Web3 Starter Pack
Presented by Crypto, Culture & Society 🍎
What is this? 🤔
This starter pack is for those new to crypto.
At CCS we’re creating a space for people who care about the broader societal and cultural impacts of web3 and we challenge our members to ask the “so what?” questions about crypto. But before you can meaningfully engage in deeper conversations, it’s helpful to know the basics of web3 and the parts that make it up like DAOs, NFTs and DeFi.
How to navigate this doc? 🗺️
This starter pack is split into 4 crypto concepts (web3, DAOs, NFTs & DeFi). Feel free to devour them in any order, but we recommend starting with web3.
For each concept we provide:
The ABCsThis is our suggested reading. If you only have time for one, this would be it!
Pretty Good AlternativeThe ABCs didn’t cut it for you? We have 1-2 alternatives that you might like better.
Just a Little Bit MoreNon-essential, but fun to get into if you have time! ⚠️ WARNING⚠️ Clicking on any of these might lead you down the rabbit hole 🐇 🕳️
Other MediaThis label might be boring, but the selected links are not! 😉 These are for those who prefer learning through videos or audio over text.
Special thanks to @ananth, @xian & @wenda for their contribution to this starter pack. And a special S/O to Tasha for the amazing cover art!
🌐 Web3
Web3 is a version of the internet that aims to reduce power held by centralized institutions by distributing control to users.
Web1: Read Web2: Read, Write Web3: Read, Write, Own
The best way to explain web3 is to guide you through the evolution from web1 → web2 → web3. In this short article, Eshita talks about how content and the relationship between internet and creators are changing in web3.
Web3 is about a few key themes or human issues: future of work, digital identities, decentralization of power, interoperability, etc. So the first question in web3 should be: what do you care about?
A 44-page slides covering all the basics from blockchain history to Layer 2s to social tokens. Everything you need to know about web3 - Katie has in this powerhouse of a primer!
For folks to jump right into the Web3 rabbit hole, featuring the most frequently asked and fundamental crypto questions, the web3 starter pack by Jay.
In this video, you'll learn about Web 3.0 and how it differs from the past versions of the internet. Cryptocurrencies and decentralization are changing how we interact with the web forever!
Intro to Web3 for beginners
by School of Block
Other MediaWeb 3 ushers in the era of your personal, digital, freedom. Free from what though, you ask?
🏡 DAOs
DAOs (Decentralised Autonomous Organization) are online communities that are owned and managed by its members and facilitated through code.
"It's an organization Jim, but not as we know it...”
TLDR: An online community with a shared crypto wallet.
The easiest way to understand DAOs is to compare it to companies. Andrew explains DAO participation through the use of Archon Fung’s “Varities of Participation” community model.
Linda Xie is the queen of guides on all crypto topics 🙌 In this guide she explains what are DAOs, gives examples, explores future use cases of DAOs and even touches upon potential issues.
Everything You Need to Know About DAOs… You Learned in Elementary School
by Sarah Wood
Just a Little Bit MoreIf you’re overwhelmed by the jargon thrown around the internet, this is for you. This is not a just a glossary! Sarah illustrates concepts like self-governance and ownership with an experience we’re all familiar with - school.
DAOs are a new way to finance projects, govern communities, and share value. DAOs are novel, and they just feel kind of hippie. Stakeholder ownership is the natural state of things, we just haven’t had the technology or models to coordinate such widely distributed governance and ownership before.
A DAO, or a Decentralized Autonomous Organization, is a company set up to run by code on the blockchain. The people who own tokens associated with the DAO are responsible for voting on changes and proposing new ideas to keep the DAO up and running and improving.
DAOs – how they work on the blockchain
by School of Block
Other MediaDecentralized Autonomous Organisation. Quite a mouthful, which is why most people just say 'DAO'. But what are they? What do they do? And why should you care? In a nutshell, DAOs provide the framework for open collaboration. Which, it turns out, can be incredibly productive.
🎨 NFTs
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are uniquely identifiable digital assets that range from images to music to in-game items.
NFTs make it possible to own digital media assets in the same way that you can own a digital currency asset, like Bitcoin.
You might have heard about some NFTs selling for huge sums of money and wondered what the big deal was. This article gives you a quick overview of what non-fungible means, why NFTs are important, and what kinds of things you can do with them.
Linda’s article goes further in depth about what makes NFTs an exciting technology and their various use cases, from art to gaming to real estate.
Chris provides 3 important reasons why NFTs offer fundamentally better economics for creators: (1) removing rent-seeking intermediaries, (2) enabling granular price tiering, (3) making users owners, thereby reducing customer acquisition costs to near zero.
Jesse discusses how NFTs are becoming the "port of entry" for every piece of media on the internet. The business model enabled by NFTs is better for every stakeholder involved: creators, their audiences, and developers can all make more money in a marketplace built around true digital ownership.
NFTs Explained in Plain English
by 99Bitcoins
Other Media👁🗨 What is an NFT? How do I buy one? Why would I want to buy a digital file that I can just copy in a second? Is it just another bubble?
NFTs Explained in 4 minutes!
by Simply Explained
Other MediaBefore NFTs, no one can own digital files because they can easily be copied. Blockchain has unlocked the ability to record true ownership of a file.
💰 DeFi
DeFi (Decentralised Finance) describes an ecosystem of financial services that run primarily with code and without central authorities.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a hedge fund manager on Wall Street or if you’re one of the 1.7 billion people that don’t even have a bank account. With DeFi, you have complete access.
Odyssey DAO gives you a quick overview of what decentralized finance (DeFi) is, how it compares with traditional finance (TradFi), and DeFi applications that are popular right now.
Another Linda favorite 💕 In this guide, Linda covers several foundational topics in DeFi, including stablecoins, decentralized exchanges, and composability.
In short: DeFi is a global, open alternative to the current financial system. It differs through products and services built on open-source technology that anyone can use to borrow, save, invest, trade with and more.
In this DeFi 101 'workshop' we'll cover the DeFi basics, written by DefiDad. Everything you need to know to get started in the occasionally baffling DeFi crypto space.
Zoom out - what is the future of finance? Is decentralized finance better than the current financial system? What problems does it solve? And does it have a chance to improve or completely replace traditional finance?
🐾 Next steps
Well done 👏
You’ve come to the end of the starter pack. We hope you found the resources useful!
Excited to get started in crypto or get involved with CCS? Here are some ways:
The Ethereum network is currently the most engaging space to immerse yourself in. This is a simple step-by-step guide to walk you through:
Buying your first cryptocurrency
Setting up a wallet
Sending ETH to your wallet
Get the party started 🥳