As the NFT ecosystem continues to evolve, it will inevitably draw inspiration from reality as developers consider which real-world systems work well and deserve to be introduced to the crypto-world, and which need significant improvements. One real-world system slowly making its way into the realm of NFTs is financial interest. That said, the NFT version of interest has taken on a life of its own in the form of a process known as staking. In this article, we’ll explore how to earn interest on your idle NFTs by staking them. Specifically, we’ll cover the following topics:
1. A Brief Introduction to Staking
2. R-PLANET: Staking NFTs for Aether
3. Cargo: Staking NFTs for Gems
4. F1 Delta Time: Staking NFTs for REVV
With the buzz around Ethereum 2.0 migrating the blockchain’s consensus protocol from the resource-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) to the more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly proof-of-stake (PoS), even casual crypto enthusiasts are bound to have heard the term ‘staking’ thrown around. Without mention of the technical minutia underlying PoS, the practice of staking crypto-assets can be simply defined as:
“… the act of locking cryptocurrencies [in a wallet] to receive rewards”
With this baseline understanding of staking in mind, it is possible to more closely examine a number of platforms that require users to stake their NFTs in order to generate interest on them.
R-PLANET is a blockchain-based game built atop the WAX blockchain which markets itself as a revolutionary NFT staking system. Essentially, the promise of R PLANET is that users holding idle NFTs – ones that lack any practical use cases and which the owner has no intention of selling – can stake their holdings on the R-PLANET system and earn Aether, the platform’s native cryptocurrency.
There are some caveats to note in this process. For one, only a defined list of NFT collections is acceptable for staking (e.g., Alien Worlds, F-Legends, etc.). Additionally, the rewards from staking are only collectible at predetermined intervals of time, and different NFTs generate Aether at different rates depending on the rarity of the asset within the context of its respective collection.
Overall, however, the implications of the R-PLANET NFT staking system are quite clear. By staking idle NFTs, users can passively earn Aether. Given there is a market for this cryptocurrency, a user’s staking rewards can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies through the Alcor DEX, whether it be for more widely accepted assets such as WAX or for in-game currencies such as TLM. Ultimately, the effect of staking is to passively generate a return, representing interest on the user’s NFTs.
Cargo serves first and foremost as an NFT marketplace, allowing users to mint and trade NFTs similar to other generalist marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible. Where Cargo differs is in its introduction of a unique staking model powered by an ERC-20 token known as Gems. In essence, Gems are staked inside a user’s idle NFTs on the Cargo platform and in turn generate token rewards.
With effectively any ERC-721-compliant NFT, users can insert Gems on-hand into the asset and earn more Gems in return. Gems are earned at a rate of 1 Gem for every Ethereum block mined, which translates into roughly 6,500 Gems earned for the entire staking pool every 24-hour cycle; thus, users earn their pro-rata share of the Gems rewards based on the proportionate amount of Gems they have staked. Users can claim their Gems
rewards at any time they choose and can either re-stake those rewards to further compound their returns or simply withdraw them to a self-custodial wallet.
Once again, the implications of Cargo’s staking system are self-evident. Using idle NFTs as a vehicle for staking Gems, users can realize an immediate return with the passive and on-demand Gems rewards they earn. Gems also have the added benefit of serving as a governance token for the
Cargo platform, meaning that staking NFTs effectively entitles users to a greater say in the marketplace’s direction. The potential for compounding returns through re-staking Gems acts as a sweetener for the Cargo staking mechanism, and the Gems are readily exchangeable into other marketable assets via the Uniswap DEX.
In F1 Delta Time, users own an NFT-based car which they can use to race against other users. Alternatively, they have the option of staking the car in return for passively generated REVV, the game’s native currency. The REVV earned can be used to enter into in-game races, wherein the user stands to earn more REVV for winning, or for making purchases of other in-game content.
The staking mechanism in F1 Delta Time is more streamlined and by extension more limited, than those of the aforementioned platforms. One complication pertains to the tiered payout system used, which confers a greater earning potential on the rarest NFTs available in the game. Additionally, the prize pool is capped at 500M REVV and tokens used in-game are recycled back into the pool.
Ultimately, this staking mechanism may only be worthwhile for users with a vested interest in playing F1 Delta Time given that only car NFTs are eligible to be staked. Thus, users looking for ways to earn on their idle NFTs from other collections must seek out alternatives such as R-PLANET or Cargo. Regardless, REVV tokens earned can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies via Uniswap.
There is reason to think that as more users become aware of the virtues of staking and earning passive income, such mechanisms will become more popular across platforms and will be developed to offer even more lucrative opportunities to NFT owners. For the moment, with your newfound knowledge of the staking options available, you’re now ready to make proper use of your idle NFTs!
Binance. (2021, May 13). What is Staking? Retrieved from Binance
Papanikolas, S. (2020, October 21). Cargo Gem Staking. Retrieved from Cargo
R-PLANET. (2020, December 17). R-PLANET, a Revolutionary NFT-Staking System. Retrieved from R-PLANET
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