If you haven’t started swapping tokens on GalaSwap yet, we’ve got the perfect incentive to get you into the action.
A recent GalaSwap update brought in a new Starter Pack item called the Trader Profile Badge.
After purchasing this NFT Badge for $1 using a credit card, users will instantly receive 95% of the purchase price back as $GALA, giving them a tidy little pile of tokens they can use to create or accept swaps.
While the NFT Badge has no utility or intrinsic value, we think you’ll get a lot of use out of the $GALA awarded as a rebate for the purchase.
Create and Accept $GALA swaps – Every token in the GalaChain ecosystem can be swapped to and from $GALA. Create offers or fill offers swapping either to or from $GALA for any other ecosystem token, including the numerous project tokens that have been created by the community.
Create Project Tokens – In just a few minutes, you can burn $GALA to create a brand new project token of your own on GalaChain. Once the Gala Founder’s Node operators (who get a portion of the token as an operator reward) approve your project token via governance vote, your token will be available on GalaSwap and it will be yours to distribute as you please.
Collect $GSWAP – $GSWAP is the built-in reward token of GalaSwap, distributed daily to users who create and accept swaps.
Transfer tokens – Using the Transfer interface, users can easily send or receive GalaChain tokens, including $GALA, $MUSIC or any other token held in a GalaChain wallet.
Start Swapping
Everyone is eligible to buy the Trader Profile Badge and receive the $GALA rebate. You’ll find a purchase option at the top of the GalaSwap page.
Watch the project token markets and get swapping on GalaSwap, where each swap only costs 1 $GALA to create or accept. This is the power of DeFi on GalaChain, delivering endless possibilities and rewards.
Imagine that you were a scammer trying to target a particular group of people… let’s say people who like to spend their days at the lake relaxing with a fishing pole hanging in the water. Who knows why – maybe you are trying to sell counterfeit lures? Coordinate putting out some AI-enabled fishing rod that’s collecting fingerprint data while they laze their days away? Motivations are rather inconsequential for this example.
You could pay for a big list of dark web data, but you could also just insert yourself into that community. You can hop on message boards, join chat groups, heck you could even go hang around local bait shops. Before long, you’ve got a lot of useful demographic data on people that are part of that group. Maybe all you have is some emails and IP addresses… but that’s enough to start refining your list and getting more information.
The same is true with Discord. The Gala community is a great place for the latest news and robust conversation about every aspect of the Gala Ecosystem. The popularity and richness of social connections that are forged on our Discord server or Telegram channel, however, also make them a popular destination for another type – scammers. It’s important to know and understand the tactics of these digital miscreants to keep your digital assets safe while still participating in any digital community.
Welcome to the 8th installment of The Guardian Papers, where we try to impart the wisdom that everyone should have to start a successful journey through the world of digital ownership. The blockchain world is still in its infancy. We here at Gala believe that empowering each and any member of our community makes us stronger as a whole.
Miss an issue of the Guardian Papers!? Check out past editions below!
It is our hope that this series has and will continue to present foundational information that will not only provide a base understanding of how to keep your blockchain footprint secure, but will also help inform your journey through this digital adventure so you can ask better questions, do better research, and make better decisions to help guard your entire community.
The Dark Side of Community
Discord was originally made for gamers. As the scope of the platform has grown to include countless massively popular communities, however, it has also attracted the riffraff that stalks digital space for the opportunity to steal from the unwitting. Because Discord servers categorize people into common interests, it’s easy for scammers to get inside groups and represent themselves as just another member – or even an authority figure – within that community.
The same is true for Telegram or other messaging apps where people commonly gather in like-minded groups. In these spaces, the community itself has already done the work to compile victims for all the villains in the cryptoshadows. Communities are welcoming because that’s the point of community. By simply being in these groups, however, you’ve done part of the scammers research for them… they know that you are part of their target audience.
Make sure you customize your privacy settings in Telegram… or else you’re about to get a whole hornet’s nest of attention from all the wrong people!
Community messaging apps like Telegram and Discord are third-party platforms that are utilized by Gala, but these can have their own security issues that are simply beyond any community’s ability to control. The scammers thoroughly know the shortcomings of these apps, and can exploit them to attempt to scam thousands of members of a community within minutes. Even one success will show them this pond is well-stocked with easy catches for their future fishing endeavors.
Any community where the digital villains see opportunity isn’t going to get rid of them without a fight, however. We can only turn the tide against the scammers by making sure that each and every one of us is ready to defend against them.
Don’t forget to customize your exceptions as well! By default, any member of Telegram’s premium subscription can contact you regardless of your settings 😱
Don’t forget to customize your exceptions as well! By default, any member of Telegram’s premium subscription can contact you regardless of your settings! 😱
How Scammers Prey on Communities
It’s hard to build and feel community if you’re always suspicious of your neighbors. The scammers are counting on this, because that’s not how defenses work. When you perceive yourself as ‘among friends’ your defenses naturally go down. You want to be helpful – after all, that’s what building community is all about.
That’s why they’re here. Community is a group trust that we build up over time with likeminded people. We can’t simply turn it off and on. It’s not like we recognize every member of the community, we just recognize that they are part of the community.
We’ve discussed impersonation before, so you’re all very well aware that there are people out there who will pretend to be Gala customers or community support. You need to stay vigilant for these types of things… these apps are where the scammers find their marks.
This isn’t to say that community itself is bad. In fact, it’s very very good. Community standards and best practices are how we combat these scammers. Building a community is too important to let scammers stop us. We have to build a better community to make it outlast the villains.
Trust is Earned
Just because someone is part of your community does not mean they’ve earned trust, and it’s not an insult to tell them so. Caution is admirable… and part of the point of web3 is to establish systems that don’t rely on trust.
First off, please adjust your privacy settings on Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord or similar apps if you have not. In Telegram, for instance, you can be contacted by anyone by default. If you don’t change that it’s only a matter of time before you are getting blown up with spam and scams. Similarly WhatsApp will show your personal phone number to anyone who comes looking if you don’t change the security settings… make sure to get this done or you’re wide open to an attack from a crytpovillain.
Even on Discord you can customize your security settings to control who can reach out to you. As we’ve discussed before, don’t trust a display name… that can be easily changed. Put people you trust on your friends list. Consider changing your settings so friends can message you. That way any new friend requests are where you know you need to be vigilant, and anyone on your friends list has already been vetted.
Trust, but verify
-Old Russian proverb
Don’t trust these security measures to be the end all be all of your defenses, however! People can get hacked or lose access to their accounts. Sometimes the attack could come from someone you know… albeit not them actually sitting in front of their keyboard.
Community Strong
With so many threats among communities you trust, the fight against bad actors in digital spaces can seem hopeless. Fortunately, community is also the cure to this malady.
⬆️ Not a great way to seek help from the community. Not only does anyone watching now know this user’s needs, but also their urgency. I bet their DMs blew up.
⬅️This is a great way to utilize the knowledge of the community. Tons of eyes can get on the deceptive scam attempt right away to verify if it’s legitimate or not. HINT: This one was not legitimate.
No one person can be entirely vigilant all the time. We get tired. We get distracted. Our guard comes down for a moment here and there… and that’s when attacks happen. Talk to your community. Educate each other and call out the tactics that scammers are using so that everyone can learn to avoid them. Alone an attack is inevitable. Together we’re strong.
If you see something sus, reach out! Ask the community you trust whether you should be engaging. Don’t be embarrassed. A simple question could save you a lot of hassle.
Guarding Each Other
When we work together, the community really shows its strength. Those who seek to exploit communities of common interests in the web3 space are counting on us not following through with our commitment to a solid community. If a victim doesn’t use the community resources at their disposal to help themselves, what can a community do to help?
That’s why it’s so important to share tips and educate fellow community members about security culture. If we all get a little better at spotting bad actors, we’ll all be a little less likely to get scammed. If we all get a little better and share a little more of that culture with each other, we’ll be exponentially more protected from those who seek to do us harm.
That’ll do it for this week’s Guardian Papers, but we’ll be back! Next time, we’ll be breaking down multi-factor identification and how it can help protect your digital sovereignty in this new age.
Stay safe Galaxians… and always have your shield ready!
A new week is underway for Gala Music, where we’re hard at work to revolutionize the music industry, empowering artists and fans with ownership and rewards.
If you haven’t started discovering new music on Gala yet, you’re missing out. Listen free as much as you like to directly support our fabulous lineup of artists, but that’s only scratching the surface.
As usual, let’s explore some of the most exciting drops and artist debuts happening throughout the week. Then we’ll get into the numerous ways that you can collect rewards for supporting the future of decentralized music. Get ready to go beyond the stream.
Featured Drops
“1992” by Nyku
Making his NFT debut, we’re pleased to welcome Los Angeles based Hip-hop and Jazz artist Nyku to the Gala Music platform. “1992” (prod. By SEVENDI) is dropping on Thursday, August 15th at 1pm PT, “a track created to give perspective and understanding where the stars align.”
Following a sellout of her debut Gala Music NFT with “What You Like” (Gala Edition), alt-pop artist YUNICE is back with a new one that really hits home with her characteristic “sad girl” vibes. Listen to the “sad girl” edit of “Chasing Magic now and get the NFT track while supplies last starting at 1pm PT on Friday, August 16th.
On Wednesday, Gala Music fan favorite Emily Faye is dropping another one to join her growing collection of captivating pop originals – Check them out now Emily Faye’s Gala Music artist page. The new track drops at 1pm PT on Wednesday, August 14th, but Loyalty Pool $MUSIC supporters can unlock early access to the sale at 12pm PT!
Fans love our Gala Music Mystery Boxes, and the latest $4.99 $MUSIC Box is available now. Each box has three chances to win $GALA, $MUSIC, NFT tracks (while supplies last) or even a Gala Music Jukebox Node (valued at $2000) so you can actually power the music yourself!
Get as many $MUSIC Boxes as you want for $4.99 each, then open them when you like through your Collection page.
We recently launched a new way to collect music rewards! Play Music Miner in Telegram to complete tasks, upgrade experiences and build a superstar stack of rewards that will later be minted as $TREZ on both GalaChain and TON.
All you need is a free Telegram account to get started tapping and collecting rewards. Experience what it’s like to rise through the ranks from street corners to packed worldwide venues. Do you have what it takes to reach the top?
Are you an artist ready for a refresh? Looking for a platform that works with you instead of against you? At Gala Music, we’re giving musicians what they deserve, with numerous revenue opportunities to explore and lots of ways to build a dedicated fan base.
With the power of the $MUSIC token, Gala Music has already paid out millions of dollars to both emerging and established artists. Artists on our decentralized platform typically make more than double per stream than on Spotify, and we’re just getting started.
NFT track ownership is the most effective way to collect rewards for your support of decentralized music. By owning tracks from limited run NFT sales, you can collect daily $MUSIC rewards as long as you own the track. And because it’s an NFT, you can always list it for sale on secondary market platforms like OpenSea – It’s actually yours.
For those looking to collect daily $MUSIC for multiple tracks without building a track collection of their own, becoming a Jukebox Node operator is a perfect option. Each upgradeable Jukebox Node comes with space for 10 hosted NFT tracks, allowing the operator to share in all the rewards.
We’re pleased to announce as of earlier this week, the Gala ecosystem has added a Single Sign-On (SSO) option using Telegram login credentials. This new feature is set to revolutionize the onboarding experience for users discovering our platforms through the viral success of our $TREZ “tapper” games on Telegram mini apps.
Streamlining User Experience with Telegram SSO
One of the most important challenges to web3 mass adoption has been the convenience factor. Web2 was a world that introduced social media that evolved into the smoothest onboarding experiences in the world. Today, it’s imperative to offer SSO options for existing web2 platforms with which users are already familiar. Telegram is one of those platforms.
As Treasure Tapper and Music Miner continue to capture the attention of Telegram mini app users worldwide, we recognize the importance of providing a seamless and efficient way to join the Gala ecosystem. With Telegram SSO, users can now create accounts on all core Gala platforms – Gala Games, Gala Music, and Gala Film – using their existing Telegram credentials. It’s as simple as a login, just like our Google account SSO option.
This integration simplifies the registration process, making it easier than ever for new users to dive into the rich, decentralized experiences we offer. A simple sign-in has a lot of power, especially when transitioning from your web2 comfort zone to all the new empowering responsibilities that come with web3 ownership.
Right away, SSO users will gain access to our free games, our entire music catalog and more. Then as they learn the ropes of our ecosystem, Telegram users can then create and connect their web3 wallets at their convenience, gaining access to everything Gala offers.
Why Telegram SSO Matters
Ease of Use: By leveraging existing Telegram accounts, users can skip the hassle of creating new credentials, saving time and reducing friction.
Enhanced Security: Telegram SSO provides a secure login method, ensuring user data protection.
Unified Access: One Telegram account opens doors to the entire Gala ecosystem, unifying user experiences across gaming, music, and film platforms.
A New Era of Onboarding
Although small at a glance, this is actually a huge step in our ongoing efforts to make blockchain-based platforms more accessible to mainstream audiences. As we continue to innovate and expand, we are committed to breaking down barriers and simplifying user interactions with our ecosystem.
Join the revolution today by logging in with your Telegram account and exploring the endless possibilities within Gala Games, Gala Music, and Gala Film.
The decentralized token swapping protocol of the GalaChain ecosystem continues to make great strides and regular updates to its interface. Today we’re pleased to announce a handful of updates surrounding account inventory and p2p transactions beyond the standard creation and acceptance of swaps.
If you haven’t started using GalaSwap yet, it’s now easier than ever to swap any of your GalaChain tokens for $GALA. With a fee of only 1 $GALA to create or accept a swap, this is the cheapest way to swap tokens anywhere on the decentralized web. All it takes is a free Gala account and a little bit of $GALA.
Sending Tokens
In addition to accepting and creating swaps, you can now send tokens directly to other GalaChain wallets through the GalaSwap interface. This is especially useful for the abundance of Project Tokens that have been created by the community– Until this update, there has been no simple way to transfer these tokens, with the exception of distribution by the project owner and in the completion of swaps.
Now all users have the option to send any fungible token listed on the platform to any GalaChain wallet. The ability to transfer NFTs will come with a future update.
This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including through the Send tab or the Token list view, by choosing the 3-dot menu on the right as pictured below.
Additionally, you can now easily generate a QR code to receive tokens to your GalaChain wallet, using the updated navigation menu on the left side of the page.
View Your NFT Inventory
You can also now browse your GalaChain NFT Inventory right there on GalaSwap. Soon we’ll implement the ability to trade and transfer NFTs directly from GalaSwap, but for now you can only view them.
We’re extremely excited to bring the community this new and improved GalaSwap interface, and we want to remind you that this is only the beginning. We have a lot more awesomeness in store! Thanks for being part of this community.
