MetaVault #7: Community Roundtable
This is MetaVault, a weekly-ish newsletter that makes sense of the Pixel Vault universe: PUNKS Comic, MetaHero, United Planets, $PUNKS, $POW, and lots of DAOs.
I love the Pixel Vault community. Global, diverse, engaged, positive. Kinda crazy, but loveable. So when staking was released, I thought what better way to get the community’s reaction than to grab a few frens and ask them some questions!
The first Community Roundtable is all about staking. In the future, I’ll grab various members of our community and throw out some questions and see what kind of trouble we can get into.
Big thanks to BCheque, Rusty, Abraham, FilmBook, and Ned for participating!
Q1: What was your reaction to the Staking announcement and release?
BCheque (BC): Staking is great. The staking is what I came for back in the day so I'm really glad it's here. The fact this is a token which is actually backed by something makes it intrinsically valuable — so any additional gamification built on top of that is a bonus. I would like to know more about the potential secondary staking pool/LP and how the funds which are dedicated to be driven towards PUNKS holders will work in practice.
Rusty (RS): I was excited! It was something that we all had been waiting for and stocking up with Comics and MetaHeroes in anticipation. $POW is another step closer to the game.
Abraham Litwin-Logan (ALL): Happy that it was released during the week that GFunk was touting. I would’ve preferred a bit better communication in terms of exact timing and details of staking (e.g. we will push it back to Monday but we are live Monday at 10 AM EST. Here’s how staking will work). I think one miss was not having any liquidity for $POW and $PUNKS at launch, I would’ve preferred if you got 1,000 $POW automatically in your wallet from staking your hero (and same for comics) and that would’ve been enough to get trading going — I think this would’ve helped Hero and Comic prices as-well.
FilmBook (FB): My initial reaction has been it has injected a great amount of fun and excitement into the PV universe, and feels a lot bigger than the recent announcements. Also, I was not prepared for any specifics around an amount as high as 40% of total $POW to be released, so that was a nice surprise.
Ned Ryerson (NR): We knew staking was coming, but I thought the way GFunk announced it: "Fuck it. We go tonight. $PUNKS & $POW" was clever, with a nod to the language the apes used when they launched mutants: "Fuck it. Mutants Saturday." His ability to achieve corporate things, like public recognition of a partner, with web3 ethos, is impressive. Mostly, I'm just happy I won't have to hear Beanie publicly harass the people he invested in anymore. That's over, right? Right?
Q2: Thoughts on the actual staking process through the PUNKS Comic website?
FB: Seems incredibly smooth and clear as to how it works and what rewards will look like. I like the 30 day cooldown period and am glad to see that bit of market stabilization.
NR: No two ways about it -- the UX and staking process was best in class. It was easy, clear and smooth. PV's goals are to bring their IP to the masses, and if they're to do that, being a part of their community needs to be easy. At key moments like this, at worst they need to not be noticed -- the buses run on time. At best, they surprise you with something that beats your expectations. For me, this fell into the latter camp.
If I had one nit to pick, I think the 30 day cooldown wasn't easy to understand right there on the dashboard. A little information bubble that you could hover over to understand what 30 day cooldown meant would have helped.
But this represents a larger challenge: simplifying their communication for new or fringe community members. This project has huge ambitions. The mechanics are fun, but many. The universe they are building is massive, but complicated. People have trouble following along. Among my friends, I'm often the Pixel Vault "explainer." Make me obsolete! Make it accessible to someone that is NOT you and me, that doesn't tune into every town hall, closely track tweets and threads, etc. This is not even close to an easy feat, but if they can do that, look the fuck out.
And as an aside, I think you and your newsletter are helping with this!
ALL: Very simple, good UI, and no complaints.
BC: Good process — very friendly. Really nice dashboard.
RS: Simple and seamless with a really nice UI/UX. I especially enjoy the dashboard, where you can see your PUNKS and POW accrue live, along with the number of NFTs staked.
Q3: Surprised to see so many comics and MetaHeroes staked already?
ALL: No, especially given recent PV price action there is little incentive not to stake right now.
RS: Not really surprised, but it is impressive. Most of us knew this was coming and we were ready. This is just confirmation of the quality of project and belief we all have in the Pixel Vault team to deliver.
FB: Not especially, as I think the prices of the MH at the time of staking were so low compared to ATH, I'd assume many people just said " well I might as well earn some $POW while I wait for the price to go back up". I think the majority of punks comic owners right now are diamond handed holders, and specifically didn't burn for MoonDAO so they could stake and claim physical.
NR: Not at all. Unless you plan on selling in the very short term, there is absolutely no reason not to stake. There are ~6,000 MetaHeros, how many holders do you think want to sell in the next 30-60 days? I'm long Pixel Vault, so I don't watch the floor, I watch how the team is running their business. GFunk and the rest of the team are as good as it gets and I'm happy to be aligned with them. To borrow an old adage, "it's the people, stupid."
With that said — @TuringCrypto, who I think is very sharp about NFT trading and who is invested in the project, said he's not staking his because he is betting that the prices on secondary will spike short term. He's looking to sell his MetaHero high short term, trade for $POW on secondary as people dump, and buy back into MetaHeros later. While I wouldn't bet against that strategy working, I have decided to basically focus on the long term and simply stake.
BC: No I think the number of PV items on sale has always hovered at just a few % — indicating to me that vast majority of people are here for the long haul. So unsurprised so many are staking.
Q4: Any wild guesses what the gamified Phase 2 for MetaHero staking might look like?
RS: I am confident that the CORE, HERO, and MUTANT traits will all have advantages in Phase 2. I think we will see opportunities to battle over POW (steal some from other players). I'd love to see planets and sidekicks play a role as well (e.g., combining a sidekick with a MH from the same planet has advantages). Maybe some spells / abilities to purchase that increase the staking efficiency (and offense / defense against and from those trying to steal your POW). The tweet GFunk sent was interesting — tokens will be rewarded... I'm curious if this includes planet tokens that PV has accrued, or maybe sidekicks or something else... I'm sure it will be well-thought out, a lot of fun, and increase the utility of MH's, sidekicks, and POW.
Possibly being able to use your hero to stake $POW for something else. Could also be Wolf Game style where you can do a riskier stake for higher reward.
FB: Super interesting wrinkle. I assume we will see a bit of the Wolf Game model, where either staking of new NFTs triggers something with certain already staked NFTs or the like. They said this gamified staking "will incorporate additional tokens from the PV ecosystem". Does this mean $PUNKS? $PUNKS2? Something we haven't even heard about it yet? Or, did GFunk mean that not only will MH be able to be staked for that 200,000,000 $POW, but also Planets? PVFD? Comic 1 and/or 2? Mint Pass 2? Sidekicks?
My wild guess is higher level sidekicks can steal from lower level sidekicks while staking, and then also PV will announce trigger events that tease you into un-staking your PV token to get access to mint/buy something else from them. And that thing you buy will be an accessory for your future MH/SK character
ALL: Possibly being able to use your hero to stake $POW for something else. Could also be Wolf Game style where you can do a riskier stake for higher reward.
BC: No idea — maybe collectives like the MH1000 (but not as many) could be collected; some Wolf Game dynamics to make the collecting experience a 'live' one
NR: Maaaaaan, your guess is as good as mine, and we know it will be interesting.! Think about all the tokens they have in the marketplace: 6,000 MetaHeros, 3,800 mintpasses, 10,000 punks comics + Founder's DAO, and 48,000 planets. Then there's the mint pass 2's, which will be at least 55,000, right? Then 21,000 comic 2s. Then the origin stories. So a total of around 150,000 tokens on the market? Wow.
While I don't know what the gamified phase 2 will be, they have all the flexibility in the world. The mechanic will be limited only by their creativity.
Q5: What’s the future of staking in the PV universe? Everything? Select NFTs?
BC: i think if there is something useful which can be staked for, then staking is worth exploring. i don't think it needs to be done for the sake of it. at some point it will just be about building the economy of what has already been staked for
RS: In the near-term (next couple years), we know we have staking with MH's, Sidekicks, Comics, and Founders DAO. I could see Planet sets being staked as well. I'm a big fan of the concept of staking, as it rewards those who believe in the project and are willing to stake, lock up their items, and hold. I think PV will maximize this mechanism and reward believers of the project.
ALL: I’ve got to imagine that will depend largely on how MH and Comic staking goes. So far we haven’t seen price increases, and depending on PVs goals with introducing staking they may reconsider the widespread use of staking.
FB: I think planets will absolutely be staked for something, as it feels like they want to try and lock those tokens down and in the hands of people committed to helping them build. I think once P2E is available, staking will fall away as tool for PV, as people may be more inclined to use their NFTs to participate in P2E.
NR: I try not to put too much deep thought into "what mechanics will be in 5 years from now with Pixel Vault" for the same reason I don't explain algebra to my dog. No matter how hard I try, ol' boy just isn't gonna get it.
That said, PV has quietly done an interesting thing. They have created various entry points into their project. I saw this with @GxngYxng and his brilliant project @Ghxsts — there are the 1/1s, Zxdiacs with airdrops, then the larger editions. Whether you have .2 eth, 2 eth, 10 eth, or 50 eth, you can participate.
Pixel Vault now has a similar set up with a variety of entry points: MetaHero cores at 40-60 ETH, the "core 4" assets and scarce planets at 3 to 10 eth, more populous/less scarce planets at .15 to 2 eth, and sidekicks to come. They have a very tough job to walk the line of rewarding holders accordingly. The cheapest stuff shouldn't get the best rewards, yet the ideal is that the returns exceed their expectations. How do you keep everyone happy? To date, this has been their superpower. Walking the line between short term reinforcement of value, and long term vision of building a massive company.
My wild idea is that in the very long term, $POW is the currency for all things Pixel Vault, not just the MetaHeros game. Want to buy a Wiggles-P action hero for your kid because he loves the Fox animated Saturday morning cartoon? Buy online with $POW. Want to visit the United Planets theme park? Buy tickets with $POW. That may be pie in the sky, but who knows?
Weekly Alpha
Adidas Partnership. The team said it over and over: if we only saw the kinds of meetings GFunk was taking, there’d be no FUD. Huge accomplishment!
Comic #2 Release Details. Lots of good information about the release. The 20 transaction limit has some in the community freaked out that it’ll sell out in the PVFD early access window. Sure this will be a topic in today’s Town Hall. Check out the PV Discord and my mini-thread for details.
Elite Ape Reveal. Chris Wahl delivers again!
Coinbase. Huge news. Looks like PV will be a launch partner when the CB NFT platform goes live. Tons of exposure to new collectors.
NiftyTailor. Want to get that luxurious Adidas hoodie on your MetaHero? NiftyTailor is putting in awesome work to make it super straightforward. Love it.
Roadmap
I think we should pause and say congrats to the PV team for the rolling tide of releases! Adidas partnership formally announced. Huge planet giveaway. Core giveaway. And staking. In one week!
Some of the following is speculative — as always, look for official announcements through PV’s Twitter accounts.
December
Giveaway 3: Mercury, Venus, and Earth. Live! Ends December 9th at 11am.
Launch Comic #2. December 10th?
Elite Ape Week. Week of December 13?
NFT Merch Mint with Adidas. Expected to be a couple of days after the launch of Comic #2.
Giveaway 4: Jupiter and Saturn Tokens. Same week as claim of Comic #1 physical.
Launch Physical Comic #1 Claim. After Comic #2 launch - likely to be the third week of December?
Giveaway 5: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Last week of December?
January
Launch MintPass #2 Claim. GFunk said this would get launched prior to the “turn of the year,” but the published timing on their Discord is January. I’m leaning more toward January.
TBD
MetaHero Core Giveaway - Confirmed. TBD. Another at the end of the month is in the plans, but no official date.
Origin Stories - Confirmed. TBD. Expect these to start rolling out with a fairly normal cadence either by the end of the year or early next year.
Game Platform on Mercury - Confirmed. TBD. Expect big news on who the game studio partner is later this year or early next year.
3D Avatars for each MetaHero - Confirmed. TBD.
TV Series - Unconfirmed. TBD. Expect big news far in advance of a series ever being made.
By the Numbers
PV Unique Holders: 10,201
PV Core Sets: 1,592 (this is going to be really hard to track with existing tools due to staking — staking makes it look like you don’t “own” the NFT to the Dune Analytics queries.)
PUNKS Comic #1: 3,371
Comics Staked: 2,304 (68% of total)
MetaHeroes: 5,937
MetaHeroes Staked: 4,601 (77% of total)
MP#1: 3,741
MH Cores Remaining in Giveaways: 98
United Planet Sets (All 9 planets + Moon): 160
MetaHero Highlight
Patrick Acker started up a Daily Supply Tracker. Love this kind of participation from the community!
Beanie of the Week
This may be recency bias, but this tweet by Beans this AM is gold:
Some Disclaimers: None of this is financial advice. DYOR. And yes, I’m obviously a PV collector and long-term hodlr. Not a whale by any measure (maybe a squid?), but want to be transparent on what I’m hodling:
Punks Comic #1: 1 (Token ID 3954)
PV Founders DAO: 1 (Token ID 4521)
Mint Pass #1: 1
MetaHero Generative: 1 (Token ID 644)
Planet DAO Tokens: Earth 1, Mars 1, Jupiter 9, Saturn 1, Uranus 1, Neptune 4