freeusdc.io

Screenshots

Problem Statement

Problem: People think crypto is impractical because putting crypto to use in the real world requires one to connect to a local exchange, send money to a custodial wallet and then wire/ACH that money via the exchange to their traditional bank account.Solution: We want to show how easy and fast it is to gain real life utility from a self-custody ethereum wallet. Freeusdc.io is inspired by cardvcard.com, a super viral multiplayer bank account game.Freeusdc.io shows that it is possible to spend crypto as simply and quickly as fiat. It shows that crypto is not just an investment asset, but also something that has real life utility!Process:Players text “FREEUSDC” to 805-328-4736 to be notified of USDC airdrops into an ethereum wallet that is shared amongst all contestantsPlayers go to freeusdc.io and click “Get a Card”. After verifying their identity, they get access to a real Visa debit card, the source of funds of which is the shared ethereum self-custody walletContestants await a text notification informing them of the USDC airdrop and they get to spend it either online/offline if they are fast enough and beat others to it!

Solution

What surprised us is how quickly we were able to deliver a complicated project using ethers.js, Rainbow kit, Polygon, Mainnet and Nucleus API to piece together a practical yet fun game!Front end: We use Rainbow kit, an EVM wallet connector to authenticate and log a user. We use Chakra UI to beautify front end components, axios for HTTP requests and Doppler for secret key management.Card issuing: We use Nucleus API to issue a self-custody crypto-linked Visa Debit card to contestantsSource of funds: A single ethereum wallet on Mainnet and Polygon where USDC is airdropped and that is shared by all contestants/card spendersDebit pull: Behind the scenes, when a user swipes their debit card online or at a point of sale, we use Nucleus API to pull funds over a blockchain from the shared ethereum wallet to settle with the merchant in fiat over VisaNet.Transaction networks: Freeusdc.io is built on Mainnet and Polygon. Card spend/debit pull, transactions are initiated on the ethereum and polygon blockchains using ethers.js.Back end: There was no back end needed, given we used NucleusAPI’s endpoints directly from our front end