Five reasons you need to check out the Bankless Card.
Rabbit Hole Alert:
Bankless Card is a project started by one of the guilds of the Bankless DAO, ($BANK), a Decentralized Autonomous Organization started in 2021. With a stated goal of bridging the user interface (UI) gap, their aim is to create an affinity debt / credit card aimed at DAOs and the WEB3 community. Affinity cards are a significant part of the traditional finance (TRADFI) world and are in the vast majority of peoples current IRL wallets. Think an airline rewards card where you earn miles or a university alumni card where a percentage of the transactions goes back to your alma matter.
ONE: Moving from TRADFI to DEFI.
Decentralized finance is a movement of the new ownership economy and has been an undercurrent of the cryptocurrency ecosystem for quite a while now. The Bankless Card will fill a niche in the foundation of this movement. One of the most common roadblocks to mass adoption of cryptocurrency is the lack of simple to utilize on and off ramps from coins and tokens to FIAT. Bankless Card aims to solve this by making it easier to convert your tokens into IRL purchases, with the added benefit that a percentage of those purchases can then go to the DAO of your choice.
The crypto credit card market was worth $11.7B in 2021, with an expected growth of 21% annually. (Ref 1) The affinity credit card market has proven to be a stable, lucrative business for traditional banks for decades, generating ~$1.8T in 2018 and growing at a steady 2.9% annually. (Ref 2)
Not convinced? Here is their current pitch deck.
TWO: They need your help.
The Bankless Card Guild is a dedicated, small group of people who are always looking for skilled team members to diversify the project. Do you have some time and a skill set that you can bring to the table? Check out their road map, bounty board, and onboarding guide.
THREE: They are looking for your feedback.
The team is acutely aware of not trying to develop this project in a vacuum. As a result they are looking for other DAOs to partner with them and to further decentralize the project. One of the key ways the project team is going to accomplish this is by feedback from a survey. If you have made it this far in the article, then please take a moment to complete this survey.
FOUR: You can make a difference
All of us have entered this incredible space for different reasons. We all have our passion projects and individual motivations that have driven us into the this amazing ecosystem of DAOs, cryptocurrency, online forums of like minded people and decentralized social media structures. The Bankless Card aims to support all of our passion projects by providing an easy to use and low friction mechanism of channeling that devotion and excitement by capitalizing on purchases you already make.
Centralized exchanges like Crytpo.com and Coinbase already offer similar cards, and yes, you can earn some rewards by utilizing them. However the vast majority of the fees generated by those vehicles go back to the exchange. Why not funnel those funds to your DAO or favorite charitable organization instead.
There are a ton of charitable organizations like the Blu Fund DAO, an animal charity based on the Betty White challenge or Every Little Step, a NFT collection that raises funds to purchase IRL step stools for local Nashville business to make their restrooms more kid-friendly and accessible.
FIVE: A rising tide lifts all boats.
Lets face it, it is still early days in the world of cryptocurrency adoption. Not everyone in the world has FOMO’d in. We all believe that the watershed moment will come when more institutional investment and pension funds start to sit up and take notice. A spot Bitcoin ETF approval by the SEC would be just the catalyst this bear market needs to turn bull, but I digress.
The successful projects in this space are those that put their heads down and BUIDL in a bear market while we wait for the bulls to show up again. The Bankless Card has just the use case and stickiness to potentially function as a sort of a DAO of DAOs, networking many together with a common tool. By its very nature and roadmap, its planned adoption curve starts out by letting noobs into a wading pool where there will be education and support, allowing adoption without even needing a WEB3 wallet.
Individual users in dinghies trying to figure out true north without a sextant can ease into token accumulation, getting their feet wet with concepts like HODLing and DEFI swapping before diving into the deep ocean where the scary whales live. This maintains the decentralized nature and goal of the whole ecosystem.
About the author
BluBear is a cryptocurrency enthusiast, alter ego and loyal keyboard companion to a Colorado based Hume who enjoys the vitis vinifera. When not making or drinking wine, you can find him exploring his other passion, WEB3.
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