Preamble:
I caught up with Jonathan Gropper in Thailand where he is aiding in developing the web3 community within the kingdom. Jonathan is a serial entrepreneur with past experience in web2 projects as well as other industries in the US where he also earned his Juris Doctorates. Jonathan has now directed his skillset into new endeavors in the crypto space. After spending significant time in Asia, particularly in Taiwan. Jonathan has further established himself as an influential figure, regularly contributing insights to notable business and media outlets both in Asia and The West.
Jonathan recently became a part of the dynamic team at Ubiquity DAO, a project that captivated his attention due to the exceptional individuals within its community and the profound industry impact they aspire to achieve. Recognizing the potential of this venture and the space it is in, we engaged in an enlightening discussion to demystify the world of crypto and web3, seeking to unravel the factors that differentiate successful crypto projects from others. Our conversation centered around the crucial role of sustainable value and utility propositions in driving the growth of Web3 projects.
In the rapidly expanding realm of crypto where blockchain-based startups are transforming industries, understanding the importance of value and utility propositions is paramount. The journey of elevating a seed stage Web3 company from $20 million to a $200 million valuation is not an everyday occurance. With his past experience added to the Ubiquity DAO team, The goal is to do just that. Because of its innovative stable coin and market approach, Ubiquity DAO has attracted investments from industry leaders such as Animoca, Merit Circle, Momentum6, and Ascensive Assets. This first valuation round took Ubiquity DAO to $20 million. The next stop is $200 million. The upcoming task to increase the value of the DAO by increasing its utility to the Web3 universe.
Distinguishing Hype from Utility:
In the Web3 landscape, there is a prevalent trend of meme coins that capture the attention of the masses through viral marketing campaigns and social media buzz. However, these projects often lack real-world utility and can be detrimental to unsuspecting investors. On the other hand, lower-profile projects, some the earliest of which are Bitcoin and Ethereum, prioritize building robust infrastructure that serves as a foundation for specific utilities as well as a wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. By focusing on real-world value and utility, these projects stand the test of time. As they mature, their value trends upwards alongside their utility.
Building the Foundation. Three main catalysts:
Web3 projects that prioritize infrastructure development play a crucial role in the ecosystem's growth. Ethereum, for instance, provides developers with a decentralized platform for creating dApps, enabling the execution of smart contracts and the issuance of new tokens. This functionality establishes a solid foundation for innovative applications, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and NFT marketplaces, creating an ecosystem where value can flourish.
1. Long-Term Value Creation:
While meme coins may experience short-term surges in popularity, their lack of utility often leads to volatility and potential harm for investors. In contrast, projects like Ethereum, with a clear purpose and utility, offer a compelling value proposition that stands the test of time. Ethereum's versatility and adoption by a multitude of developers and projects have resulted in a network effect, fueling its growth and solidifying its position as a fundamental pillar of the Web3 ecosystem.
2. The Power of Community:
Successful Web3 projects are built on strong communities that contribute to their growth and longevity. Ethereum, with its passionate and engaged community of developers and users, has fostered an environment of collaboration and innovation. The Ethereum community continuously explores and develops solutions to scalability challenges, with ongoing upgrades such as Ethereum 2.0, which aims to enhance network efficiency and expand its utility even further.
3. The Ripple Effect:
Projects focused on infrastructure, such Ethereum, have a ripple effect on the entire Web3 landscape. As Ethereum grows and expands its utility, it enables a plethora of dApps, DeFi platforms, and NFT marketplaces to flourish. This interconnectedness and interdependence between projects within the ecosystem contribute to the overall value and growth of the Web3 industry.
When navigating the crypto landscape, it is crucial to differentiate between meme coins that generate fleeting hype and projects focused on the infrastructure that offers long-term value and utility. While meme coins may captivate attention temporarily, they often lack substance and can be risky for investors. Lower-profile projects, such as Ethereum, that prioritize building a robust foundation and serve as the backbone of the ecosystem, offer a more sustainable path to growth and value creation. As time goes on, the utility and value of these projects will continue to expand, shaping the future of decentralized technologies.
Enter Ubiquity DAO:
Holding the same ethos as Ethereum and ingraining the above 3 points into its DNA, Ubiquity DAO is a builder's DAO. For builders, by builders. Ubiquity's long-term value proposition is in building an ecosphere comprising tools and products for other projects to be built upon. This in turn creates a solid and vibrant community which then leads to a ripple effect in market adaptation.
Ubiquity DAO made a significant impact in the industry by setting its initial focus on creating a fully collateralized stablecoin with built-in value stabilization mechanisms and conservative tokenomics, known as uAD. This ambitious goal garnered attention from some of the most prominent investors in the field, recognizing the value of a reliable settlement mechanism within the ecosystem. However, as the Ubiquity community embarked on this challenging endeavor, they encountered a hurdle the lack of essential tools required for building its success. Undeterred, the community took matters into their own hands and embarked on building these much-needed tools.
Throughout the development process, the Ubiquity DAO community realized the broader potential and value these tools held for other builders and communities in the space. With this newfound realization, a decision was made to share these tools with the public, paving the way for collaboration and growth within the wider ecosystem. As a testament to its commitment, the community is now ready to release its first platform tool, aptly named DevPool, to empower developers and amplify the capabilities of other projects by means of community and monetary incentives. A contribute-to-earn model.
Ubiquity DAO's journey from the inception of its fully collateralized stablecoin to the development of invaluable tools highlights the community's dedication to fostering innovation and collaboration. By providing accessible tools like DevPool, Ubiquity DAO aims to drive progress and fuel the growth of many projects within the crypto landscape.
What is DevPool?
In a sentence:
DevPool is a web3 community marketplace platform built into Github and which connects projects with experienced developers.
The inception of the DevPool platform stemmed from Ubiquity DAO's internal requirement to enhance scalability and identify the ideal talent for proficiently executing different facets of their projects. As the community recognized the significance of this solution, DevPool evolved into its own project, leveraging Ubiquity DAO's resources, purpose-built algorithms, and AI integrations to streamline the management of development processes and contributors.
By harnessing the power of these advanced technologies and placing them in an easy to use interface, DevPool empowers projects to efficiently oversee the development flow and maximize the effectiveness of its contributors. The platform acts as a catalyst, seamlessly integrating capabilities to optimize resource allocation, enhance productivity and ensure smooth coordination among team members.
The transformative capabilities of DevPool exemplify Ubiquity DAO's commitment to innovation and its dedication to providing a cutting-edge ecosystem for development. With DevPool's sophisticated infrastructure, Ubiquity DAO is well-positioned to navigate the challenges of scaling projects and nurturing a talented community of builders, enabling them to unlock their full potential and drive forward the Web3 revolution.
How does DevPool work?
DevPool stands out for its seamless integration directly into Github, the widely recognized foundation where a majority of technology and project development occurs. This integration serves as a key differentiator enabling DevPool to deliver unparalleled value by accelerating the construction of robust infrastructure across different platforms and projects without being limited or attached to them.
DevPool strategically incentivizes the right individuals at the right moment by optimally matching qualified developers with projects seeking their specific expertise.
Moreover, the platform leverages Ubiquity DAO's advanced infrastructure to automate payouts, providing efficient and transparent financial incentives.
One of the noteworthy aspects of DevPool is its ability to foster distributed team collaboration. By promoting collaboration across decentralized teams, DevPool harnesses the collective expertise of diverse contributors, resulting in accelerated progress and enhanced outcomes. Additionally, DevPool empowers projects to dynamically scale their development capacity as per demand. This flexibility allows projects to adapt and expand their teams in real time, ensuring they can efficiently tackle challenges and meet their objectives.
Through its direct integration with Github, DevPool revolutionizes the development process, enabling teams to build infrastructure faster and with greater precision. By incentivizing the right talent, streamlining financial rewards, promoting collaboration, and offering dynamic scalability, DevPool sets the stage for accelerated growth and innovation within the Crypto ecosystem.
Diving a little more into the technical realm, Ubiquity DAO is focusing on constantly refining DevPool's functional development in order to provide a superlative experience on GitHub for projects and developers. Ubiquity DAO has leveraged some of the most trusted and advanced technologies in the DeFi ecosystem including Uniswap's Permit2, Gnosis Safe, and Gnosis Chain which alongside with xDAI provide a solid transactional bedrock as a means of maintaining DevPool as project agnostic. In doing so, DevPool intrinsically maintains the widest possible appeal and utility to the ever growing community of builders and developers.
Going from $20 million to $200 million:
Jonathan concluded our conversation by saying that "At Ubiquity DAO, DevPool is one of the many exciting projects our builder community is set to release to help further mature the industry. It is precisely at this junction that the value proposition of the tools and the community that uses them intersect to create the ripple effect. This is where our opportunity to multiply the value of the project by a factor of 10 or 100 avails itself. This is precisely where business expertise, strategic relationships, and a clear roadmap manifest the increase in valuation. Ubiquity DAO is providing innovative and necessary tools to a nascent industry which is why I personally believe the market will reflect Ubiquity DAO's value proposition before long."
