Rabby Points: The Only 0 Cost Points Program in Crypto?
Rabby vs MetaMask, Thoughts on Points & More
*** IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ***
We have almost reached the cap for our Revelo Intel Phoenix lifetime memberships. These memberships come with a limited edition NFT which gives the holders access to ALL our products FOREVER, including products we haven't released. The value you get is just insane.
Demand for these memberships has exceeded our expectations. We only have a few spots left. Once they are sold we will never sell these lifetime packages again.
We will stop selling them at midnight EST Jan 31st 2024 or until the last few spots are filled.
The price for all our memberships will increase in Feb 2024 and we have several new research products rolling out shortly.
If you are serious about gaining an edge in the market, you need access to the work our analysts do every day and the private members-only discord server. There is no better value in all of crypto than holding a Revelo Intel Phoenix lifetime membership.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand - Rabby Points
In today’s edition, we’re briefing you on what Rabby Wallet brings to the table in the existing wallet extension landscape, and how their recently implemented points program works. We’ve covered points programs extensively in The Daily Bolt, everything from potential benefits, trade offs, and more.
Rabby stands as perhaps the only existing points program that has little to no drawbacks, as the wallet is almost unanimously a favorite for EVM users. It requires no additional resources to begin earning points; people can simply continue punching in transactions as they please, all while racking up more points to be redeemed for a “rewarding future”.
Background on Rabby Points
Last week, Rabby introduced their own points program. While some points programs may mean using an inferior or less-preferred product for financial incentives, Rabby Points can be considered as a sort of nudge to get users to migrate to a better wallet provider heading into the halving.
Use our code REVELO when setting up to get some bonus points.
MetaMask was the wallet of choice last bull cycle; in mid-2021, Rabby was launched by DeBank. DeBank has long been a favorite for DeFi users. DeBank’s touch is very noticeable when using Rabby, as much of the wallet’s best features are simply integrating what DeBank does best. This includes being able to see token approvals, ease of adding chains, detecting funds in DeFi protocols, the gas top-up feature, being able to see NFTs in-wallet, and more.
MetaMask still requires users to sometimes import tokens manually, as well as add new networks themselves. In fact, the only network MetaMask automatically has added to the wallet is Linea, probably just because both were created by ConsenSys. The wallet even had some privacy concerns, as it was revealed that its RPC infrastructure provider, Infura, was tracking IPs and transactions associated with them. Perhaps the only thing MetaMask does that Rabby doesn’t is being able to extend the wallet extension into its own tab in the browser.
According to Google Chrome, MetaMask has some 16M users, while Rabby merely has 300k; we expect this figure to flip more in favor of Rabby as more attention comes to crypto. In our Annual Intel 500+ page report, we briefly went over how wallets like Rabby on EVM, and Phantom on Solana, have been able to see large amounts of users migrating from MetaMask and SolFlare, respectively. With UI being a well-known pain point in crypto, these wallets have excelled in providing more crisp UX, at a time when anyone still interacting with onchain applications was most likely an avid user.
In early 2023, there was some hype around smart contract-based wallets, with the aim of the wallet automatically executing transactions on the users behalf, mitigating the need to sign a cumbersome amount of transactions manually. While this area of wallet tech may improve in the future, it’s safe to say it hasn’t materialized yet. Instead, wallets like Rabby look poised to capture more user share going into this cycle.
How Rabby Points Work
Rabby has given out some guidelines around their point system, which off the bat generously grants points to every EVM address. Existing EVM addresses, whether derived from a hardware wallet or another wallet extension, have all received some amount of points based on their balances. First-time users can download the wallet extension here.
Mobile wallets like TrustWallet, and hardware wallets can be connected/ imported to Rabby. Users can also import manually via seedphrase/private key. Of course, new addresses can be generated as well via generating a new seed phrase.
Upon opening the latest version of Rabby, users simply navigate to the new “Rabby Points” menu option. Whether you’ve just installed Rabby, or are an avid user who simply never clicked this option, you can use code REVELO to receive extra points.
Rabby is well aware of their enhanced offerings compared to MetaMask; they’ve made it a point to try and draw in users of the incumbent EVM wallet, of which there are many. Bonus points are applied to users of MetaMask. Many MetaMask users had used the wallet’s swap feature, in hopes that this would one day be an airdrop requirement. This is because MetaMask’s swap feature, and the fee they take from it, is their primary source of revenue. Swap users were sort of right about receiving an airdrop, it was just from Rabby, not MetaMask. Users who interacted with the MetaMask swap feature can earn up to 12k bonus points upon adding their address to Rabby, a pretty significant amount indeed compared to what many users report receiving.
Additionally, users can make use of the native features provided by Rabby to earn some points at an enhanced rate. Uniquely, Rabby has a Gas-top up feature, in addition to the wallet’s basic native swap. This can prove helpful in sending small amounts of gas to a long list of new chains. Rather than researching the best bridge to use for a specific chain, users can transfer from existing balances right from the Rabby UI.
Thoughts on Points Programs
How is Rabby’s points program different? Well, it isn’t inherently all that different from the rest of them. The main difference is just that Rabby is a wallet, while other points programs are being launched for individual protocols. Now with the abundance of points programs, most users will be able to find a way to earn additional rewards for an action they want to take. Whether it’s choosing a platform to trade perps on, or using one bridge instead of another to get some points, there is some optionality now, as opposed to simply using a project with the lowest fees, or an aggregator. But this requires deploying capital into a protocol that you otherwise may not actually want to use. Additionally, how people use the protocol may change with how points are granted, creating a dilemma between a user’s initial intention and taking an action just to get more points.
The common denominator is that Rabby rewards you no matter what you do. No change in behavior is needed, no funds need to be locked up or deployed. While a couple of in-wallet actions yield more points than normal transactions, there really isn’t much to research; you can simply transact as you wish and accumulate points. The only thing to keep in mind is that it specifically brands itself as a wallet for “Ethereum and all EVM chains”, so, unfortunately, users won’t be able to earn points for venturing into Solana, Cosmos, Sui, etc.
Access our free research here, from Analyst Insights to Project Breakdowns & more.
If anything can be learned from cycles past, it’s that being a maxi of any chain is not the best strategy. While it may be beneficial for a period of time to focus on one chain’s offerings, it’s definitely best to explore all the onchain offerings, and now be rewarded for doing so. Rabby Points may be coming at a unique point in time where there may be new entrants who haven’t used the EVM before. This is in contrast to the previous cycle, where users began interacting with Ethereum, then trying out other EVM chains as they launched, before venturing to other ecosystems. With opportunities abound on Solana, Cosmos, Move Chains, and more, a new generation may be poised to try out the EVM. Points programs initially originated with Blur, an Ethereum application, but soon became common on Solana before spreading to EVM chains.
Wallets like Rabby, Phantom, and Keplr or Leap wallet are fan-favorites on EVM chains, Solana, and Cosmos, respectively. Perhaps these wallets will introduce their own points programs. It is unlikely that wallet provider points alone will sway users to choose one chain ecosystem over another, as chains and ecosystems have deep moats; but they certainly help to encourage experimentation. Maybe even hardware wallets could introduce points programs; it wouldn’t be that strange considering Solana’s own point program was added to encourage pre-orders of the Solana Saga.
Ultimately, points programs provide an alternative incentive, another factor to consider when choosing which protocol to use aside from simply using an aggregator, choosing the most popular option, prioritizing low fees, etc. Rabby provides the points programs with perhaps the least effort or change in behavior required from the user; many consider the wallet to already be by far the best option when it comes to interacting with EVM chains as it is, regardless of any points incentives attached. For frequent onchain interactors, you will be able to rack up points quickly.
Important Links
Become a Premium member to unlock all our research & reports including access to our members-only discord server
Join thousands of sharp crypto investors & traders by becoming a Premium Member & gain an edge in the markets. For just $33.25/month you’ll get:
Premium access to the entire Revelo Intel platform
*NEW* Raise Alpha- Weekly reports on interesting project raises
*NEW* Sector Overviews - 90 day Reports with data and insights on key sectors
Launch Alpha - Weekly report highlighting new projects
The Trace - Real-time onchain alerts for smart money movements
Airdrop Guides - Reports on airdrop opportunities
Members Only Discord server
Analyst Insights reports - actionable trade ideas
Project Snapshots - Monthly protocol-specific performance reports
Project Breakdowns & Timelines - Deep dive 50+ page protocol-specific reports
Notes - Summaries of your favorite podcasts & AMAs