Why Step By Step Quest-like Guides Make DeFi More User-friendly And How Web3 Founders Can Take Advantage.
Change is hard. It’s necessary, true, but it’s hard. Don’t take my word for it though — conduct a simple Google search for “Is change hard?”, the results are numerous written and video content supporting the statement I made in the beginning. To be sure that it isn’t just a personal bias I’m trying to project on the majority of people (human beings tend to do this frequently), that Google search became necessary. Anyway, as I was saying, the fact is that change is difficult to deal with.
However, as humans, we are a species well suited for change. Humans have a high level of adaptability, enabling humans around the world survive and even thrive under the harshest of circumstances. Last year, I read of a place called Oymyakon which is apparently the coldest inhabited place on earth — there are colder places, they’re just uninhabited. Someone visiting Oymyakon would inevitably struggle to cope with the extreme cold, but that would only go on for the first few months. Over time, the said person would have acclimated and the weather wouldn’t be as unbearable.
The adjustment is a result of changes that have happened in the course of that period, psychological, physical and otherwise. This change of state, from uncomfortable to bearable is unpleasant, but necessary — if for example there is nowhere else for the person to live, or they were sent on an important assignment that paid well. Our innate ability as humans to adapt doesn’t make the change any less difficult, but it helps make it manageable.
Enter Layer3 — Layer3 is a platform that is on a mission to make the transition from web2 to web3 easier.
Web 1.0 was the version of the internet that was read-only, Web 2.0 enabled read/write and introduced better forms of data encryption. Web 3.0 is focused on taking data security several steps further and protecting user identity.
The first transition took a couple of years, it would be childish to expect that the present one would be any different. Just like humans exist with a default system to allow us navigate change, Layer3 is doing same to help everyday users and experts alike explore the immense potential of decentralized finance with relative ease.
Layer3 functions like this:
1. Users sign up with a decentralized wallet.
2. Users choose quests they want to participate in.
3. Users earn XP — Experience points.
4. Users get rewarded for their time and/or gas fees spent.
These rewards can be in the form of cryptocurrency tokens which can be exchanged for cash; it could be access to some exclusive service or community; It can also be some other thing which the protocol deems fit to serve as a reward for participants.
A Layer3 quest can very much be used in place of user guides for a more hands-on experience. We learn a lot better when we play an active role in what we are being taught.
Say I wanted to onboard 1,000 users on my dapp which is a decentralized futures trading platform using Layer3.
I would deposit into the quest account, 1,000 pieces of whatever reward I and my team decide upon. Each individual piece will automatically be released to each user as they complete the quests.
The quest can look something like this:
Step 1: Create Account and Sign Wallet to confirm Ownership.
Step 2: Deposit 50 USDC and Sign Transaction.
Step 3: Open Long Position worth 10 USDC on any pair.
Step 4: Open Short position on any pair worth 10 USDC.
Step 5: Place Limit order on any pair worth 10 USDC.
Step 6: Set a Take Profit level or Close Running Positions.
DONE.
At this point, once all actions are duly confirmed, the quest is completed and the reward is automatically released.
As you can see, what would have required a User guide of 2 or more pages was easily condensed into a quest-like guide that would take around 30–45 minutes or less to complete. It’s user-friendly, it’s interesting and best of all, rewarding. You can’t go wrong with this combination.
Some of the perks for Users on Layer3 include:
CUBEs: Credential to Unify Blockchain Events, CUBEs are ERC-721 tokens minted by completing Quests. ERC-721 is the standard for non-fungible tokens on Ethereum — tokens that are unique and cannot be exchanged for one another. CUBEs are unique to each quest and ascertain that the desired action was completed.
XP (Experience Points): These are gathered while completing quests and can be collected whether the quest is completed to the final stage or not. XP can be used as proof to companies of their loyal users as more XP equals more completed actions and XP cannot be transferred between projects/protocols.
ETH and ERC-20 tokens: ETH is the native token of the Ethereum ecosystem which is used to pay platform and blockchain fees. ERC-20 is the standard for fungible-tokens on Ethereum — tokens that are interchangeable and bear the same value as one another. Users can collect these tokens for completing quests and convert them to cash.
Secure platform for Swaps and Bridging: Users can use Layer3 to send tokens across numerous blockchains and exchange one token for another.
Some of the perks for Projects on Layer3 include:
Exposure to a large pool of potential customers: Layer3 has a user base of almost 1 million, utilizing Layer3 will inevitably expose your project to a specific pool of leads — as long as they are using Layer3, they own a decentralized wallet and they are definitely crypto native.
Ease of Onboarding: Make Onboarding of new users easy and straightforward with gamified quests that can be tweaked and reutilized as time goes on.
Technical Support: Layer3 takes all the work once you decide to run a quest on the platform. They confirm task completion, ensure dispensation of rewards and fix errors swiftly so users have a hitch-free experience.
User retention and Loyalty: Good brands leave a positive impression on their users which keep them satisfied and allow them relax and explore the rest of its services. What is more positive that a reward-based user experience? Imagine how you would feel if you got a free large box of pizza the first time you went to shop at your neighborhood mall.
Increased Marketing: Layer3 can assist with quests to grow your company’s social platforms. Have only 200+ subscribers on YouTube but over 30k on Twitter, you can create a quest to get your Twitter followers to show you some love on YouTube. You can also showcase your brand to niche communities: Are you building on Polygon? Expose your brand to communities comprised of users in that ecosystem.
DeFi is still in its infancy, whether we admit it or not. We are still only scratching the surface of the possibilities available through blockchain. Intuitive and easy to use platforms such as this will prove to be invaluable to founders and developers in web3.
Read up more about Layer3 here
Check me out on twitter for cryptocurrency and web3 related stuff https://twitter.com/eyeyamxander