The Bottom Line
Web 3 is the like the old days of brute, cruel, and transparent savagery. The scammers in web 3 openly flaunt how horrible they are. They get off on it! These are the 10 things you need to know about web 3.
1. Burner Wallets
If you are linking your wallet on a “too good to be true” link for an NFT mint, then you need a burner wallet to transfer funds to so that your main wallet doesn’t get drained if you sign a scam smart contract. This is an obvious step, but a very crucial security step people miss out on when first starting out in web 3.
2. Influencers
This is a controversial one, but the job of an influencer is to influence. Someone who makes a living influencing people has a financial interest in what they are promoting. Many NFT projects that have been proven to be complete rug-pulls usually hire influencers to pump and dump the art, and the one listening to the influencer gets caught holding the bag. Be very careful about who you listen to in this space. Influencers scam more in crypto than they do in fiat because fiat is covered by the law, whereas in crypto there are basically very few laws and regulations around it. The only reason influencers get sued or busted by the government sometimes is because fiat currency was involved.
3. Account Recovery
Write your fucking seed phrase and private key down. If you forget to do this and you don’t have direct access to your wallet via password or if your ledger breaks then then only way to regain access to it is by typing out your seed phrase on a browser wallet. Many newcomers in web 3 forget this and say hypothetically something like a re-install of the extension of the wallet is needed then you completely forget to write down the seed phrase. If you forget your login credentials in web 3 you cannot call metamask technical support or ledger technical support to help you regain access to it, because if you did then that defeats the purpose of self-custody.
4. Centralized Exchanges (CEX)
Most of us who started in crypto initially used coinbase or another centralized non-custodial service. This is a good beginning step, but do not put your eggs in one basket. CEX often have limits as to how much you can buy, sell, and transfer. This has ramifications if you put your eggs in one basket. Learn from the recent collapses in the crypto market and protect yourself.
5. ENS
Get an ENS if you are new to web 3. With an ENS domain you don’t have to worry about copy and pasting long wallet addresses and saves you lots of paranoia and time. ENS must and will be the only starting point in web 3. ENS should be number one, but wallet security is more important on the basis that it helps your protect your domains as well. ENS allows people to identify you easily. An example of this would be Bloom Capital who uses Habibi.eth and you easily know its him. Another example is ThreadGirl who uses ThreadGirl.eth and you easily know who she is. Only two rules with ENS: do not let your identifiable name expire, and make sure your ENS name resolves the wallet address to a wallet you can access.
6. PFP Avatars
Everyone wants to stand out. We all want the best looking art. You need to get a main PFP you will use for life that can help identify you to the masses easily. An example of this is the twitter account FranklinIsBored, his closed eye golden McDonalds Ape is one of the most recognizable PFPs in the web 3 space.
I left ENS and PFPs separate as people must realize that ENS requires maintenance via yearly registration whereas a PFP once it’s minted it exists for life.
7. Tokengated Discord Servers
It does not matter how credible the NFT project is, never ever connect your wallet to a server to verify your ownership of an NFT.
8. Discord Culture
Discord is a place that is both toxic, but necessary for web 3. Without discord you cannot create a reliable community in web 3. Twitter is too open, Facebook is too closed off, but discord is the perfect balance that lets you leverage a community within the rules you set. If you want to know how good and credible a project is join the discord server for a day and you will know the type of community project founders are cultivating (don’t connect your wallet). If the server is full of hatred and unfiltered bot garbage then you will know the project is most likely a rug-pull. If the discord is full of bright ideas and well regulated chats then you know this project has some potential or can be taken more seriously than others.
9. Twitter
Twitter is both very informative and destructive. This is where you scan your senses to find the best new projects and communities to invest in. But Twitter is known for its user interface that allows viral trends to start fast. This rapid rate of viral trends can cause you to go into a trance and invest in some of the worst projects possible and listen to some of the biggest scammers in crypto. With Twitter you need to analyze how people engage with a project before joining the discussion.
If you want to make a name in web 3 you need to join twitter. With twitter you must also be courageous and join spaces of web 3 projects. Joining spaces is the main reason I have gotten a little bit of a following on twitter. It’s also how I met Gary Palmer Jr. who has opened a portal of opportunities for me in this space by allowing me to write on his website, Web 3 Domains. In a nutshell, Twitter is the web 3 version of LinkedIn.
10. Relax And Breathe Deeply
Web 3 degen culture can make a lot of you believe that you should gamble and take high risks. Understand that risk is important and how you calculate risk is even more important. For me personally what has helped me make better decisions in web 3 is to go for a walk and breathe deeply. A relaxed mind makes better decisions.
Conclusion
There are many newcomers in web 3 everyday, it is important to understand what works for you and what does not. Always take the time to research web 3 projects and come to your own conclusions.