Bankless Academy: Open-Source & Scalable Web3 Education

Public Good Projects Discussion
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Project Description: Bankless Academy is a free, open-source platform offering interactive lessons and onchain certifications to make Web3 knowledge accessible for everyone. By breaking barriers to entry with inclusive and beginner-friendly education, we empower individuals to explore and be part of the new internet.

It is a public good because it’s non-excludable and non-rivalrous. It’s freely available to anyone without diminishing its availability to others. Bankless Academy serves the collective benefit by equipping people with tools and knowledge to contribute to and grow within the Web3 space.

Public Repository:
Website: app.banklessacademy.com
GitHub Repository: Bankless Academy · GitHub

Budget Breakdown

We are requesting $30,000/~8 ETH to fund key milestones that will help us scale our impact and continue delivering high-quality educational experiences.

Here’s how we plan to allocate the funding:

Milestone 1: Platform Migration and Feature Upgrades $13,500/~3,6 ETH

Key activities include migrating badges and quests to a more scalable platform, integrating new educational tools, and rigorous testing to ensure functionality and stability.

Expected Outcome: Completed migration, integrated features, and thorough testing by the end of Q1 2025.

Milestone 2: Marketing & Events $7,500/2 ETH

The marketing budget will focus on:

  • Partnership collaborations: engaging with other Ethereum communities and offchain educational platforms to increase reach.
  • Event participation: onboarding booths and presence at Web3 and blockchain events to connect with communities and meet new users.
  • University outreach: expanding into academic spaces and blockchain clubs.

Expected Outcome: Increased visibility and user engagement, with metrics to track partnerships and event reach at the end of Q1 2025.

Milestone 3: Community Building $6,000/~1,6 ETH

Efforts will focus on expanding Telegram and Discord channels, fostering deeper user engagement, and implementing new incentive structures to encourage participation.

Expected Outcome: A measurable increase in active members and community interaction, laying the groundwork for sustainable growth.

Milestone 4: Content Updates $3,000/~0,8 ETH

Funds will be allocated to updating existing lessons to reflect crucial updates.

Expected Outcome: An up-to-date curriculum that enhances the platform’s relevance and usability for learners.

Total Funding Requested: $30,000 /~8 ETH

Plans should you fall below, reach or exceed funding goals:

Below Goal: Focus on platform stability, core updates, and high-priority community-building efforts.

Reach Goal: Deliver all outlined milestones and scale up operational capacity.

Exceed Goal: Accelerate future initiatives, including advanced lesson creation and strategic partnerships with broader ecosystems.

Impact Measurement and Reporting

Inputs > Activities > Outputs > Outcomes > Long Term Impact

Short-term Outcomes (0-3 months):

  • Completion of platform migration and content updates.
  • Implementation of marketing campaigns and community growth initiatives.

Mid-term Outcomes (3-6+ months):

  • Increased user engagement, demonstrated by higher Daily Active Users (DAU) and onchain certifications minted.
  • Growth of partnerships with universities and blockchain clubs.

Long-term Impact (5+ years):

  • Empowering thousands of users globally with blockchain knowledge and skills, contributing to a decentralized internet economy.
  • Establishing Bankless Academy as the go-to platform for Web3 education.

Outcomes Measurement:

Quantitative Metrics: DAU, certifications minted, and participation at events, users onboarded.

Qualitative Metrics: User feedback, testimonials, and community surveys.

Tools: Dune Analytics dashboards, social media engagement metrics, website traffic and direct feedback mechanisms.

Interim Reporting

Regular Updates:

We will provide quaterly progress reports via Karma GAP, detailing milestone achievements, metrics, and next steps.

Milestone Verification:

Each milestone will be verified through deliverables, such as platform updates, content publication, and engagement metrics. Data will be updated in our Karma GAP profile.

Sustainability Plan

  1. Onchain Income: Currently, we do not charge for minting badges and we also sponsor the gas fees for the minting process. During 2025, we may implement a minting fee for special or more advanced certifications to support ongoing platform development and basic operational costs.

  2. Partnerships: We plan to expand our partnerships with universities, blockchain communities, and DAOs to integrate our education platform into different educational systems and blockchain initiatives. This will not only increase platform usage but also open up new monetization opportunities through custom certifications, sponsorships, and educational collaborations.

  3. Adaptation to Market Conditions: In periods of higher market activity, we expect an uptick in user engagement and badge minting, which will naturally increase our revenue from minting fees and collectible sales. During slower periods, we will focus on refining the platform, engaging with our community, and exploring new onchain monetization models, ensuring that the platform remains sustainable even when demand decreases.

  4. Adaptation of Working Hours: We will also adapt our working hours to the demands of the market. During higher demand periods, we will allocate more resources and time to scaling our operations. During quieter periods, we may adjust our schedules and workload, maintaining flexibility to balance market needs with operational efficiency.

  5. Stablecoin Payments: To ensure a stable financial environment for our team, we pay ourselves in stablecoins, which allows us to maintain healthy living standards regardless of market volatility. This provides financial stability to the team while ensuring that we can continue contributing to the project without the added stress of market fluctuations.

  6. Mental Health & Team Well-being: Financial stability is key to the mental well-being of the project’s contributors. By ensuring that we can meet our basic living needs without the constant pressure of volatile markets, we prevent burnout and maintain a healthy, sustainable work-life balance. Our focus on sustainability is not only about the platform’s growth but also about supporting the people who drive the project. Healthy, happy team members are crucial for the long-term success and sustainability of the project.

Case Studies and Testimonials

Gathering Feedback:

  • Conduct Surveys: Regularly distribute surveys to learners, partners, and event attendees to capture their experiences, challenges, and suggestions.
  • In-App Prompts: Incorporate feedback prompts within our platform through our ‘Suggest Edits’ feature to collect insights directly from users during or after completing lessons and certifications.
  • Event Interactions: Engage with attendees at our in-person and virtual events, such as onboarding booths and workshops, to gather real-time input on their educational journey.
  • Direct User Communication: Maintain open communication channels, such as email, X, and Telegram, for learners to share their thoughts and ideas directly with the team.

Showcasing Success:

Testimonials and case studies will be highlighted via blog posts, videos, and social media campaigns to amplify our impact and inspire others.

Advancing Values of Freedom and Privacy

Bankless Academy prioritizes privacy and self-sovereignty by ensuring that users retain full control over their data and wallet interactions. As a free, open-source platform, it promotes education without requiring intrusive data collection.

Supporting Decentralization

By equipping learners with the skills to engage in decentralized ecosystems, Bankless Academy directly contributes to the growth and adoption of Ethereum blockchain technology. Its focus on public goods aligns with the principles of decentralization and community empowerment.

Team Information

Didier Krux - Lead Developer

With 15 years of experience in website programming across the newspaper industry and startups, Didier Krux embarked on his crypto journey in 2017. As Lead Developer at Bankless Academy, Didier is passionate about simplifying blockchain concepts, leveraging open-source and composable technologies to create infrastructure that enhances learning and user engagement.

Social handles:
X
Warpcast
LinkedIn
Website

Ornella Vallana - Marketing & Community Lead

OrnellaWeb3 brings 15 years of expertise in community building, marketing, and branding across industries like science, music, and web3. At Bankless Academy, she focuses on democratizing access to blockchain knowledge, particularly through multilingual education, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility for global learners.

Social profiles:
X
Warpcast
LinkedIn
Linktree

Social Proof

Development Progress & GitHub Commits

  • GitHub Repository: Bankless Academy
    More than 3,000 commits showcasing development progress.

Endorsements

Students & Blockchain Clubs

Ecosystem Highlights

Ethereum Community Support

Additional Mentions

ETH Events

Transparency

Bankless Academy is committed to full transparency in how we operate and use resources. Every source of funding is allocated toward specific priorities like platform development and maintenance, roles, community building, content updates, and outreach.

We track and report our onchain activity and will now integrate updates to our Karma GAP profile, providing regular monthly updates on milestones, metrics, and progress.

Other funding

BanklessDAO: The project’s first funding came from BanklessDAO in the form of BANK for a total of 8,159,800 tokens.

Optimism’s Retroactive Public Goods Funding: In 2023, Bankless Academy became self-sustaining, no longer relying on BanklessDAO, and instead secured external funding through Optimism’s programs, RPGF2 for 58,066 & RPGF3 for 24,357 OP.

Lesson Sponsors: 1inch and Zerion for a total of 40K USC.

Sales: Unstopabble Domains 2,5K USDC implementation, customized whitelabel platform for HumanDAO 30K USDC.

Grants: Polygon 10K USDC, Optimism Governance Fund Phase 1 Cycle 6 33K OP, Optimism Governance Fund Season 4 Intent 4: 34K OP, Rocket Pool: 18K USD paid in RLP tokens.

Gitcoin Rounds: by participating in GR11, GR12, GR13, GR14, GR15, GC1, GR16, GR17, GR18, GG19, Glo & Arbitrum Rounds, and GG22 dApps & Apps and ENS Rounds, the project has received a combined total of 55K USDC over the past four years.

Donations from minting of Lesson Collectibles: 2.6 ETH