It seems like every platform and web3 project starts off by teaching people how to create a crypto wallet. And then we wonder why all of us seem to be facing the same friction…

There's no need for us to silo our content, especially when it comes to newcomers. The more cohesive and streamlined an experience we can offer, the quicker we'll have confident new people pooling into our ecosystem.

We believe we've cracked the code that unlocks this.

As we said, every project is building their own standalone knowledge resource over and over again. But what if there was a real entryway into web3? A wide open gate that didn't seek to give all the answers, but to channel people's intentions into their own rabbit hole of choice?

We call this pathway to contribution the Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) Training.

What is ASCAN?

We set out to build the simplest possible introduction to our space, leaving the complex mind-blowing stuff aside, and focusing strictly on what people need to know to start exploring. That is, a wallet, some ETH, and their first NFT to serve as a medal of accomplishment.

Our belief is that by cutting down the amount of stuff you need to learn before submitting your first transaction, we'll allow people to feel more comfortable in taking their first steps into crypto.

Our goal is to create an experience you could share with your siblings and non-techy friends, and have them learn the ropes, all in the span of a lunch conversation.

We took inspiration from established learning apps such as Duolingo and Codecademy, basing our entire experience on the two core principles of making education a habit for our people, and a fun experience you want to come back to over and over again. The approach we've taken, and what sets us apart, is known as Repetition Learning.

Another Learning App?

We're not looking to build yet another learning resource, at least not just that. What we're actually looking to offer is intention. We're fully aware how saturated the message is, and we believe the answer lies in channeling each person's reason to get into web3 in the first place.

You don't read a 3-page guide on what a blockchain is more than once. You want to make your own NFTs, experiment with DeFi, or contribute to a DAO. So why not cut to the chase and show people exactly which step to take through which platforms to get them participating ASAP?

ASCAN will serve as a companion guide, a cheat-sheet, while they explore our sprawling ecosystem. Something they can come back to when they face a brick wall. We believe this can help people learn in a more engaged way, and retain the lessons for longer.

But overall, the biggest value we want to offer to them is confidence. Knowing there's a solution to their problem, showing them the path forward.

Wanna Help us Build?

So to recap. We're building the entryway into web3, free of charge; we based our approach on existing educational apps and gamified learning systems. And finally, we're giving our candidates their first soul-bound NFT as a badge of honor for completing the course. This is where you come in.

We don't intend for this NFT to be another reason to speculate, but the key that unlocks web3 for our candidates. By using this data point, your project, protocol or platform can offer something unique to newcomers to our space. This doesn't have to come in terms of “utility”, but as a catered opportunity for you to take advantage of.

What If you could identify every single NFT and crypto beginner in this space, what would you do to help them feel safe and encourage them to explore?

That's essentially what our completion NFT does. It shows us who we should be extra attentive around. Then it's up to you and your projects to grant them special access, educational resources, and the like.

We're not here to compete with other educational projects, but to become the connective tissue between all of us. We've got enough content to teach several Uni courses when pooled together, it's only natural someone would step in to build a roadmap between them.

Our course is revving up for launch in the coming weeks, just a few matters to be sorted before our official alpha experience opens its doors to the public. If you're interested in helping us along the way, feel free to reach out!

You can experience the first stages of our course here.

We will share more updates on our development and growth through social media and Mirror as we go along. For now, your feedback on the above prototype and your support are invaluable to us.

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Don't hesitate to reach out If you're a part of a community or company that would like to help us out with the following areas:

• Porting the course to a mobile App

• Community building for web3 newcomers

• Social media (looking at you, chief meme officers)

• Implementing sybil resistance for our NFTs

We are taking a slow and calculated approach to growing this project, so no promises of another token, besides the graduation NFT that's exclusively for web3 newcomers. We're still figuring out the best way to decentralize this project and whether a DAO approach would suit us, we're eventually going to find a perfect solution to this matter, we just don't wanna rush it.

If this project resonates with you and you know someone who'd appreciate an easy introduction to web3, you'd be doing us an amazing favor by sharing this referral link. We promise to take good care of them.

This project has been approved for a Gitcoin Grant, if you'd like to offer your financial support, you can do so by visiting this link.

All funds collected from the grants page will go towards polishing the platform and making sure it's ready for the next stages of development (which we'll be sharing in a future article).

A Quick Note on who we are.

Our team is deeply ingrained in web3 and NFTs, we have a thousand reasons to be thankful for this space and this is our way to give back. If you've got any ideas for us to improve, or opportunities to collab with other web3 projects, feel free to hop on the DMs.

Pyrrhon / Dominik - "I can't put into words how deeply web3 impacted my life for the better. It came naturally to make it part of my mission to make web3 accessible for everyone and enable as many people as possible to make use of the possibilities. I am the founder of ASCAN and will be responsible mainly for growth and partnerships."

Daniel - “I am relatively new to the web3 space and I'm still exploring and learning A LOT. As a passionate logo- and brand identity designer, I'll be more than happy to shift my profession into web3 and help to build in this wonderful space with my overall design skills. As such, I'll be leading the creative direction at ASCAN and working on product design”

Kairon / Alejandro - "You've probably seen my content on Rabbithole, some DAOs' and my own publication, among others. I'm an active participant in our ecosystem, and love helping projects all over to reach their full potential. I'll be leading content efforts in ASCAN, and personally writing a big portion of the lessons"

We would also like to shout-out @carstenpoetter, @TheDudeA, and @0ffline122 for supporting our first steps and helping us create our initial iteration!