Welcome to your bankless journey!
This guide is your roadmap to the unknown. It’s your guide to the wild west of open finance. Don’t worry about figuring this out all at once. Just commit to learning a bit each week.
This is the frontier.
– RSA
Here’s what this guide covers:
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Bankless goals
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Resources for the journey
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Understanding core concepts
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Developing key skills
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Where to get help
1. Bankless goals
Going bankless is a journey towards freedom—self-sovereignty. Financial independence.
That means less reliance on two types of banks that control your life:
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Less reliance on central banks
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Less reliance on commercial banks
It’s not that we hate banks. It’s that we don’t need them anymore. At least, we need them a lot less in our new crypto money systems.
People on the bankless journey eventually see two flippenings:
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Flippening 1: more net worth in crypto assets than in the old system
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Flippening 2: more banking activity on crypto networks than in the old system
But we’re practical. It’s too early to do this all at once. Too risky. Too difficult. This open money system is just getting started.
That’s why it’s a journey.
Must do actions:
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📄Read the Bankless Skill Cube (that’s our map)
Westward for Gold!
Like all worthwhile journeys, this one isn’t easy! It takes effort. It requires risk!
We’re not just starry-eyed dreamers—we’re heading west because there’s gold! If we’re right—massive upside! New economies. New asset classes. The opportunity to become financially independent.
This is like learning HTML and buying .com domains in 1995.
Why go bankless?
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To maximize your crypto wealth (independence & wealth)
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To become a Bankless Jedi (skills & knowledge)
And it’s about a better system for future generations:
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It’s about rejecting authoritarianism (read the deeper reason)
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It’s about building it up not burning it down (read the cities burn below)
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It’s about how we can change the world (read the 3.5% rule)
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It’s about access for developing world (read straddling two worlds)
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It’s about a hedge against their money printing (read the cost of money printing)
Bankless means freedom and upside for each of us as individuals and an opportunity make the world a better place for future generations. If bankless wins, the world wins.
2. Resources for the journey
With your goals in let’s make sure you have the resources for your journey.
Weekly level-ups:
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📄Subscribe to Bankless newsletter – read daily, recap on Saturday, check archive
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🎙️Subscribe to Bankless podcast – for weekly episodes & check out the archive
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📺Subscribe to Bankless YouTube – weekly State of the Nation & tutorials
Get on the schedule:
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(Mondays) Read rundown, watch video tactic, & listen to new podcast episode
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(Tuesdays) Read new tactic to learn & watch State of the Nation video show
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(Wednesdays) Read written piece by a Bankless community member
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(Thursdays) Read thought piece for strategy calibration
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(Fridays) Discuss community discussion for collaboration
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(Saturdays) Read weekly recap of action items
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(Sundays) Rest up for next week!
Community engagement:
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🧑🤝🧑Bankless Discord – a community chat for the Bankless community
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💬Bankless AMAs – AMAs w/ fascinating guests 2nd & 4th Thurs of the month
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🐦Bankless Twitter – follow for news, updates, & inspiration
Starter Equipment:
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You’ll need an exchange account to buy crypto (I like Coinbase)
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You’ll need a DeFi wallet (I recommend MetaMask for desktop & Argent for mobile)
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You’ll need hardware wallet for cold storage (I like Ledger)
Bankless Equipment:
Actions:
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📄Read: How to get your first DeFi Wallet (Argent)
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🎙️Listen: DeFi’s Mainstream Wallet – Argent (a good starter Wallet)
3. Understand core concepts
With your resources by your side you can start digging into the core concepts.
Read these first:
Money
Investing
Investing in DeFi Tokens
Paradigms
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Ethereum & Bitcoin are Digital Nations
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Economic bandwidth explains why ETH & BTC are irreplaceable as money
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Protocol Sink Thesis explains why DeFi will win
Ethereum & ETH
Bitcoin & BTC
DeFi & Crypto Banks
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📄The 2 faces of Ethereum (DeFi is a spectrum) 🔥
Stablecoins
Technology:
Crypto eating traditional finance
4. Develop Key Skills
While you learn the key concepts take time to level-up on the key skills so you can do things in the the bankless money system—pay, lend, borrow, earn, trade, and invest.
Going Bankless
Pay & Receive
Lend & Borrow
Earn
Invest
Stake:
Wallets & Addresses
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)
Collectibles & Gaming:
Risks
Taxes
Security & Privacy
Hedging Risk
Learning to learn
Essential Editorials
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📄ETH is doubly undervalued (May 25, 2020)
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📄You’re not late! (January 20, 2020)
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📄Rise of the protocol politicians (October 21, 2019)
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📄DeFi in ten years (December 5, 2019)
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📄Money metaphors (January 13, 2020)
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📄Crypto is for mainstream (December 16, 2019)
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📄Everyday is proof of keys for DeFi (January 6, 2020)
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📄Voting for cash flows (May 4, 2020)
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📄ETH futures (May 11, 2020)
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📄What happens when you attack DeFi? (February 17, 2020)
5. Where to get help
In the American West settlers traveled across the plains and mountains passes in covered wagons banded together for mutual help. These wagon trains were the best way to survive the rugged westward road.
The bankless journey is rugged too. And like early settlers we survive as a wagon trail.
The entire bankless community is ready to help you on your journey.
Go to the Inner Circle Discord channel and just ask.
You’re not alone.
You’re in the bankless nation now.
Special thanks to @Abv_Avg_Joe and @0x_Lucas for helping to put this guide together. Members like these make the bankless community special.