Building the future of consumer data ownership as CEO and co-founder of Browse.

I want to talk about a growing trend I see in the tech space called “X to Earn.” This is where consumers choose to exchange their personal data in different categories in exchange for compensation of some variety.

This trend has been around for several years, with earlier versions taking the form of survey apps where users would complete surveys in exchange for money. Now this wasn’t a lot of money, but it was a start, and people were infatuated with the idea that they could make some money doing something as simple as completing surveys. We can even see in this Reddit post from seven years ago that people were looking to use these platforms to earn a little extra beer money.

Since then, the “X to Earn” movement has continued to gain steam. Why? I think there are two reasons:

1. It’s the perfect alignment of incentives. Brands want access to people’s lives and their data. Consumers want something in return, and they can finally get it with the “X to Win” move (and the best part is that consumers don’t have to significantly alter their behavior).

2. Digital assets have created a direct way for consumers to receive more meaningful compensation.

How digital assets are involved

The “X to Earn” movement has become exponentially more popular and feasible in recent years thanks to Web3 and digital assets. According to an article by Sensorium, a leading digital metaverse company, “The rise of X-to-Earn is tied to the development of Web 3.0, the expansion of blockchain-based digital economies, and important concepts such as content ownership, proof of authenticity. and economic opportunity in a new digital age.

Thanks to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, this next evolution of “X to Earn” will allow consumers to be rewarded for something they are already doing every day instead of having to do something new, like completing surveys. Today, they can earn while doing things like playing, learning, and exercising.

Four different ‘X to win’ opportunities

I first came up with the idea of ​​winning with something you’re already doing was in 2015. I was in my senior year of high school competing in an international debating competition and we were up against the Singapore national team. We were both asked to present how we would enact universal basic income, and I remember the Singapore team’s proposal was based on data sharing and consumers earning from their data.

That idea, around profiting from your data, has resonated with me ever since, and I’ve been keeping an eye out for companies trying to get into the space. In 2015, I could never have imagined how quickly it would emerge and how many different “X to Earn” businesses and models we would see today. There are a lot of companies coming up in this space, so let me give you a starting point. Here are four different “X to Earn” models and companies to take a look at:

1. Play to win

According to Binance, “Play-to-earn games allow users to farm or collect cryptocurrencies and NFTs that can be sold on the marketplace. By playing the game regularly, each player can earn more items or tokens to sell and generate income.

Example: Axie Infinity, as Decrypt describes it, is “a blockchain-based game where players buy NFTs of cute monsters and then pit them against each other in battles. Players can earn SLP tokens during gameplay and exchange them for money on an exchange.”

2. Move to win

Move-to-win games reward users not for playing a video game, but for when they physically move. This is usually done through a GPS that is connected to the app or game and rewards users for walking or running.

Example: STEPN is a fitness app that allows you to earn rewards for “walking, jogging and running outdoors”.

3. Sail to win

Browsing to earn is done through a browser extension or full browser that rewards users for their golden data. Users can exchange their browsing history (usually anonymously) in exchange for some kind of reward. Pro Tip: Stack a rewarding browser extension on top of a rewarding browser to earn double points.

Example: Brave Browser is a browser that, by default, “removes all creepy ads and trackers from every web page you visit.” Users then have the ability to opt-in to receive select ads from Brave and earn their cryptocurrency BAT (Basic Attention Token).

4. Learn to win

Learning to earn is a cryptocurrency-dependent model because most (if not all) companies that offer this reward give users cryptocurrency for learning about cryptocurrency. The more you learn, the more you earn.

Example: RabbitHole is a platform that, according to DAO Masters, “allows users to discover and use new decentralized applications (d’apps), protocols or crypto platforms in exchange for cryptocurrency rewards.”

we are still early

As I’m sure you’ll hear with everything in the crypto and Web3 space, we’re still incredibly early when it comes to “X to Win” businesses. This completely changes the business equation where instead of needing consumers to add something to their lives to engage with your business, they can now do what they are already doing and derive value from it.

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