Bitcoin is money for the internet; its programmable nature unlocks potential monetisation opportunities and efficiency at scale. Imagine a future where you could send out a task and have 100 or 1000 people have a look at it and complete it for you, and you pay them for the 5 – 10 minutes they took to help you with the task.
Yes, that’s a future that bitcoin can provide; you can reach people from all over the world, with different levels of expertise and get them to help you; that’s the power of the internet when you combine it with bitcoin. We’re already moving into a gig economy where people don’t work for one company or spend time working on one project; bitcoin is only helping take that to the next level.
To give you an idea of how this could work, an application like Stakwork is taking the idea of gig work and splitting it up into micro-jobs, where tasks are paid upon completion and users have access to the funds in an instant.
What is StakWork?
Stakwork is a micro-task platform that pays out users for completing simple tasks and paying them for every task they complete. Levering the power of the Lightning Network and bitcoin, companies can tap into a global, scalable workforce to handle complex tasks in real-time.
The Stakwork team take businesses’ complex tasks and inputs them into their system, which breaks down the process into a flow of simple steps. These steps are then turned into micro-jobs and hosted on the Stakwork platform.
People interested in the job complete each step, and then the system sends you the completed answer. Stakwork breaks down the work into small pieces that can be done quickly on mobile devices without expensive training.
Stakwork job types
Stakwork currently offers custom workflows using over 70 building blocks that can be applied to various applications. Each skill requires minimal training but is powerful when put together. Stakwork can ship out jobs at scale to its nearly 8000 users for tasks like:
- Image labelling
- Video annotation
- Isolate elements
- Bounding boxes
- Questions
- Translations
Is StakWork free to use?
Yes, Stakwork is free to use; all you need to do is head to the website and sign up; once you sign up with your email address and the team notify you that your account is live, you will get a specific code you can use to login to the site.
Once you have the code, make sure you save it, or you won’t be able to access your account, the code is how you log in to future sessions, and if you’re keeping your balance on the site, you will be able to access it again.
Once you have an account, you can also log in to it using Sphinx Chat.
Upon logging in, you will be greeted with a screen and jobs available for your account; each job will give you the following information.
- A description of the task
- Amount of tasks available
- Amount of tasks you’ve completed (You can stop and start them as you like)
- Completion percentage
- In some cases, the job will state how much it pays
Scroll down the feed of available jobs and select the one you find interesting; once you select a job, you will automatically receive a tutorial with examples of how the job is completed and what is expected of you.
As you complete the tasks, you will be rewarded with bitcoin every time you complete successful tasks, while you will be penalised and lose out on bitcoin should you fail to complete the task correctly, so watch out and take your time. If you want to make the most of the platform, you should read through the instructions and take it slowly, or you will make mistakes that will cost you sats.
What do I need to get started using StakWork?
All you need is a smartphone or laptop, an email address and a Lightning wallet. While all jobs are created with the intent of completing them on your mobile phone, any internet-connected device can complete tasks within this browser-based application.
Once you’re set up with an account, you can start completing jobs, and as your stack up satoshis for each task you complete; you can automatically withdraw it to either your Sphinx Chat wallet or any Lightning Wallet you prefer to use.
How to withdraw sats on StakWork?
Once you’ve completed a job or jobs and your satoshis are paid out to your wallet, you should see the figure hosted in the top right-hand corner of the website. Click the green arrow that’s pointing downward, and a new screen should pop up.
Set the number of satoshis you want to withdraw and if you want to use your Sphinx chat wallet; if not, use the Lightning Wallet you prefer and create an invoice for the same amount of satoshis. Copy the invoice and past it into the field, and click pay me.
Your satoshis should instantly display in your wallet.
Who would benefit from using StakWork?
If you have some free time to spare and want to play around on your phone and earn satoshis, then Stakwork is a great way to pass the time; the same goes for bitcoin gaming. Alternatively, if you’re new to bitcoin and want to try the Lightning Network but don’t want to risk your own money, Stakwork can be a way of getting you some seed sats to get you started or a way for your to help onboard your friends and family on to Lightning.
As for businesses, you may be able to ship out some of your data-capturing work out to an army of thousands of users around the world and have the tasks completed in record time by leveraging economies of scale. If you have jobs like translations, data capturing or modernising old legacy systems, Stake work could be a cheaper option for getting it down without overwhelming your current workforce with these tedious tasks.
Protip! If you’re a Stacker News user, keep an eye out on the jobs tab, Stakwork regularly posts additional jobs on there that are “invite only”. You will be able to earn additional bitcoin if you’re selected for those jobs.
Get the app
There you have it, another way to earn your first bitcoin and non-KYC sats at that. Stakwork might not be a way to supplement your monthly income, but it is a great way to get started with a low-friction platform and get exposure to the Lightning Network without risking your own funds. Once you earn satoshis, they are yours to withdraw, and you can use them as and when you like, either to buy goods and services or try out other applications.
If you’ve heard about bitcoin, but you’re not keen on spending your money learning how this new technology works but have some free time on your hands, why not turn that time into satoshis by completing micro-jobs with applications like Stakwork.
If you’d like to learn more about the app or give it a try, check out the links below.
Are you a bitcoin app affianado?
Are you using bitcoin inspired apps? Which app is your favourite? Do you have one you’d like us to cover? Let us know in the comments down below.
