutrition that we can use to describe the value of food? What makes for a truly rich food? Before answering those questions, let me first share a personal story about a f...

Food is more than just a calorie-delivery mechanism. It has cultural and spiritual significance in many communities. Its cultivation and consumption have a direct impact on the material and living world. It contributes deeply to the social and experiential fabric of our lives. What are some of the dimensions beyond taste and nutrition that we can use to describe the value of food? What makes for a truly rich food? Before answering those questions, let me first share a personal story about a f...

CORE CONCEPTS We’ve already introduced the concept of composability -- that is, the power to use open data and source code to build new applications on top of existing ones. The same features that make it easy to follow a user’s activity on the blockchain make it possible to verify one’s knowledge or mastery of a topic. Today, we’ll try out one of the first applications that capitalizes on the ability to view a user’s on-chain skills progression: RabbitHole.The traditional resume vs the on-ch...

CORE CONCEPTS We’ve already introduced the concept of composability -- that is, the power to use open data and source code to build new applications on top of existing ones. The same features that make it easy to follow a user’s activity on the blockchain make it possible to verify one’s knowledge or mastery of a topic. Today, we’ll try out one of the first applications that capitalizes on the ability to view a user’s on-chain skills progression: RabbitHole.The traditional resume vs the on-ch...

CORE CONCEPTS Today we’ll make a contribution to support public goods and other projects that have positive externalities on the world. In doing so, we’ll learn about quadratic funding, a more democratic and scalable way of allocating match funds. We’ll also discuss Sybil resistance, which is necessary to preserve privacy on the open web while preventing bots from interfering with democratic processes. IMPORTANT This session requires having some assets on Polygon. Read here if you need help b...

CORE CONCEPTS Today we’ll make a contribution to support public goods and other projects that have positive externalities on the world. In doing so, we’ll learn about quadratic funding, a more democratic and scalable way of allocating match funds. We’ll also discuss Sybil resistance, which is necessary to preserve privacy on the open web while preventing bots from interfering with democratic processes. IMPORTANT This session requires having some assets on Polygon. Read here if you need help b...

You made it!First off, congratulations for making it this far! Hopefully it’s been an interesting and engaging 14 days, going from setting up your first wallet to learning about NFTs, DeFi, and DAOs, to funding public goods on Gitcoin. I began this series in April 2022. Over the last few months, the price of Ethereum (and other crypto assets) has fallen precipitously. I had to update my intro paragraph multiple times over the course of the past few months.This program is on sale!However, if y...

You made it!First off, congratulations for making it this far! Hopefully it’s been an interesting and engaging 14 days, going from setting up your first wallet to learning about NFTs, DeFi, and DAOs, to funding public goods on Gitcoin. I began this series in April 2022. Over the last few months, the price of Ethereum (and other crypto assets) has fallen precipitously. I had to update my intro paragraph multiple times over the course of the past few months.This program is on sale!However, if y...

IMPORTANT This session won’t take long, but is a prerequisite for Days 12 and 13 to work properly. CORE CONCEPTS Today we’ll discuss the difference between proof-of-stake and proof-of-work blockchains. You’ll also start earning some rewards by staking the Ethereum that is sitting idle in your wallet using a decentralized app called Lido. These rewards are currently about 4% APY (in ETH).What is proof-of-work?We haven’t talked much about Bitcoin so far. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and...

IMPORTANT This session won’t take long, but is a prerequisite for Days 12 and 13 to work properly. CORE CONCEPTS Today we’ll discuss the difference between proof-of-stake and proof-of-work blockchains. You’ll also start earning some rewards by staking the Ethereum that is sitting idle in your wallet using a decentralized app called Lido. These rewards are currently about 4% APY (in ETH).What is proof-of-work?We haven’t talked much about Bitcoin so far. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and...

CORE CONCEPTS Yesterday you learned how to swap tokens on a decentralized exchange. Today we’ll swap tokens to effectively acquires the crypto equivalent of “shares” in a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Then we’ll stake our tokens to earn rewards from the DAO.Trade for $KLIMAGo back to Zapper and click the Swap link (or just go here). Double-check that you’re using your MetaMask enabled browser and still connected to the Polygon network. Once you’re in, set-up the following swap:...

CORE CONCEPTS Yesterday you learned how to swap tokens on a decentralized exchange. Today we’ll swap tokens to effectively acquires the crypto equivalent of “shares” in a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Then we’ll stake our tokens to earn rewards from the DAO.Trade for $KLIMAGo back to Zapper and click the Swap link (or just go here). Double-check that you’re using your MetaMask enabled browser and still connected to the Polygon network. Once you’re in, set-up the following swap:...

CORE CONCEPTS Today you’ll learn how to swap tokens on a decentralized exchange. Token swaps are an important primitive in the fast-growing world of Decentralized Finance, aka DeFi. Because we’re performing our transactions on the Polygon network, gas fees will be minimal, so relax and have fun here.What are decentralized exchanges?On Day 1, you purchased some Ethereum on a centralized exchange. You swapped US Dollars or your home country’s fiat currency for cryptocurrency. The centralized ex...

CORE CONCEPTS Today you’ll learn how to swap tokens on a decentralized exchange. Token swaps are an important primitive in the fast-growing world of Decentralized Finance, aka DeFi. Because we’re performing our transactions on the Polygon network, gas fees will be minimal, so relax and have fun here.What are decentralized exchanges?On Day 1, you purchased some Ethereum on a centralized exchange. You swapped US Dollars or your home country’s fiat currency for cryptocurrency. The centralized ex...

CORE CONCEPTS Today we’ll dive deeper into Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). We’ll also explore a popular tool called Snapshot, which DAOs use to vote on governance proposals and record important decisions on-chain. UPDATE - June 1st, 2022 - the last section now includes a live example of a vote taking place on Snapshot.What are DAOsThe concept of a DAO emerged in a blog post by Vitalik Buterin circa 2014. Since then, much ink has been spilled about DAOs. I won’t attempt to summa...

CORE CONCEPTS Today we’ll dive deeper into Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). We’ll also explore a popular tool called Snapshot, which DAOs use to vote on governance proposals and record important decisions on-chain. UPDATE - June 1st, 2022 - the last section now includes a live example of a vote taking place on Snapshot.What are DAOsThe concept of a DAO emerged in a blog post by Vitalik Buterin circa 2014. Since then, much ink has been spilled about DAOs. I won’t attempt to summa...

CORE CONCEPTS Today we won’t perform any transactions. Instead, we’ll explore several popular tools that work with public transaction data on the blockchain. We’ll also learn a bit about smart contracts and the concept of composability, one of Ethereum’s killer features.Smart contracts as Lego blocksIn web2, code and transaction data are the valuable intellectual property of software companies. It’s not possible for a Walmart developer to clone Amazon’s fulfillment software. It’s not possible...

CORE CONCEPTS Today we won’t perform any transactions. Instead, we’ll explore several popular tools that work with public transaction data on the blockchain. We’ll also learn a bit about smart contracts and the concept of composability, one of Ethereum’s killer features.Smart contracts as Lego blocksIn web2, code and transaction data are the valuable intellectual property of software companies. It’s not possible for a Walmart developer to clone Amazon’s fulfillment software. It’s not possible...