—— A Layer2 money-making guide for both beginners and veterans

If you want to avoid detours in crypto, you must follow a reliable ecosystem. Caldera, as the 'infrastructure leader' in Layer2, not only has solid technology but also offers many money-making opportunities for ordinary people. Whether you are a beginner, an experienced player, or a veteran looking for long-term strategies, you can find suitable ways to make money here. This article will break it down by different stages, teaching you step by step how to steadily make money in the Caldera ecosystem.

1. Beginner's guide: Zero cost to earn the first bucket of gold

1. Don't miss airdrop benefits

Newcomers to Caldera should first take advantage of airdrop benefits. Currently, the second phase of the 'Booster' activity is ongoing, and the steps are super simple: Open the Binance wallet, find the Caldera section, bind your account, and complete a small cross-chain transfer (for example, transferring from Ethereum to Caldera Rollup), and you can directly receive 43.2 $ERA tokens, which can be exchanged for dozens of dollars at the current market price, without spending a dime. The official Twitter and Discord will notify new activities in advance, such as the upcoming Pre-TGE reservation. Registering early can secure additional rewards, so remember to pay attention to official channels.

2. Easy tasks on the testnet

The testnet is a great place for beginners to practice and earn money. Caldera's testnet frequently releases simple tasks such as 'deploy a small contract' or 'experience cross-chain transfers,' which can be completed by following tutorials in just 10 minutes. After completing the tasks, submit your screenshots on Discord; once the official review is approved, you will receive $ERA rewards. Previously, some players earned 500 tokens from testnet tasks, which are now worth several thousand dollars. Beginners can start with the testnet to familiarize themselves with operations, earning tokens while avoiding real-world risks, achieving two goals at once.

3. Community check-in rewards

Spending just 10 minutes each day actively participating in the Caldera community can also earn you tokens. Activities like 'daily check-in' in Discord, retweeting official announcements on Twitter while tagging three friends, and helping newcomers in the 'user Q&A' section will all contribute to your community contribution score. The top 100 contributors each week can receive 10-100 $ERA; even if you don't make the top 100, monthly active users have a guaranteed reward. For newcomers, this is the easiest way to earn tokens while quickly understanding ecosystem dynamics.

2. Regular players: Stable income without seeking help

1. Token staking to earn interest passively

For players holding $ERA, the most stable approach is to stake for interest. Open the 'Staking Center' in the Caldera wallet, choose 'Validator Node Staking,' enter the amount, and confirm to lock the tokens, with daily earnings calculated automatically. The current annualized return is 8%-15%; staking 100 $ERA can earn 10-15 tokens monthly, which is equivalent to 'money generating money.' Staked tokens can be redeemed at any time, so there's no need to worry if you urgently need money, making it suitable for regular players seeking stability. If you're concerned about price volatility, you can also choose 'liquid staking,' maintaining token liquidity while staking, which lowers risks.

2. Earn extra through liquidity mining

If you want to earn more, you can try liquidity mining. In DEXs that support Caldera (like the Caldera version of Uniswap), find the $ERA/USDT trading pair, deposit two types of tokens in a 1:1 ratio, and you can earn a share of the transaction fees and additional $ERA rewards, with annualized returns reaching 15%-20%. For example, if you deposit assets worth $1000, you can earn $15-20 per month. Be sure to choose trading pairs with high trading volumes, such as $ERA/USDT, which have low volatility and high fees, and try to avoid small tokens to prevent impermanent loss.

3. Long-term profit sharing from node operations

Players with a computer at home are strongly encouraged to try becoming a Guardian node. No need to buy professional mining machines; a regular laptop can run it. Staking 500 $ERA can make you a node responsible for validating Rollup transactions. Nodes can receive 30% of the Rollup transaction fees monthly. According to the current ecosystem scale, a node's monthly income is about $50-200, and they can also participate in new activities first. Node operation requires almost no management; just keep it running in the background, making it suitable for players seeking 'passive income.' Over the long term, the returns can be considerable.

3. Advanced players: Earn more based on skills

1. Apply for developer subsidies

Players who understand programming or have creativity should definitely apply for Caldera's developer grant. The platform has a $100 million ecosystem fund specifically to support quality projects, such as developing cross-Rollup tools or creating vertical DApps (like NFT trading platforms or mini-games). After submitting a project proposal, you can receive a subsidy of $5000-50000 in $ERA upon passing the preliminary review, and you can also share in the transaction fees once the project goes live. Even if you lack technical skills, you can team up with programmers for collaboration; previously, a team earned $10,000 in subsidies for a simple cross-chain query tool.

2. Customize small Rollup to earn transaction fees

Advanced players with teams can use Caldera's 'one-click Rollup' tool to deploy a dedicated small Rollup. For example, creating an NFT Rollup targeting college students, setting a minting fee of 0.5%, means that with 1000 users minting 10 NFTs each month, they can earn $500 monthly. The rules of the Rollup can be set by you, with customizable fee sharing and token economics. If done well, you can also apply for official traffic support. Caldera provides complete technical support, so you don't need to worry about servers and security, allowing you to focus on operations.

3. Cross-chain arbitrage guaranteed profit difference

Players familiar with the market can engage in cross-chain arbitrage. The token prices of different Rollups often have discrepancies; for example, $ERA on Arbitrum is 2% cheaper than on Optimism, so you can buy on Arbitrum and transfer via Caldera's Metalayer to sell on Optimism, earning 1.5% after deducting a 0.5% fee. With a small amount of capital, if you arbitrage $1000 once and do it 10 times a month, you can earn $150. The key to arbitrage is speed; Caldera's cross-chain takes only 3 minutes, 10 times faster than other platforms, making it easier to seize price differences.

4. Long-term layout: Make big money by following the ecosystem

1. Long-term holding for appreciation

$ERA is the 'hard currency' of the Caldera ecosystem; the more uses it has, the higher its value. Currently, there are over 50 Rollups in the ecosystem, and millions of transactions occur daily that require $ERA for settlement. The more $ERA is used, the more it is consumed, making the token increasingly scarce. Holding $ERA long-term is equivalent to holding 'equity' in Layer2 infrastructure, with potential multi-fold growth over the next 3-5 years as the ecosystem expands (targeting 200 Rollups). It is recommended to buy in batches with spare cash, accumulating when prices are low, avoiding chasing highs or selling at a loss, for steadier long-term returns.

2. Participate in governance for ecological dividends

Holding $ERA not only appreciates but also allows participation in governance to earn more. On the 'Caldera DAO' platform, token holders can vote on the allocation of a $100 million ecosystem fund, the launch of new features, fee adjustments, etc. Locking $ERA grants double voting rights, making it easier to influence decisions. For example, voting to support a high-yield project to obtain fund support will increase the demand for $ERA and appreciate the tokens in hand once the project gains traction. Governance also provides 'proposal rewards'; authors of quality proposals can receive 1000-10000 $ERA after approval.

3. Layout for institutional cooperation tracks

The collaboration between Caldera and major institutions like Franklin Templeton hides long-term earning opportunities. Institutions will prioritize launching compliant products on Caldera, such as the recently launched 'Institutional-Level Stable Income Pool,' which ordinary people can also participate in, offering an annualized return of 4.5% with capital protection. Following the direction of institutional layouts, such as investing in Rollup projects that institutions focus on, or participating in liquidity mining in collaboration with institutions, can allow you to enjoy the traffic dividends brought by institutions while reducing risks. The entry of institutions will increase the value of the entire ecosystem, and players who layout in advance will reap the most benefits.

Conclusion: To make money, choose the right ecosystem and the right path

Making money in the Caldera ecosystem does not rely on luck or technical skills; the key is to choose the right approach for yourself: Beginners can first take advantage of airdrops and complete tasks with zero initial investment; regular players can stake and become nodes for steady income; advanced players can engage in development and arbitrage to earn more based on their abilities; long-term players can hold tokens and participate in governance to grow alongside the ecosystem. Layer2 is a major trend in the crypto market, and as a leading infrastructure, Caldera will only have more opportunities in the future. Remember, the core of making money is 'understand before participating, do not follow blindly.' Choose strategies according to your risk tolerance to go further and earn steadily in the crypto space.