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This Crypto Startup Takes Bitcoin Advocacy to a Whole New Level
Patrick Stanley is launching a crypto advocacy company called Freehold, starting with bitcoin (BTC) and Blockstack's STX.
By Leigh Cuen
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:11 a.m. Published Sep 16, 2020, 1:00 p.m.
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Blockstack’s former head of growth, Patrick Stanley, is launching a complementary crypto company of his own, Freehold.
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Much like the former Ripple CTO Stefan Thomas who founded Coil to build services related to XRP, Stanley now runs Freehold as an independent company within the token ecosystem related to Blockstack’s namesake cryptocurrency, STX.
Freehold kicks off today by opening enrollment for the first cohort of Freehold evangelists. This program literally pays newbies – in bitcoin – for studying and saving in their own wallets. Stanley compared it to the Mormon door-to-door missionary program, rather than crypto fans “talking to themselves on Twitter all day.”
“HODLing members will be incentivized to lead community-building initiatives, share educational resources, and participate in contests in exchange for rewards,” Stanley said. “I’m taking a hands-on approach to the initial onboarding. I’m paying them in bitcoin to monitor their bitcoin accounts and eventually moving on to STX.”
Former Earn.com Balaji Srinivasan, an unaffiliated fan of the project, said in a press statement that Freehold “gives direct utility to holding crypto.”
Read more: Blockstack’s New Consensus Mechanism Creates New Use Case for Bitcoin
Stanley said his company hired a few part-time workers, starting with a rewards budget of under $250,000 to serve an initial cohort of less than 50 newbies. Program participants are selected based on need and given assignments customized for their interests or needs.
Basically, people apply on the website and Stanley offers personal consulting. If the candidate is a good fit, he helps them set up a bitcoin wallet and monitors the address, while they make social media content and invite friends to join.
“Folks will learn about the STX ecosystem but be making outgroup arguments about the technology and why it’s great,” Stanley said, “starting at bitcoin and working their way up.”
He concluded by saying that once the program “validates it can have an impact” on the STX ecosystem, the company could offer community development services to other token issuers.
“We might be able to command a fee if we verify the model,” Stanley said.
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