EDIT: We have updated our proposal to the new OP proposal format.
Previous Proposal:
(Proposal) Bankless Academy v1
Project Name
Bankless Academy
Number of OP tokens requested
26,500 OP
(We will update this to equal $30,000 USD at time of governance vote.)
Author’s name and point of contact (Telegram, Email, Discord)
Tetranome
Telegram: @Tetranome
Email: tetranome.academy@gmail.com
Discord: Tetranome🏴#1965
L2 Recipient address
Bankless Academy Optimism multisig:
0xbFBceA2a72Bc2e62E967fA0c79458dD507708469
Usage
The Bankless Academy dApp launched at ETHDenver 2022, with 14,018 lesson completions (using only POAP incentives).
In total, there have been 8015 unique addresses connected to Bankless Academy.
Usages statistics as of posting:
Wallet Basics (Released Feb 2022)
7465
Intro to DeFi (Released Feb 2022)
5877
Blockchain Basics (Released June 2022)
259
Academy Community (Released July 2022)
354
Web3 Security (Released Aug 2022)
105
Increasing metrics through SBT badge distribution:
Since ETHDenver, our team has partnered with MintKudos.xyz to issue soulbound token badges to users who complete Academy lessons, allowing our community to display on-chain verification of their general onboarding and per-topic training.
To mitigate badge farming and other sybil-behaviour, only users who have completed proof of personhood through our Gitcoin Passport integration will receive Academy badges. This sybil-protection gateway opens up the possibility for other on-chain rewards in the future.
(Note: we will also be enabling retroactive badge claim for users who decide to complete proof of personhood at a later time.)
Onboarding users to Optimism:
For context, the Bankless Academy onboarding experience aims to guide users from Centralised Exchange through to becoming a DeFi/NFT/DAO Hero on Ethereum - building skills they can then take with them to other ecosystems should they choose.
Our ‘Essentials’ onboarding journey includes:
- Going Bankless
- Wallet Basics
- Web3 Security
- Blockchain Basics
- Layer 1s: Ethereum and the Trilemma
- Layer 2s: Solving the Trilemma
This is followed by a branching of paths, allowing the user to follow their curiosity deep into topics of DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and more.
We believe that by ending this ‘Essentials’ path with a lesson that shows engage with Layer 2s (in this case, Optimism), Bankless Academy can drive a large number of users to:
- begin using Optimism as their default Layer 2 DeFi & NFT solution,
- complete Ethereum proof of personhood,
- discover and consider joining Optimism’s Citizen House,
- purchase OP tokens to engage in Optimism governance.
- flex their collection of Academy SBT credentials on the Optimism ecosystem, opening up an exciting range of possible ecosystem chemical reactions.
Our lessons also include an on-chain quest at the end, for which we would like to use a relevant Optimism service that helps the user test their knowledge on the topic of Layer 2s. We’d like to open this up as a topic of conversation with the Optimism community.
As an example, our Wallet Basics lesson briefs the user on wallet types and best practices, before finally linking them to a Metamask download and asking them to come back once installed to sign their first message and claim their first badge.
We also work with off-chain questions when appropriate. Our Blockchain Basics lesson runs the user through the basic functions of blockchain technology, and then requires them to enter the To & From addresses from the linked Etherscan transaction.
Optimism Alignment (< 200 words)
Bankless Academy is a free-to-access, open-source, education hyper-structure seeking to empower internet society with the information and tools necessary to achieve financial self-sovereignty; with going Bankless. Our bDAO-native team is on a mission to provide quality web3 education as a free-for-everyone public good.
With Optimism being a DAO that requires active participation to allocate value and build positive-sum structures, we believe that building a bridge between it and our growing Bankless Academy ecosystem will help to create an educated, sustainable and functional Optimism - and Ethereum - culture & economy.
For the User:
- Users can onboard to cheaper fees on Optimism L2.
- Users have a basis of understanding of Public Goods and why they’re valuable.
- Users have an easy onboarding to what makes Optimism special — an explicit focus on public goods funded retroactively from the sequencer while maintaining Ethereum’s core ideals of decentralization and security.
- Users have undergone proof of personhood (PoP), setting them up for Citizenship in Optimism.
For Optimism:
- An Optimistic Ethereum L2 learning lesson.
- A Bankless-native onboarding funnel.
- Additional marketing within the Bankless ecosystem.
For Bankless Academy:
- Development funding.
- Association with the Optimism ecosystem.
Token distribution (< 1000 words)
Half of the tokens will be distributed to our contributors building the Ethereum Layer 2s (and Optimism) onboarding lesson. The other half will remain in the community treasury, to be deployed towards continued development of the Academy platform.
We have presently decided to avoid lesson completion token incentives for the following reasons:
-
Even with current-gen proof-of-personhood, financial rewards disproportionately incentivise farming activity. We believe that our credential system poses a more interesting reward structure that inherently reduces farming behaviour and provides long-lasting ecosystem effects.
-
Our vision of a Web3 University is aimed at creating a space where learning and positive-sum thinking are welcome - thus we want to avoid building a community based on incentivising lesson completions for the wrong reasons.
The Bankless Academy journey still has the potential to lead to financial gain, but this is left to post-education when users can deploy their credentials in finding web3 work.
How will this distribution incentivize usage and liquidity on Optimism?
We have already presented our usage incentivisation above, and have no direct liquidity incentives to add.
Why will the incentivized users and liquidity remain after incentives dry up?
The Bankless Academy journey, through its education, credential issuance, and practical exercises, focuses on building long-term adoption and community involvement.
Over what period of time will the tokens be distributed?
There is no planned community token distribution.
How much will your project match in co-incentives?
There is no planned community token distribution.
Grant category:
Tooling
Updated Proposal:
Project name:
Bankless Academy
Author name and contact info (please provide a reliable point of contact for the project):
Tetranome
Telegram: @Tetranome
Email: tetranome.academy@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tetranome
Discord: Tetranome🏴#1965
I understand that I will be required to provide additional KYC information to the Optimism Foundation to receive this grant: [Yes/No]
Yes
L2 recipient address:
Bankless Academy Optimism multisig:
0xbFBceA2a72Bc2e62E967fA0c79458dD507708469
Which Voting Cycle are you applying for?:
cycle-6
Grant category:
Tooling
Is this proposal applicable to a specific committee? [y/n, link to committee]
No
Project description (please explain how your project works):
Bankless Academy is a free-to-access, open-source, education hyper-structure seeking to empower internet society with the information and tools necessary to achieve financial self-sovereignty; with going Bankless. Our bDAO-native team is on a mission to provide quality web3 education as a free-for-everyone public good.
Project links:
- Website:
https://app.banklessacademy.com/ - Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BanklessAcademy - Discord/Discourse/Community:
https://discord.gg/aDTvpmFd
https://discord.com/channels/834499078434979890/875461442265051187 - Please include all other relevant links below:
https://gm.xyz/c/BanklessAcademy
Additional team member info (please link):
DidierKrux
Twitter: https://twitter.com/didierkrux
Discord: DidierKrux.eth🏴#6120
iSpeakNerd
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iSpeak_Nerd
Discord: iSpeakNerd.eth 
#6969
OrnellaWeb3
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OrnellaWeb3
Discord: OrnellaWeb3🏴#1111
Please link to any previous projects the team has meaningfully contributed to:
N/A
Relevant usage metrics (TVL, transactions, volume, unique addresses, etc. Optimism metrics preferred; please link to public sources such as Dune Analytics, etc.):
Bankless Academy initially launched with POAP incentives. We have since decommissioned POAP distribution in favour of Mintkudos.xyz soulbound tokens, which we will be launching next month. We plan to explore further incentivisation in the future.
Usages statistics as of posting:
14,018 lesson completions
8015 unique addresses connected
Wallet Basics (Released Feb 2022)
7465
Intro to DeFi (Released Feb 2022)
5877
Blockchain Basics (Released June 2022)
259
Academy Community (Released July 2022)
354
Web3 Security (Released Aug 2022)
105
Competitors, peers, or similar projects (please link):
While https://rabbithole.gg/ is pursuing similar functionality to Bankless Academy, we believe that our focus on interactive lessons, on-chain quests, and community-driven content creation offer a unique product that the Rabbithole on-chain quest formula does not offer.
Is/will this project be open sourced? Yes/No/In Future
Yes, our project is open source.
Optimism native?: Yes/No
No
Date of deployment/expected deployment on Optimism:
We are expecting to deliver our first Optimism lesson within two months of grant issuance.
Should our proposal pass through cycle-6, this would set projected delivery for end of November 2022.
Ecosystem Value Proposition:
-
What is the problem statement this proposal hopes to solve for the Optimism ecosystem?
Optimism would benefit from an incentivised onboarding ramp that bolsters informed, active participation in its construction/upkeep of OP’s positive-sum structures.
-
How does your proposal offer a value proposition solving the above problem?
Education / Tooling:
The Bankless Academy lesson format:
- educates blockchain explorers on a specific topic,
- sends these explorers on an interactive platform quest,
- distributes composable soulbound-token badges for successful completions, providing on-chain certification that a user has completed the lesson.
Our user onboarding experience aims to guide users from Centralised Exchange through to becoming a DeFi/NFT/DAO Hero on Ethereum - building skills they can then take with them to other ecosystems should they choose.
Our ‘Essentials’ onboarding journey includes:
- “Going Bankless”
- Wallet Basics
- Web3 Security
- Blockchain Basics
- Layer 1s: Ethereum and the Trilemma
- Layer 2s: Solving the Trilemma
We believe that by ending this ‘Essentials’ path with a lesson that shows users how to engage with Layer 2s (in this case, Optimism), Bankless Academy can drive a large number of users to:
- begin using Optimism as their default Layer 2 DeFi & NFT solution,
- complete Ethereum proof of personhood,
- discover and consider joining Optimism’s Citizen House,
- purchase OP tokens to engage in Optimism governance.
- flex their collection of Academy SBT credentials on the Optimism ecosystem, opening up an exciting range of possible ecosystem chemical reactions.
Following the completion of our ‘Essentials’ journey, users reach branching paths allowing them to explore their curiosity deep into topics of DeFi, NFTs, DAOs, and more. This provides limitless options for additional lessons and exploration for platforms/protocols operation within the Optimism ecosystem.
User Research:
Our lesson production pipeline includes iterative learning sessions that can help to identify OP user knowledge bottlenecks, and discover suitable metaphors for explaining advanced concepts.
Marketing + Brand Association:
Throughout lesson production, the Optimism ecosystem will benefit from:
- Multiple build announcements via Bankless Academy communication channels.
- Multiple tweets via @BanklessDAO to its ~59,000 followers.
- A BanklessDAO newsletter feature - 10,000 regular subscribers, averaging 13,000 views.
- Multiple announcements in BanklessDAO community calls.
- OPTIONAL: Twitterspace + AMA with members of the Optimism team, talking specifically about Optimism as an L2 solution.
-
Why will this solution be a source of growth for the Optimism ecosystem?
.
Through education, direct onboarding quests, proof of personhood, user research and marketing within the Bankless ecosystem, Bankless Academy has the ability to drive a large number of active and equipped users to use Optimism services - and even begin taking part in Optimism governance.
Has your project previously applied for an OP grant? If successful, please link to your previous grant proposal and provide a brief update on milestones achieved with the grant. If unsuccessful, and this is a resubmission, please specify how you have incorporated significant changes in accordance with feedback.
No
Number of OP tokens requested:
33,000 OP
(We use USD valuations to reward our contributors, even though they will be sent OP. This number has been updated from our past proposal to reflect a valuation of $30,000 at time of posting.)
Did the project apply for or receive OP tokens through the Foundation Partner Fund?: Yes/No/In Process
No
If OP tokens were requested from the Foundation Partner Fund, what was the amount?:
N/A
How much will your project match in co-incentives? (not required but recommended, when applicable):
N/A
Proposal for token distribution:
-
How will the OP tokens be distributed? (please include % allocated to different initiatives such as user rewards/marketing/liquidity mining. Please also include a justification as to why each of these initiatives align with the problem statement this proposal is solving.)
Roughly 60% will be distributed to our contributors building and marketing the Ethereum Layer 2s (and Optimism) onboarding lesson. The other half will remain in the community treasury, to be deployed towards continued development of the Academy platform.
We have presently decided to avoid lesson completion token incentives for the following reasons:
- Even with current-gen proof-of-personhood, financial rewards disproportionately incentivise farming activity. We believe that our credential system poses a more interesting reward structure that inherently reduces farming behaviour and provides long-lasting ecosystem effects.
- Our vision of a Web3 University is aimed at creating a space where learning and positive-sum thinking are welcome - thus we want to avoid building a community based on incentivising lesson completions for the wrong reasons.The Bankless Academy journey still has the potential to lead to financial gain, but this is left to post-education when users can deploy their credentials in finding web3 work.
-
Over what period of time will the tokens be distributed for each initiative? Shorter timelines are preferable to longer timelines. Shorter timelines (on the order of weeks) allow teams to quickly demonstrate achievement of milestones, better facilitating additional grants via subsequent proposals.
Distribution to contributors would take place according to our monthly distribution cycle that takes place on the 8th of every month.
-
Please list the milestones/KPIs you expect to achieve for each initiative, considering how each relates to incentivizing sustainable usage and liquidity on Optimism. Please keep in mind that progress towards these milestones/KPIs should be trackable.
M1) Lesson production begins:
- A consulting session, establishing lesson goals, content direction, and a timeline for the collaboration.
M2) Iterative Learning Sessions & build events:
- 3x 1.5 hour live learning sessions.
- Text AMA on our gm.xyz page (see our 1inch AMA here).
- Collaboration Twitterspaces event.
M3) Lesson launch:
- Academy marketing campaign on Twitter and other media platforms.
- Announcement on the BanklessDAO Community Call.
- Announcement in the BanklessDAO Newsletter.
- Permanent feature on the Bankless Academy site and community pages.
-
Why will incentivized users and liquidity on Optimism remain after incentives dry up?
The Bankless Academy journey, through its education, credential issuance, and practical exercises, focuses on building long-term adoption and community involvement.
Please provide any additional information that will facilitate accountability:(smart contracts addresses relevant to the proposal, relevant organizational wallet addresses, etc.)
Bankless Academy multi-sig:
https://gnosis-safe.io/app/eth:0xf80Cd14ec747b2AdF7B1A9911b38c65a885dAeeA/balances
