Leveraging Gamification in Our Testnet
I designed a leaderboard system that drove engagement and made Iron Fish’s Incentivized Testnet one of the most successful in Web3 history, with 142,000 participants across 156 countries.
As Design Lead, I crafted a gamified user dashboard and leaderboard experience for the Incentivized Testnet. I conducted competitive analysis, engaged with the community, and designed an inclusive testnet framework that aligned with engineering and marketing goals.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Iron Fish is a privacy-focused blockchain designed to encrypt transactions, ensuring secure, accessible and compliant privacy for all digital assets.
THE PROBLEM
The Testnet, launched on Dec. 1, 2021, aimed to stress-test the network while engaging both technical and non-technical users. However, sustaining long-term engagement and growth during the saturated NFT boom proved challenging, especially in a competitive crypto landscape.
SOME CONTEXT
Iron Fish’s early adopters included both technically proficient users and mission-driven supporters. To drive participation and engagement, we wanted to:
Ensure inclusivity for both technical and non-technical participants.
Differentiate ourselves in a noisy crypto ecosystem.
While $IRON token rewards at the end of the testnet phases were compelling, we needed an ongoing mechanism to keep users contributing throughout the process.
RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY
Engaging with our Discord community and analyzing competitor testnets, we discovered:
Gamification was a key motivator for sustained participation.
Both technical and non-technical users wanted opportunities to contribute meaningfully.
Recognition through public acknowledgment was a strong driver.
Competitor testnets often excluded non-technical users, limiting their reach and engagement.
THE PROCESS
I approached the testnet with an iterative, user-centered design, continuously refining categories and rewards based on participation data. By incorporating community feedback at each phase, I ensured the system evolved to better meet user needs and sustain engagement.
EXECUTION
The incentivized testnet became a gamified ecosystem and consisted of:
A centralized hub for tracking performance, global and regional rankings, and activity-specific contributions—drawing heavily on my experience and insights as a gamer.
1.Public Leaderboard:
Publicly accessible profiles showcasing point breakdowns, contributions, and ranks.
2.User Profile:
Contributions spanned technical and creative activities across three phases, ensuring dynamic and diverse engagement.
3.Inclusive and Flexible Categories:
One-off Challenges: Special tasks to keep engagement dynamic and fresh.
Weekly leaderboard updates on social media amplified visibility, fostered competition, and created FOMO.
4.Public Recognition:
ITERATIONS
We introduced increased rewards for creative contributions after community feedback revealed these efforts were undervalued. This adjustment nearly doubled participation in these categories, showcasing the value of iterative design and responsive decision-making.
This was a tactic we used throughout the Incentivized Testnet.
CONCLUSION
The gamified Incentivized Testnet created a self-sustaining ecosystem, engaging technical users to strengthen the network and non-technical users to amplify visibility. By balancing rewards and inclusivity, we drove both growth and community engagement, making Iron Fish a standout in Web3.
In the end, our Incentivized Testnet accumulated the following:
142,000
Active participants
156
Countries participated
60,000
Active Nodes
11,900
New discord members
50m+
Transactions
500+
Pieces of user-created content
