It is in our best interest to begin saving dollars onchain at least, so I'm creating a guidebook on how to save dollars onchain. These are just a few steps.

Ethereum is now home to a multitude of chains and it is imperative that you focus on just a single one. I would pick a chain that has easy on board and off board access with whatever centralized exchange you decide to use. I hate that that allows us to limit which changes that we use, but it is important that your chain can communicate easily with your centralized exchange in the event that you need money.

This is what Coinbase offers to me and I assume this is what it offer to most users. It is imperative that you select one of these but I will go ahead and select a forerunner for you.

Base is ran by Coinbase company and when you send asset from Base to Coinbase it settles almost instantly.

Arbitrum is a decentralized Ethereum Layer 2, built by Off Chain Labs. It is a great place to save dollars because it is also home to a large Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Ecosystem.

Optimism is a notable mention and is a worthy option to save. Regardless you will need about 10 USD worth of Ether to send to your wallet, alongside the USDC. DO NOT SEND TO ETHEREUM!

This is the simplest answer ever. USDC. I would ask that you eventually move down the totem pole to more risky assets (riskless if you ask me, but I do this). There are competitors to USDC and they offer unique benefits to users across DeFi, but USDC is what you send to Coinbase or Kraken to cash out when that time comes.

Above we have fiat backed stablecoins or just dollars on a blockchain. They should always be equal to 1 USD and most of them are pretty close to that. USDC & USDT lead this category because they are the most reliable entities at maintaining that dollar value. Using any of the top five stable coins listed wouldn't be anything frowned upon.

The first rule of picking a wallet is don't pick metamask. Yes it is the most trusted and reliable wallet out but that is just because it is the oldest. There are many teams which are building out better and better Ethereum Wallets. I will try to rate them.

This is an easy to use wallet and it is connected to Coinbase. Within the app are tasks where you can get paid for using the wallet. This wallet has been complicated over time as the developers add more and more to it - they just announced they are adding a social media app within it. I think it is nice simply because it has a direct connection to coinbase.

• Swap & Bridge Fees: Coinbase Wallet looks to charge you out of the wazoo, so I'd advise against use to swap. Having to go to an Decentralized App to swap is extra work for a new user so 1/10

• Ease: The app has a lot of information when you open it as if it looks to advertise use. I think this can be inundating for a new user, but good because it will control experiences. 7/10

• Browser: The web browser does what it's supposed to do, but it isn't super composable. If an app doesn't have Connect to Coinbase Wallet, it kinda won't work. 6/10

This is a wallet for experts, but experts get a lot of things right.

• Swap & Bridge Fees: Fees are like 0.5%, which is negligible with small amounts. 9/10

• Ease: This app is easy and bright with a decent user experience. I think it is fairly easy to get used to. 8/10

• Browser: This is where Zerion is the best. It is composable so you can use Connect with Metamask where you don't see Connect with Zerion and still get into an app. 10/10

This is a wallet for FUN!

• Swap & Bridge Fees: Fees are variable but negligible with small amounts. It is very usable to swap, but there are times where using a Dapp is the better choice. 7/10

• Ease: This app will help you along the way and feels the most natural for people. 10/10

• Browser: This browser is, much like Zerion, composable with limitations I don't think matter for Base & Arbitrum Users. 9/10

You don't pick an app. You JUST USE AAVE. I will beat this drum to the end. In the game of a new person looking to save onchain, it would be best that you don't navigate the thicket of DeFi and just use the largest and most secure application onchain.

Whether you use on Arbitrum, Base or Optimism, you'll find rates of interest greater than anything you can get in a bank account with more sovereignty.

Arbitrum is home to 1.61 Billion USD worth of deposits on AAVE & Base has 758 million offering 4.66% and 5.38% in interest respectively. Interest rate oscillate, when prices move up people borrow more. When they move down, people pay off their debts or get liquidated. Either way you earn interest incessantly.

I've been vocal in the past about Web3's incentive problem. There's a persistent belief that the only way to attract and engage users is by rewarding them with free tokens—essentially cash.

In my last post, I criticized this ideology and shared examples where it falls short. What I didn’t do, however, was dive into a solution. So here it is.

First, we need to stop outright promising—or even hinting at—possible airdrops. As I shared in my previous article, surprise rewards on the back end do less harm to intrinsic motivation than rewards dangled upfront.

Why?

When we know a reward is coming, our thinking narrows. We focus only on what we need to do to earn and maximize that reward. This stifles risk-taking and diminishes intrinsic motivation. Worse, research shows that behavior stops when rewards stop.

So, shifting to surprise rewards after the work is done is step one toward improving Web3 incentives. But we can go even further.

B.F. Skinner’s research offers key insights here. In his famous experiments, Skinner discovered that unpredictable reward schedules were the most effective at reinforcing behavior.

In his “Skinner box,” animals—usually pigeons or rats—pressed levers or pecked disks to receive food. The twist? Rewards weren’t guaranteed. Sometimes the lever produced food, and sometimes it didn’t.

The result? Animals kept engaging with the lever far longer than they would under predictable reward systems.

Why? Unpredictability fuels anticipation. The brain craves the maybe. When rewards are uncertain, the possibility of one becomes more enticing, keeping behavior alive longer.

This unpredictability principle has shaped everything from dopamine-triggering phone notifications to loyalty programs that use surprise perks instead of boring, predictable points. The less predictable the reward, the stronger the motivation to chase it.

In crypto, we should think about:

1. Delaying rewards until after the action is complete.

2. Introducing unpredictability so rewards remain engaging and variable.

One app doing this well is Firefly. Their "12 Days of Lucky Drops" campaign nails the unpredictability piece. For 12 days, users have a chance to win—but not every time. The anticipation keeps users engaged daily. While 12 days might not be enough to create a sticky habit, the incentive scheme is clever: it’s not just mass airdropping tokens to everyone.

Another example is Farcaster, where creators get paid unpredictably for good content with strong engagement. There’s a delightful randomness to it—users can’t predict which posts will earn rewards, which keeps them posting consistently and staying engaged.

Sure, there are potential issues, like people spamming content to “game the system.” But these can be addressed by limiting how often the same user wins or adding quality filters to weed out low-effort posts. Overall, it’s a strong approach: rewards come after the work is done, and the unpredictability keeps things exciting.

Talent Protocol offers another promising angle by helping score users, but I see it as a starting point rather than a complete solution. By combining their scoring system with delayed and unpredictable rewards, we can create stronger, more sustainable incentives for Web3.

The future of the internet deserves better than cash-for-attention. Let’s keep iterating.

With crypto protocols. With SocialFi. With Web3.

Spend any time on Lens or Farcaster, and you’ll notice a familiar pattern. Users discussing declining daily active users. Scroll a bit further, and you'll see debates about the potential for an airdrop. Keep scrolling, and you’ll find people strategizing how to monetize their work—whether through pumping a meritless token or minting an NFT.

Here’s the core issue: We’ve created structures and patterns that cannot and will not sustainably drive revenue or adoption. Why?

By definition, an incentive motivates or encourages someone to do something. It can also mean a payment or concession designed to stimulate output or investment.

Incentives are everywhere in crypto. Chains and protocols offer airdrops to drive participation. Developers choose chains based on grants, developer tools, or user activity. But these incentives often miss the mark. Worse, they can backfire.

Many people liken crypto and Web3 to a collection of nation-states, so let’s use a macroeconomic example to unpack the incentive problem.

In Why Nations Fail, the authors argue that a country’s success often boils down to one thing: incentives. Take the United States and Mexico. Early in modern North American history, the U.S. stood out with its free-market economy and emphasis on innovation. Tax credits, accessible bank funding, and other incentives made it an obvious choice for companies looking to build and grow. Mexico didn’t offer the same advantages, so businesses gravitated north.

The same logic applies to blockchain developers. When choosing where to build, they evaluate incentives—grants, developer tools, user activity, and coding environments. These factors drive decision-making.

But incentives don’t stop there. Chains and protocols regularly dangle airdrops to attract users. Perform X number of transactions or hold Y amount of funds, and voilà, free tokens. And it works—thousands of users flock to participate.

But here’s the catch: there’s a dark side to these incentives. While they create bursts of activity, they often fail to foster sustainable engagement.

Let’s explore a classic experiment by Edward Deci, which revealed how external rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation.

Deci asked college students to play with a Soma cube—a 3D puzzle that’s engaging but not overly frustrating. During the first session, students were simply encouraged to play. When Deci left the room, he quietly observed. Many students kept working on the puzzle out of genuine interest.

In a second session, Deci introduced a twist. He offered one group monetary rewards for solving the puzzle. While they worked diligently during the session, the shift came when Deci left the room. The rewarded group largely lost interest, while the unpaid group continued to engage.

The takeaway? External rewards often kill intrinsic motivation. Once the carrot disappears, so does the interest.

Sound familiar? This dynamic plays out in crypto every day. Airdrops and rewards attract users, but as soon as the payouts stop, so does the activity. Like Deci’s paid participants, these users rarely form a deeper connection with the platform.

Consider SocialFi. Daily active users on Lens peaked during the Bonsai airdrop, then cratered. Linea, Scroll, and ZKsync Era face similar issues. Transactions surge with incentives but vanish when the money does.

Some argue this is fine—after all, incentives get people in the door. But let’s be blunt: That shit’s stupid and the project/protocol will die. That mindset is shortsighted. 

This transactional thinking won’t create lasting Web3 ecosystems. It won’t drive meaningful DeFi adoption. And it won’t build the loyalty that great projects and protocols need to thrive. 

Let’s examine another experiment to understand the broader limitations of incentives.

Imagine being handed colorful index cards with words printed on them. You’re told you’ll win a prize if you memorize the words. Afterward, you’re asked to recall the card colors. Odds are, you’d struggle—especially compared to someone who wasn’t offered a reward.

This is "incidental learning" in action. When chasing a reward, we focus solely on achieving the goal, ignoring broader details. We play it safe, avoid risks, and stick to predictable strategies.

For crypto projects, this creates a troubling dynamic. Incentives encourage users to "check the box" rather than experiment, explore, or genuinely engage. This undermines innovation and long-term growth.

Users simply won’t break the app, not often at least, and not without being explicitly asked to. The incentives offered undermine that.

Even creators aren’t immune to the downside of rewards. Research shows that paying artists often stifles creativity, leading to lower-quality work. Many of us have experienced this: a hobby we once loved turns tedious when it becomes a job.

It’s that they often clash with what crypto aims to achieve

It’s not that financial incentives are inherently bad. Not necessarily. I’m saying that they undermine what crypto is trying to accomplish: systems fueled by genuine interest and long-term engagement. I want everybody to get paid. It’s the alluring part of crypto for me. But the research is clear:

"Money is the medium of exchange in all modern economic systems, so monetary payments rewards have to be dispensed. But there are better and worse ways of doing that. It is better, for example, not to think about rewards as a way to motivate people. Rewards are part of the work contract, so you would not have workers without rewards. But research suggests that, to the extent that rewards are "used" for any function other than retaining workers, it ought be merely to acknowledge or signify a job well done. Rewards can be used as a way to express appreciation, but the more they are used as motivators-like the bonus plan in the publishing house—the more likely it is that they will have negative effects." - Edward Deci

So, what’s the solution?

The challenge with incentives is they work extremely well in the short term but poorly in the long term. If your goal is a burst of activity, airdrops make sense. They’ll attract a lot of users and get them to do a very specific thing so long as you’re willing to pay. But once the payments stop, the activity does too.

One alternative is offering unexpected rewards. Research shows this method is less damaging to motivation, but it has limitations. You can only surprise users once. After that, they expect rewards—and they’re pissed when they don’t materialize.

Arbitrum is a prime example. Its unexpected airdrop thrilled early users, turning many into loyal advocates—including my brother. After receiving his airdrop, he was over the moon, singing Arbitrum’s praises to anyone who’d listen. But now? That same brother won’t even consider a project unless he expects an airdrop. He’s not alone, either. This growing sense of entitlement pressures every project to offer airdrops, trapping the ecosystem in a cycle where incentives are no longer surprises—they’re demands.

If you’re building for the long term, the solution is clear: design environments where users want to engage—without putting money at the forefront.

Here’s how we can rethink incentives:

1. Improve UX and choice architecture. Make interactions seamless and intuitive.

2. Prioritize usefulness and engagement. Build projects people genuinely want to use.

3. Introduce goal gradients and point economies. Progress bars, achievements, and points can tap into intrinsic motivation.

4. Leverage social incentives. Let users donate to causes or participate in meaningful actions.

We don’t need 100 clones of the same NFT marketplace. We need innovation. We need projects that capture interest and imagination.

Right now, many in Web3 default to financial incentives because they’re easy. But easy isn’t sustainable.

It’s time to think beyond the short term—and build systems that truly resonate.

But we haven’t. Maybe because we’re lazy, or maybe just because we think that money is the best incentive. And we’re not wrong. We’re just short-sighted.

To get into crypto there are just a few things you need to understand:

What's A Wallet

What's an on-ramp

What's an off-ramp

What's an exchange

How do I buy?

How do I sell?

I can't really tell you what to buy, nor will I attempt to. I'm pretty sure that's illegal, and if it isn't, then I don't want you being mad at me anyway. So I won't do that. But at the end, I'll explain my high level thinking when it comes to crypto, and I'll briefly explain some more advanced topics in the crypto arena around how to make money. BRIEFLY.

This is a bare essentials guide so I'm going to spare you the technical details and say that cryptocurrency is digital currency that lives on the blockchain. Not every crypto coin or token is the same and so it is extremely important to do your own research before investing, but generally speaking its digital money. Depending on the token, it has damn near all the properties of money. Cryptocurrencies generally share the same properties as traditional money:

• Durable: They're non-physical and can't be altered or destroyed.

• Portable: Being digital makes them easy to transfer and store.

• Divisible: They can be broken down into tiny units, such as 0.0001 ETH.

• Uniform: The underlying code ensures consistency, and the blockchain's security makes it trustworthy – just check the token contract.

• Limited supply: Most cryptocurrencies have a capped supply, which helps maintain their value.

• Acceptability is still growing, but cryptocurrencies are increasingly being recognized as a legitimate form of digital currency.

Think of it like a network that keeps track of all of your transactions. Technically speaking, it's a digital ledger. Imagine a library with a single, magical history book. Every time something happens, it's written down in this book. Once it's written, it can't be erased or altered. The book just keeps growing, page after page, as more events are recorded.

But for the sake of this conversation, let's just say it's like a network. Are you on Verizon (ethereum) or Visible (base). And they keep an unchangeable log of all of your transactions just like the phone company keeps a log of all your calls, texts, and data usage.

So, Why Do People Think Crypto Is a Scam?

People are often skeptical of things they don't understand, and cryptocurrency is no exception. The crypto space does have its share of scams, but that doesn't mean the whole system is flawed.

Some people say crypto is just "fake internet money." But what gives the US dollar its value? Exactly. Crypto is about as real as the US dollar at this point. I'm being very simplistic but the price of a token is worth the amount the next person will pay on an exchange. Just like stocks...again being simplistic here.

Just because something is new and unfamiliar doesn't mean it's a scam. The internet was once new, but now it's an integral part of our lives. With education and understanding, people can make informed decisions about crypto.

No, cryptocurrency itself is not a scam, although there are scams that exist within the space.

How Do I Get Crypto?

Now that we've covered the basics of cryptocurrency, let's move on to how to get it.

To buy cryptocurrency, you'll need to use an "on-ramp" - a service that allows you to exchange your traditional money for cryptocurrency. One of the easiest on-ramps to use is Coinbase. Ever heard of them?

Here's how it works:

1. Sign up for a Coinbase account.

2. Verify your identity through their secure process.

3. Use your debit card or bank transfer to buy cryptocurrency.

Simply put, an on-ramp is a way to get your money onto the blockchain. It's the process of buying cryptocurrency. On the other hand, an "off-ramp" is a way to sell your cryptocurrency and move your money off the blockchain. The good news is that Coinbase offers both on-ramp and off-ramp services, making it easy to buy and sell cryptocurrency in one place.

An exchange is a platform where you can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. Just like how stock exchanges allow you to trade stocks, and forex exchanges allow you to trade currencies, crypto exchanges allow you to trade cryptocurrencies.

Some popular crypto exchanges include:

• Coinbase

• Crypto.com

• Gemini

• Binance

To use an exchange, you'll need to:

1. Sign up for an account

2. Verify your identity through their secure process

Once you've completed these steps, you'll be able to:

• Buy cryptocurrencies using your local currency

• Swap one cryptocurrency for another

• Sell your cryptocurrencies for local currency

Think of an exchange like a marketplace where you can trade cryptocurrencies with other users. By using an exchange, you can easily manage your cryptocurrency portfolio and make transactions.

When you buy cryptocurrency, it's a good idea to store it in a safe place. That's where a digital wallet comes in. Think of it like a virtual wallet that holds your crypto, similar to how Apple Pay or Google Pay holds your debit card info.

The whole sorta schtick about crypto is about self custody, meaning you hold your own money and not some bank or middleman. But remember, with great power comes great responsibility! If you lose your wallet's passphrase or private key, nobody can help you get it back.

There's not necessarily a right wallet to use, but some wallets are easier to use than others. Metamask and rainbow wallet are the two wallets that I've enjoyed the most, but try them all out and see what you like. As long as you have your special words (called a seed phrase) or private key, you can switch wallets and keep your same address. It's like moving your cards from one physical wallet to another.

When you create a wallet, you'll get a special set of words (usually 12) or a private key. These are super important, so DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE SHARE THEM WITH ANYBODY.

If someone gets their hands on these words, they can access your crypto. That's why there's a saying in crypto: "Not my keys, not my crypto."

If someone has your seed phrase or private keys they can access your crypto. Remember when I said there were scams in crypto? This is the biggest one. People trick you into giving up your keys and drain your wallet. Just imagine giving somebody the keys to your private safe filled with your life’s savings. That’s bad.

On the other hand, you'll also have a public address (starting with 0x...) that you can share with anyone. This is the address you'll use to send crypto to yourself from a place like Coinbase.

So, to sum it up:

• You have a wallet address (public) that you can share with anyone.

• You have a private key or seed phrase (private) that you should never share with anyone.

• You should write down and lock up your private key or seed phrase to keep it safe.

• You should send your crypto to your wallet address to keep it safe.

Remember, keeping your crypto safe is your responsibility, so be careful and stay smart!

There are a few different ways you can “make money” with crypto. Again, being a bit reductionist here but broadly speaking these are the ways:

1. You buy a token and the price of that token goes up.

2. You buy an NFT, and the price of that NFT goes up.

3. You can trade, which is different from investing and frankly not something I can explain in one bullet. (I tried, and I deleted the explanation thrice).

4. You can participate in DeFi activities. Again, too much for one bullet point, but imagine if you had the opportunity to loan your crypto out to others and then get paid interest. That’s DeFi. (Obviously I’m oversimplifying again).

Ultimately though, what you want to make sure you do is RESEARCH. Research the crap out of a token, an NFT, a DeFi project. Spend time understanding the big picture of what’s happening. You don’t have to get super technical, but you need to know where the value is being created. And then, when you feel confident, take a chance. That’s what I do.

Make sure you adopt some risk management strategies so that you don’t give away the farm, but ultimately, you never really know. So do as much research as you can, and then try it out. And be consistent. And then you’ll start to see your money grow.

In the beginning, I was just happy to be along for the ride. Using Orb and Buttrfly and Phaver and later even Warpcast, I just wanted to be a part of an incredible community. And it seemed like everybody else did too, which made it feel so much more authentic.

But then it happened. Airdrop culture arrived first. Secondly, minting became very salient on the apps, including my beloved Orb. This combination was the sort of match that sort of lit the fuse to where we are now.

On the surface, this was a good thing. Creators could share their work, and get rewarded from it by this amazing aforementioned community. And make no mistake there are some talented creators out there. But for every talented creator, there were ten get rich quick people looking to extract from the community instead of adding to it.

And I BOLDLY said this wasn't right. It shouldn't be this way. SocialFi could exist, and in fact, for SocialFi to grow into something where web2 users would want to be a part, we needed to mute the financialization of social interactions. To be clear, I want people to be able to profit off of their work. I just don't want money and finance to be the most salient feature of the experience. One way to mute the financial component is by encouraging tipping instead of minting for example.

It was and still is my thesis that we'll never attract web2 users en masse that way. Nor will we retain the ones we convince to come.

And yet, while not on that point, I was wrong.

The reality is that web3 and crypto are inherently financialized, and SocialFi won't grow to its prime. At least not yet. The space is dominated with those who only build and act with finance in mind. While there are those that look for ways blockchain technology can be a net positive in more ways than just lining their pockets, it is undeniable that finance and increase looms in the shadows of every conversation.

0xMOE brilliantly posted his annoyance with the direction the culture of SocialFi has gone. It's fine if there's a casino in your city. But when there's one on every block, then we have a problem. Because of its inherent nature, SocialFi for better or worse is like the Wild West. People are still settling in and their eyes are on how can I make as much money as possible for myself right now. They couldn't care less about building a community for its own sake. They want to cash in their chips and get out and onto the next game.

There have been flashes, and having met so many of the incredible builders behind these apps and networks, I'm bullish af that we'll get there. But we're not there yet. Far from it. And if this election cycle taught me anything it's that the gold rush has just begun.