Gerson

From college student to Ethereum Devconnect Scholar

gerson@newsletter.paragraph.com (Gerson) — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 04:34:10 GMT

The first time that I heard about blockchain was in 2020. It was during my first year in college where I attended an online call about Blockchain. At first I did not understand much, that first year in college was something hard for me to handle. The difference on difficult between high school and college at that time was something really hard to me. I was learning Python by solving coding problems in each class and learning a bunch of new concepts in programming.

Learning a completely new way of thinking it’s not something that you can master in a couple of days. And I completely lost my attention in blockchain in that call. It was until 2023 where I heard about a Solidity course offered by my college where I started to learn stuff focused in Blockchain. As soon as I heard about that course I was really happy and eager to join.

On the second semester of 2023 I started to learn about blockchain topics and Solidity programming language for smart contracts. It was a really good course where I got the basics on blockchain and Solidity. And a really cute certificate. During the Solidity course our teacher told us about a local event related to Ethereum and Web3. That event was call Ethereum Costa Rica Day. It was the first time hearing about local events on the technology that I knew that I wanted to focus on.

Thanks to the Solidity course I met key people like Andy Guzman. Which he was part of the event organizers of Ethereum Costa Rica Day. And he kindly sent me a free ticket to attend to this local event. Me, as a student in college I barely had money to attend to the event. So I tried not to spend money and save it for transport. I attended to the event and participated in different cool talks about web3 technologies. It was my first time hearing about key companies for my professional development in the field like Nethermind, OnlyDust and Starknet.

Months later I started to contribute to different open source projects in the OnlyDust platform. Projects like Madara, Kakarot, Cairo Native from Lambda Class, the Cairo Programming Language, Giza and many more. All these thanks to an event of OnlyDust by Daniel Bejarano.

Thanks to be focused on the important things, just months later I had the opportunity to attend to a Starknet Hacker House building onchain games. It was in 2024, the Starknet Hacker House at Belgium. This was something impressive to me. It was my first time taking a flight, first time in Europe, first time traveling abroad. It was a mindset changer experience to me. I spent all my 2024 learning about emerging tech and exposing myself by contributing in open source projects in OnlyDust. Making more than 10 thousand dollars on successful contributions.

Also, I started to work on my personal branding as a developer, and I shared all my journey in X where I connected with key people in the industry. I was sharing what I was learning, studying, I started to share most of my OnlyDust contributions, the events that I was attending and more. Building a personal brand is completely needed nowadays, is what it gives confidence to others. What I did not know, is that every month, every tweet, every PR. I was building my web3 Resume and attracting new opportunities to me. Like being invited to Invisible Garden in Chiang Mai, having a free ticket to Devcon last year. Incredible things happening to me at that time.

Thanks to all these journey, I applied to the Nethermind Internship at the beginning of the year. Hoping to be accepted in every interview, the good news came to me on April. An email notifying me that I was accepted as a Nethermind Intern. If you don’t know anything about Nethermind, is one of the best companies in the web3 industry. I was impressed by those news, but I knew that I worked hard to finally get that. Three months later the internship had finished. I leave the company amazed by how a real and profesional team in web3 worked together. Then I was looking for more opportunities, and I find out that the Ethereum Foundation had a Devconnect Scholars program. For devs and other categories to help them attend to Devconnect this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I decided to apply and fortunately I was accepted to be part of it. I’m a Devconnect Scholar, a Scholarship from the Ethereum Foundation given to less than 100 people from all over the world. This is how I went from a regular college student, to a Devconnect Scholar thanks to the Ethereum Foundation.

Everything that I have done, counts. It's a snowball that I’ve been working on for more than a year. Learning about emerging tech, participating in local events, contributing in OSS, creating a personal brand, posting my journey on Twitter, being proactive and more. All of these is key to succeed in this industry. I’m grateful, privileged and excited for everything that is coming to my life, all these experiences in this year has been unbelievable.

Being a Devconnect scholar, accepted in Invisible Garden again, Ethereum Foundation paying me to be in Devconnect this year. I’ll be forever grateful to life for letting me live this.

On-Ramp and Off-Ramp: What do they mean and why are they important in the crypto world?

gerson@newsletter.paragraph.com (Gerson) — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 21:53:52 GMT

Did you know that there is money that is accepted all around the world except the US dollar? Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have become a popular substitute for conventional fiat money around the world. These currencies are available and usable anywhere in the world since they are not dependent on governments or central banks like fiat.

First, the fundamentals. Fiat money, such as the US dollar, euro, and Costa Rican colones, is the type of money you use on a daily basis and is typically issued by a national government. The vast majority of economies around the world rely on fiat money. The great bulk of the money supply is only available digitally, in data banks under the control of central and commercial banks, despite the fact that fiat is physically present. The value of fiat money is derived from the assumption that a government will fulfill its financial commitments and oversee the overall operation of an economy, which history demonstrates hasn't always been the case. Many examples of financial scandals from the past and present can be used to support the argument that fiat systems are susceptible to fraud and poor management. The recent demise of the Costa Rican credit cooperative Coopeservidores, for example, serves as a reminder of how institutions can be destroyed by inadequate supervision and reckless lending practices. Clients and stakeholders suffered a huge loss when more than ₡187 million in assets vanished in a single year as a result of careless loans and suspected fraudulent activity. In a similar vein, U.S. Treasury official William Duer used secret knowledge to influence bond markets in the late 1700s for his own benefit. Due to his activities, the Financial Panic of 1792 broke out, resulting in severe economic unrest and enormous losses for investors.

Only a small number of people are in charge of creating new currency under the fiat system, and this procedure is not renowned for being transparent or accountable. Because of this, fiat is vulnerable to fraud and poor administration, which typically results in high rates of inflation and wealth disparity.

Once we know what fiat is. Let’s talk about On-ramps. The On-ramps are a platform or service that allows users to exchange conventional fiat currencies, like USD or EUR, into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana. On-ramps make it easier for people and companies to join the cryptocurrency ecosystem by serving as a link between the traditional financial system and the decentralized realm of blockchain. Making the switch to cryptocurrency easier, these platforms usually accept a number of payment options, such as digital wallets, bank transfers, and credit cards. One of the main issues facing the cryptocurrency industry is removing obstacles for new users who might find decentralized platforms or traditional exchanges too complicated. On-ramps help with this. Popular examples of On-ramp services are the following: Transak, MoonPay, and Ramp Network, which often provide APIs for seamless integration into decentralized applications like wallets and DeFi products.

For the Off-ramp side, it is completely the opposite of On-ramp. A cryptocurrency off-ramp is a platform or service that lets consumers exchange digital assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum for fiat money like USD, EUR, or other currencies issued by the government. Off-ramps, which serve as an "exit point" from the cryptocurrency ecosystem, allow users to sell their bitcoin holdings for cash by bridging the gap between traditional financial institutions and decentralized finance (DeFi). For people who want to pay for goods and services, realize investment earnings, or just get back to fiat-based financial institutions, these services are necessary. Peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, centralized exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, crypto debit cards that swap digital assets for fiat at the point of sale, and crypto ATMs that exchange cash for cryptocurrency are examples of common off-ramps. In order to adhere to legislation and guarantee secure transactions, off-ramps frequently integrate security procedures like identity verification (KYC). By offering liquidity and increasing the accessibility of digital assets for routine financial operations, they play a critical role in promoting trust and usage in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

When navigating the Web3 industry, it’s common to encounter topics like on-ramp and off-ramp. Whether you’re scrolling through Twitter, researching DeFi, reading a professional paper, or attending Web3 meetups and tech talks, these terms frequently come up in discussions. On-ramping refers to converting traditional fiat currency into cryptocurrency, while off-ramping is the process of converting crypto back into fiat. Understanding these concepts is crucial because they are foundational to how value moves in and out of the crypto ecosystem. Being familiar with on-ramp and off-ramp processes ensures you can actively participate in conversations, stay informed about industry trends, and make better decisions when interacting with Web3 technologies.

Understanding on-ramp and off-ramp processes is essential for building a career in Web3 because it directly relates to how users and businesses interact with blockchain ecosystems. Whether you’re working in DeFi, crypto exchanges, or blockchain development, knowing how money flows in and out of the system is critical. It also demonstrates your technical and practical knowledge of the industry, making you a more well-rounded professional. Additionally, being able to explain these concepts clearly can help you stand out in networking events, interviews, or collaborative projects.

The topic of on-ramp and off-ramp is extremely important and common in the Web3 space. It’s a fundamental aspect of cryptocurrency adoption and usability, as it bridges the gap between traditional finance and decentralized systems. Almost every crypto user, project, or platform deals with these processes at some point. For example, centralized exchanges (CEXs) like Coinbase and Binance rely heavily on on-ramp and off-ramp services to attract new users. Similarly, DeFi platforms often integrate fiat gateways to make their services more accessible. In conversations, whether online or offline, you’ll frequently hear about challenges, innovations, and regulations related to these processes, making it a recurring theme in the Web3 ecosystem.

If you want deepen your understanding of on-ramp and off-ramp services, as well as their role in the crypto ecosystem, here are some actionable next steps and resources:

Familiarize yourself with popular platforms like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and MoonPay, which are known for their robust on-ramp and off-ramp services.
Research case studies like El Salvador’s Chivo Wallet to learn about potential pitfalls such as identity theft, privacy issues, and technical vulnerabilities.
Join amazing communities like MentorHood and Web3 MentorHood to accelerate your learning journey while connecting with others :)

Cairo and STARKs: Enhancing Ethereum's Scalability through Layer 2 Solutions

gerson@newsletter.paragraph.com (Gerson) — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 23:53:50 GMT

Over the past few years, the Ethereum network has seen a significant increase in transaction activity. An ever-growing number of people are using this decentralized platform to exchange value peer-to-peer daily. This surge in network usage has led users to notice higher transaction fees and longer processing times. In the blockchain world, this highlights the blockchain trilemma, which comprises three pillars: decentralization, security, and scalability. Achieving all three simultaneously is a complex challenge, often resulting in the sacrifice of scalability. Consequently, the cost of transactions rises, and the speed at which they are executed diminishes.

Ethereum serves as a hub for innovation within the ecosystem. Currently, numerous solutions are being built on top of this network to provide scalability enhancements. These solutions are known as Layer 2 (L2) blockchains. L2 solutions allow a large number of transactions to be processed off-chain, outside the main Ethereum chain. This assists the main network (Layer 1 or L1) by alleviating the burden of transaction execution. As a result, transaction fees are reduced to mere cents, and execution times are cut down to seconds, effectively making the network more economical.

Layer 2 blockchains utilize zero-knowledge proofs to achieve network scalability. Zero-knowledge proofs are cryptographic concepts that have shown immense potential in solving privacy and scalability issues in decentralized networks. They allow one to prove the validity of information without revealing the information itself. For example, using a zero-knowledge proof, one could generate evidence that a certain number of transactions comply with Ethereum's rules and submit this proof to the main Ethereum network for verification. This way, all transactions executed off-chain can be included in the Ethereum network without resending each transaction for execution. This process is known as Rollups.

Cairo is a programming language that enables us to create provable programs using STARKs (Scalable Transparent ARguments of Knowledge). STARKs are a type of non-interactive zero-knowledge proof. Cairo abstracts the complex mathematics involved in STARKs, allowing developers to focus on building applications without delving into cryptographic intricacies. By compiling code into STARK-optimized formats, Cairo facilitates the creation of succinct proofs that can be efficiently verified on-chain, enhancing both scalability and security.

STARKs offer several advantages over other zero-knowledge proof systems like SNARKs. They rely on hash functions and information-theoretic security rather than elliptic curve cryptography, making them resistant to quantum attacks. Additionally, STARKs use transparent setups, eliminating the risks associated with trusted setups that could compromise the system if initial parameters are exposed or manipulated.

The integration of Cairo and STARKs represents a significant step forward in addressing the scalability challenges inherent in blockchain networks like Ethereum. By providing efficient and secure Layer 2 solutions, they make the network more accessible and cost-effective. This advancement not only benefits current users but also paves the way for future innovations and broader adoption of decentralized technologies.