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For more than a year and a half, I’ve been using Unlock Protocol as CEO of Happ3n XYZ. It’s a tool we use in our daily work, whenever we can, and I want to share why it has become the backbone of so much of what I do with communities, courses, and events.
When I first started looking for access solutions, I ran into the same problem over and over again: too many platforms, each with its own rules and limits, all centralized. These centralized tools force fragmentation: one platform for courses, another for events, another for memberships. Everything is not only fragmented, but also expensive and impractical.
With Unlock, all of that changed for me.
What I discovered is that Unlock is not just a proof-of-attendance or a digital certificate system in the form of NFTs; it is also a complete infrastructure for creating access, memberships, recurring payments, and attendance credentials all in one place. That means with the same tool, I can launch a membership for my community, sell tickets to an in-person event, provide access to an online course, or issue digital keys as certificates of attendance. And all of this without depending on a middleman or a company that might change the rules on me overnight.
With Unlock, I manage memberships that renew automatically, run courses where every student has their digital key, issue unique credentials for events we host at Happ3n, and even set up VIP access with no hassle. What’s most surprising is that all of this runs on the same infrastructure, an infrastructure that is open, interoperable, and works across multiple blockchains. In short: a key in Unlock isn’t just a ticket, it’s a digital passport that opens many doors.
One of the things that hooked me the most was how automated everything is and how strong the culture of community support is. For example, through the Unlock Discord bot or simply by asking in the community, someone is always there to help. If a subscription expires, access is automatically revoked. That alone has saved me countless hours of manual work and lets me focus on what truly matters: creating experiences and adding value to my community. The same applies to courses and events: people get access seamlessly, and I don’t have to check lists or manually approve entries.
The power of Unlock lies in the fact that, like all good infrastructure and new technology, it often goes unnoticed.
People who join my courses or attend events don’t think about how it works; they know they have a digital key that opens the door. That invisibility is precisely what makes it so powerful: it doesn’t compete with creators or try to steal the spotlight; it simply enables everything to happen securely, quickly, and without friction.
After all these years of using Unlock's technology, I realize that what Unlock offers me is not only convenience, but also freedom.
Freedom to build without asking permission, to connect with my community directly, to grow at my own pace. The keys and access I generate belong to me and my community. That sovereignty is at the heart of Web3, and Unlock understands it perfectly.
During this time, I’ve seen hackathons, DAOs, festivals, and media outlets adopt it too. Each uses it differently: some for event tickets, others for private memberships, others for newsletters or subscriptions. That’s the beauty of it, you can use it however you want.
It also means that if someone already has an Unlock key, they can use it across different projects and applications. It’s interoperable and runs on multiple blockchains, a massive difference from traditional solutions that always lock you into their walled gardens.
I often describe Unlock as the invisible engine that powers other projects. Unlock doesn’t sell you a finished product; it gives you the foundation to build whatever you want. And that foundation is solid, secure, and scalable.
It doesn’t matter if you’re serving ten people or ten thousand—the infrastructure performs the same. And it does so without friction, without unnecessary steps, and with an experience that feels simple. Creating a "lock" (what they call an access contract) is as easy as filling out a form and clicking "confirm."
Another thing I really value is that you don’t need to be a technical expert to start. Yes, we all know there are smart contracts and complex logic underneath, but the interface makes it intuitive to use. That opens the door for more creators, educators, organizers, and communities to use it without fear of the technical side. At first, I thought it might be complicated, but I quickly realized that Unlock works hard to make the complex invisible and easy.
Looking back, I think about how much more complicated things would have been if I hadn’t found Unlock. Today, I can’t imagine running my community without it. Access, memberships, courses, and events just flow, and participants enjoy a smooth, direct experience. For me, that’s the biggest value: everything feels simple, even though there’s a powerful machine running underneath.
Unlock reminds me every day of Web3’s true promise: to return power to creators and communities, and to do it on open infrastructure that isn’t controlled by a single company setting the rules. That sovereignty is why I keep trusting this tool after nearly two years.
If you’ve never tried Unlock, you might be surprised by everything you can do with just one digital key. And if you’ve heard of it before but thought it was only for access NFTs, I invite you to look deeper: it is infrastructure for growing communities, creating new experiences, and shaping a future where access isn’t fragmented or controlled by someone else.
I use it all the time, and I can assure you that Unlock works brilliantly and powerfully behind every membership, every course, and every event. If you’re ready to explore it for your own project, I recommend giving it a try.
You can start here: https://unlock-protocol.com
Sohobiit ᵕ̈
Co-Founder of Happ3n XYZ and Cabin Crew Member at Unlock DAO
For more than a year and a half, I’ve been using Unlock Protocol as CEO of Happ3n XYZ. It’s a tool we use in our daily work, whenever we can, and I want to share why it has become the backbone of so much of what I do with communities, courses, and events.
When I first started looking for access solutions, I ran into the same problem over and over again: too many platforms, each with its own rules and limits, all centralized. These centralized tools force fragmentation: one platform for courses, another for events, another for memberships. Everything is not only fragmented, but also expensive and impractical.
With Unlock, all of that changed for me.
What I discovered is that Unlock is not just a proof-of-attendance or a digital certificate system in the form of NFTs; it is also a complete infrastructure for creating access, memberships, recurring payments, and attendance credentials all in one place. That means with the same tool, I can launch a membership for my community, sell tickets to an in-person event, provide access to an online course, or issue digital keys as certificates of attendance. And all of this without depending on a middleman or a company that might change the rules on me overnight.
With Unlock, I manage memberships that renew automatically, run courses where every student has their digital key, issue unique credentials for events we host at Happ3n, and even set up VIP access with no hassle. What’s most surprising is that all of this runs on the same infrastructure, an infrastructure that is open, interoperable, and works across multiple blockchains. In short: a key in Unlock isn’t just a ticket, it’s a digital passport that opens many doors.
One of the things that hooked me the most was how automated everything is and how strong the culture of community support is. For example, through the Unlock Discord bot or simply by asking in the community, someone is always there to help. If a subscription expires, access is automatically revoked. That alone has saved me countless hours of manual work and lets me focus on what truly matters: creating experiences and adding value to my community. The same applies to courses and events: people get access seamlessly, and I don’t have to check lists or manually approve entries.
The power of Unlock lies in the fact that, like all good infrastructure and new technology, it often goes unnoticed.
People who join my courses or attend events don’t think about how it works; they know they have a digital key that opens the door. That invisibility is precisely what makes it so powerful: it doesn’t compete with creators or try to steal the spotlight; it simply enables everything to happen securely, quickly, and without friction.
After all these years of using Unlock's technology, I realize that what Unlock offers me is not only convenience, but also freedom.
Freedom to build without asking permission, to connect with my community directly, to grow at my own pace. The keys and access I generate belong to me and my community. That sovereignty is at the heart of Web3, and Unlock understands it perfectly.
During this time, I’ve seen hackathons, DAOs, festivals, and media outlets adopt it too. Each uses it differently: some for event tickets, others for private memberships, others for newsletters or subscriptions. That’s the beauty of it, you can use it however you want.
It also means that if someone already has an Unlock key, they can use it across different projects and applications. It’s interoperable and runs on multiple blockchains, a massive difference from traditional solutions that always lock you into their walled gardens.
I often describe Unlock as the invisible engine that powers other projects. Unlock doesn’t sell you a finished product; it gives you the foundation to build whatever you want. And that foundation is solid, secure, and scalable.
It doesn’t matter if you’re serving ten people or ten thousand—the infrastructure performs the same. And it does so without friction, without unnecessary steps, and with an experience that feels simple. Creating a "lock" (what they call an access contract) is as easy as filling out a form and clicking "confirm."
Another thing I really value is that you don’t need to be a technical expert to start. Yes, we all know there are smart contracts and complex logic underneath, but the interface makes it intuitive to use. That opens the door for more creators, educators, organizers, and communities to use it without fear of the technical side. At first, I thought it might be complicated, but I quickly realized that Unlock works hard to make the complex invisible and easy.
Looking back, I think about how much more complicated things would have been if I hadn’t found Unlock. Today, I can’t imagine running my community without it. Access, memberships, courses, and events just flow, and participants enjoy a smooth, direct experience. For me, that’s the biggest value: everything feels simple, even though there’s a powerful machine running underneath.
Unlock reminds me every day of Web3’s true promise: to return power to creators and communities, and to do it on open infrastructure that isn’t controlled by a single company setting the rules. That sovereignty is why I keep trusting this tool after nearly two years.
If you’ve never tried Unlock, you might be surprised by everything you can do with just one digital key. And if you’ve heard of it before but thought it was only for access NFTs, I invite you to look deeper: it is infrastructure for growing communities, creating new experiences, and shaping a future where access isn’t fragmented or controlled by someone else.
I use it all the time, and I can assure you that Unlock works brilliantly and powerfully behind every membership, every course, and every event. If you’re ready to explore it for your own project, I recommend giving it a try.
You can start here: https://unlock-protocol.com
Sohobiit ᵕ̈
Co-Founder of Happ3n XYZ and Cabin Crew Member at Unlock DAO
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Starting the year with real stories from real builders. ✨ In this piece, @sohobiit shares how Unlock became the invisible infrastructure behind her community, courses, and events — not as hype, but as a tool she uses every single day. Ownership. Simplicity. Freedom to build without permission. This is what Web3 is supposed to feel like. Give the article a read, and let us know your experiences and which tools you feel fulfill that same promise. https://paragraph.com/@unlockprotocol/a-powerful-blockchain-tool