01 Get a wallet
A wallet is the basic interface for Web3. It stores keys, signs messages, connects to decentralized applications, and represents your address onchain. The important first distinction is custody: with a custodial account, a company controls the private keys; with a non-custodial wallet, you control them yourself.
How to complete it
- Install a wallet only from an official source such as MetaMask or Rainbow.
- Create a new wallet and store the recovery phrase offline. Do not put it in email, cloud notes, screenshots, or chat.
- Connect the wallet to an identity tool such as Human Passport so you can see how wallet-based sign-in works.
What to learn
- Hot wallets are convenient and online; cold wallets are better for long-term storage.
- Signing a message is not the same as sending a transaction, but both deserve attention.
- Any site asking for your seed phrase is hostile or dangerously wrong.
02 Send crypto to your wallet
Funding a wallet is how you begin using decentralized applications. Even small actions can require network fees, so this quest is about learning transfer mechanics before meaningful funds are at stake.
How to complete it
- Copy your wallet address directly from the wallet app and verify the first and last characters before using it.
- Send a tiny test transfer from an exchange, another wallet, a faucet, or a bridge.
- Confirm the transaction in the wallet and on a block explorer before sending more.
Watch for
- Wrong-network transfers, especially when using L2s or exchanges.
- Gas fees that are larger than the amount you are trying to move.
- Clipboard replacement malware that swaps wallet addresses.
03 Create an ENS name
Wallet addresses are hard to read and easy to mistype. Naming systems such as ENS turn a long address into a human-readable identity, making your onchain presence easier to use and share.
How to complete it
- Search for a name through the official ENS app, or explore Basenames if you want a Base-native identity.
- Review registration cost, renewal period, resolver settings, and network fees.
- Set the name as your primary name only after confirming records point to the right wallet.
What to learn
- Names are public, so choose one you are comfortable attaching to wallet activity.
- Renewal matters. Letting a name expire can create identity and security problems.
- Readable names reduce address errors, but they do not remove the need to verify transactions.
04 Join a DAO's Discord
Many DAOs coordinate in Discord, Telegram, Farcaster, forums, or governance platforms. The goal is not to collect servers. The goal is to understand how a community works before you ask for trust, money, or responsibility.
How to complete it
- Find the community link from the DAO's official website or verified social profile.
- Read announcements, rules, governance channels, onboarding docs, and contributor channels.
- Introduce yourself briefly: skills, interests, time zone, and what you are trying to learn.
- Observe how decisions are made before jumping into proposals or paid work.
Examples to study
- Gitcoin, for grants and public goods governance.
- BanklessDAO / Black Flag DAO, for a community that reorganized and redefined its governance.
- ENS, Nouns, Decentraland, and other public communities with visible forums or proposals.
05 Fund impact projects through a DAO
DAOs often fund public goods, open-source software, education, climate work, civic projects, and ecosystem infrastructure. This quest is about learning how community funding works and how to evaluate projects before supporting them.
How to complete it
- Browse active or historical rounds on Gitcoin Grants, Giveth, or similar public goods platforms.
- Pick a project and read its description, milestones, prior work, team, and community discussion.
- Make a small donation, or if you do not want to transact, write a short evaluation explaining why you would or would not fund it.
What to learn
- Quadratic funding rewards broad community support, not only large checks.
- Grant programs need eligibility review, Sybil resistance, and accountability after funds are distributed.
- Impact funding is still risk-taking. A good mission does not guarantee execution.
06 Earn some tokens
DAO work can be a bounty, grant, project role, elected role, paid workstream, or contribution that starts unpaid and later becomes compensated. Earning tokens is not just payment; in many DAOs it can also mean reputation, voting power, or membership.
How to complete it
- Start with the DAO jobs page, then inspect a DAO's own forum, Discord, grants page, and proposal history.
- Look for clear scope, payment terms, reviewer, deliverables, deadline, and conflict resolution process.
- Do one small, visible contribution before negotiating a larger role.
Watch for
- Roles paid only in illiquid tokens with unclear value or vesting.
- Work without a named approver or treasury process.
- Communities that promise employment but operate like informal volunteer projects.
07 Swap currency or tokens
Token swaps are one of the most common DeFi actions. They are also a fast way to learn about liquidity, slippage, price impact, token addresses, and approvals.
How to complete it
- Use a well-known interface such as Uniswap and verify the domain.
- Swap a very small amount and check token address, network, estimated output, slippage, and fees.
- Save the transaction hash and inspect what happened on a block explorer.
- Revoke unnecessary token approvals after experimenting.
What to learn
- Swaps execute against liquidity pools, not a traditional order book.
- Fake tokens can mimic real names and tickers.
- Approvals can create future risk even after the swap is over.
08 Provide liquidity for lending
Lending protocols let users supply assets that other users borrow. This can teach you a lot about DeFi yield, collateral, liquidation, utilization, and smart contract risk.
How to complete it
- Read the docs and risk disclosures for a mature lending protocol before connecting a wallet.
- Compare supply APY, withdrawal mechanics, collateral settings, liquidation rules, and protocol fees.
- If you participate, use a small amount and track how the position changes over time.
Watch for
- Yield that depends on temporary incentives rather than sustainable demand.
- Assets with thin liquidity or unusual oracle risk.
- Borrowing against supplied assets before you understand liquidation.
09 Stake your ETH
Staking helps secure Ethereum and earns rewards, but different staking paths create different custody, liquidity, slashing, and smart contract risks.
How to complete it
- Read the current overview on ethereum.org staking.
- Compare solo staking, staking as a service, pooled staking, and liquid staking.
- Write down what you control, what someone else controls, how funds exit, and what can go wrong.
What to learn
- Solo staking maximizes control but has operational requirements.
- Liquid staking adds convenience and composability, but it introduces protocol and liquidity risk.
- Rewards are variable, not guaranteed income.
10 Explore an NFT collection
NFT communities can be art projects, social clubs, brands, game economies, or governance systems. The interesting question is what ownership actually grants.
How to complete it
- Choose a collection and find its official site, marketplace page, community channels, and governance links.
- Look for treasury, licensing terms, proposal history, holder benefits, and decision rights.
- Assess whether the NFT gives cultural status, access, governance power, financial exposure, or a mix of those.
Watch for
- Floor price obsession that hides weak community or unclear rights.
- Unofficial marketplaces, fake mints, and impersonated collection links.
- Projects where "community" means marketing, not actual agency.
11 Join a club
Social DAOs and member communities show that DAOs are not only about protocols and treasuries. They can coordinate identity, belonging, events, cultural production, and shared missions.
How to complete it
- Choose a community aligned with your interests rather than one that only looks exclusive.
- Review membership requirements, token gates, fees, code of conduct, events, and contributor paths.
- Attend one public event, read one forum thread, or talk to one member before applying.
What to learn
- Membership design shapes who can enter, who can vote, and who feels welcome.
- Good communities usually have rituals, norms, and visible ways for newcomers to help.
- Access is not the same as belonging.
12 Participate in the governance of a DAO
Governance is where a DAO turns discussion into decisions. The book uses Gitcoin as a core case study because it moved from a centralized company into community governance, grants, stewards, public proposals, and a treasury process.
How to complete it
- Start with the Gitcoin companion page for current context.
- Read one active proposal and one completed proposal on Gitcoin Governance.
- Identify the problem, requested resources, mechanism, objections, and follow-up accountability.
- Reply only if you can add a useful question, evidence, or constructive recommendation.
What to learn
- Forum discussion, Snapshot voting, token delegation, and multisig execution are different layers.
- A proposal can be socially legitimate but still operationally hard to execute.
- High-quality governance requires writing, context, patience, and follow-through.
13 Create a multisig wallet
A multisig is a shared wallet requiring multiple signers. It is one of the simplest building blocks for a DAO treasury because it distributes custody across a group.
How to complete it
- Open Safe and create a test multisig with trusted test signers.
- Choose a chain, add signers, and set a threshold such as 2 of 3 or 3 of 5.
- Submit a small test transaction and require each signer to review it before execution.
- Write a one-page runbook: who signs, what requires approval, where records are kept, and what happens if a signer disappears.
Watch for
- Thresholds that are too low for security or too high for continuity.
- Signers using weak personal wallet security.
- No process for replacing signers or handling emergencies.
14 Create a MolochDAO
A multisig works for small trusted groups. A Moloch-style DAO introduces tokenized membership, proposals, voting, treasury allocation, and exit mechanics for a larger community.
How to complete it
- Study Moloch v3 / Baal concepts and the current DAOhaus flow before deploying anything.
- Use a test network first. Define token names, transferability, proposal timing, quorum, sponsor threshold, and starting members.
- Document why each parameter fits the community's purpose and risk tolerance.
- Only deploy on mainnet after the group understands costs, governance consequences, and legal/accounting implications.
What to learn
- Token governance scales participation but can create voter apathy and capture risk.
- Ragequit-style exits protect minority participants in some DAO designs.
- Governance parameters are product design decisions, not default settings to click through.
15 Explore the virtual world
Virtual worlds show how DAOs can coordinate land, culture, games, events, identity, and marketplaces. The point is not only to walk around; it is to inspect what is actually governed by the community.
How to complete it
- Create an avatar in a world such as Decentraland.
- Attend an event, visit a district, inspect the marketplace, and read the governance page.
- Ask what landowners, token holders, builders, and visitors can each decide.
What to learn
- Virtual land can be social space, speculative asset, event venue, or governance object.
- DAO governance may shape policy, grants, moderation, or protocol changes.
- Digital worlds need community, not just graphics.
16 Explore network states
Network states are digital-first communities that coordinate around shared values, membership, governance, and sometimes physical places. They sit near DAOs, online communities, charter cities, pop-up villages, and new civic experiments.
How to complete it
- Read the overview at The Network State.
- Compare examples such as Zuzalu, Cabin, Praxis, Afropolitan, Prospera, and related pop-up city experiments.
- For each one, ask what the community can actually decide, fund, build, govern, and enforce.
What to learn
- A network state is not just a Discord with a flag. It needs coordination, legitimacy, and operational capacity.
- Legal jurisdiction, physical land, citizenship, membership, and treasury design become tightly connected.
- DAOs are one tool in a broader design space for internet-native institutions.