I missed everything last cycle. NFTs. Most of the Defi 1.0/2.0 (ponzi) wave.
This time around I'm allocating early into some Base NFTs while they're still dirt cheap.
The other thing I completely missed was nodes and node farming. Something-to-earn was a big hit at the end of the last cycle.
Depin node projects gained a lot of traction in the previous cycle. Two of note would be Presearch and Helium.
The entitled project has a low entry barrier - to earn.
Nodle
Here's a quick summary of Nodle:
"The Nodle Network is a decentralized wireless network powered by Nodle Edge Nodes and the Nodle Chain, utilizing smartphones as nodes."
The consensus mechanism is called, 'proof of connectivity':
"The Nodle Network uses smartphones as nodes and base stations, leveraging what's termed 'The Smartphone Infrastructure.' Through 'proof of connectivity,' users contribute resources like wireless radio and bandwidth from their smartphones. In return, they earn NODL tokens, fostering network growth and participation among developers and consumers."
You may be asking yourselves, but why??? Follow this link for more info on the project's vision and mission. All in all it's basically another consensus mechanism to enable nodes to conduct decentralized activities, such as reviewing and verifying digital content (see the products section).
No illusions, this is a highly experimental and fun tech project. Any project without revenue is a ponzi. But this is a ponzi you can be early to. I have been farming this on a second phone for about a month.
Thus far I have earned about 51 NODL tokens ($0.30 at current price - see tokenomics below). For some reason I seem to earn at a much faster rate when the phone is charging, perhaps the signal is boosted. But I'm being kind to the smartphone battery so it's not charging 24/7.
Earning NODL
To earn you need (one or more smartphones) to download the app and turn on your Bluetooth and location.
You then need to create a wallet, save your seed phrase somewhere safe, preferably on paper.
Be aware that you are giving away your location. If that kind of thing matters to you. I was recently encouraged to give away my iris data for various reasons, so I'm not so fussed about it in my present situation. It's a personal call.
Regarding privacy, in their docs (scroll to bottom of page), Nodle promise that:
"The location of your device is used only to compute your rewards based on your contribution to network coverage, and locate Bluetooth devices on request of their owners."
Regarding the use of your personal information:
"We don’t collect your personal information. It is never shared or sold."
"You can add your name to your user profile in Settings, however, it is stored locally on your phone and not shared with anybody. You can decide you share your Nodle profile, which includes your name, public key, and your NFTs with your friends."
It's wise not to use your name as your device ID, especially when sharing your location. Here's a link to their privacy policy.
To Maximize Rewards:
You'll need to maximize the availability of your nodes and their geographic coverage, which you can achieve by:
- Positioning multiple phones (up to 4) running the same hotspot app in the same location, to achieve stable and dependable Nodle Network coverage.
- Placing multiple phones running the Hotspot app in various locations, to increase the area your Nodle Network covers. (As I said I've got one phone, sitting on my desk next to me). If you have multiple old phones this could be a fun one to farm.
- Running your hotspot 24/7 with a stable internet connection and Bluetooth turned on.
The second devices will use a different app - called Nodle Hotpot - also available on the playstore.
NFTs
The project also has NFTs (link here), to commemorate events, and for interacting with loyalty programmes and social media campaigns.
Tokenomics
The NODL token is currently worth US$0.005768 (16/05/2024), with and all time low of $0.001975 (-71%) and an all time high of $0.02002 (+189%).
According to CoinGecko, the current Market Cap (MC) is $20.5 million, and the FDV (MC with all tokens circulating) is just under $50 million. So the price has room to grow to roughly 2.5 times in a sane world, and at peak mania, the price could go much higher (NFA).
See my previous article for more info on valuation metrics.
The circulating supply of NODL tokens is just over 3.6 billion, and the max supply is 21 billion.
Emissions began in Q4 2021, and are currently just over 1 million NODL tokens per day. Token emissions will ramp up gradually and will be heaviest between 2027 and 2029 (5 million NODL per day).
The token allocations are shown below. The team and early investors have a total of 14.5% of the supply, team tokens vested for 4 years from 2020, while early investor tokens have been unlocked since 2022, based on the 2020 migration in the image below, whereas emission began in Q1 2021. Investors have had time to get out before dilution.
On-chain, the top 4 holders of NODL are smart contracts, and hold over 98% of the tokens. For example the third largest holder is the SyncSwap vault contract, which holds over 21% of the on-chain supply.
See detailed info on NODL tokenomics here.
How To Sell
The NODL token is currently listed on the following major CEXs (you can always check these on CoinGecko): HTX, Kraken, MEXC, Gate.io.
Nodle have announced a partnership with zkSync. They have recently seeded liquidity on-chain (zkSync Era) on SyncSwap (roughly $50k liquidity, $120k Market Cap - as of article date).
The NODL token address on zkSync Era is: 0xBD4372e44c5eE654dd838304006E1f0f69983154
To get your tokens to zkSync Era you'll need to bridge them, follow the instructions in this guide. Bridge a small amount first to make sure you're sending them to the right place. Don't ping your hard-earned tokens into the ether (jk).
If you're not an on-chain nerd then, I suggest you start asap, and get acquainted with using Metamask, which is compatible with the zkSync network.
This page of the Nodle docs has info on cashing out, sending NODL tokens, and wallets.
This is the Nodle client app link, you'll need a to:
- 1) make a polkadot.js wallet,
- 2) connect this to the Nodle client app,
- 3) send NODL tokens from your mobile app to the polkadot.js wallet using the Nodle client,
- 4) bridge the tokens to zkSync Era, to your Metamask or other compatible wallet address (minimum 100 tokens to bridge, plus a small transaction fee), and sell them.
Many steps. But if you can do this consider yourself a crypto native, and give yourself a pat on the back.
Conclusion
Many people turn their favourite crypto projects into a religion. Don't forget that we are here to experiment with new tech, learn and have fun. But we are also here to make money.
Make sure you have a plan to sell and have tested the exit strategy, i.e. make sure you know how to transfer the tokens to a non-custodial wallet or CEX and yeet those digital vapourware tokens.
And enjoy farming!
