NEAR Protocol pulls a stunt

NEAR is a blockchain, but yesterday it was known for something else: getting hacked.

As the day went on, the NEAR X account posted multiple times, making fun of the industry as many including myself wondered what was going on.

A few hours later, NEAR revealed that the hack was a marketing stunt to bring attention to the NEAR’s [REDACTED] online Hackathon event starting today and in-person [REDACTED] event in November.

As the faux hack subsided, marketers and operators in the space shared their thoughts on the marketing stunt.

In the ‘it was bad’ corner:

Hacks are a serious issue in crypto, with over $1.4 billion stolen in the first half of 2024. I’ve been scammed before and it sucked big time.

In the ‘it was good’ corner:

This half-day marketing campaign likely caused NEAR’s account to receive the most engagement it had in a while, if ever. And at least for some, it was refreshing because it was different.

This post from Emily sums up my thoughts about the stunt the best.

Main goal seems to be attracting devs for their hackathon in November. Will it do that? Gut says no, time will tell

At the end of the day, if the hackathon is a success much of what happened may be shrugged off. If the NEAR team conducts a HDYHAU (how did you hear about us) survey for hackathon participants and ‘the fake hack’ is one of the leading responses, they’re on to something (please no more fake hacks though).

When next week rolls around, our brains with 5-minute memories will forget that this ever happened, unless NEAR actually gets hacked. I hope that never happens, but that certainly would be ironic.

One thing no one mentioned

What I actually found most interesting about the marketing stunt was the author of NEAR’s fake statement about being hacked 📝

Who’s Susan Warren?

Back in April, Polymarket and the social intern, Hugo Martingale got in trouble with Polymarket’s HR Lead, Susan Warren, for using the term ‘Retardio’ in Polymarket posts (won’t get into details on the term but if you’re a degen, you’ve seen it before. And if you’re not familiar, consult your local degen).

Polymarket, Hugo, and Susan created a marketing stunt that brought additional attention to Polymarket as degens rallied behind Hugo and cheered him on as he eventually retained the social media intern role.

I thought Susan was a one-trick pony, but my Notion page of notes on this topic was ecstatic that she was brought back to life by NEAR.

Susan is the personification of what is considered traditionally acceptable and could become a recurring character making cameos in edgy marketing campaigns. Whoever led NEAR’s stunt incorporated her with this in mind, adding another chapter to her lore. To that person, I tip my hat to you for including Susan!

Do you know a Susan in your life? If so, share or subscribe!

Gen Z’s American Dream: 5 Leg Parlay Your Way to Basic Physiological Needs

Earlier today, 0xLawl of Alliance published a piece on financial nihilism in Gen Z. If you’ve wondered why sports betting, Polymarket, and memecoins have taken off, this piece provides more context.

TLDR:

• In the US more people are betting and people are betting more.

• Financial nihilism and financial dysmorphia are rising trends among young people who spend more and more time online consuming unrealistic lifestyles and are made to feel subjectively poor in comparison to social media’s warped projection of financial normalcy.

• It’s not just social media that causes this feeling of being subjectively poor, it is also the sentiment around not being able to secure a roof over your head and buy a home - the supply of which has remained stagnant for some time in the US. It’s not just nihilism for the sake of nihilism, it is a response to very real supply and demand of basic human needs.

• Boomers and Millennials favor sportsbooks and daily fantasy sports / skill-based games. At the same time, Gen Z ranks higher among crypto-enabled speculative products like trading memecoins and prediction markets with crypto onramps (Polymarket).

The ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ phenomenon isn’t about looking across the street anymore, and the ways to ‘catch up’ are increasingly online or in crypto.

Abstract’s definition of consumer crypto?

Abstract, the consumer-focused Layer 2 blockchain acquired by the parent company of Pudgy Penguins, recently published a post on how they define consumer crypto.

Luca Netz (CEO) breaks down his POV on consumer crypto, the 3 phases towards broader adoption, and where Abstract fits into that vision. TLDR:

• There are 3 phases of consumer adoption: Discretionary spending, Necessary spending, and Essential spending

• Discretionary spending: Gaming, social, trading, casinos, betting, digital collectibles, tokenized culture

• Necessary spending: DeFi, DePin, SaaS, digital media, digital commerce, payments

• Essential spending: Online banking, credit, tokenization (RWAs), insurance, data, IoT, identity, voting

• Blockchains haven’t been successful in consumer adoption because they follow a ‘general purpose’ approach, leading to fragmentation in priorities and focus

• Blockchains are like cities, and teams need to focus on building premier attractions. Once the attractions are established, you can build the city around the attraction.

• Once Abstract creates a great consumer experience, it can then evolve into a general-purpose blockchain

Reading 0xlawl's articles about Gen Z’s financial nihilism and then Luca’s vision and strategy for Abstract are complementary and provide greater perspective when read in that order.

The former provides a realistic take on how much of the younger generation views financial well-being and the ways they try to get ahead, explaining why betting, gambling, and speculation have shot up in popularity over the past several years. It provides a realistic (and slightly pessimistic) take on where much of the consumer attention around crypto and web3 is today. And despite the many exceptions to this (there are a ton!), it is largely the rule and not the exception.

The latter also provides a realistic take on crypto’s reputation around speculation and gambling while painting a path toward a more holistically meaningful future where consumer adoption expands beyond where much of the attention is today.

Personally, I’m still (forever?) hopeful for consumer crypto, and anticipate that memecoins, betting, and prediction markets will eventually become a few of the many popular attractions that blockchain cities have to offer.

See you next week!