Humans of Crypto #1: Interview with Dr Wagmi
Primer: Dr Wagmi is a valued member of the Aavegotchi community and heads the Aavegotchi DAO Treasury Force. Find out his origin story here in this debut episode of The Reading Ape’s Humans of Crypto TextCast, as we interview interesting people in the Crypto space with amazing stories to tell.
Background
Share with us your background. Why did you choose the name Dr Wagmi?
I really struggled to pick my crypto pseudonym! I went through old gamertags, cringey nicknames, and random ideas before landing on Dr Wagmi. In retrospect, I was having a bit of an identity crisis! Essentially, I am proud to be a physician and the massive personal investment it demands. Many individuals in DeFi/GameFi are putting in comparable effort, and my pseudonym reflects my work ethic and ethos that I hope to bring to the space. We’re building amazing things, and I’m convinced that, indeed, wagmi.
How did you first get into crypto? Did you make your first pot of gold in crypto first, or is it made in the real world?
I discovered cryptocurrency while browsing Reddit as a very indebted medical student. I fell in love with the idea of tokenized value and its endless use cases. This developed into a parallel, ongoing interest in finance and macroeconomics. I committed early to parallel wealth strategies: one in the traditional investment world, and the second in the digital asset realm. I keep them very separate, but I’m proud to say my cryptocurrency portfolio has far out-performed my traditional, vanilla ETFs.
Are there any lessons that you learnt in the real world that can apply to the digital world and vice versa?
Cryptocurrency serves as a high beta, very fast moving course in market psychology. It’s incredible to see the market cycles play out repeatedly. I’ve come to really enjoy the bear markets as it seems to be the only time to exercise my skills as a value investor.
Are you a gamer? What's your favourite non-crypto game?
Of course! I am a mid-platinum Rocket League player. But my true gaming love is MMORPGs like RuneScape, Tibia, and WoW. I hope to bring ideas and inspiration from those epic universes, especially Tibia, to Aavegotchi.
Which sector resonates more with you? DeFi or NFTs?
I am absolutely fascinated with the intersection of the two, hence my deep interest and involvement in Aavegotchi. If I had to pick, though, it’s DeFi for sure. I literally dream about AMMs and liquidity management.
Projects you are involved in
Which projects are you involved in?
I am currently involved in the Aavegotchi DAO and in the Gotchi Vault as a vault manager. I would love to branch out more, but between crypto and medicine, I simply don’t have the bandwidth. Hopefully, I can hang up the white coat in favor of NFTs and contribute to additional projects soon. I hope to serve as an advisor or contributor to additional DAOs in the future.
What attracted you to Aavegotchi and made you go deeper into it? How many percent of your crypto assets are in Aavegotchi?
Aavegotchi captures all of my interests in one place! It is the perfect combination of DeFi, economics, market psychology, top-down RPGs, vibrant community, and spreadsheets. I made a big crypto decision in 2021 to take an enormous percentage of my profits into the Aavegotchi ecosystem which felt incredibly risky at the time. It’s paid off heavily as my Aavegotchi portfolio now represents over half of my crypto holdings.
What made you think of starting the Aavegotchi DAO Treasury Force?
I formed the DTF to help grow and contribute to the Aavegotchi DAO. I didn’t fully realize it at the time, but a DAO must have a way to manage its assets, maximise growth and collaboration, and develop healthy incentives. I view the DTF as central to this effort and am excited to see it develop further.
What is Gotchi Vault? How are you involved with the project?
The Gotchi Vault is a decentralized asset management platform for native Aavegotchi assets. It offers its users a way to earn passive income on staked assets like the GHST token, the Aavegotchi NFTs, and land parcels. I expect NFT management platforms to grow significantly over the coming years and expect to see the Gotchi Vault in the mix. I help manage the deposited assets and interface with guilds and scholars who pay to use them.
What is your perfect utopian vision of Aavegotchi? What are the steps you think should be done right now to reach that vision?
Wow! What a question. I hope to see Aavegotchi offer innumerable experiences for every sort of interest. I would love to see people play for different reasons, whether it was for RPG gaming, farm building, displaying art, hustling NFTs, or developing complex DeFi integrations. Hopefully, the protocol will boast deep interoperability and afford the development of experiences we can’t yet imagine.
In what situations will you sell all your assets in Aavegotchi and throw in the towel?
I am fully gotchi-pilled and would ride my assets to zero.
Have you thought of participating in decentralized science projects?
No! Should I? Am I in one right now?
On DAOs
What are your best and worst experiences in a DAO?
My best experience overall is founding and heading the Aavegotchi DAO Treasury Force (DTF). I love funding community projects and planning out the future governance and health of the DAO.
In your view, are there any ways to improve the DAO experience?
I would say there are a lot of frustrations with DAO involvement in its current form. Current DAO infrastructure is unbelievably inefficient. It is difficult to organize successful project management and get the right people involved. It’s even more difficult to exclude non-contributors or trolls in the space given the permissionless, open nature of the DAO. I am excited to see and use the many new tools coming available to DAOs to improve work efficiency, reward good contributions, and offer maximal transparency.
Trivia
What’s the most controversial thought you have on crypto?
Crypto isn’t very different from traditional markets and its many scams and schemes. Do you get scam emails? YES. Do you get spam calls? YES. Crypto has its own versions of those, and the media loves to focus on the uneducated consumers who are unfortunately exploited.
Share one piece of alpha with readers.
GLTR is king.
Name one mistake you have made in crypto and what you have learned from it.
Bancor has been my biggest mistake by far. I am currently in the middle of dealing with the fallout of Bancor’s downfall - it’s not fun. I’ve learned that no protocol in the industry is 100% safe and that self custody is king, especially in a volatile bear market.