Today, we are featuring a profile of one of our Akash Insider community members—Del Rey, AKA “Instafinanzas.” Del Rey will introduce himself in his own words, share his background, how he came to find Akash Network, and his experience with the Akash Insiders.
Enter, Del Rey:
How I Found Crypto
I’m known as Del Rey, insta, instafinanzas or just Robert. I have over five years of experience in the banking sector, going through different departments like social media, sales, quality assurance, and compliance. I’ve always been drawn to content creation and social media, and I’ve been involved in projects like a car wash, taking pictures, food, and personal finance.
Instafinanzas was born from the idea that it’s possible to turn your finances around. However, the steps are not clear for many people. Through instafinanzas, I am able to help a wide array of individuals that are looking to change their approach to finances. I’ve helped people work on budgeting, paying off loans, and how to get started with investing.
I learned about Bitcoin around November 2020 through a platform called eToro. I was impressed with how expensive 1 BTC was, and since I had demo money in the account, I bought some BTC. Then, I forgot about eToro and when checked the account again in February 2021—the profits I made were huge! I was happy but didn’t know exactly what Bitcoin could be used for. So, I read the Bitcoin whitepaper, watched some YouTube videos, and fell down the rabbit hole.
I spent a decent amount of time reading and understanding Bitcoin. This reading helped me see the flaws in our current financial system, and it just made sense to me, got orange pilled by myself!! I think bitcoin is freedom and all the technology that came after BTC will empower us to do incredible things, same as the internet helps us communicate and work in ways never thought before. The same will happen with cryptocurrencies.
I still run instafinanzas’ Instagram, and now I use it to spread awareness about cryptocurrencies and to showcase my Cosmos Journey. In the future, I’d like instafinanzas to become The Hub, which will be filled with news, info, and entertainment content around cryptocurrencies.
Making The Jump Into Web3
In my early days in crypto, I learned lots about DeFI, NFTs, the concept of “rugpulls,” and the communities behind various projects. During this time, I joined all the groups I could. My phone battery wouldn’t last more than two hours due to all the messages, but I loved it. The vibe, the “WAGMI” culture, and, of course, the technology. I got deeply involved in a few projects, mostly as a mod answering users’ questions and chitchatting. However, most of the time I was reading about new projects and how they worked.
In July 2021, an old friend shared a podcast episode with Cryptocito, and he was talking about Cosmos, interoperability, and how the future was cross-chain. I started researching ATOM, Cosmos, IBC, and their future possibilities.
The Cosmos rabbit hole is something else. There are so many apps, projects, developers, and governance—there’s not a boring day in the Cosmos ecosystem. I applied the same formula from my previous experience, learning as much as I could while connecting with people and helping others. I still had a regular job at this point, and crypto was taking up so much of my time that I thought, what if I could get a job in crypto?
I consider myself to be bold and intrepid, so I went job hunting and found pages full of web3 jobs. On a side note, I still share any open jobs I find in my telegram channel Crypto Jobs Latam so I can help more Latin Americans make the switch to web3.
During my search, I saw that Stakin had an open position, and the description was similar to what I was already doing. So, I applied and was hired.
My Experience Working at Stakin
I’ve been working for Stakin since January 2022, and what I do is strengthen Stakin’s relationship with its networks while helping our delegators in their crypto journey. I use many different strategies to achieve these goals. Content creation is one of the main ways we contribute to our networks, and I try to make it special in every iteration. I take my time to deliver greatness, although, the crypto market is so fast-paced that I had to learn how to deliver more quickly.
I’ve learned many things while working at Stakin, engaged in governance conversation, and decentralization initiatives, while getting an overview of many Cosmos apps, their updates, the communities, and where they are heading. Practice makes perfect, and going back to my first articles and Twitter spaces, my rookie mistakes were apparent. But you just learn from those and move on, there’s room for improvement but you have to do the job! Also, I’ve learned a lot from others. I’m thankful for all the quality people I have met in the space. Being able to work in crypto has been a blessing. I proudly represent Stakin and I’m happy to join hands with people that want the best for the ecosystem.
How I Found the Akash Insiders and My Experience So Far
I initially got into Cosmos and from there, discovered other networks. I remember listening to a discussion about Akash Network, and I got interested and started doing more research. Akash is one of the networks where Stakin is a validator, and I got the chance to study Akash closely, its community, and the team behind it. I saw myself spending more and more time on Discord, reading, and sometimes trying to be of assistance.
Networks in the Cosmos ecosystem often have ambassador programs, that recruit enthusiastic, talented, and dedicated individuals to spread the word. Akash has its own ambassador program called the Akash Insiders. These are people who have skills, know the tech, and get direct support from the Akash team. The goal? To speed up the decentralized cloud revolution.
I’ve applied for the Insiders two times. The first time, I got rejected, but it didn’t matter. I deepened my knowledge, improved my skills, and developed relations within the community. The second time I applied, I got in! You have to know what you want to do and never give up! Find something bigger than you. Find a purpose, and attach yourself to it. I’m honored to contribute to Akash’s mission, and I’m looking forward to the experiences and learnings that will come my way.
I’m eager to see all the things that The Insiders will be able to achieve in this new phase of Akash Network. The tech is being refined, the marketing team has been assembled, and the Insiders are ready!
Crypto gives us an alternative. It gives us ways to make things different. The decentralized economy needs a decentralized infrastructure—one that users can use and trust for its reliability. However, there’s not much info out there, and some use cases are too complex for the average person at the moment. Let’s change that!
Interested in Becoming an Akash Insider?
Please head over to our Akash Insiders page to get a feel for the community and the link to apply!
