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indreamsBuilding on Web3
I first heard of Bitcoin in 2013 when I was a freshman in college. For my first computer science class, I had to choose a computer-related topic and do a write-up. Decentralization was the key concept, but I still didn’t quite understand it at the time. After graduating college, around the time of the 2017 bull run, I began to pay more attention to cryptocurrencies. Armed with a better understanding of computers, I dove deep into the technology more than the prices; I wanted to know what abou...
indreamsERC-7015: NFT Creator Attribution
Mirror's introduction of Writing NFTs marked a significant shift in how we approach user experience for content creators in the blockchain space. We were keen to ensure the publishing process was streamlined and accessible to as many creators as possible. To achieve this, we devised a system that removed the need for creators to submit a transaction to generate their NFTs. Instead, we required them to provide a signature of the NFT parameters. When the first NFT was bought, the collector...
indreamsOpen Writing
One of the concepts thrown around in web3 is “token-gating” content. Like many things in web3, it seems to be taken for granted that it is a good idea, but I’m not sure I agree. Token-gating when it comes to content doesn’t seem functionally different than having a paywall. This post is a few of my thoughts on the topic through the lens of writing on the internet. There are many different types of writers, but for simplicity, let’s split writers into experienced and less experienced writers. ...
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indreamsBuilding on Web3
I first heard of Bitcoin in 2013 when I was a freshman in college. For my first computer science class, I had to choose a computer-related topic and do a write-up. Decentralization was the key concept, but I still didn’t quite understand it at the time. After graduating college, around the time of the 2017 bull run, I began to pay more attention to cryptocurrencies. Armed with a better understanding of computers, I dove deep into the technology more than the prices; I wanted to know what abou...
indreamsERC-7015: NFT Creator Attribution
Mirror's introduction of Writing NFTs marked a significant shift in how we approach user experience for content creators in the blockchain space. We were keen to ensure the publishing process was streamlined and accessible to as many creators as possible. To achieve this, we devised a system that removed the need for creators to submit a transaction to generate their NFTs. Instead, we required them to provide a signature of the NFT parameters. When the first NFT was bought, the collector...
indreamsOpen Writing
One of the concepts thrown around in web3 is “token-gating” content. Like many things in web3, it seems to be taken for granted that it is a good idea, but I’m not sure I agree. Token-gating when it comes to content doesn’t seem functionally different than having a paywall. This post is a few of my thoughts on the topic through the lens of writing on the internet. There are many different types of writers, but for simplicity, let’s split writers into experienced and less experienced writers. ...
Share Dialog
Share Dialog
A typical problem with NFT sales is bad actors quickly buy up many editions with the intention to resell them at a markup price. We saw this with the CryptoNewYorkers drop.
The naive solution of limiting NFT sales to one per account still leaves us open for a Sybil attack. In short, a Sybil attack is when an individual abuses a network by assuming multiple identities. We can assume that if an actor can quickly submit multiple transactions from one account, they can easily do so from multiple accounts too. In fact, without any other barriers to entry, the naive approach would make it harder to track bad actors.
Know Your Community (KYC)
A typical problem with NFT sales is bad actors quickly buy up many editions with the intention to resell them at a markup price. We saw this with the CryptoNewYorkers drop.
The naive solution of limiting NFT sales to one per account still leaves us open for a Sybil attack. In short, a Sybil attack is when an individual abuses a network by assuming multiple identities. We can assume that if an actor can quickly submit multiple transactions from one account, they can easily do so from multiple accounts too. In fact, without any other barriers to entry, the naive approach would make it harder to track bad actors.
Know Your Community (KYC)
As more communities start to use NFTs for in-person events, now more than ever it is necessary to avoid this type of attack. An element of KYC is crucial to begin exploring different mitigation strategies. Some ideas for community leaders to explore:
More ad-hock: a measure of participation in the community through Discord, Twitter, etc.
ENS/Token gating with a low supply, e.g. $WRITE race
Once a community has a sense of who should be allowed to purchase NFTs, limiting sales based on accounts will have a more powerful effect. In addition to limiting sales to members of the community, because blockchains are fun we can layer different price and time-based mechanisms. There are different sale approaches to explore and the correct one will likely depend on the community and type of NFT.
Some mechanisms to think about are:
One purchase per community member for a period of time and then opening it up to everyone at a set price
One purchase per community member for a period of time and then auctioning off the NFTs that are not sold rather than selling them at a set price
One purchase per community member at a set price, and changing the price per additional unit bought e.g. P_x = P * x^2 where P_x = price for unit x, P = set price. This approach can be layered by opening up the remaining units with the same price function, auction, or set price
A combination of the above plus making NFTs non-transferable for a period of time
Ideas like this are explored in more detail by Vitalik in this post.
All in all, a minimal KYC layer unlocks the exploration of better NFT sales tailored to your specific community.
As more communities start to use NFTs for in-person events, now more than ever it is necessary to avoid this type of attack. An element of KYC is crucial to begin exploring different mitigation strategies. Some ideas for community leaders to explore:
More ad-hock: a measure of participation in the community through Discord, Twitter, etc.
ENS/Token gating with a low supply, e.g. $WRITE race
Once a community has a sense of who should be allowed to purchase NFTs, limiting sales based on accounts will have a more powerful effect. In addition to limiting sales to members of the community, because blockchains are fun we can layer different price and time-based mechanisms. There are different sale approaches to explore and the correct one will likely depend on the community and type of NFT.
Some mechanisms to think about are:
One purchase per community member for a period of time and then opening it up to everyone at a set price
One purchase per community member for a period of time and then auctioning off the NFTs that are not sold rather than selling them at a set price
One purchase per community member at a set price, and changing the price per additional unit bought e.g. P_x = P * x^2 where P_x = price for unit x, P = set price. This approach can be layered by opening up the remaining units with the same price function, auction, or set price
A combination of the above plus making NFTs non-transferable for a period of time
Ideas like this are explored in more detail by Vitalik in this post.
All in all, a minimal KYC layer unlocks the exploration of better NFT sales tailored to your specific community.
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