Pantera Partners: Understanding the New Creator-Driven Network Rally

Written by: Paul Veradittakit, Partner at Pantera Capital
Translated by: Lu Jiangfei

• A notable feature of the internet age is the increasing number of "creators" who produce and share content online, attracting attention and, in some cases, making a living from it. However, historically, many platforms that support creators have been highly centralized and restrictive, affecting interaction between creators and fans and hindering community building.
• Rally is a new creator-driven network that helps creators better engage with their fans through custom cryptocurrencies.
• Creators can launch personal tokens representing their digital brand on the Rally blockchain (an Ethereum sidechain), which we call "Creator Coin." Through Creator Coin, creators can receive incentives to further provide unique and engaging utilities to grow their brand (as brand value increases, token value appreciates, and brand value can also be realized through token value). Rally also offers a suite of traditional Web 2 APIs to make it easier for creators to integrate with their sidechain, including fan authentication and blockchain information browsing.
• Fans can use RLY tokens to purchase Creator Coin, with RLY tokens based on the ERC-20 token standard, usable on both Ethereum and the Rally chain. Fans who hold Creator Coin can enjoy unique user experiences (such as direct communication with creators on Discord, access to limited edition content and merchandise, and participation in private events and gatherings). If fans help develop the creator's brand, they can also earn Creator Coin incentives, and as the creator's brand grows, the value of Creator Coin will increase (the value of assets held by fans will also appreciate).
• The community (including creators and their fan base) can also earn rewards in the form of RLY tokens from the protocol weekly, which Rally will distribute proportionally based on the number of relevant Creator Coins held, allowing both fans and creators to benefit.
• Currently, hundreds of creators have launched Creator Coin on Rally, including the band Portugal the Man and Twitch streamer Alliestrasza, who are providing unique experiences for fans who purchase their Creator Coin. Over 40,000 people have participated in the initial token sale of RLY, indicating a strong public desire to interact with creators through their own digital brands.
• Ultimately, Rally will completely reshape the relationship between creators and fans, allowing both to jointly own and develop digital brands, with creators gaining a closer and more engaged fan community than ever before.

The Creator Era

A defining feature of modern history is the explosive growth in the number of public figures. The internet has provided a platform for billions of people to interact with ideas and content more freely than ever before. At the same time, more and more individuals are gaining popularity due to the content they create and publish:

• Record labels are starting to search for grassroots musicians on YouTube and sign them;
• Influencer marketing has become a primary strategy for D2C market entry;
• Young people are trying to build "hundred million" fan followings.

An increasing number of people are rejecting traditional career paths in favor of becoming creators—producing and sharing content online, building large fan bases, and achieving a satisfying and healthy lifestyle through this means.

Historically, creators have had to use multiple platforms to support their creative content businesses. For example, if you are someone who creates fashion videos, you might need to:

• Build a channel on YouTube to earn advertising revenue
• Create a personal page on Patreon to interact with paying subscribers
• Set up a service provider listing on Etsy for clothing production
• Establish an online store on Amazon to recommend fashion brands and projects to fans

All of these platforms are centralized (often cumbersome to use) and almost impossible to interoperate, undoubtedly leading to a fragmented user experience for creators and their fans, who can only communicate through non-interactive channels. Moreover, in many cases, these platforms also censor creators' content and businesses, even having the power to directly sever the connection between fans and creators. Now, as the creator economy continues to grow, there is an increasing demand for monetizable and interoperable solutions for creator-fan interaction.

What is Rally?

Rally is a new creator-driven network that leverages blockchain to build a vibrant digital economy, helping creators better engage with their fans through custom cryptocurrencies. Through Rally, creators can launch their own customized cryptocurrencies, which essentially represent a form of "membership." Fans who hold the creator's cryptocurrency can enjoy unique experiences and content, contributing to the creator's personal digital economy while establishing an unprecedented seamless engagement between creators and fans.

How Does Rally Work?

The key to the Creator Coin project is the Rally network, which is a proof-of-authority (PoA) sidechain of the Ethereum blockchain. The Rally blockchain and the Ethereum blockchain are independent but can be bridged using the project's governance token RLY (an ERC-20 token that can be used and traded across both chains).

Creators can launch a unique custom cryptocurrency on the Rally network, which we can call "Creator Coin." Creator Coin also serves as a tokenized representation of the creator's digital brand, appreciating in value as the creator's brand scales and becomes more effective. When creators join the network, Rally provides a significant amount of Creator Coin, which they can hold or distribute as needed, randomly airdrop their Creator Coin to fans, or sell it to fans in exchange for RLY tokens.

Moreover, Creator Coin can directly extend the utility of the creator's brand to the fan side. As the creator's brand effect continues to grow, the corresponding value of Creator Coin will also increase, creating a positive feedback loop between fan engagement and token holding value. Creators can also provide unique experiences and content to fans who hold a certain number of Creator Coins. For instance, fans holding 10 Creator Coins might be invited to a private Discord community prepared for highly engaged fans; fans holding 50 Creator Coins can send direct messages to the creator. Rally also supports creators in minting and selling NFTs on the Rally blockchain, and fans holding Creator Coin can use that token for purchases. If they wish, fans can also sell Creator Coin directly at market prices for RLY tokens and then exchange RLY tokens for any other tokens on the Ethereum blockchain (if fans redeem all their Creator Coin, it means they "exit" that creator's fan base). Additionally, Rally provides:

• A suite of APIs to support interaction with its sidechain
• Key features like a block explorer and webhooks for Creator Coin events
• OAuth2.0 functionality for user authentication using Rally accounts

Compared to the past, creators can now more easily establish crypto-driven businesses without needing to hire specialized blockchain engineers to "handle" complex technology.

It is worth mentioning that Rally offers Community Activity Rewards; if there is high engagement between creators and fans (tracked through the holding/trading/usage of relevant Creator Coins), incentives can be earned, and the Rally protocol will distribute a certain amount of RLY tokens to the relevant community. Community members can share rewards proportionally based on the number of relevant Creator Coins held, allowing both fans and creators to benefit.

In summary, the Rally project adjusts the incentives between creators and fans around Creator Coin, rewarding deep engagement between the two, thereby truly increasing the value of the creator's digital brand (and fan assets). More importantly, Rally does not participate in any transactions—this is in stark contrast to the creator business models of most Web 2 platforms, as the Rally team only profits from the appreciation of RLY tokens.

How to Use Rally?

Today, hundreds of creators and public figures have launched their Creator Coin on Rally, including:

• The band Portugal the Man, which launched PTM Coin;
• Twitch streamer Alliestrasza, which launched ALLIE Coin;
• International soccer star Keisuke Honda, which launched KSK Coin.

Fans holding Creator Coin can enjoy incredibly unique experiences, such as:

• Receiving special invitations to gaming tournaments;
• Early access to limited releases of music, art, streetwear, etc.;
• Direct communication with creators via Discord;
• Earning RLY rewards weekly.

Some creator platforms can also launch their own Creator Coin on the Rally blockchain to strengthen the relationship between creators and fans. For example, the online fashion marketplace Clothia recently launched CLOTH Coin, enabling designers and consumers to connect directly and earn rewards from participation.

Over 40,000 people have participated in the initial token sale of RLY, indicating a strong public desire to interact with creators through their own digital brands. Recently, Rally also launched a sister platform, Unite.io, which focuses on the Asian market, allowing for deeper integration of regional creator platforms and offering more flexibility in crypto regulation.

Final Thoughts

As the number and popularity of creators continue to grow, there is an increasing demand for creators to monetize their content in more diverse ways; for fans, the need to interact with creators through new engagement methods and earn rewards for their contributions is becoming more urgent.

By better incentivizing creators and fans while remaining aligned with the development of creator brands, Rally can effectively meet these demands: by providing fans with innovative and unique experiences, the value of Creator Coin will increase, and creators will thus receive incentives; at the same time, if fans want better engagement and interaction experiences, they will be motivated to purchase Creator Coin and gain economic benefits from the growth of relevant creators.

Ultimately, Rally will completely reshape the relationship between creators and fans, allowing both to jointly own and develop digital brands, with creators gaining a closer and more engaged fan community than ever before.

Source link: www.veradiverdict.com