Down the DeFi Rabbit Hole....
PoolTogether Community Interview #4: with DeFi Educator Kris Kay
Hello,
Welcome to November and the first few weeks of version 4 are causing a lot of regular winners as well as expanding PoolTogether to new users around the world.
Our Community is made up of people from all walks of life. From very technically able people such as McOso and his work on the SmallFish.win website, to Pancake and his work with bringing in the Italian community to PoolTogerther to writers as we saw last week with Thumbs Up Finance.
Today, we are talking to Kris Kay - the Wall Street Journal featured DeFi educator who through his own explorations into DeFi is trying to bring this to everyone, even those who are new to crypto.
He is also a critical part of the PoolTogether Community - bringing people to PoolTogether through his educational content. Let’s explore his journey into DeFi and of course, PoolTogether.
What did you do before Crypto and DeFi?
I studied computer science in college and graduated in 2016. I worked as a software engineer for a year. But then quit and went and worked on a self-employed basis. Whilst I do have a technical background, it was not in blockchain.
When I first started with crypto currency, it was just about making money. But then, there came the DeFi summer. I saw that there was an actual use case and it was not just about buying low and selling high. All the possibilities which come together with working with money legos became apparent to me.
I felt I was early to a revolution and have been glued to this ever since.
What was the beginning of your journey into DeFi?
I went on a journey experimenting with everything to do with Ethereum. UniSwap, Compound and more. I deposited and saw balances increase in real time. There were tons of different dApps and I spent far too much money on gas fees. I have seen how it has kept evolving. I am still jumping into new dApps and to DAOs – it has been a natural journey.
How did you get into educating people about DeFi?
For one year, I have been living and breathing DeFi. I go down the rabbit hole everyday. I figured I could then educate others. I felt an easy way to learn was missing. I wanted anybody to be able to work with DeFi.
My YouTube Channel was not even planned. One winter night in late January, Mark Cuban was talking about blockchain history. I recorded a video and tweeted this to people and Mark Cuban actually saw the video and he liked it and followed me.
That kept me going and motivated me to continue. I was always clear, I never wanted to make low quality, low effort content. I did something different to others. No screenshare or explainer type videos. I then developed an educational website which was more detailed in its concept with a structured course.
How did you find out about PoolTogether? What do you like about it?
I am not sure how I first came across PoolTogether back in January/February 2021. It was on Twitter or a podcast. When I heard about a no-loss lottery and how it worked on the back-end, it blew my mind. I knew I had to make a video about it.
I thought PoolTogether was super-innovative and interesting so I made the video the same week I found out about it. This was before I had joined the Discord and there was a Grants Committee. I wasn’t paid for it.
Then, I joined the PoolTogether Discord and was on the Community Calls. Then Leighton Cusack, (the PoolTogether Co-Founder) saw it and said during one Community Call I was on, that my video was amazing and better than anything they could do themselves. I said during the call it was me who had recorded the video as they didn’t know who I was. That was the beginning of more formally working with PoolTogether.
What specifically do you like about PoolTogether?
The way the money lego infrastructure was used and combined everything from AAVE and Compound and they lend the interest back. It is genius.
I like the fact that PoolTogether is on-chain and transparent with no maximum deposit cap. It is also community run. Plus, I can hop onto a PoolTogether call, make a suggestion and I have experienced this on more than one occasion - the suggestion gets implemented.
What are your thoughts on Version 4?
Version 4 is awesome. Many people winning daily which spreads the word organically. This will increase the TVL (Total Value Locked) and the active users.
Long-term, I am super bullish on the TVL in PoolTogether v4. It will keep sucking in and put more money in. Especially without APR being offered.
There are so few people depositing into PoolTogether in the grand scheme of things. We haven’t seen anything yet in DeFi in general and PoolTogether is the most fun savings account out there. Plus, with version 4, there has never been a higher chance of winning a prize.
I know a lot of people who are in PoolTogether because of my content. Someone has tweeted yesterday that they had won two prizes in the new version 4.
What is the goal of your new DeFi Educational Course?
My goal is to on-board the world into DeFi. I have tried to make the course so simple and so thorough. What’s DeFi? We, you, a friend, an Uncle, sister etc can get in.
The course is structured to start with a lot of core fundamentals and to cover the high level basics. I have put it in the perfect order with milestones along the way to help people progress along their DeFi journey.
Which other protocols have you also worked with?
I have been in DeFi and crypto properly since January 2021, and in 10 months I think I have worked with most of my favorite protocols – Decentraland for games, Harvest Finance and more. I want to keep educating and making content.
What is the best way for people to get into PoolTogether?
I would say to set aside some money from your budget, whether $50, $100 or more and put some funds onto Polygon and deposit into PoolTogether. Until you actually do it, it is not going to click. It may seem to be intimidating early on but trust me, it is not.
I would also recommend hoping into the PoolTogether Discord and joining the weekly calls. You can make your voice be heard and contribute. Create first.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s Community interview and please look out for the Community Newsletter coming out on Sunday.
Also, if you have not yet checked it out, please listen to The Richard Show, Prelude Edition - the PoolTogether Community’s fun and informative Crypto and DeFi podcast.