Could Crypto and NFTs be the future of the VHL?

[8Ovechkin8 262]

Could we Change the Game in Online Simulations?

With the use of crypto and NFTs hitting an all time high in 2020 and 2021, it appeared to many that it would be the way our world would work going into the future. However, with the inevitable economic crash, not only has everything gone down in value in our day to day lives, so has the crypto and NFT craze. Even with the entire crypto market being in a low spot now, using this time to think of a way to implement it's uses into our league may benefit the league long term in terms of it's real dollar amount revenue and it's ability to stay alive long term in a sustainable fashion, that doesn't rely on donations by our members. There would have to be many steps for this integration, and in this piece I will jump into some of the things I think need to happen before we can even consider this a possibility. The other thing that will need to occur is compliance. How much will our community actually rally behind something like this? Would it be worth the effort that we put into it long term. Finally, every plan needs a safety net, what will those be in this case and, once again, what would be the sustainability of it. 

 

First lets look into the introductory measures that would need to be taken place before this could even be a possibility. 

 

There needs to be a use.

 

Making and NFT is a lot of work, with anywhere between 100-10000 unique images needing to be created. With this amount of work being put in, a use for the NFT would need to be the first step forward. In the real world, we have seen NFTs being linked to experiences, merchandise, exclusive events and/or opportunities. What could the league offer that could provide this type of "hype" and desire to obtain one? In my opinion the first thing that would need to be associated with a VHL NFT would have to be a player perk. The most prized NFT may allow the player to do one point earning task a week to earn a full capped week, where as weaker NFTs may be more along the lines of 2 capped TPE each week for life in the VHL. Going on the theme of player based perks, having additional salary come in because of holding and NFT can also be an option. One important aspect to all of this however is keeping it a secret as to what each NFT's perk is until the initial auction is over. This is something I will get into soon here. Other things that could be associated with the NFT is exclusive VHL merch such as having your player's draft year jersey, draft hat, favorite all time player jersey, or a VHL all-star jersey sent to you when you purchase it. Again, these perks must be reproducible so if merch is associated with an NFT, it must be sent each time the NFT is sold, thus driving up the price.   

 

Now a big part of the ideas shared above will have to do with desirability and people wanting to buy these NFTs off each other. When NFTs have their "perk" announced to the public, their value will begin to increase. Not only would this make it attractive to resell as the owner would look to sell to make a profit if they desire, the league would also get a % of all sales as well thus making it a revenue source for the league. In my opinion, 50% split of profit would be a number I would think about first as it would defer people from selling strictly to make money, however when there are sales, the league would benefit greatly. 

 

Now with all this being said, we would need to address activity of NFT holders. It will be absolutely critical that there be activity rules around NFT holders. They must be involved and not just wipe out a specific perk/revenue source in the league. We also do not want this to be a reason why someone feels like they can become inactive due to their perk as well. This factors into the issue of compliance. You need to have people using the system and be active with the system. This is, by far the biggest hurdle for an idea to take off. Most people in the league these days are logged in, do their tasks, leave. This goal focused engagement may hinder the importance of this on one's mind to allow them to gauge the market for their asset and potentially sell if they deem it to be appropriate. With the issue of compliance comes the other issue on how much of these should their be made?

 

Most often, NFTs are made in the hundreds or thousands, but for this specific use that would be silly. We would need to do a full analysis on our active members in every given month, and rank groups based on their activity. If we count the most active group, what percent of those people would constitute a good number for the amount of NFTs to be made? This is an important factor because if too many people have one, the value drops and it's no longer a coveted addition to the league, however if we don't have enough, will people lose interest? League member numbers and activity data historically fluctuates a lot as well, making it difficult to come up with an accurate model. 

 

Now lets talk about the safety net. If all of this fails, we could always go back to the old system correct? Well yes, but no. People will more than likely be upset that their initial investment went to waste, but in my opinion, that would be the nature of the game. Adding additional buying and selling in a membership based site adds potential liability as well making the league a space where minors may not be accepted. With this wrinkle, would it be even worth it to add additional screening and verification methods when members create their profile?

 

All of these of course are just thoughts and ideas at this time, however with a little work and commitment, could become a league changing implementation if the league ever decides to go this route. We all could agree, it would be the first of it's kind, anywhere. 

[Bojovnik 487]

The bots have become sentient 

[BOOM 8,447]

WTF did I just read? 

 

I still don't understand what half of the buttons on my TV remote are for. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by BOOM

[OrbitingDeath 2,947]

2 minutes ago, BOOM said:

WTF did I just read? 

 

I still don't understand what half of the buttons on my TV remote are for. 

the red one is used for on/off, all you need to know to watch Australia 1 or whatever the station is called.

[BOOM 8,447]

Wait. There's more than 1 channel? 

[Daniel Janser 1,993]

3 hours ago, BOOM said:

Wait. There's more than 1 channel? 

you only need one channel when 'Curiosity Show' is running on it 24/7

[Hogan 1,344]

ive already made   a dozen 1 of 1 vhl nfts and they sold for 2k eeach and now theyre worth $5

[8Ovechkin8 262]

1000 so 2 pts