Introducing Cargo Gems and NFT Staking

Sean
The Cargo Times
Published in
6 min readAug 20, 2020

Following the successful launch of both the Cargo NFT minting platform and marketplace, we are excited to introduce another major release:

Cargo Gems — a brand new utility token that will facilitate transactions on the Cargo platform and usher in a new era of NFT-based staking.

Background on Cargo

Cargo’s platform was designed specifically to allow users to create, manage, and sell digital collectibles — including digital art, music, game items, and other digital media. Cargo allows you to create 3D, audio, video, and image collectibles.

Cargo has pioneered a unique system for the creation and tracking of an “infinite” amount of NFTs. After deploying one of Cargo’s smart contracts, creators can use Cargo credits to batch create as many NFTs as they want in one transaction, saving hundreds or thousands of dollars when creating NFTs at scale.

With Cargo you can lock any type of digital content within your collectibles with AES-256 encryption that is only unlockable by the current collectible owner. Cargo also provides a robust JavaScript SDK so dApps can leverage Cargo’s robust NFT infrastructure.

In just under three weeks since launching, Cargo has seen 250 users sign up and over 150 unique NFTs added to the marketplace — the highest sale so far being around $1200. The Cargo Marketplace is live featuring works from Jon Noorlander (@JonNoorlander), Connie Digital (@ConnieDigital), Carlos Marcial (@carlosmarcialt), and Metageist (@MetageistVR).

Given the flexible nature of Cargo’s scalable platform, we are able to explore unique economic models to facilitate new use cases for the NFT asset class.

Cargo’s Two Token Platform Economy

Cargo’s platform will ultimately be driven by two distinct fungible ERC-20 tokens:

  1. Cargo Credits — the token that is required to create collectibles on Cargo. Cargo Credits can be purchased in packs, offering a range of options that cater to everyone from NFT novices to full-blown enterprises. (currently available)
  2. Cargo Gems — the platform utility token that functions as a governance token and future payment option on the Cargo platform. Gems can be staked inside of NFTs for token rewards. (coming soon)

Cargo Tokenomics

Cargo Gems

  • Total Supply: 30,000,000 GEM
  • Initial Distribution: 1,500,000 GEM
  • Total Staking Rewards: 10,800,000 GEM
  • Staking Rewards: 1 GEM / Ethereum Block, split proportionately between staking wallets

Cargo Gems Distribution

  • Partners: 5,700,000 (19%)
  • Cargo DAO Development: 4,500,000 (15%)
  • Cargo Team: 7,500,000 (25%)
  • PGFK Holders: 1,500,000 (5%)
  • Staking: 10,800,000 (36%)
  • Total 30,000,000 GEMs

Cargo Credits

  • Total Supply: Uncapped
  • Initial Supply: 1,305,379
  • Staking Rewards: The value equivalent of 1 GEM per Ethereum Block, split proportionately between staking wallets

Cargo Gem Staking

The main distribution model for Cargo Gems will be a unique non-fungible token staking model where users can insert their Gems directly into compatible NFTs.

Through Cargo’s staking portal, you will be able to stake Cargo Gems within any compatible NFT that you own, as long as it follows the ERC-721. Compatibility is determined by verifying that the NFT contract adheres to either the ERC-165 interface of ERC-721. Your staked NFTs will earn you Gem yield and Cargo credits.

The staking smart contract allows you to retain ownership of your NFT while still earning the rewards of staking. This means you will be able to transfer your NFTs to a cold wallet while still being able to earn rewards.

At any time you can transfer the NFT to a new owner, or wallet, and the wallet that owns the NFT will be able to withdraw the staked and earned Gems through the staking portal.

1 Cargo Gem will be distributed per block mined on the Ethereum blockchain. Given that there are roughly 6,500 Ethereum blocks per day currently, that means that ~6,500 Gems will be distributed to users who are staking, proportionate to their amount of stake.

You will be able to claim stake rewards at any time through the staking portal. These rewards can be used to increase stake or simply be withdrawn to personal wallets.

For the promotional launch period, users can only stake NFTs that originate on Cargo — either through the public Cargo contract, or contracts created on the platform. Following this period, you will be able to stake any compatible NFT you have in your wallet.

Cargo Credit Staking Rewards

Edit Oct 7, 2020:

Upon the initial launch of Gems, Cargo Credit rewards will equal 1 Credit per block mined split pro-rata between stakers. Once a market price has been established the Credit rewards will become dynamic, based on conversion rate of Credits to ETH and DAI as well as the Cargo Gems conversion rate to ETH and DAI.

Cargo Gem staking will facilitate a unique form of liquidity mining that will generate Cargo Credits as a secondary reward to the main staking rewards.

Cargo Credits are the main token for minting on the Cargo platform. The Cargo fee associated with a single mint on the platform is 3 DAI. Given that Cargo Credits are an openly accessible ERC-20 token, the exchange rate with DAI and ETH will fluctuate with supply and demand dynamics associated with third-party activities on decentralized exchanges. This differs from the pricing model that currently exists on the site.

This ultimately means that the amount of Cargo Credits needed for a single mint will fluctuate and users of the platform will have three options to accrue Credits:

  1. Purchase on Cargo — This method includes a 5% convenience fee
  2. Purchase on decentralized exchange — This method allows savvy creators to buy Credits on the open market
  3. Stake Cargo Gems — This method will take time and is a function of how many Gems you hold

Cargo Credit rewards per block are based on the two factors:

  1. The conversion price of Cargo Credits to ETH and DAI, as determined by price oracles from decentralized swaps
  2. The conversion price of Cargo Gems to ETH and DAI, as determined by price oracles from decentralized swaps

With this model, Cargo Credit rewards are directly tied to the conversion value of Cargo Gem rewards for each block.

There is no hard cap on the supply of Cargo Credits. However, whenever a Credit is used to mint an NFT, that token is removed from circulation and burnt. This system is entirely driven by utility and demand for the Cargo platform.

The Cargo Credit contract can be monitored here. 1,305,379 Credits are currently minted, with the majority of the distribution owned by Cargo for free creator giveaways and to facilitate future swap markets.

Cargo DAO and Creator Grants

Following the introduction of Cargo Gems as a payment option, the Cargo team plans to introduce a decentralized organization called the Cargo DAO.

The Cargo DAO will be tasked with the deployment of Creator Grants, which are pools of Cargo Credits that are designed to subsidize the expenses associated with the minting of NFTs on Cargo.

The Creator Grants will be distributed in batches, enabling Cargo Gem holders who are staking their holdings within NFTs to vote for their favorite artists, designers, or game studios. If grant recipients go on to sell their items on Cargo, Gem backers will earn a share of their sale fees.

A full breakdown of the Cargo DAO design and implementation timeline will be available at a later date.

PGFK Holder Redemption

Given that Cargo is an integral partner within the Polyient Games Ecosystem, we are planning on facilitating the initial distribution of 5% of the total token supply to participants in the Polyient Games Founder’s Key (PGFK) sale.

PGFKs are exclusive membership and lifetime rewards NFTs that provide unique perks within the Polyient Games Ecosystem. The first sale of PGFKs via Vouchers was conducted on August 4 with 420+ ETH worth of supply purchased in just a matter of days.

The full sale will begin on September 15 and run through September 22, with a total supply of 12,500 PGFKs set to be sold or redeemed via Vouchers.

The distribution of Cargo Gems will be proportionate to the number of PGFKs each user holds within their wallets on the Polyient Games Ecosystem platform on the snapshot date of September 23 at 5pm PST.

A total of 1,500,000 Gems, or 5% of the total supply, is set to be distributed to PGFK holders. The planned distribution date is set for October and the allocations will be deposited directly to verified Polyient Games wallet addresses that are holding PGFKs.

After the distribution, Polyient Games users can visit the dedicated staking portal to stake their Gems within NFTs to begin earning rewards and participate in the liquidity minting of Cargo Credits.

PGFKs will be eligible NFTs for staking, as they were generated through the Cargo minting contract.

Join the waitlist! Sign up below.

Start creating on Cargo today.

Follow Cargo on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/BuildWithCargo

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https://t.me/buildwithcargo

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