The best way to break into web3 is to start doing things in web3.

Here's a practical checklist that you can follow to get involved right away.

Intro to web3

1. Read our Intro to web3 path

2. Buy some cryptocurrency on an exchange

• Read our guide on cryptocurrency
• Popular exchanges: Coinbase, Binance, Gemini

3. Set up and secure a crypto wallet

• Read our guides on wallets and how to avoid scams
• Popular wallets: Metamask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet‍
• Transfer some eth to you wallet

4. Get an ENS domain

• Read our guide on ENS domains
• Visit ENS domains
• Register a domain (you'll need to pay some gas fees)

5. Find and join a community that's beginner friendly

• Start by joining ZenAcademy 💫

Other beginner friendly communities that we recommend:

• Crypto, Culture, and Society
• Forefront
• Developer DAO (token required)
• Buildspace for devs

DAO

1. Read our DAO path

2. Find a DAO that you want to contribute to

• See the DAOs listed in the "Intro to web3" section

3. Participate in your DAO's community

• Ask questions and engage other members to get a sense of how the DAO works
• Create something for the DAO (e.g., blog post, meeting notes)

4. Participate in a governance vote

• If you have a token for the DAO, use it to vote on a Snapshot proposal

NFT

1. Read our NFT path

2. Find and join NFT communities

• Follow NFT Twitter creators (e.g., Jackson Dame)
• Visit OpenSea top rankings and join a NFT project's Discord community
• Get a sense of how the community is run and if you want to ape in

3. Buy an NFT

• Visit OpenSea and connect your wallet. Make sure you have some ETH.
• Find a NFT that you like. Buy it directly with ETH or make a bid with WETH

4. Mint an NFT

• Visit OpenSea and connect your wallet. Click "Create"
• Sign the transaction and upload your NFT (e.g., image, audio, etc)
• Add metadata and tap "Create" (more details in this thread)
• Promote your NFT on social media and hope it sells!

DeFi

1. Read our DeFI path

2. Swap a token on a decentralized exchange

• Visit Uniswap and connect your wallet
• Swap a token (e.g., swap some ETH for USDC)

2. Find and join DeFi Communities

• Swap a token (e.g., swap some ETH for USDC)

3. Earn passive interest on your crypto

You have a few choices, from least to most risky:

• Stake your crypto on an exchange (e.g., Coinbase)
• Commit your crypto to a CeFi platform to earn interest (e.g., Celsius, Haru)
• Lend out your crypto on Compound or another platform
• Consider Olympus DAO or one of its forks (be careful here)

After you get familiar with web3 via the paths above, you may be interested in finding a job in this industry. We'll cover how you can find a great gig next.

Up next: Finding a crypto job

Learn more

• How to get into crypto and web3 as a developer (Nader Dabit)
• Web3 starter guide (Jay Drainjr)
• Working in web3 (Scott Sunarto)