Hooked Protocol’s 85,000% User Increase Amazes the Web3 Industry

Hooked is an on-ramp protocol looking to move Web2 users into Web3

Hooked Protocol is a brand-new platform that aims to attract Web2 users to Web3 by making things simple and straightforward. In the past month, Hooked’s on-chain metrics show an explosion in user numbers and transactions that have left many people amazed. 

Highlights

• 85,000+% increase in unique active wallet connections and more than 100,000% increase in transactions are impressive on-chain statistics. But always treat numbers like these with caution. They can occasionally point towards something suspicious.
• Wild Cash is an educational game from Hooked that acts as a safe introduction to many of the concepts behind the Web3 industry.
• Always remember to DYOR. While blockchain technologies offer freedom, independence and security, there are many anonymous people using Web3 tools to take advantage of those with less experience.

What is Hooked and what is its mission?

Hooked Protocol is a new Web3 platform with the aim of onboarding people from Web2 into the new age of the internet. Hooked creates tools to make the transition less intimidating for users who find blockchains, NFTs and cryptocurrencies confusing.

The platform’s stated goal is ‘to empower everyone with no prior crypto experience to access, earn and own a share of crypto’. To help them on their way, Binance Labs, the venture capital and accelerator arm of Binance, has co-led a seed round for Hooked Protocol. The other big player in the deal is Sequoia Seed Fund.

Hooked Protocol’s strategy for opening up Web3 to new users is multi-pronged:

• They will create simple structures to on-ramp mainstream web platforms ‘into the native crypto realm’.
• The plan is to ‘build viral growth infrastructure’ into the Web3 tools they create, presumably for future scalability.
• They will build tools using Web3 principles, such as secure ownership and guaranteed creator. But they will not feature the parts of Web3 that people find off-putting, such as complicated token swapping and clunky wallet connections.

They also have a new downloadable app called Wild Cash that introduces users to Web3 concepts in easily digestible ways. Wild Cash is a gamified educational tool where users can do quizzes, earn tokens, “mint NFTs” and more. The app is available on Android but not yet on iOS.

DappRadar data shows Hooked’s stratospheric growth

In the past 30 days, Hooked’s on-chain activity has been nothing short of mind-blowing. The transaction count has reached 3.91 million, an increase of more than 100,000%. This is so big that it goes beyond our usual measurement range.

The number of unique active wallets that have connected to the dapp over the last 30 days has gone up by 85,115%. These are the sorts of numbers we usually associate with the growth in the price of BTC and ETH over the past five years.

It was around October 14 that on-chain statistics for Hooked started to show an upward trend in unique active wallet connections and transactions. Looking at the platform’s Twitter feed, we can see that the protocol launched on BNB Chain around October 16. So in reality, they’ve accumulated the numbers above in just over two weeks.

It’s also important to note here that Hooked has roughly 14,400 Twitter followers. Bearing this number in mind, it makes their on-chain metrics very impressive and raises questions around how they’ve achieved such incredible numbers in less than a month of launch. 

Hooked could be a victim of players botting the system. Or the platform may have an unusual way of counting unique active wallet connections and transaction numbers. While we’re certainly not saying Hooked is a scam, we do advise our community to treat this dapp with extra caution, while it’s still in its early stages.

What is Wild Cash?

Wild Cash is one of Hooked Protocol’s first moves into onboarding uncertain users into Web3. It’s a gamified learning experience where people can:

• Enter the Training Camp where they “quiz to earn”. Users answer questions about crypto, blockchains, DeFi, NFTs, legal regulations and more to win the native token Gold.

• Enter daily quizzes and compete against other players to earn bigger prizes.

• Log in every 24 hours and get rewarded for doing it regularly.

• Refer friends and create your own teams to earn Gold.

• “Mine” Gold by literally tapping a button to move an animated avatar and their pickaxe. This is a metaphor for mining BTC and (kind of) shows how Proof-of-Work functions.

• Watch adverts to win Gold.

• Bet & Win. This feature shows that blockchain technology can be used for gambling.

• Stake, earn yield on and withdraw Gold tokens.

• “Mint” NFTs within the game. For this, users can spend Gold to get an upgraded pickaxe or mining cart. Both of these items help players earn more Gold.

Users even have their own wallet addresses, although it isn’t clear that these are on-chain. Wild Cash also allows people to turn their in-game Gold into real-life currency. The amounts you can earn aren’t huge, but this feature does demonstrate how to make real money via Web3 platforms.

The whole point of Wild Cash is to show people how Web3 works through stories, fun animations and safe learning tools. No one can lose money playing this game and this sense of safety is a good on-ramp to the more challenging and potentially riskier parts of DeFi, NFTs and crypto trading.