PoolTogether, Zerion and Crypto in Argentina
PoolTogether Community Interview #27: Nahuel
Hello Everyone,
Welcome to the latest PoolTogether Community Interview with PT Community Contributor and DAO Member - Nahuel.
Thank you also to Folgsta for all his work in covering previous Community Interviews.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Describe yourself in a few words/facts:
I'm a person that's always trying to understand how things work. Since I was a kid, I started building stuff, mostly toys that didn't exist or that I didn't have access to at that moment. After high school, I went through some hard times to overcome a health problem while I started studying engineering. The years passed with some ups and downs, but I was always fighting to undertake new challenges. If I have to describe myself in a few words, I would say I'm a constant learner that is amazed by technology and how it can improve humanity.
How long have you been into crypto?
I first heard of crypto back in 2018. Actually, what I first heard of was Ethereum, rather than Bitcoin. Rapidly I saw how interesting it was and the huge potential that it had. One of my first incursions was starting to mine Ethereum; I was seen as the weirdo by my friends and family, haha. Basically, I wasn't in crypto since the very beginning, but those were already times when words like DeFi didn't even exist. Being able to see how all this was born and keeps growing is something that amazes me, and I really enjoy it.
Do you want to tell us about the main lessons you have learned since then?
One of the things I've learned during these years is to keep the focus on building and avoid being excessively distracted by external variables, like the market volatility, and also because I'm certainly not a good short-term trader XD.
What was your best crypto moment?
I believe that joining PoolTogether was one hell of a moment in my life because it was the first step on my path of working in something I was very interested in. I never thought I would be involved in helping grow one of the protocols that ended up being one of my favorites. Moreover, it was my first time interacting with so many interesting and intelligent people from all over the world. At that moment, I was blown away by being part of that rising technology.
And your biggest fail?
I don't see many things as failures, more as lessons learned. In a broader sense, I would consider as failure each time I deviated from following what I liked.
How did you find out about PoolTogether?
At that time, Telegram was one of the most used channels to talk about crypto. I started interacting in different groups and then collaborating with some Spanish talking groups. I heard of PoolTogether right after ETH Denver, where the idea was first presented. I liked the concept and joined their Telegram group right away. I started participating a bit more actively, and I had a warm welcome from Leighton and the rest of the team. After that, they offered me the opportunity to join and help grow the protocol.
What made you stick around?
What made me stick around was the same thing that made me get into crypto in the first place. I was amazed by what it could be done with that technology, and seeing so many intelligent people around, was a clear sign that something huge was being cooked. Once I started involving more, the awesome communities were the final factor to stay for the long term.
How are you involved in the community? Tell us about it.
I'm currently more of a spectator of the DAO but trying to put my small grain of sand every time I can. I participate in every Friday calls, and along with Oops, we take care of the distribution of the POAP. I vote on most of the proposals since I'm one of the delegators with more votes delegated.
Leighton is clearly one of the main characters in my path into DeFi; he was one of the first ones that believed in me and gave me the chance to demonstrate my capabilities without even knowing me in person or for that long in the space.
Richard became my friend from the very beginning. He was always there to share ideas and support any project we had; very kind and open. I'm keen to meet both of them in person.
Would you recommend PoolTogether to others? How would you describe it to them?
This is an easy one; I would definitely recommend PoolTogether. I use PoolTogether as one of my main tools when explaining crypto and DeFi to family and friends. What I really like is the community that was formed around the protocol and how the DAO is one of the nicest I've seen in the space.
Are you involved in any other projects or communities?
I'm currently part of Zerion, which is a smart Web3 wallet and portfolio tracker. Besides that, I dedicate time to PoolTogether and other communities that I'm interested in, like DeFiLatam and The Graph.
Can you please tell us more about Zerion
Zerion is a Smart & Social Web3 Wallet that also allows you to track all your DeFi investments + NFTs. We like to call it mission control for Web3. When I joined Zerion, the DeFi space was only about a few protocols, and the idea of a tracking tool didn’t look so necessary, but after hearing a bit, I got really intrigued about how they saw the evolution of the space. They were a small team but very passionate about the work they were doing.
What is the situation with Crypto/Web3 in Argentina? How widely used is it?
The crypto space in Argentina is growing continually by leaps and bounds. It happens that crypto makes a lot of sense here since we have big inflation problems plus heavy capital controls. This combination is making people search for different alternatives to protect their savings.
In the last year, we saw the launch of different tools that make the interaction with crypto easier; first, some on/off ramps and then the release of prepaid cards that allow you to hold crypto but pay in pesos (our local currency).
That way, you can transform your savings into crypto and then use any of these cards to pay for your purchases. Very convenient! However, things are going further with projects like CryptoAvisos, a marketplace that lets you connect with other people to buy and sell stuff directly with crypto, taking the peso out of the equation.
What is your knowledge about NFTs?
I won't say I have much experience in the NFT field. I was always very hesitant at the time of purchasing NFTs since my artistic side wasn't sending me strong enough signals, haha. I mean, I really feel their potential, but I'm not quite sure if we have seen them yet. I mostly lived the NFT boom as a spectator.
Nonetheless, I can proudly say I purchased a Pooly in the last few days to support PoolTogether Inc. against that nonsense class-action lawsuit.
Do you have any other thoughts and comments you would like to make?
I would like to thank Leighton, Richard, Chuck, Brendan, Oops, and all the PoolTogether community that I knew during these years. I always felt really welcome, and it's something I really appreciate.
We hope you have enjoyed this PT Community Interview. We would like to speak to people across the PoolTogether Community so please do get in touch if you would like to take part.
As ever, please visit PoolTogether.com to deposit into the app. You have to be in it to win it!
Also, please join the PoolTogether Discord where you can join the PT Community Call every Friday at 2.45pm EST.