Stacks Feature: HeyLayer with Gary Riger

You ever hear the term "simultaneous invention"? It's the hypothesis that most scientific discoveries and inventions happen independently and around the same time by different people. At this point you may be asking yourself how is this relevant to Bitcoin, Stacks, HeyLayer or even Mr. Gary Riger . It's a good question, so keep reading for the answer.

Tokens, NFTs, Wallets, Marketplaces, Oh My!

In this small corner of the internet we find ourselves ahead of the curve. If you have interacted with any crypto at this point you have done so before most of humanity. For years now one of my obsessions has been thinking about how mass adoption happens, and specifically how will the industry solve the learning curve problem for new users. Within the Stacks ecosystem you can find many people/projects working to solve this problem. One such person is Mr. Gary Riger, and his project is called HeyLayer.

What is HeyLayer?

"At HeyLayer, we are focused on unlocking web3 for the early majority. Not necessarily the early adopters or innovators but the majority of early users." - Gary Riger

HeyLayer is a platform that allows anyone to buy or create NFTs, and they can do so with a credit card. This platform can be used for businesses to create their own NFT campaigns. All of this can be done without the user knowing the difference between a blockchain and a blockhead. This is progress towards the goal of making crypto and Web 3 a reality for everyone, this is otherwise known as mass adoption. After briefly communicating with Gary to set up an interview, I set out to understand HeyLayer a bit better.

When checking out the HeyLayer marketplace the first thing that a crypto native notices is that the prices for the NFTs listed are denominated in USD." What heresy is this?!?" my inner degen lamented. After quelling this momentary outburst, the more sensible parts of me immediately recognized this for the cleverness it represents (my inner degen is an idiot, and only useful in specific situations). If your goal is bringing people into crypto, listing NFTs in USD is actually quite brilliant. A no coiner can literally go to HeyLayer, see exactly what the NFT they want cost in USD and subsequently purchase it with their credit card. The protocol will handle every part of the crypto transaction on the back end, and the user doesn't get charged any fees. Account creation is simple enough, easier than starting a Twitter or Facebook account, and upon completion the user is politely prompted to sync their Hiro wallet via a non-intrusive prompt by their user name. Right there I could see where a comfortable, non-threatening, Web 2 experience leads one right to the gate of Web 3 awesomeness.

Getting to know Gary Riger

The following day I was able to speak with Gary about HeyLayer, and get to know a bit more about this project and the team. Gary started HeyLayer with the CEO Alla Koretsky, and the COO Marina Romashko. Gary's role as CTO is appropriate seeing as though he has a tremendous amount of experience in tech and has been going down the Bitcoin rabbit hole since 2017. His partners have an immense amount of business experience, but this is their first foray into crypto. The makeup of this team not only makes sense for this project, but it assuredly is the alchemy that gives the HeyLayer experience its unique feel.

Gary's love of tech started as a child. A self taught software engineer who went on to work on Wall Street for eleven years. In 2013 Gary built his first software development company, and by 2017 he had found himself consumed by Bitcoin and has remained steadfast in his conviction that Bitcoin can make the world a better place. That said, Gary is no Bitcoin Maxi and has followed an all too familiar arc of experimenting with other blockchains but being turned off by the shills and scams. In 2018 Gary discovered Stacks and immediately recognized the potential of smart contracts on Bitcoin. Gary started building, and before long HeyLayer was accepted in the first Stacks accelerator in 2021.

Gary's goal with HeyLayer is to demystify crytpo for the masses by removing barriers and simplifying the process. This was evident to me while using the HeyLayer marketplace, but wait there's more. It was at this time that I learned about another innovation from Gary and the HeyLayer team:

The MultiPass

Gary sent this me this QR code via Discord, and upon opening it I discovered an entirely new 'layer' to this project. An NFT that contains unlockable "gated" content to be used in concert with a mobile app knowns as the "Multipass - NFT Passport". This brings NFTs out of the realm of the personal profile picture and goes straight into the heart of utility. Embedded within this specific QR code is a video from Gary himself, but imagine the potential here. NFT's as concert/event tickets, special content from creator to collector, links to exclusive offers/merch....all handily accessible from one well designed mobile app. The vision is clear and the future is bright. (on a side note, the app is currently available only to iPhone users, however an android version is en route)

HeyLayer is building, and their vision of bringing crypto to the masses is compelling and clear. Even now we see traditional businesses starting to dip their toes into NFTs, and HeyLayer provides a ready made launchpad complete with tools, and community ready to go for creators and business ventures alike. Being able to see innovators such as Gary Riger, Jamil.btc, Dr. John Ennis and others working independently to create the innovation that will unlock Web 3 for the masses will never cease to amaze me. How often does one get to see the concept of simultaneous invention in real time? I am here for this, and so are you.

Thanks for reading, as always. I enjoyed talking with Gary immensely. I found someone who is a crypto kindred spirit, and will definitely be covering more of his work in the future.

*The easiest way to DCA your Stacks here