A. ABOUT MY JOURNEY INTO ETHEREUM
Myself? Gen Z, conservative, unwilling to explore, heard about Blockchain technology and Ethereum, heard of trading profit and sudden whooping losses, thought it a gambling get rich quick scheme and ditched the idea.
But the turning point for me was in October, 2020.
The #EndSARS protest was rocking Nigeria and we were young people from diverse ethnicities scattered across the country, protesting police brutality.
We were protesting unlawful arrests, extortion, and harassment by SARS. We were protesting parting ways with our laptops, phones, getting brutalized or even killed without being criminals. Our protest eventually took an imaginable turn when the military short unharmed protesters at the Lekki Tollgate, Lagos.
Now, this is where it gets crazier.
As a consequence of drawing global attention, key #EndSARS protest figures became badly affected. Some were arrested, their international passports seized and those in hiding had bank accounts locked by the government.
The censorship was too much and this was when I overheard the part that had the leading protesters used Blockchain technology like the Ethereum network for their transactions, the government would not have been able to shut their accounts.
I realized how Ethereum is that bank that the government cannot affect and that changed my thinking and grew my passion to get on the Ethereum train. Now, I don't know what is motivating you my reader to join Ethereum but this is my story, lol, and this is how I made up my mind to explore the world of Ethereum.
Thus, I am writing this guide for you to get on the Ethereum network effortlessly.
B. BUT FIRST WHAT IS ETHEREUM?
Not to bore you with all the technical terms, Ethereum is a Web 3 digital place and a blockchain technology that permits people to send and receive a unique type of money named Ether.
Whenever you or anyone sends Ether (the money on the Ethereum platform), the transaction is recorded and is verified by nodes on the Ethereum network.
A group of successful transactions are stored in one block and because these blocks are connected to each other in chains, blockchain arises.
But then, you’ll ask me why you should participate in all of this when you can as well send money through your Paypal. Well, Ethereum is not just for transactions and it’s different because it is based on Web 3. This means Ethereum is:
1. Permissionless: You can share content and participate in application building whilst being sure that you won't encounter restrictions or information suppression.
2. Decentralized: Data on Ethereum and other Web 3 platforms is unlike Web 2, not stored in single central locations. Data is stored in diverse multiple locations and in smaller chunks that’ll help prevent frustrating glitches like the type on Facebook (a Web 2 platform) on March 5, 2024.
3. Open: The source code of the Ethereum and other Web 3 platforms are accessible. This openness of transactions and accessibility ensure effective communication and standards.
The first thing I did to get into Ethereum was to become an Eth User. Below is a short guide.
C. HOW DO YOU BECOME AN ETH USER?
1. To become an Eth user like me, you need to download a digital wallet like MetaMask where you can keep your Ether.
2. Buy Ether from a cryptocurrency exchange like Binance and
3. Send the Ether to your Ethereum wallet using your address accurately to prevent sending your Ether elsewhere irreversibly
4. Read this comprehensive guide to have a well illustrated grasp of being an Eth user and understand concepts like gas fees and wallet security.
D. WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH ETHEREUM TODAY?
Moving deeper into the Eth network, numerous activities exist within the Web 3 space. For instance you:
1. Borrow and lend money without middlemen.
This would bring us to the concept of Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Put shortly, DeFi refers to Web 3 financial services that boycott middlemen by operating on clear rules, transparency and security. Thus, you can get profit through lending money and trading assets.
2. You can build and join communities called Decentralised Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).
Put shortly, a DAO is a blockchain-built community that is transparent and secure meant for ownership and decision making based on the community members. You'll contribute to Eth community projects through DAOs.
3. You can run Smart Contracts.
A Smart Contract means a digital instruction manual that is written to make processes like transactions, agreements short and automatic.
For instance, when you use a smart contract in a voting system, manipulating the votes becomes difficult and so people trust the process. The possibility of error reduces, people verify votes in real time and get vote results fast.
Also, when you run a smart contract in a supply chain system, you can track goods in real time and the system is automated to make payment immediately the goods get delivered.
You can use Ethereum platforms like Gnosis and Augur to predict markets.
You can also transfer your Web 2 skills into Web 3. For instance you can transition into being a Web 3 UI/UX designer for decentralized applications, transition into blockchain, smart contract, and decentralized applications (dApps) development, become a cryptographer and
E. HOW TO TRANSITION FROM WEB 2 TO WEB 3 DEV
If you're a web 2 developer, you can also transition from Web 2 dev to Web 3, blockchain and Solidity development. Solidity is the fundamental programming language of Ethereum.
You should follow the transition pipeline provided in this video guide.
You can take transition courses on edX, Coursera, Udemy and you can also jump on this 32-hour FreeCodeCamp Web 3, Solidity, and Smart Contract course.
From here, you can learn famous frameworks like Hardhat, Truffle and web3.js and build decentralized applications.
F. HOW TO SELL DIGITAL ARTS
Digital arts are called Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and can be anything from music, videos, games, books, photos, collectibles etc. To sell NFTs, you have to first create your digital asset. For instance, if your NFT is going to be a photo. You'll
1. Go to the DALL E, an AI tool for creating realistic images.
You'll describe what you want using a prompt e.g. "two mango eating monkeys". The prompt would help generate an image and you can refine the image using tweaked prompts and download the final image.
2. Go to Opensea, a market place for digital assets.
On the OpenSea, you can earn in a number of ways. Two ways are to upload your NFT or buy a token to purchase an NFT that you'll resale at a profitable price.
3. Connect your Crypto Wallet
To upload your NFT into the OpenSea you need your wallet, and this is just why you should have done step C. above "HOW DO YOU BECOME AN ETH USER?". You can connect your Coinbase wallet, MetaMask wallet, or any wallet of your choice.
4. Pay a Small Fee
You'll be required to pay a very small amount of Ether to upload your NFT. Don't worry about it, it's a very small amount of Ether.
5. 'Create New Item'
Next, you'll go to your account and click on the 'Create'. It'll open up 'Create New Item' and from there you'll upload your NFT, you'll put the NFT 'Name', add an 'External Link' to connect your NFT to a related thing off OpenSea. For instance your NFT can be the cover of your new book, so you'll put the external link of your book.
You'll then add your NFT 'Description'. You'll define the 'Supply' which is the number/copies of your NFTs that can be bought before it gets finished. Select the 'Blockchain' option which would Ethereum in this case and then click on 'Create'. You should fill a captcha that shows you're human and BOOM! your NFT has been created.
6. Edit or Sell
You'll then get the option to either Edit or Sell your NFT. You'll choose a time of sale, you'll 'Choose a method', 'Set a price', 'Set duration', and look closely at your 'Summary' before you 'Complete listing'.
And boom! Your NFT is live. You can watch this video guide, for a better grasp of listing NFTs.
G. THE NECESSITY OF JOINING A COMMUNITY
Finally, this article would help you and there are links that'll lead you to read and learn more.
Notwithstanding, you can't do everything on Ethereum alone and in fact, it would be so easy to ask questions and get ahead fast when you join an Eth community.
There are many communities but I'll recommend a few. For instance, the community where I'm putting this article is the 2077 Collective, and just by joining them on X and Discord, you'll gain valuable insights into Ethereum.
You can also join communities and follow the Ethereum Foundation, and on Reddit for market analysis, for DeFi etc.
H. FINAL PARTING WORDS
1. Start from the basics.
2. Again, join a community.
3. Keep your seed phrase safe and guide against scammers.
4. Stay curious and keep learning.
5. Stay up to date with Eth and Blockchain news.
6. Collaborate, network and make valuable connections in your community.
7. Ask questions and learn from mistakes, yours and others'.
Thank you for your time and I wish you the best. :-)
