NFTs are one of the hottest topics in the cryptocurrency world right now, and earning passive income by staking crypto is always a popular topic as well. In this post, I will introduce you to R-Planet which combines the two hottest trends in crypto and allows you to earn passive crypto income while simultaneously staking your unused NFTs.
What Are NFTs?
For those of you who many be new, an NFT simply stands for a non-fungible token. It is a type of crypto asset that is designed to fulfill a specific propose and is differentiated from similar tokens. For example, my "Standard Shovel" NFT in Alien Worlds is different than the "Basic Explosive" in that it has different mining characteristics. By contrast, coins like Bitcoin and ETH are said to be fungible in that 1 ETH = 1 ETH regardless of which specific ETH we are talking about.
"Mining" Aether by Staking NFTs
NFTs have experienced a huge boom lately as more people get into blockchain gaming and collecting digital art, however, not all of our NFTs can be used at the same time. For example, I can only mine with three tools at a time in Alien Worlds. Any additional tools that I have simply sit in my inventory and do absolutely nothing for me. I could sell them, but then I run the risk of selling something that I might need in the future.
With R-Planet, players can stake unused NFTs from more than 15 (at time of writing) different ecosystems and begin passively earning the Aether cryptocurrency.
Based on my experience, the more rare or valuable your NFT is, the higher the Aether reward rate. For example, staking my shovel from Alien Worlds yields a lower reward than staking my Power Saw.
Aether Uses
Regardless of what NFTs you stake, you will earn the Aether crypto currency which has two uses. 1) You can use this Aether as the in-game currency of the R-Planet game or 2) you can trade this Aether for other cryptos on the ALCOR cryptocurrency DEX.
Before I explain the in-game uses of Aether, I need to explain that the basic plot in R-Planet is that several characters have escaped from Earth on a rocket ship heading towards Mars. In order to colonize and explore the new planet, they will need various materials which they can create with their custom built generator. The generator is able to create new materials by inputting combinations of the four basic elements of wind, earth, fire, and water. Those basic materials can be purchased with Aether that the player earned by staking cards. This diagram from the website will be especially helpful in understanding the basic concept.
Players that secure enough Aether can then use this Aether to purchase the basic elements which can then be mixed in the generator to hopefully create a new material for the explorers. If a player is successful in creating a new material, they receive rewards including a share of a prize fund, a new NFT, and have their name immortalized in the new NFT element.
Swapping With ALCOR
Although the R-Planet gameplay does sound very interesting, I have to be honest, I am most excited by the ability to earn this Aether and then exchange it for other cryptos. I think the ability to stake NFTs from one ecosystem and then earn crypto that can be used in another ecosystem or converted to other crypto is an absolutely groundbreaking concept.
To swap crypto from R-Planet, simply claim the rewards on the staking page and approve the transaction with your WAX cloud wallet. After accepting this transaction, you can go to ALCOR DEX and log in with your WAX wallet. The balance of Aether that you claimed should now show in your wallet. By clicking on the dropdown menu, you will be able to swap Aether for a variety of cryptos including Trilium (Alien Worlds) and WAX if you want to cash out your NFT staking rewards to a "real" crypto that can be sold on an exchange.
Now, I have to be clear that the amount we have earned from staking NFTs on R-Planet is quite modest at this point. I have no illusions about that. However, I am blown away by the concept and the implementation, and although this amount may seem low, do have to point out a few things. First, all of this Aether was earned passively for NFTs that I wasn't already using. In that sense, any reward is a net positive, no matter how small. Second, I have only been staking for a day or two, and I have been staking relatively low value NFTs so it is understandable that my reward is quite low.
Even with that being said, the concept of earning passive income by staking NFTs is revolutionary, and as far as I know, R-Planet is the first platform to offer this functionality. Although they are just getting started, think of the possibilities as more NFT ecosystems are added. Imagine staking SPLINTERLANDS cards and then using those rewards to buy more powerful mining tools in Alien Worlds or using staked Alien Worlds NFTs to earn Aether, converting that Aether to WAX and then using that WAX to mint your own NFTs. Its something that is just getting started, but the possibilities are huge.
BONUS:
First off, I have to say that I am by no means an expert Alien Worlds gamer, but I have had a lot of people reach out after my videos asking for help getting started in the game, so I want to do a little bit of a giveaway to help some new players out. As part of this video, I will be giving away Two Standard Drills for someone that retweets THIS linked Tweet. I have tried doing giveaways through YouTube, but sometimes YouTube will randomly remove people's WAX wallet addresses, and sometimes it will keep them. I want this to be as fair as possible and let everyone have a chance without having to fight the YT algorithm.
You don't have to be following me to be eligible for the NFT Drop, and I wouldn't even ask for a re-tweet except for the fact that that is the only system I can find that picks a random winner, and I wanted to take the choice of winner out of my hands to guarantee fairness. If I could have found one that simply picks a comment, I would have used that.
Summary
In summary, I am blown away of the concept of NFT staking and the ability to earn passive crypto income by staking NFTs on R-Planet. For right now, the rewards aren't super high, but the concept is solid, and I like that it is possible to monetize idle NFTs in the same way that we can monetize idle crypto through DeFi lending. I'm looking forward to seeing what new features R-Planet adds in the future and what other NFT ecosystems that they bring onboard for staking rewards.
As always, thanks for reading, nothing is financial advice, I make no guarantees or warranties, DYOR, etc
References
https://rplanet.io/
https://wax.alcor.exchange/swap?input=AETHER-e.rplanet
