Essential for Entering DeFi: Build Your On-Chain Resume

Original Title: How to build your on-chain resume

Author: William M. Peaster

Translator & Editor's Note: Xu Xiaopeng, Mint Ventures

Did you know? Your Ethereum wallet is your on-chain resume in the crypto world. It's a great way to prove that you are a bona fide native of the crypto world and the reason you can kickstart your career at a crypto hedge fund or DeFi project. I'm not joking; if you're really looking for a job in the crypto space, preparing a top-notch on-chain resume will be very important.

Therefore, this article will provide you with a checklist of Web3 tasks arranged from easy to difficult, which will help you build a very impressive on-chain resume.

• Goal: Learn how to build your on-chain resume and cultivate relevant skills
• Skills: From beginner to advanced
• Investment: Change yourself
• Effect: Gain unlimited career opportunities in the ever-expanding Web3 ecosystem

1. How to build your on-chain resume

Earlier this year, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi approached $100 billion. Along with this booming financial trend, top DeFi projects have attracted astonishing on-chain cash flow, which would take traditional finance practitioners several times the effort to achieve.

Editor’s Note: TradFi is short for Traditional Finance, which is also abbreviated as TriFi or OldFi.

Additionally, last week we received confirmation that over $2.5 billion worth of NFTs have been sold in the market since early 2021. This number and the speed at which it was achieved indicate that the mainstreaming of NFTs is now visible to the naked eye.

Thus, DeFi and NFTs, not to mention DAOs, are among the brightest stars in this burgeoning Web3 movement, unleashing vast economic potential. Ethereum is undoubtedly the main force in making these incredible new economic opportunities possible, accessible, and global.

So, if you're interested in delving into the Web3 ecosystem, you should know that its scale and the opportunities it nurtures will continue to expand in the coming years. This means that if you prepare adequately, the expertise you gain in the process will become very valuable in the future.

However, to dive into this field, you don't need to draft a resume of work experience or send out mass emails to dozens of organizations hoping for a reply. In the crypto world, your Ethereum wallet is your best resume.

When you use your wallet correctly, it can provide you with considerable potential benefits.

2. The benefits of preparing your wallet for the future

Ethereum is a public chain, so you need to participate in various Web3 activities through a public wallet to prepare a native crypto resume for the future.

There are many benefits to doing this, such as------

• Building your Web3 skill tree so that you master all the necessary knowledge to quickly learn and adapt when new DeFi, NFT, and DAO innovations emerge.
• Earning lucrative token airdrops by participating early in various dApps.
• Collecting digital collectibles NFTs that may be valuable in the future, showcasing your "curation skills."
• Finding traditional or DAO organization-driven jobs in the most exciting Web3 projects.

3. Balancing on-chain privacy

Before we proceed, it’s worth noting that there is a natural conflict between maintaining an attractive on-chain resume and preserving personal financial privacy. In other words, be aware that any wallet you maintain in your resume may be public to some extent. Therefore, you should gradually implement this plan after careful consideration.

The good news is that you don't need to be overly transparent; you can prepare a dedicated "resume" wallet and participate in as many activities as needed through it. You don't have to use your main address. You can do this, and some people do. Ultimately, the balance of personal privacy is something you need to manage yourself.

In summary, security is a factor that needs to be prioritized. If you want to build an on-chain resume, you need to ensure that it is done through a wallet that is under your control for the long term. Therefore, the combination of a hardware wallet and a smart wallet is the best solution.

Don't give hackers an opportunity.

4. Web3 Resume Task List

Alright, let's start creating your crypto resume.

The Ethereum Web3 ecosystem is decentralized, so there isn't a definitive checklist of activities when building your on-chain profile. However, you can now participate in many different Web3 activities, some easy and some much more complex. Below, I've carefully selected a curated list of such on-chain activities that will help make your crypto resume look credible.

I've categorized the tasks into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

1. Beginner

Trade on Uniswap------Suppose you want to trade a niche DeFi token that hasn't been listed on any centralized crypto exchange. This token might be tradeable on Uniswap, so consider trading long-tail assets on that protocol.

Trade on Matcha------Matcha is a decentralized exchange aggregator that provides you with the best prices across all DEXs. If you want to simply buy tokens into your wallet, you cannot overlook Matcha.

Open a Maker Vault------Maker is a legendary DeFi credit platform. Deposit some ETH, borrow some Dai, and get a feel for what it's like to build banking services yourself.

Lend and borrow on Aave or Compound------Once you're ready with some tokens, consider lending them to lending protocols like Aave and Compound, where you can earn interest continuously.

Create NFTs/Collect NFTs--- Create NFTs on DIY NFT platforms like OpenSea, SuperRare, or Rarible. Then buy others' NFTs on the open market. You don't need to go overboard here; just find something you like and that suits you.

Use PoolTogether's savings feature------PoolTogether is a no-loss DeFi savings game. You deposit money into its contract, and a portion of lucky savers wins accrued interest each week. You can withdraw your "lottery ticket" and funds at any time.

Stake in Aave's safety module------Support the protocol by staking Aave tokens in Aave's safety module to help maintain Aave's solvency. You can earn staking rewards and defend Aave's public reputation. All you need to do is deposit AAVE through its product dashboard.

Provide liquidity on Bancor------Bancor is one of the simplest ways to provide liquidity in DeFi, as DEXs allow you to provide liquidity with a single asset (in contrast, most DeFi requires providing liquidity with two or more assets).

Set up an ENS name------Get a .eth wallet address for yourself through the Ethereum Name Service.

Donate on Gitcoin------Donate ETH or other ERC20 tokens to small, medium, and large Ethereum projects through Gitcoin's unique matching donation system.

Editor’s Note: Other suggested applications include the trading aggregator 1inch and the stablecoin/wrapped asset exchange platform Curve. For the convenience of readers, we will directly provide the URLs of the mentioned Dapps/services at the end of the article.

2. Intermediate

Lend and borrow on Aave or Compound------We just mentioned depositing funds in Aave/Compound. Borrowing and lending is an intermediate skill as it comes with the risk of collateral liquidation. Don't be afraid to try, but use caution!

Provide liquidity on Uniswap V2------Many projects still choose to facilitate their liquidity pools through Uniswap's V2 system. Unlike Bancor's single-sided supply method, Uniswap requires providing two assets in a 50/50 ratio, so there is a risk of impermanent loss (IL). Spend some time familiarizing yourself with V2.

Provide liquidity on Balancer------Balancer allows customizable liquidity pools that can support up to 8 different tokens simultaneously. Learn about these DeFi yield pools, which are still profitable today.

Stake LP tokens for yield------Most DeFi yield farming requires obtaining LP tokens (liquidity provider tokens) from DEXs like Uniswap or Sushi and then "staking" them, meaning depositing them into a smart contract designated by the project. This operation often involves potential impermanent loss risks, so liquidity mining is not for the faint-hearted.

Open a Liquity Trove------Liquity is a DeFi credit platform that allows you to mint the stablecoin LUSD by collateralizing. Unlike Maker, due to the unique design of the protocol, Liquity essentially provides interest-free loans using ETH as collateral. Try borrowing some LUSD instead of DAI.

Use Yearn Vaults to earn yield------I believe that everyone in DeFi will eventually come to Yearn if they stick around long enough, and there's a reason for that. Various Yearn Vaults allow DeFi users to easily earn yield through advanced mining strategies designed by protocol strategists.

Use DeFi smart tools like Instadapp or DeFi Saver------Import your DeFi positions (like Maker Vault) into Instadapp or DeFi Saver and enjoy their "smart" dashboards, which can help you easily perform a range of professional DeFi asset management tasks.

Borrow on Sushi's Kashi platform------Sushi's Kashi is a DeFi lending and margin trading platform. If you want to use it, you should at least be familiar with the general operations of lending and margin trading.

Use mStable's Save feature--- Stablecoins are a magical thing. Even better, you can deposit them into amazing stablecoin infrastructure platforms like mStable's Save program. This will help you save funds and earn yield + token rewards, which is great.

Trade on Loopring's L2 exchange------Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions will shine in the future, so Loopring's exchange provides you with an excellent opportunity to familiarize yourself with L2 DEXs and benefit from them.

Cross-chain assets to the Polygon sidechain------Polygon's sidechain scaling solution has become a focal point this year. Start experimenting with cross-chain assets now, and you'll be ahead of others.

3. Advanced

Stake SNX on Synthetix------Synthetic derivatives are often complex, and SNX staking has differentiated designs. Here you can earn decent returns, but proceed with caution. If you migrate SNX to the Optimism Layer 2 for staking, you can earn additional rewards.

Try the Rai safe feature------Reflexer's RAI seems to be the first true stablecoin. Learn how to deposit ETH and mint RAI from Rai Safe; this is an advanced attempt.

Provide liquidity on Uniswap V3------Uniswap V3 utilizes concentrated liquidity, amplifying potential gains and losses. It's best to study before trying to become an LP in V3.

Draft governance proposals------Draft and submit governance proposals. If your proposal is approved, it will guide important on-chain behavior, which in turn will affect the original DeFi protocol. This is one of the coolest things you can do right now—protocol teams will notice active governance participants in their community! Being able to showcase your ideas is a wonderful thing.

Curate an NFT gallery------This may require a substantial amount of ETH, so it's not easy. However, over time, if you do collect a curated set of NFTs, showcasing your collection in any way you choose will highlight you as a creative avant-garde.

Use Furucombo for flash loans------Flash loans are like DeFi magic at your fingertips. If you have the ability to use flash loans to string together complex DeFi activities, give Furucombo a try.

Use Yam Synths to speculate on Ethereum Gas------Yam Synths are a collaboration between Yam Finance and the UMA protocol, offering a range of crypto-native derivatives. One of them is uGAS, which allows users to speculate on Ethereum Gas prices over a specific period!

4. Task Guidance: RabbitHole and Zapper.fi

You can use your free time to practice the task list above. You can also choose to complete these tasks through third-party platforms that can plan and guide you through these tasks.

Two platforms that come to mind are RabbitHole and Zapper.fi.

In this article, if I don't mention the pioneer of the "your wallet = your resume" concept—RabbitHole co-founder Brian Flynn—then I would be remiss. RabbitHole is a platform that helps guide people through "tasks" related to top Web3 projects like Aave, OpenSea, and Uniswap to build their on-chain resumes.

If you're interested in curating Web3 resume tasks for yourself (or your friends or family), I certainly recommend trying RabbitHole. Zapper.fi is also a very popular DeFi asset management dashboard. Zapper has just launched a task system that incentivizes you to complete basic DeFi tasks to earn rewards like NFTs. Notably, neither of these projects has issued tokens yet.

5. Looking to the Future

No one can tell you with certainty what will happen in the next 3, 5, or 10 years. However, you need to look towards the future of Web3 and cleverly find your positioning, provided you believe in the vision of Web3 and are willing to bet on it.

To do this, you need to start using your Ethereum wallet immediately to build your on-chain resume, which will enable you to seize various on-chain and off-chain opportunities in the future. So, it's time to start preparing!

Editor’s Note: We also have the following suggestions regarding building a personal on-chain resume------

1. Although the author did not recommend Dapps outside of Ethereum and Polygon, we still suggest actively trying DeFi applications on other mainnets like BSC, Solana, and Terra. On one hand, they have lower transaction fees, making it easier for newcomers to experiment; on the other hand, the public chain wars are not over, and mainnets outside of Ethereum also need your attention.

2. If you want to seek career development in the Web3 space, in addition to broadly engaging with various applications, you also need to have knowledge and experience that surpasses most DeFi users in one specific track, which could be finance, gaming, or social, depending on your knowledge background and interests.

3. Teaching is the best way to learn. The best way to verify whether you fully understand a Dapp is to teach those around you how to use it. If possible, try writing an article to influence more people; a well-written in-depth article can bring you wide influence and the attention of your desired project team.

The list of Dapp websites mentioned in the article is as follows------

Beginner

Uniswap: https://app.uniswap.org/

Matcha: https://matcha.xyz/

Maker: https://makerdao.com/

Aave: https://app.aave.com/

Compound: https://app.compound.finance/

Opensea: https://opensea.io/

PoolTogether: https://pooltogether.com/

Aave Safety Module: https://app.aave.com/staking

Bancor: https://app.bancor.network/

Ethereum Name Service: https://ens.domains/

Gitcoin: https://gitcoin.co/

Intermediate

Liquity: https://www.liquity.org/

Yearn: https://yearn.finance/vaults

InstaDapp: https://defi.instadapp.io/

DeFi Saver: https://defisaver.com/

Sushi Kashi: https://app.sushi.com/lend

mStable: https://mstable.org/

Loopring: https://exchange.loopring.io/

Polygon Cross-chain: https://wallet.matic.network/

Advanced

Synthetix: https://staking.synthetix.io/staking

Reflexer: https://app.reflexer.finance/

Furucombo: https://furucombo.app/

Yam Synths: https://synths.yam.xyz/

Task Guidance

RabbitHole: https://rabbithole.gg/

Zapper: https://zapper.fi/