Recently, I've seen more and more friends discussing the Virtuals Protocol @virtuals_io on X, and I have quite a few people around me who have made a lot of money through this project's 'points mechanism'. I've heard of some turning 4v directly into 400v... it's really impressive.
Actually, I got in touch with v quite early, and at that time I thought it was interesting that it focused on meme projects while being beginner-friendly, with a low barrier to entry and a market cap that wasn't particularly outrageous. Now that its staking mechanism has been updated, and with just a partnership with @KaitoAI, it’s no wonder many smart big players are starting to increase their holdings, and no wonder it has risen quite rapidly recently.
Not to mention that Binance has even listed it on spot trading, which is like adding fuel to the fire for the project's hype and liquidity. To be honest, if you believe in the development direction of AI + Web3, Virtuals Protocol is indeed an ecosystem worth paying attention to.
However, I find this change in the staking mechanism quite interesting but also a bit complex. Now, to earn point rewards, you can't just buy casually; you need to lock up the coins, with a lock-up period of 14 days. The official reason for this is to prevent speculators from buying and running away, taking advantage of points.
From my personal experience, this change does have its pros and cons. The benefit is that it can filter out the noise from short-term arbitrage, making the community more stable; but the downside is that flexibility has decreased, which is a bit inconvenient for players like me who prefer to enter and exit frequently. In comparison, I prefer to earn points through tasks; it's easier and I don't have to lock up my funds tightly.
Their points system is still quite friendly overall—comments, interactions, and content posting can earn points, with a piece of content earning several dozen to hundreds of points (though this is in an ideal state). But to be honest, it seems that the earlier you play, the more valuable the points are; later content might not earn points at all... So if you don't stake now, the point acquisition efficiency might be relatively low.
So what can this points do? --- The amount of points determines how much of the presale you can participate in (though I haven't participated in this yet, but many bloggers have already shared their earnings). So it leans more towards opportunities to gain a lot with a little.
It's quite friendly for retail players.
But I'm a bit worried that as more people participate, will the points slowly dilute in value? Once the distribution is too low or can't be exchanged for anything good, everyone's enthusiasm will drop. Moreover, the crypto market is inherently volatile, with high returns certainly being attractive, but the risks can't be ignored.
Currently, the trading volume of $VIRTUAL and related tokens on the Base chain is quite active, and the hype hasn't died down, which also indicates a decent market recognition. But personally, I think to sustain long-term stability, projects still need solid functionalities and ecosystems to support them.
We all know that Kaito focuses on on-chain data analysis and intelligent search. This collaboration will definitely be more beneficial than harmful. The points mechanism is actually quite similar to Kaito's approach, and it gives many creators multiple directions.
Overall, I think the Virtuals Protocol is currently a pretty good opportunity for small fund users: low entry threshold, reasonable mechanism, and some level of protection. However, we still need to continuously pay attention to the transparency of staking and point distribution.
If in the future they could explain the reward mechanism more openly, like 'what you did can earn you how many points', that would be even better.
In summary: it's playable! Short-term returns are good, long-term has potential, but don't just look at others' stories of getting rich; play according to your own style and risk tolerance.
Be rational when getting in, and enjoy the benefits.
As a long-term observer of Web3 project dynamics, I will continue to track the progress of the Virtuals Protocol. Any changes in gameplay, partnership updates, or hidden opportunities will be shared with everyone at the first opportunity. If you're also participating in this project, feel free to leave a message for discussion, let's reap the benefits clearly together!
#VirtualsProtocol #BaseChain #KaitoAI #VIRTUAL