Me: Crypto is a love story. My buddy: It’s not. And that’s a weird thing to say. Me: It is, and if you give me 45 minutes and a shot of tequila, I could write it. My buddy: 1 eth says you couldn’t get 100 people on X to like whatever nonsense you write. Me: Can I bribe them? I mean, it’s crypto Twitter. My buddy: No bribes. Gotta be real. Me: Well, my eth bag hasn’t been doing anything for me lately. You’re on! 🥃 [ick!] ⌛️ [45 minutes later...] Crypto: The Love Story I stumble into crypto late one night, down a street I’ve never walked, into a world I didn’t know existed. The air crackles with anticipation. I talk my way into a swanky event, hoping no one asks too many questions. I’m here for the spark of the unknown—or at least some free tequila. We bump into each other. Or rather, I bump into her — purposely, deliberately because: she is beautiful. I learn, quickly, that she is also brilliant, unpredictable, full of possibility. Ideas spill out like mischief wanting to happen. We stay until the party empties. Eventually, we part ways. I figure we'll never see each other again. But we do. Again and again, in unexpected places. Outside that basement meetup in Paris. Near that hackers lounge in Denver. Telegram messages unfold with the energy of something real. Emojis dance. A connection deepens. She's nothing like the rigid, centralized world I came from. They run on outdated memos—she runs on immutable code. She is pure potential. A spark in the dark. As we stroll through the park, all I want is to hold her hand. But the moment isn't right. So we build together instead. I write anonymous little love notes—protocols, smart contracts, white papers etched with possibility. Secret, irrevocable messages that say: What if? Then one day I come clean: It's me. She knows, of course — she's always known. And she loves me too. Just not like I love her. Not yet. Maybe never. Still, I keep building with her. Not because I'm waiting for some final, triumphant moment—but because the act of building together is the love story. See… crypto is creation. It's a story of obsession, doubt, devotion. Of chasing a vision and knowing it might never be enough—but refusing to let it stop us. And someday, whether or not any of this is as grand or majestic as it could be, we’ll look back and know: What we built together was real. It was us. It was love. …. And hopefully it was a badass story too, written in exactly 44 minutes and 53 seconds fueled by nothing but blind confidence and a disgusting shot of… “Time, Daniel. Stop typing.” “Can I at least revise — check for bugs or broken logic?” “Nope. Ship it. I’m going to win this bet. Take your hands off the keyboar—”

I had the idea for @thriveprotocol way back in 2013. I even bought the domain for it the same year. But it took 8 years for me to do anything about it. 8 years. I shared the idea for Thrive with hundreds of people over those years. Nobody believed it was possible. Nobody. I assumed they were right. In August of 2021, I shared the idea with a close friend. He didn't understand what I was talking about. He didn’t even know anything about crypto. But he stared at me for a long time. Then, finally, he said: "I'd like to be your first investor. Is $100k enough to get started?" "Why?" I asked. "I don't know," he said. "But I trust that you know." Today, Thrive is the largest cross-chain Builder Protocol in the world. Top chains have committed over $70M of their tokens through Thrive to fund the next generation of Builders to create sustainable impact in crypto. We are doubling in committed capital allocations every three months or so. Thus, I believe, strongly, tens of millions today... will be billions tomorrow. We've grown quietly, through a bear market, with next to no marketing. Just Builders... funding thousands and thousands of Builders via infrastructure that supports efficiency and credibility long overdue in crypto. Most Builders we've funded don't even know it was us, Thrive, funding them. We've stayed behind the scenes, ignored the lights, and committed to just being better. But it's time to step out in front. We're ready to turn crazy velocity into crazy escape velocity. We're ready to change all of crypto... together. Last night, Thrive soft-launched a points campaign—the Thrive Certified Challenge—which will certify the next generation of Builders we support, unlocking millions in funding opportunities for their Projects. Connected to the Thrive Certified Challenge, we'll slowly be revealing all of it: the vision, the white paper, the tech, and the wild set of opportunities for you to change the world—and your life—with us. Our core unshakeable truth is this: For every Builder in crypto, we want to be that one close friend who was willing to see in me what nobody else could see. We want you to know that we see you. We believe in you. And if you're willing to work for it, we have the tokens to back you up and help you change everything... together. LFG! ♥️ certified.thriveprotocol.com