Hashed: Why are we investing in Valkyrie Protocol?

Source: Hashed Blog

Compiled by: Jack an

What is Valkyrie Protocol

Before diving into the project, we want to highlight our favorite game, StarCraft. In this game, the Valkyrie is the Terran airstrike unit. It launches multiple missiles at targets. Fascinating, right?

Similarly, Valkyrie Protocol is Terra's growth hacking engine. It aims to position users and bring them to DApps based on a recommendation system and incentive mechanisms similar to traditional tech industry referral/affiliate marketing. However, Valkyrie Protocol allows projects to design activities that require specific behaviors from participants and validate them through on-chain data, providing unprecedented go-to-market strategies beyond simple referral programs.

Both parties play key roles in the Valkyrie Protocol: 1) Activity creators and 2) Activity participants.

Creators must deposit rewards in the form of CW20 and VKR (the native token of Valkyrie Protocol) to incentivize activity participants to start the activity. Once the deposit is made, the project can set target actions and reward conditions for the activity. For example, Anchor Protocol introduced an activity where participants stake a certain amount of governance token ANC to qualify for rewards, receiving more rewards based on the amount they stake, ultimately increasing demand for ANC.

On the other hand, participants must complete the actions defined by the activity to earn rewards. Following the previous example, they will earn token rewards in ANC for their direct participation. After completing this step, the real fun begins; participants can create referral links and share them with other potential users through various channels. Once a referral is successful, they receive additional rewards, meaning other users have also completed the required actions through that shared link, with rewards paid in VKR tokens.

This reward distribution system of Valkyrie Protocol is called the "Cascading Referral Chain." It resembles a tree structure where all activity participants can earn rewards by continuously sharing referral links. Thus, those actively promoting the activity will receive ongoing rewards proportional to their contributions.

(Share Reward Program)

Its structure is simple yet powerful and effective. Activity creators can promote their projects by targeting specific users that will increase their DApp usage, while participants can enjoy ongoing rewards while contributing to the project. Like the Valkyries in StarCraft, the activity's referral links spread across multiple channels and effectively influence their targets.

Why do we invest in Valkyrie Protocol?

What makes Valkyrie Protocol unique is that it acts as a funnel for DApps to reach a broader audience and target them based on real data. Therefore, Valkyrie Protocol is an exciting project for three reasons: 1) Growth has always been a missing part of the crypto space, 2) On-chain data is a game changer, and 3) The opportunities for scalability are immense.

Growth is a crucial component of any business. Even if a project has a great idea and strong technology, it can struggle to succeed without a growth strategy. In fact, there are many fascinating methods and successful formulas to achieve this in traditional digital marketing. Social platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Google have vast user bases and data that many companies and startups can leverage to increase exposure and attract users to their applications. Growth hackers can often achieve this through the social graph, which encompasses all information about users' networks, activities, and relationships on social media platforms, allowing for personalized recommendations to target users.

However, this has been the case until now in the blockchain/crypto industry. Founders of blockchain projects are incredibly adept at conceptualizing products and services, but many have struggled to find answers for growth, and many have failed. Standard practices in areas like airdrops, Telegram/Discord management, and KOL marketing are valuable and necessary.

However, they are not enough, as projects often lack information about their targets and communication audiences, and they cannot even determine whether these community members are actual protocol users. These issues make it difficult for projects to formulate detailed growth strategies. Thus, despite spending resources, projects still cannot predict the expected outcomes.

On the other hand, some claim that marketing agencies can support the project, but most do not fully understand the blockchain ecosystem and how the crypto community forms and behaves. This is because there is almost no reliable data on crypto users, even on platforms like Facebook and Google Docs.

This is precisely the problem that Valkyrie Protocol aims to solve. It employs a referral program based on on-chain data that can be verified using individual wallet addresses. In crypto, wallets are crucial gateways to decentralized applications. Once a referral occurs, Valkyrie Protocol provides various on-chain data, including diffusion, participant numbers, participant trees, etc. Projects can analyze this data to manage their campaign performance and develop more complex and customized growth strategies. For example, Anchor Protocol identified that 1,000 wallets participated in the activity through Valkyrie Protocol. It can also discover through analyzing on-chain data that 70% of those individuals only held UST in their wallets. So,

We believe that the unique features of Valkyrie Protocol are vital to the Terra ecosystem. Many projects will launch shortly after the Columbus-5 release, and they need to guide potential users. Valkyrie Protocol will play a key role alongside projects like Pylon and StarTerra in maximizing community benefits and strengthening the community.

Moreover, Valkyrie Protocol can also expand to other chains, such as Ethereum, Solana, etc. It can be used for different projects across various chains, from DeFi to blockchain gaming, NFTs, and the metaverse, providing Valkyrie Protocol with excellent opportunities to expand its business. Therefore, Valkyrie Protocol will become the ultimate growth solution for the entire blockchain ecosystem.

Which projects does Hashed support?

Since its inception, Hashed has actively supported the Terra ecosystem. In this mission, we will extend the same efforts to further support the project, such as community building, partnerships, legal, public relations, and more.

As the market matures and competition becomes fiercer, we understand that winning founders do not have to work too hard to seek funding. Additionally, it is important to note that funding alone does not guarantee success. We are well aware of this, so we do not want to wait for projects to grow on their own after we invest. We want to act as a platform to help our projects grow faster and expand their influence in the ecosystem.

To put this into practice, we recently established a startup studio called UNOPND. This organization will support NFT, metaverse, and blockchain gaming projects, some of which will be built on Terra. Moreover, these projects are already in discussions with the Valkyrie Protocol team about potential collaborations to maximize their marketing efficiency. Through UNOPND, Hashed acts as an ecosystem builder rather than just an investor, contributing to the entire Terra community. This is why Hashed has become a community-driven fund.

Given our contributions to many projects from Terra to Ethereum and various chains, we stand with Valkyrie Protocol and believe it has the capability to expand to other chains in the future by collaborating with these projects. For instance, what if Axie Infinity, which Hashed contributed to as an early investor, runs a referral program on Valkyrie Protocol?

As a community-driven fund, Hashed will continue to add value to Valkyrie Protocol and our other portfolio companies. Through our direct contributions, we believe Hashed will be able to maximize the chances of success for our portfolio companies and deliver tangible results to realize our vision for the future—a decentralized future based on data and equality for all.