Carl Cervone ☕️
@carl_cervone
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data enthusiast • working on @osobserver • prev: @hypercerts @protocollabs @gitcoin @ycombinator enveritas • here to fund public goods through infinite games
New York
Joined June 2009
You can be pro-crypto and agree that:. -99% of tokens have ponzi dynamics.-99% of projects have no utility.-99% of hodlers only care about number go up. (and probably also agree that public goods are good).
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every single library for javascript developers that applied for @Optimism retropgf received funding. every. single. one. to the tune of ~$10M (2.8M OP) total. these are projects w/o VC funding, tokens, SaaS fees, etc. web2 doesn't fund its dependencies - the new internet does.
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Somehow in web3 it feels like all your former lives, passion projects and fleeting interests are suddenly relevant again.
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Just finished a long write-up on RetroPGF3 results. Some insights on what this round favored:.- Open > closed source.- Offchain > onchain impact.- Developer libraries > end user applications.- Peanut butter > power law distributions.- Small > big teams.
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just finished my second @gitcoin shopping spree: 52 grants, mostly DeSci, Climate, ETH Infra. Will make a few more trips this GR15!.
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Web3 climate projects, platforms, and creators. _-_. /~~ ~~\. /~~ ~~\. \ _- -_ /. ~ \\ // ~. | | . | | . // \\.----------------. A green 🧵.
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Here is how I used onchain data to decide what to fund on the new @gitcoin grants protocol:.
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blockchains are coordination tech, not fintech (though they are also quite useful for fintech).
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if crypto becomes a social and political movement, it can change the world. if it remains a financial movement, it won’t even change finance.
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crypto has created a substrate for funding "long tail public goods" on an internet-wide scale. short tail public goods are the things we all recognize as valuable. they deserve and often get the lion's share of funding. but every short tail public good started out on the long
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in the long run, i think @gitcoin's biggest impact will be the connective tissue it's creating: not just between projects & funders, but also among projects and people who share the same north star . .
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Regen reading list:.- Braiding Sweetgrass.- The Gift.- Godol Escher & Bach.- Greenpilled.- Impact Networks.- Meditations on Moloch.- Overstory.- Reinventing Organizations. What else?.
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@KlimaDAO treasury exceeds 14M tons of CO2. That's more than the annual emissions of 119 countries - incl. Lithuania, Tanzania, Paraguay. Pretty remarkable progress in 3 months.
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My thoughts on Optimism’s new direction for Retro Funding:. 1/.I am excited to see an increased focus on verifiable impact and a shift to more tightly curated rounds. I have been outspoken about the need for these types of things for much of the past year. FWIW, my project.
Today we're introducing a new era of clarity for Retro Funding!. The Collective has allocated a total of 850M OP to incentivize impactful work across the @Optimism Collective and the Superchain.
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DAOs arent here to make you rich. They’re here to set you free.
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In the last few years, over $360M worth of grants has been allocated to over 5K projects in the Ethereum ecosystem. Most of that was during the bear market . and 2024 is on pace to greatly exceed 2023!. Want to explore where the funding went?. You can see flows by funder,
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It’s all retro funding. Your ability to raise money for future work is 99% based on impressions of what you’ve done before, who you know, how well you pitch your idea, where you’re from, etc etc . The realty is we overpay for grant writers and underpay for doers.
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I’m sharing my RetroPGF voting strategy to provide transparency to projects and other badgeholders regarding the impact I care about and how I value it. Ballot is ready to go, will cast it tomorrow. Feedback on the strategy is welcome; shilling is not 🔴.
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Longish thread on what the data says about the open source software projects participating in @optimismFND's latest RetroPGF round. Full write-up (including links to the source code). Read on . .
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Prediction: @Polymarket will be to the 2024 elections what the 538 model was for the 2008 election. It will go from being an obscure corner of the internet to a foundational source of intelligence. Beyond 2024, I predict the polling industry as we know it to be completely.
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I've supported 50+ projects on GR14. I'm going to do a final round today. Tag your project if I've missed it and you want me to check it out!. Here's what I've funded so far.
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I'm writing a series of step-by-step articles to help onboard people to web3. Check it out here:.
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This is a heatmap of every contribution made to an open source repo applying for retro pgf since 2014
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imagine if funding for digital public goods were as pervasive and as seamlessly integrated as ordering food or booking a flight online?. some thoughts on programmable retro-funding and why we need more of it:
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Excited to see the results of RetroPGF tomorrow!. When we applied a few months ago, I wrote down a number that I felt was a reasonable target. Since then, there has been a lot of positive price action, but I want to remain anchored on our original target. If we exceed the.
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so much more bullish on giving OSS a revenue model than giving tradfi another ETF.
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✨🌏. Earth Day POAP challenge:. 1/ Go outside & admire the world .2/ Take a photo of your favorite tree, shrub, flower, grass.3/ Share photo & drop your ENS/ wallet address below by 23:59 PT. I will all stitch the photos into a special POAP for everyone who participated. 🌍✨.
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In the long run, I believe Ethereum's biggest export will be new mechanisms & rails for funding public goods like open source software. To the doubters & cynics, look no further than these 500 projects that just received over $100M for a heavy dose of @Optimism✨.
Over $100m distributed in @Optimism RetroPGF round 3. Really impressed to see their ongoing commitment to funding public goods, helping devs and others contribute to Ethereum even if they lack a business model. Hope to see more projects doing QF and RPGF rounds in the future!
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the carbon footprint of the junk mail sent by credit card companies in the US is now 100x higher than ethereum's worldwide.
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Funding projects on @gitcoin grants is like shopping at IKEA. You go with one thing in mind, you checkout with a full cart. Then you come back the next day bc you forgot something. And you leave with a full cart again. The good thing is you’re filling up yr cart w public goods.
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I'm publishing lists to help RetroPGF badgeholders with voting. (I've done 7 so far 🤓). This thread is my list of lists . .
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I’m going to test out some impact evaluation methods for all projects in each of the current @gitcoin alpha rounds. Then I will allocate a sizable amount of ETH (for me) across them. Finally I will share a write-up, hopefully inspiring others to fork or follow suit.
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Let's expand the expanded model of goods. What would you add or recategorize?
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if retro pgf is going to crossover from being a neat little experiment on ethereum to something that can change the world, we need data to prove its impact. some analysis & recommendations for how @optimismFND can continue to blaze the trail.
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Update. I cast my ballot. It was incredible learning about many new projects - and seeing such clear impact of more established ones. Badge holders had an enormous responsibility. There was a huge diversity of opinions and voting strategies. I learned more from the groupchat.
I’m sharing my RetroPGF voting strategy to provide transparency to projects and other badgeholders regarding the impact I care about and how I value it. Ballot is ready to go, will cast it tomorrow. Feedback on the strategy is welcome; shilling is not 🔴.
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Just finished a looong essay on the game dynamics of RetroPGF. Check it out if you were a player (or a spectator) in the game. I will be cross-posting all this on the new @OSObserver blog space (soon), but you can find it here for now:.
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Projects looove @pifafu's figma template for announcing retropgf results. Overheard in the badgeholders chat:. "I like the little things. Whoever did this, congrats" - @LefterisJP . "Kudos to whoever made that template and instructions, even an untalented marketing person like me
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Very proud of this piece. I believe that funding public goods effectively is a powerful competitive advantage for crypto ecosystems - but we need the data to back that claim. The key finding in this report is that every $1M in match funding provided to.
Check out our analysis on the impact of Gitcoin Grants on developer activity since 2019. This is the first of hopefully many longitudinal impact assessments. Reach out if you have ideas or want to collaborate on this type of analysis!.
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Why the greenpill movement feels so important as we wash our hands of 2022 and head into 2023:
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how it started / how it's going.
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update: we exceeded the number 🥹.thank you. we won't let you down.
Excited to see the results of RetroPGF tomorrow!. When we applied a few months ago, I wrote down a number that I felt was a reasonable target. Since then, there has been a lot of positive price action, but I want to remain anchored on our original target. If we exceed the.
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So excited to be at @FundingCommons Taipei this weekend !. @da0_g0v_tw are pushing the frontiers of digital democracy and public goods funding - incredible to see my heroes @noahyeh and @vvntp6 on their home stage ✨
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Every one of these light pixels represents an open source contribution made by an individual who is represented as part of a gitcoin grant (since 2018). your contributions help keep the lights on for thousands of people. go to & click the appopriate button
📢 Gitcoin Grants 19 is LIVE until 23:59 UTC Nov 29th. #GG19 is your opportunity to Fund What Matters & get your donations multiplied with matching funds in the biggest Quadratic Funding event in web3 🫶. TL;DR on GG19:.Back to our roots w/ 3 Program Rounds:.🛠️OSS.⛓️ETH Infra
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Finally, it should go without saying, but there are some truly prolific builders working on Ethereum. This chart might melt your screen but it's one of my favorites. It captures 150 of the most active contributors across all of the RetroPGF 3 projects. 👑
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I love this visualization of the Two Loops Model by @CassieRobinson. It shows the Dominant & the Emergent Systems as entirely different paradigms - two loops that never touch. It also underscores the importance of connecting & nurturing in an Emergent System 🌱
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congrats to @ourZORA . fastest/easiest L2 bridge -> do cool things UX I’ve encountered . spent some time exploring and immediately got ideas for things I want to create . L2 summer is here 🔥.
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Here's a @DuneAnalytics Dashboard for tracking donations as they roll in for the current @UNICEFinnovate x @gitcoin Quadratic Funding round:. Please fork me!.
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Nothing could make me happier than meeting @gitcoin grant recipients in the real world and hearing what it meant to them (🤖,💚).
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It's humbling & inspiring to see how @RedemptionDAO's tent has grown over the past 48 hours. Congolese activists, community leaders, NGOs have joined forces with #ReFi leaders, artists, devs, GIS mappers, energy experts, lawyers, etc. It's just getting started - come help!.
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Some more stats* on @gitcoin's alpha round:. - 29K unique wallet addresses.- 1.5K supported projects across all 3 rounds.- 10K had unique "donor DNA", meaning no other user chose to fund the same combination of projects as them. Pluralism FTW!.
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some thoughts on gitcoin accepting funding from shell for its climate matching pool, and the backlash this is causing on ct ….
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.@owocki should be proud of this. I never felt comfortable accepting payment for work at gitcoin because I felt it was giving me so much more. Most full-time contributors are whale donors to projects (+ don’t brag about it). Most alumni part ways on a mission to grow the pool.
maybe my proudest achievement has been making @gitcoin into a talent attractoooor that played a small role in the ascendance of now superstars @austingriffith @TrustlessState @_anishagnihotri @carl_cervone +handful of others. todo: 2x down on this next cycle + find the next batch.
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I just wrapped up my Gitcoin Grant donations for the beta round. Here's what I considered in making my funding decisions.
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a button that lets you fund everyone who worked on the open source software upstream of the product you’re using.
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Vitalik's meditation on the "scene" is a reminder that balkanization can happen in any community. It is often a byproduct of new people+money entering quickly. He holds up regen & refi as a growing scene that gives him optimism about a different path. Here are some thoughts:.
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Here's my little essay on why I think this governance stuff matters, why you should be proud to participate, why you should kick the tires on all of it, and why other people should care. (just in time for those wtf are you doing holiday conversations).
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i'm amazed how "up and to the right-y" the daily donations graph on @gitcoin's new grants protocol is
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I made some art 🌞. 1/ Polar Optimist. - Each project on OP mainnet is a unique wedge.- Bar height = log transactions for that project.- One plot per month
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Some stats* on @gitcoin's alpha round:. - $582K donated across all 3 rounds.- 24K unique wallet addresses.- $13 median total donations/wallet .- 6.9 avg projects/wallet.- 1.5 avg rounds/wallet. only a few hours left! .
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I’m going to be giving a talk today with @CeloOrg on Impact Measurement & Attribution for Digital Public Goods . 👇.
Bienvenue to ReFi Day 🌳 - July 17, 2023, at #CoOPERATEParis! 🇫🇷 🌟. Here's an in-depth look at today's schedule:. Opening Keynote.🎙️ @RegenRene (@CeloOrg).⏰12:00–12:20PM | Seminar Room. Tokenized Carbon Credits.🎙️Workshop w/ Lena Hierzi (@ToucanProtocol).⏰12:15–12:45PM |
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I created an NCAA-style knockout tourney to determine who to fund for the @gitcoin Citizen Retro Round. 1500 USDC -> 32 individuals -> 2 co-champions
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@gitcoin @UNICEFinnovate Gitcoin x UNICEF stats after just 4 days:. 🔼 1030 unique donors.🔼 9.58 ETH.🔼 4078 DAI.🔼 $16K total (before matching!). 👉
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the best part of web3 is the feeling that you're working alongside all your heroes.
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Congrats to gitcoin.- launched multiple protocols .- greatly improved design / UX.- rounds popping up everywhere.- experiments on various chains.- bringing QF to various normie causes.- doubling down on OSS + eth infra. Lots to celebrate 👏.
🥁 2023 - Year in Review 🥁. Yes, it is that time of year again and this one felt like a few! Please take a spin down memory lane with us as we recap our favorite moments… 🧵. Kicking us off is the return of our beloved @owocki – reunited, and it feels so good 🎶
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A few months ago @greenpillnyc hosted a wonderful salon and invited me to give a talk on the past, present and future of public goods funding. I made a scorecard comparing crypto vs legacy systems on 7 dimensions. Here’s a blog version of the talk:
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Hot take: there's too much money chasing too few builders in the climate / #refi / carbon space. Supply side needs more:. Removal projects. DAOs / composable infra for project origination & verification. Moonshots. What start-ups, projects would you like to see in 2022?.
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@MattAhlborg @BetterMarkets @ewarren @GaryGensler this inspired me to do some digging on better markets. all US tax-exempt orgs must disclose their financial activity to the public. these include their total revenue and the compensation paid to their highest officers. you can see a copy of better market's latest return here:
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I do my best work on flights. I have a 20+ hour one tomorrow morning. Looking forward to some deep writing, coding and strategy time.
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i got hit by an uber while crossing the street this morning. apart from some scrapes and bruises, i am totally fine. the driver was extremely gracious, hugged me, took my somewhere i could clean up, has been calling to check that i'm fine. feeling grateful 💜.
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Impact is not like pornography. “I can’t define it but I know it when I see it.”. Impact is hard to define, pluralistic, context specific. It’s a collective intelligence problem. That’s why you want a lot of efforts to measure it, not one (or none).
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Regenerative meetings are meetings that regenerate your mind and energy: they leave you filled with ideas and a desire to build.
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0⃣is curious 1⃣apes in 2⃣loses it all 3⃣reads up/subscribes to bankless 4⃣gets greenpilled 5⃣gives to gitcoin grants 6⃣joins project(s) 7⃣goes fulltime web3 8⃣starts own project 9⃣raises on gitcoin grants 🔟builds ▶️ships ⏩funds public goods ⏭️inspires others.
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Me at parties
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why don't u get a job.the companies i want to work for don't exist yet. why don't u become an investor.no one is ready to invest in the things i want to fund. why don't u convince people.the data to convince people doesn't exist yet. why don't u get the data.that is the plan.
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you’re posting about ATHs.i’m writing docs.we are not the same.
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Some (preliminary) RPGF3 stats:.📩 1500+ applications.✅ 600+ approved for voting.💾 300+ OSS projects.✨ 800+ active* OSS contributors
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.@MessariCrypto just released their annual Crypto Theses for 2024. This year’s included a chart by @a16z + a quote from @twobitidiot : “If I could invest blindly into crypto based on a single chart, it’s this one”. There’s a lot to love about this take, but one thing I hate.
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what are some audacious ideas from the past that should be tried again now that we have better coordination technology ?.
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Just published a new RetroPGF List ✨. This one is experimental and warrants a longer write-up, which you can find here: This thread has details on the methodology . .
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Just finished my second round of donations on @gitcoin @grantsstack, i tried to sweep both the floor and the ceiling this round . h/t to @MegLister and the team for making some big improvements to the Grants UI.
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Very grateful & humbled by the support during the @GitcoinCitizens round. I view this funding as a gift — and with it a desire to pay it forward. I haven’t decided how yet, but I want to put all of it into tomorrow’s impact data scientists. Thank you 🫶
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Decentralized decision-making isn’t about drawing everything up by committee and achieving consensus on every issue. It is about removing barriers to information and access, so all people feel empowered to seek advice, run the numbers, and make decisions.
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pgn bridge numbers surging with the grants round going live 🟢
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Just some perspective on @KlimaDAO's 9.4 million tons in 3 weeks
To all the people saying that #DeFi is just crypto-natives with no connection to the real world, I give you @KlimaDAO which has brought 9.4 million carbon tonnes on chain in the space of just 3 weeks and is now a hot topic of conversation at #COP26Glasgow. $KLIMA (🌳,🌳).
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@RyanSAdams The 50,000 people (minus sybils) who show up every quarter to fund public goods on @gitcoin.
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I just donated to GG18 on @gitcoin. Join me in making a difference by donating today, and check out the projects I supported on my Donation History page!.
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