Calling ALL Modern Based Mavericks, We are Unlocking Blockchain for new users using /base
We are riding the Based Express. Base is an L2 network that is a fraction of the cost of ETH main net & incentivizing its users to create on /base with cash. Wait until you see what they've created!
My biggest criticism of blockchain over the past 3 years is how costly every single transaction is, especially when there are a ton of people online using the network.
Would you pay more to use your credit card around the holidays because the network is busy? However, that is exactly what we expect people to do when using cryptocurrency to buy digital assets.
I use the ETH Gas Tracker to “check gas” before completing transactions. In my experience, “gas” for an NFT can range from $2 to $2,000, depending on traffic, to sell or move the asset. High gas fees within the network are a huge barrier to entry for many and present an ongoing problem for any platform that wants to scale.
The unpredictability of transaction fees also creates difficulty for businesses in making strategic decisions within the space, including how to scale. Layer 2 crypto protocols decrease these fees so significantly causing network fluctuations to have little to no impact on cost.
The ETH Innovation That Solved for Outrageous Gas Fees
Innovative founders in the space introduced Layer 2 networks like Polygon, Arbitrum, and Base to help solve the problem. All of these networks use the Ethereum Layer 1 network as their backbones. Why does the backbone matter? In my experience, there are a lot of “L2 Rollups” not on ETH that suck, lack security, and has uptime issues (like SOL). I’ve grown up in crypto on ETH so that is where my flag is planted.
Today, I am only focused on my experience with BASE from Coinbase. I am particularly interested in BASE because of its ability to create /frames inside of a social media platform called Farcaster (Warpcaster on mobile).
My first go-round with BASE was not awesome.
I bought ETH on the BASE network in an attempt to buy an NFT on the ETH mainnet. I immediately checked my Metamask wallet only to find that my ETH never made it. After freaking out for 10 minutes I realized that Coinbase offered me a cheaper fee to buy the ETH using the BASE network so the ETH was sitting in my wallet, but on the BASE network (L2), not ETH L1. Whew!
MAKE SURE YOU’RE USING THE RIGHT NETWORK WHEN BUYING CRYPTOCURRENCY.
Here is a quick guide on how to buy ETH using the BASE network using Coinbase.
A few weeks later I saw CVL, Corey Van Lew, minting a piece of his work so I bit and got started on Farcaster. After getting started I was met by this post.
I minted a Corey Van Lew NFT through this /frame on Farcaster. I clicked MINT, the frame took me to Zora.xyz where I saw there was a slider bar to mint more than one so I slid it the whole way to the right like a proper degen would (11 units). Less than $2.00 for the transaction of minting 11 NFTs using the BASE network. That same transaction on ETH (ERC721A) on a slow day would have been over $100 easily. Crypto and NFTs are getting more affordable by using L2 protocols like BASE.
TL:DR about Base from Coinbase
I look for these types of L2 platforms to continue to gain steam and get better because of how inexpensive the transaction was and how easy it is for me to get from scrolling my timeline to minting an NFT. More Dapps on L2 networks will be built as platforms like Coinbase incentivize them to do it. Coinbase dropped more than 35 million USD in value of BASE tokens to creators who are building on /base. I am telling all of my dev buddies to look into /frames and BASE. 35 Million worth of BASE tokens is a meaningful investment. On top of the cash, they’ll be keeping the API public which will inevitably create a robust developer relationship between Coinbase and builders for years to come. The founder Brian Armstrong has a complete documentary if you’re interested in learning more about the founder.
Riddles, Mints, and Scavenger Hunts on BASE earns Blockchain REWARDS
My wife and I did a “scavenger hunt” called "/huntbase” on basehunt.xyz where we were given points for using the BASE network. We had to solve riddles, mint NFT, visit sites, and learn.
Each step we completed unlocked new on-chain rewards. Some of those rewards were FREE NFTs, some were NFT MINTS that cost around $0.40/each, and others just wanted me to connect my wallet and play a game. These are a few of the rewards we earned.
Why Do These NFTs Matter for Base Success?
The hunting game bridged an IRL event (ETH Denver) with the metaverse (internet) and also PROVED I accomplished the tasks necessary to open the door to earn the rewards.
How did BASE know I did it? Every site I went to I had to connect my Coinbase wallet. That wallet is my user ID for every one of those sites and keeps a ledger of my transactions on the network. It’s all on the same ledger and feeds back to the BASE network.
Now is a good time to let you know about online safety. I only connect to sites that I know to be verified safe. We do not have an SSL cert yet for Dapps like Coinbase Wallet so it is hard to tell what is safe and what isn’t. Here is how I try to make sure I am safe. I only use links directly from the original project. I do not click any links through Twitter, WhatsApp, Email, or text messages. Coinbase vetted the sites that were used on BASED HUNT so I felt comfortable connecting my wallet to those sites. There will be bad actors using phishing websites that will steal all your assets. Never give your seedphrase or recovery codes to anyone. Nobody asks for that stuff.
This ability to know when I accomplish tasks on the BASE network and feed that information to BASE and the Dapp is important. The Hunt is a prime example of how Dapps can integrate back into BASE while building on top of each other creating the BASE ecosystem. On-chain rewards are nothing new. Rewards programs are nothing new. At these price points, we will see more dapps built and integrated, especially if Coinbase is paying high bounties for good tech.
MEME OF THE WEEK:
“The Ripple” an ai3 Bot Saga
Chapter 3 Hope
“These microgreens are growing so fast and dense. I wonder what the macros are on these. We should run a few more tests before we submit them to the counsel for production consideration. This is going to feed so many people and keep them healthy.”
Looking up from the photovoltaic cables he’s working on “Sure, whatever you say Hope.”
“Did you even hear what I said, Koby?”
“Yeah, microgreens. I’m hungry do you want some takeout?”
“You’re ridiculous! We have all this raw amazing veg and you’re thinking about takeout? Gross!”
“After yesterday, it’s hard to tell what is gross and not. The ripple we all felt yesterday was nuts dude! My mom said she almost fell down the stairs. She lost her croissant down the steps when she fell. You know how she is with those things. She still ate it. What were you doing when it happened?”
“That’s the thing. I was napping when it happened in the afternoon. I was up all night looking over these datasets trying to get the fertilizer right for poor soil conditions growing. Deep into the night, there were some proteins in the soil I was unaware of. I had never even seen them in my textbooks or anywhere. We might have discovered something brand new, to be honest. During that, I must have passed out because I didn’t wake up until late on Saturday. I opened up my phone and saw all the feeds about the Ripple.”
“Lucky dog! It was a wild trip. Like taking acid and then going to a concert with crazy lights. Everything went all wavy and then we all sort of passed out. I wasn’t sure if I was still high from Friday or something.”
“You really should be careful. A lot of that stuff you take is laced with other nasty things. It’s not safe!”
“Hope, good to see you,” said Petric breaking the awkward silence of Hope and Koby staring at each other.
“You too Petric! Glad we got to open on Sunday. Made a awesome discovery Friday night! I was looking through the datasets and realized that we may have found a brand new protein in the soil we have been analyzing. Something changed in the sets that made me dig in a bit deeper. Need to do some more tests to be sure, but I think it could be something to write on for NFE. Also, come look at these microgreens! I think these are the best batch yet. Taste them!”
“Damn! These are insane. Little peppery even.”
“May I try them also Hope?”
“OMG, Yes yes of course Schmuper. How rude of me. Here try this one”.
“I agree with Petric, DAMN! These ARE good!”
“See Koby, they’re good! Takeout is for losers.”
“Hope, we have a mission for you if you wish to accept.” Said in the best commander-type voice possible.
“Mission briefing required before I can accept or deny my duties”.
They all had a good laugh.
“So as you know yesterday was a peculiar event”
Koby interrupts “She didn’t feel it, she was sleeping because she is a nerd and stayed up all night reviewing datasets on that soil.”.
Elbowing Koby “It’s saving food deserts you ass, and being a nerd is cool now!”.
“Yeah Koby, nerding is cool these days,” said Petric.
“Okay okay, we need some analysis done on solar flares in the last 24 hours. Given your team’s exposure to the sun (ba da cha) we need you to bnlook into any solar flares that have occurred in the last 24-48 hours as well as any meteorological … ummm … inconsistencies you notice. Grab an AI3 for this too. They’ve been quite helpful at running datasets like this.”
“Oh yeah! I’ll use Cotton Candy for this one. That A3 is just perfect for this one. Has the latest botany and atmosphere NFE updates. Looking forward to this one. This is for Koby too, right?”
“Of course, Koby can work this too.”
“With all due respect, I’m elbow-deep in repairing these Panels to ship out to Mongolia this week. Can I pass on this one?”
“Help where you can then, but after the panels help Hope”.
Rolling his eyes “Okay, will do. Hope, I’m thinking these are going to take me a bit longer”.
Turning around Hope already fixed the issues and the panels were up and running. “Seems like these are fixed. You’re on solar flares and I’ll scan out Cotton Candy. This is going to be fun!”