Original title: (Virtuals Points Comprehensive Guide: Understand Earning Paths for Efficient New Launch Participation)
Original source: Shenchao TechFlow
New token dividends and 'yapping for points' have become two important ways to earn in the cryptocurrency market. The former needs little explanation, while the latter involves writing project-related posts on social media to increase influence and earn tokens or points. Recently, the combination of these two methods has generated a huge wealth effect, particularly in Virtuals' Genesis Launch. (Related reading: (Virtuals Bullish Return? Dive into the new 'New Launch with Old Support' method of Genesis Launch))
In simple terms, the Genesis Launch is a way for you to hold $VIRTUAL tokens and earn points to gain 'priority ticket' rights for popular new AI agent tokens. This method has yielded substantial returns in the past month. According to public data, there have been over 24 new AI agent tokens launched in the Genesis Launch up to last week. If calculated based on ATH, the returns varied from 4 to 128 times, with an average return of 32 times.
(Image source: X: @the_smart_ape, compiled by Shenchao TechFlow, data as of May 21)
In an increasingly difficult cryptocurrency market, even without considering the size of the amounts involved, the return rate from pure new token launches is already quite impressive. The key element of Genesis is Virgen Points, which are the points required to participate in new token launches. The more points you have, the more projects you can participate in, making it essentially the entry ticket for this method. Since the launch of the Genesis Launch a month ago, the rules and methods for earning points have also undergone some changes. I have consolidated historical information to help you quickly understand the current design and methods for earning points, thereby improving the efficiency of participating in new launches.
Quickly understand Virgen Points
The original intention of the Genesis Launch is for AI agent projects to gain broad community support from the very beginning, while users participate through points. The official white paper states that the Genesis mechanism replaces traditional opaque launches with 'public and quantifiable participation', rewarding those who genuinely contribute to the ecosystem. This contribution is quantified through points.
The higher your points, the higher your priority in the distribution of new tokens, and you may even receive additional protocol support airdrops. Whether through staking $VIRTUAL tokens, trading AI agent tokens, or posting related content on X (the so-called 'yapping'), you can accumulate points.
It is worth mentioning that the point rules have recently been adjusted, for example, the original 'diamond hand rewards' have now been integrated into the multiplier mechanism for green lock tokens (specifics will be detailed in the next chapter), making the point gameplay more dynamic and presenting new requirements for players' strategies. To help you quickly grasp the core points and considerations regarding points, we have organized the following table for you to overview key information.
Two ways to earn points explained: Active and Passive
Accumulating enough Virgen Points is the first step. Virtuals Protocol offers two main ways to earn points: Daily Active Bonus (DAB) and Daily Direct Points (DDP). Each of these methods has its own characteristics and is suitable for different types of players.
Daily Active Bonus (DAB): Dual bonuses from staking and trading
The Daily Active Bonus (DAB) is one of the core pathways for earning points, but it requires you to actively participate and manually collect them daily. The first step to earning points from DAB is to stake AI agent tokens, including Genesis Agents and Regular Agents.
Regarding these two types of AI agent tokens, the former is tokens launched through the Genesis Launch, usually new AI agent projects that often have high appreciation potential but may also be subject to lock-up periods or cooldowns; the latter are tokens not launched through Genesis Launch, possibly purchased from secondary markets or other channels. These tokens generally have higher liquidity, but the point multiplier may be lower than that of Genesis Agents.
The purpose of staking agent tokens is to prove your support for the ecosystem by locking these tokens, thereby earning daily point rewards. The specific steps are as follows:
· Prepare Tokens: Ensure you hold Genesis Agents or Regular Agents tokens in your wallet. You can obtain Genesis Agents by participating in the Genesis Launch or purchasing Regular Agents from the secondary market (such as decentralized exchanges).
· Access the staking page: Log in to the Virtuals official website (https://app.virtuals.io/points) and go to 'Stake' (Stake page).
· Choose the Staking Contract: You can stake through the official Virtuals staking contract or whitelist project contracts. Official contracts are usually operated directly on the official website, while whitelist project contracts may be exclusive contracts for specific AI agent projects (you will need to check the project page).
· Confirm Staking: Choose the number of tokens to stake; once confirmed, the tokens will be locked, and you will start earning points from daily active rewards.
You can stake through the official Virtuals staking contract (operating on the Virtuals official website) or through whitelist project contracts. If you choose to stake through whitelist project contracts, be aware that these contracts typically set a 14-day unlock cooldown period (Delayed Agent Release, abbreviated as DAR). This means that once you stake the tokens, you cannot directly unlock or withdraw them within 14 days. This mechanism is designed to encourage long-term holding, prevent users from quickly arbitraging, and ensure ecosystem stability.
During this period, you can still receive daily staking point rewards as usual. However, if you unlock early (some contracts may allow early exit but will result in loss of part of the rewards), it may affect your point multiplier and even trigger other penalty mechanisms. Therefore, it is recommended to confirm your financial planning before staking to avoid losses due to early unlocking for short-term needs. The state of the tokens during staking will directly affect your DAB earnings. Virtuals categorizes tokens into three states: Green Lock, Yellow Lock, and DYOR (Unlocked).
Green lock tokens refer to tokens that have a developer unlock time of more than 7 days, symbolizing a longer lock-up period that reflects the project party's long-term commitment. The official design of the green lock mechanism aims to reward players aligned with the ecosystem for the long term. If you stake green lock tokens, you will receive an additional point multiplier bonus (usually 1.5 times or higher, depending on the token).
In addition to staking, trading $VIRTUAL or agent tokens can also enhance the multiplier for daily active rewards. The larger the trading volume, the higher the multiplier. Community players have found that waiting for a price drop within 24 hours after a new token launch to buy can lower costs and increase points through trading. However, it is important to note that daily active rewards are not automatically distributed; you must collect them manually every day, or you will miss out on that day's point rewards.
Daily Direct Points (DDP): Passive earnings from staking and Yapping
Compared to DAB, daily direct points (DDP) are more 'passive', requiring no manual collection, as the system will automatically distribute them to your wallet. DDP is suitable for players looking for low operational costs. Here are four main ways to earn:
1. Stake $VIRTUAL to obtain veVIRTUAL: By staking $VIRTUAL tokens on the Virtuals platform, you can obtain veVIRTUAL, which not only allows you to automatically earn DDP daily but also enables you to participate in on-chain governance and protocol-supported airdrops (such as Axelrod and Bizzy). Holders of veVIRTUAL are often regarded as long-term supporters of the ecosystem, with greater earning potential. Even if you do not participate in the Genesis Launch and simply hold $VIRTUAL, the recent month's returns are still considerable.
2. Stake $VADER for core token support: $VADER is affectionately referred to by the community as 'G.O.A.T.' (Greatest of All Time), possibly the core token in the Virtuals ecosystem. Directly staking $VADER allows for automatic DDP earnings, suitable for players seeking stable returns.
3. Stake $KAITO to automatically earn DDP: If you hold more than 5,000 $KAITO (i.e., sKAITO), you can also automatically earn DDP. The difference between $VADER and $KAITO is that $VADER is the core token of the ecosystem, possibly more related to governance and long-term returns, while $KAITO is more suitable for large players, with the 5,000+ staking threshold making it a 'VIP channel'.
4. Write something, participate in the community to earn points: By posting high-quality content related to the Virtuals Protocol or its AI agents on X, you can automatically earn DDP. This method is known as 'yapping for points' and is very suitable for small players. The official recommendation is to maintain content consistency.
For those players who wish to write something to earn points, it is important to note that 'consistency' here refers to the stability of your frequency, themes, and quality of content posted on X. Specifically, you need to achieve the following:
· Consistent Frequency: Regularly post content instead of being sporadic. For example, consistently publish 1-2 pieces of content related to Virtuals every day or week to establish a stable output rhythm.
· Consistent Theme: Content should always revolve around the Virtuals Protocol or its AI agents, avoiding deviation from the topic. For example, you can continuously follow the dynamics of a certain agent (like the previously popular $VIRGEN) and share its launch progress, price analysis, or user experience.
· Quality Consistency: Maintain the depth and value of your content, avoiding low-quality 'spam posts'. High-quality content typically includes in-depth analyses (e.g., interpretations of the Genesis Launch mechanism), project dynamics, or user experiences.
Not good at writing? Consider taking shortcuts.
If you feel you are not good at creating original content, the points system of Virtuals also supports earning points through 'replies'. This strategy can build on others' discussions to accumulate points quickly with high-quality replies, achieving a 'shortcut'. According to the official Virtuals white paper, the point distribution algorithm monitors all user activities on X, including original posts and replies, prioritizing those that enhance community activity and project exposure.
So the question arises, how do we lock in the scope of replies and discussions?
Foreign KOL @Octop3s has summarized a list of 50 social media accounts most relevant to Virtuals, including the official Virtuals account, AIXBT, and well-known foreign KOLs. Feeding portal: Click here. Replying to posts from these accounts, particularly those related to the Virtuals ecosystem, will be recognized by the algorithm as 'valuable interactions', thus automatically contributing to your passive point growth.
If you are not good at original content, you might use others' posts as a basis for extended discussions. For example, if a user mentions the launch plan of $Bizzy, you can reply: 'I previously participated in the launch of $VIRGEN and felt that the Genesis Launch mechanism is very fair; $Bizzy's distribution rules have XXXX different points...'. Such replies not only participate in the discussion but also showcase your experience, making them likely to be recognized by the algorithm.
However, it is important to note:
First, to earn points through replies, you need to link your X account to your Virtuals account. We will not demonstrate how to bind here; you can follow the prompts on the official website's personal profile page to bind.
Secondly, low-quality or irrelevant replies (such as emojis or one-word replies) may be ignored by the algorithm and may even affect your point rating; purely spammy replies do not yield much in points.
Points strategies for big and small players
If you hold a substantial amount of $VIRTUAL or Genesis Agents tokens, here are your options:
· Prioritize staking low market cap green lock tokens: As mentioned earlier, green lock tokens (with a developer lock-up period of more than 7 days) can provide additional point multiplier bonuses (usually 1.5 times or higher). Large players tend to choose low market cap green lock tokens for staking, as the multiplier bonus is more significant.
· Increase point multiplier through trading: Wait for a price drop within 24 hours after a new token launch to buy, then sell when the price rebounds. This operation can not only enhance point earnings but may also yield trading profits. For example, trading $5,000 worth of tokens may increase the daily reward multiplier by 20%-30%.
Small players are usually new players with limited funds, holding fewer tokens (for example, worth $100-200 of $VIRTUAL). This group aims to accumulate points through low-cost methods and participate in medium and small project Genesis Launches, gradually accumulating returns.
· Earn points steadily through yapping: For example, you can share the launch dynamics of $VIRGEN, analyze the mechanics of Genesis Launch, or document your new launch experiences, while also using replies to achieve shortcuts.
· Manage points and participate in time: Set reminders for point expiration to ensure usage within 14 days.
Of course, the above methods can be carried out simultaneously, with no strict distinction in funding scale.
Summary
As more players join, competition for points will inevitably intensify, and the resources allocated to each person will gradually decrease. This means that future Genesis Launch events will require higher strategies and execution capabilities from users. For users, Genesis Launch offers an opportunity to explore a new token distribution model, but it is essential to remain rational during participation and develop suitable strategies based on personal resources and market conditions.
After all, whether it's staking, trading, or social media interaction, any method requires a balance of time, energy, and risk management. Overall, the Genesis Launch mechanism not only supports the early development of AI agent projects but also brings new thinking directions to the token distribution model in the entire cryptocurrency market. However, its long-term effects remain to be observed, especially after the market's heat dissipates; how to maintain community activity and project attractiveness will be a key challenge for Virtuals.
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