Do you want to invest in web 3.0? Learn how to invest in web 3.0 and discover 6 opportunities for investors of varying budgets.
I started buying crypto back in 2016 and faced a lot of skepticism from friends and family. These days, I face the same skepticism when I talk about NFTs.
One friend said, “Are you spending money on silly little pictures?”
I’m spending money on NFTs and also spending time and creative energy writing and recording content about the topic. Web 3.0 has lots of critics, and for a good reason. But the space is also ripe for builders and creators. And you don’t even need much money to invest.
This article will provide you with several different strategies for investing in web 3.0. Some of these strategies come with all the prerequisites of investing: capital and a willingness to take risks. Others only need your time and attention.
I’m not a financial advisor, and NFTs are incredibly risky. I published this content for informational purposes only. Always do your own research.
Table of Contents
1. Invest in Web 3.0 Cryptocurrencies
If you have an investment budget, the easiest way to invest in Web 3.0 is to dollar cost average a small amount into bluechip or relatively safer cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum each month. As you’re averaging in the same amount each month, you don’t need to worry so much about price fluctuations.
Although both are volatile and risky assets, Bitcoin represents a type of digital gold and Ethereum digital oil. Some crypto-traders have made millions buying smaller coins and tokens, but these two have the biggest market caps. They’re also the most established, as they have first (and second) mover advantage.
Before buying one, consider if you can handle the inevitable swings and corrections in the market. Then, transfer it to a hardware wallet for cold storage and forget about price fluctuations.
Don’t become the Bitcoin pizza guy Flordia man Laszlo Hanyecz. He ordered two pizzas for approximately 10,000 Bitcoin on May 22nd, 2011. Today, these are worth approximately $550-650 million. Hanyecz says he’s no regrets.
Pro tip: Some Web 3.0 investors recommend dynamic dollar-cost averaging. When the market dips, increase your investment amount by a multiple. When the price of Bitcoin or Ethereum rises, decrease it by a corresponding multiple.
2. Buy an Affordable NFT
The uses cases for non-fungible tokens are new and emerging. Although some NFTs cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars, you can easily buy much more affordable NFTs on alternative blockchains like Polygon. You can also use Layer 1 solutions like Immutable X.
Many NFTs are scams and cash-grabs and on the express train to $0. But exercising due diligence before buying an NFT is a good way of learning more about this emerging web 3.0 asset class.
NFTs have a lot of critics. But the blue chips like Bored Ape Yacht Club or some of the Coinbase NFTs are more than overpriced JPEGs, memes and GIFs, and cash-grabs. Some NFTs are a type of generative art. A few represent a form of decentralized finance for web 3.0. And others are tickets or passes for exclusive online communities, memberships, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
As the owner of an NFT, you could potentially vote on the future of the Web 3.0 project.
Whether an individual perceives value in digital art or not, personal opinion doesn’t detract from the perceived value of an NFT like CryptoPunks.
It’s kind of similar to how people regarded artworks by the likes of Vincent Van Gough as worthless until he died. Then, they gradually rose in price until they became priceless. I’m not saying NFTs will follow the same path but consider the CryptoPunks. You could have minted one for free in 2017. Today, these onchain NFTs are worth six to seven figures.
Pro tip: Use an NFT tool like WGMI or Nansen to figure out what NFTs to mint. If you have a larger budget, buy into and hodl a bluechip NFT instead.
3. Diamond Hand Bluechip NFTs and Web Purchases
Assuming it’s money you can afford to lose, hold onto your NFTs and web 3.0 purchases for as long as possible. I asked one prolific collector of NFTs in the CyberKongz community who owns thousands of NFTs how long he holds his investments for.
His answer? Years.
Many NFT traders want a quick flip. It’s much harder holding onto or diamond handing investments for years. The British entrepreneur and magazine publisher Felix Dennis offered this advice in his book How to Get Rich:
As soon as you’ve spent it, gifted it, loaned it or invested it, forget it. More angst and worry comes into the world from concern over past investments, loans or gifts than can be imagined. It’s gone. Forget it. If any of it returns to you, fine. But that should not be your primary concern, unless you invested for safety’s sake. Which is a different matter. All you did with that type of ‘investment’ was take a punt or make a gift. Do not waste time playing the ‘blame game’ over investments, loans or outright gifts, however large. The blame, if there is any, is yours.
Felix Dennis
Forget about the current value of web 3.0 investments. Twitter is full of threads from early buyers of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks projects who sold their NFTs for less than 1Eth. They made a nice profit, only to watch these NFGTS increase and skyrocket towards six figures.
Not everyone has the budget or patience for hodling. Some web 3.0 investors advise buying several NFTs from the same project. Then, you can potentially sell one to cover your initial investment and hold onto the other in case the project moons.
Read my guide to common NFT terms.
Pro tip If you’ve bought a stack of Ethereum or Bitcoin, stake it. You can earn 4% plus per year in interest using relatively safe, centralized finance platforms like Nexo or BlockFi.
4. Create a Web 3.0 Content Business
Content creators can write, record, and publish videos about their experiences with web 3.0 technologies, tools, and media.
Those involved in web 3.0 space assume crypto and NFTs are widely accepted, adopted, and understood. The reality is most people are still understandably skeptical of both. Figuring out how to use a software wallet, for example, is a barrier for entry for many. Check out my article 10 Best NFT Tools For New Buyers and Investors to learn more.
You can tear down that wall by educating an audience or documenting your journey as a content creator. Pick an area of web 3.0 like NFTs or generative art or DAOs and write, record, and publish content about the topic.
Use web 2.0 (centralized) and 3.0 (decentralized) platforms and tools to distribute content and build an audience, rather than relying solely on an algorithm or Facebook.
For example, Bitclout is an emerging decentralized social platform like Twitter, while Mirror.xyz offers a way to create a decentralized newsletter or website, similar to Substack.
I dug into Google trends and keyword search volume, and interest in topics like NFTs and web 3.0 is rising exponentially each year.
I particularly like this investment strategy as you can sink sweat equity into web 3.0 rather than cash. You can also do it on the side of a full-time job until your content business becomes more profitable.
It takes a year or two to turn the flywheel on a content publishing business. Consider your web 3.0 property as part of a portfolio of online projects. Allocate resources accordingly.
Pro tip: If you’re creating content on the side of a traditional job, acquire an NFT, create a pseudonym and build a reputation separate from your real-world identity. You can even link it to your ENS domain. Read more about purchasing an ENS domain here.
To learn more about building a content publishing business, listen to my interview with six-figure publisher Jon Dykstra.
5. Claim Your ENS Domain Name
Buying and using an ENS domain is a great way of future-proofing a business or personal brand for web 3.0.
An Ethereum Name Service (ENS) or .ETH top-level domain name (TLD) represents the blockchain version of a.com TLD.
You can use an ENS domain for managing cryptocurrency payments, interacting with NFTs, and using 3.0 websites and tools. It’s easier to manage than remembering the complicated series or string of characters and numbers that hardware and software wallets provide.
If you’re a content creator, using an ENS TLD isn’t a replacement for a traditional.com domain. These types of domains don’t index correctly in Google search results, but you can redirect them to a traditional web 2.0 website.
Read my guide, web 2.0 vs web 3.0.
You can also use an ENS domain to create a digital avatar, separate from a real-world identity. A web 3.0 identity can claim and accumulate reputation in the wider online community while protecting the person behind it. This use case is particularly helpful if you want to protect your privacy or avoid getting doxxed. Think of it as like the digital version of an author using a pen name!
In 2021 top-level domains like Christmas.com and Angel.com sold for $3,150,000 and $2,000,000 on the secondary market. In its 2021 report, domain registrar Namecheap also cited .xyz as its second most popular TLD after .com. (The .xyz TLD is a web 2.0 offering usually associated with crypto websites).
The ENS secondary domain market isn’t as evolved yet. But holders are acquiring premium TLDs like CEO.eth and listing them for six figures.
Pro tip: If you’re bullish on the prospects for secondary NFT domain sales, consider trying the Unstoppable Domains to acquire other NFT domains like .crypto.
Learn about the use cases for ENS domains.
6. Learn Web 3.0 Skills
You can learn coding and design skills for navigating, building, and creating within web 3.0 space.
Again, all you need is sweat equity and a willingness to acquire new skills. If you’re a graphic designer, you could learn how to create digital art and collaborate with technically-minded web 3.0 individuals. Alternatively, if you’re a coder, you could learn Solidity to create a web 3.0 project.
Writers can get in on the act too. Many NFT projects need creators who can establish lore around their projects. I recently interviewed crypto writer Jessica Artemisia. She’s an NFT writer who collaborates with NFT developers and project leads. Jessica writes the back story and lore for NFT projects like the Sovereignty and The Saiba Gang and earns a percentage of NFT sales for these projects.
Pro tip: Check out LinkedIn Learning design and coding courses. It offers a well-regarded Solidity development course.
You can watch the video that accompanies this article below.
How To Invest in Web 3.0: The Final Word
Investing in web 3.0 doesn’t necessarily mean spending thousands of dollars on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum or buying NFTs.
Although these strategies are valid, you can also invest in the space by learning about the underlying tools and technologies and collaborating with other Web 3.0 creators. Build and create today to profit tomorrow.
Like this? Check out my guide to wealth creation strategies for the creator economy.
