As part of our subnet spotlight series, the team at GGP is proud to highlight Crystalvale, DeFi Kingdom’s (DFK) subnet on the Avalanche blockchain. An expansion of DFK: Serendale and currently operating with over 2 million transactions processed per day and over $14 million in total value locked, this game showcases the power of subnet technology while maintaining entertainment value. In this article, we will dive into Crystalvale’s gameplay, DeFi integration, tokenomics, team and funding.
Gameplay
Crystalvale is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) that bridges the worlds of gaming and web3 by using quintessential DeFi features such as a decentralized market, its own token, liquidity pools, and NFTs.
In Crystalvale, each player receives their own character called a “hero,” which can work different professions and garner rewards. They can also participate in quests and battles, adding an appealing interactive element. While there are a number of locations for heroes to explore and interact, the main areas of the map are the marketplace, the gardens, and the jeweler. Each of these spaces is crucial to Crystalvale’s DeFi integration.
DeFi Integration
The true essence of Crystalvale’s DeFi integration is the game itself. The map areas function as moving parts of the game’s economy.
The marketplace is the heart of the bustling DeFi Kingdoms economy. This region essentially operates as the game’s native DEX, where players can use Crystalvale’s own token, CRYSTAL, to swap for other tokens, join liquidity pools, and purchase items. . While the marketplace is where players are connected with liquidity pools, , heroes must first buy seeds and plant them in the gardens. Also in the gardens, heroes can view various liquidity pools, their emission rate, and their expected date of return. Finally, the jeweler is where heroes deposit the JEWEL token to earn a position on JEWEL transactions.
An additional Web3 integration is Crystalvale’s use of NFTs. Every hero in Crystalvale is an RPG (role-playing game) NFT character that comes complete with its own stat blocks, hit points, mana points, stamina, and leveling system. To create an NFT with a variety of these features, heroes must be summoned, which is done by combining the genes of two heroes and paying a summoning fee. Heroes contain two sets of genes–one for appearance and another for playable attributes. When combined, the Heroes will acquire genes from both source Heroes resulting in unique combinations of appearances, classes, and statistics. There is a slight chance for mutations in genes, offering Heroes a chance to inherit new, rare abilities. Overall, the seamless integration between MMORPG gaming and Web3 technology Crystalvale fans to get lost in the world of DeFi.
Tokenomics
Crystalvale operates with two tokens: CRYSTAL and JEWEL. CRYSTAL is the backbone of Crystalvale’s economy, operating as the game’s governance token, powering transactions on the DFK chain, creating Hero NFTs, swapped for other tokens within the marketplace, staked, and pooled for liquidity. Additionally, while JEWEL was initially the native token for DFK: Serendale, it can also be used in Crystalvale similarly to CRYSTAL.
CRYSTAL has a hard market cap of 125 million and a circulating supply of 41.8 million. About 3 million were pre-minted to encourage initial liquidity. Later, these pre-minted coins were used for rewarding players.
The JEWEL token had a higher hard market cap than its counterpart, sitting at 500 million. 10 million of these tokens were pre-minted and distributed for various funds (i.e. marketing, development, initial liquidity). For more information on where and how these tokens were distributed, check out the video on GoGoPool TV.
Benefits of building a subnet
When the original DeFi Kingdoms game was built on Polygon, it accounted for 80% of the on-chain transaction value. Given this high volume, performance, and community interest, Crystalvale provides the perfect example of the value of subnets. Briefly, subnets are a sovereign, dynamic group of Avalanche validators operating to achieve consensus for one or more blockchains. Because the DFK chain was built within a subnet, the chain only includes Crystalvale activity, with a dedicated set of validators processing the transactions. This results in lower gas fees, faster block speed, and quicker transaction finality.
Team & Funding
Frisky Fox is the founder of DeFi Kingdoms. Prior to creating DeFi, Frisky built a prominent career in the field of IT. A few other notable members include the current president and former bank investor Dreamer, his wife Pie Face, who serves as creative director, and SunBear, the protocol’s Impact Initiative Director (click here for full list of team members and their roles).
Crystalvale’s funding differs from other play-to-earn games in that, aside from an initial liquidity investment from a few personal friends, the protocol was bootstrapped almost entirely by the team and the community they generated. Effectively, DeFi Kingdoms engineered a functional game sans outside resources. Perhaps even more impressively, a million-dollar funding round set to take place with another blockchain was rescinded, but with the support from their followers, the team continued to build, proving just how strong the Crystalvale community is.
If you would like to become a part of the Crystalvale community, head to their website, click on “start playing,” connect your wallet, and embark on your Hero’s journey!
