I’ll never forget the day I dipped my toe into crypto, installing metamask and seeing an endearing digital fox gazing at my cursor. Eth was the first cryptocurrency I bought as well as the most recent, not for investment but as fuel (gas) for me to explore and to tinker. And this is a short anecdote of how curiosity and exploration in the Ethereum ecosystem has given prosperous outcomes in more ways than one. Read on.
I wasn't really an active user for a long while, simply a passive “hodler”. But the first protocol I explored on Ethereum is ENS, akin to how you’d buy a domain when you first explore the web. This protocol enabled easier identification on the blockchain as well as a smoother process when sending and receiving (when wallets implemented).
Looking back, the amount of skills I’ve picked up since diving into this world, from Keccak cryptography, technical & sentimental analysis to tinkering with p5.js and .gltf format during the NFT mania. The knowledge here are seemingly fragmented but have indeed served my professional life deeply as well as keeping an important quality: to stay curious. These explorations are off the back of genuine self-propelled curiosity or from incentivised bounties, riddles or contests. Definitely not the skills I would’ve predicted picking up exploring this space but it’s beautiful knowledge nonetheless in understanding the world of cryptography.
A few years later, I further explored Ethereum delving into the technology of Layer-2, built on top of Ethereum. This was early 2022 so as the first L2s launched, watching Finematics’ video on Optimistic vs ZK rollups sent me on a week-long dive into each approach, comparing their strengths and technological limitations. This led to tinkering in new testnets in ZKsync’s ecosystem, all the way through to their launch of zksync Lite and Zksync Era as we know today.
Remember the noodling I did with ENS at the start of my journey? Well, after a few months away from the space, I logged on to see a notification from mobile metamask that was I eligible for an airdrop. Not knowing much about this at the time, I dedicated some time to research, and this is how I really came to understood the true meaning of decentralization, governance and having power to vote for a path of an organization through delegation. Similarly, in the case of ZKsync, the rewards seen during the protocol's decentralization stage are often natural and usually recoups the costs beared during your explorations.
*At this point, it is worth informing newcomers to stay vigilant while browsing in this space. Keep emotions in check, never browse when tired and keep up to date to all possible attack vectors as this space moves extremely fast. Never explore due to greed or an expectation to gain something, only for curiosity and the desire to learn.
When it comes to exploring in the way I mentioned above, this article is the perfect example. Even though it is an entry for a writing contest, I am betting on the longevity of the T2 platform, (as well as Lens protocol it's amplified on, and Arweave protocol it's stored on) and the hopes of re-reading my experience 5 years from now, as my journey propels me into unknown digital destinations.
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Recently, I’ve had the pleasure to stumble across the @2077Collective from reading incredibly insightful posts from @Emmanuel. And in the past few months of getting involved, I’ve had fun collaborating within the collective and contributed in the videography guild alongside talented creators, producing fun shortform content such as this as well as having bursts of ideas to create my own, simply by being in the space.
The group keeps on top of communication, gives constructive criticism and, alike an ant colony, seemingly working towards a singular unified goal of putting Ethereum at the forefront again - done through various committed departments outputting progressive research, business development and marketing to name a few, reminds me a lot of the old DAO days. I look forward to continually being involved and see where this involvement takes me.
As mentioned in my previous article, seems that although the space is now reeking with scams and rugs, I find, from experience, if you support and contribute to genuine projects long-term, rewards do come in unexpected ways.
To wrap up this account written in absolute haste, and reminiscing through the years exploring in this space, it’s not the profits nor the rewards I cherish, it’s the knowledge and skills I’ve picked up along the way, keeping up with what’s technologically possible in this fast-paced developing environment. Not to mention crossing paths with extremely bright individuals who also share the cypherpunk philosophy. The embodying culture of Ethereum is just as my video idea above: exploration. Sure, things aren’t typically user-friendly and you will need to exercise shrewdness throughout, but if you’re curious, the potential to learn is simply limitless. So I urge you, dear reader, if you are curious, and if you dare - explore.
