NFTs are hot, even when the cryptocurrency world is turning red. I’ll save you from the usual yadda-yadda citing the billions in play across the NFT market, but one thing is sure. When a new NFT collection is being launched, everyone paying attention to the space is clamoring to be on the whitelist for that project.
An NFT whitelist is a spot saved for someone (typically a loyal or highly engaged collector), allowing them to mint an NFT before the public sale. Frequently, the whitelist is the only way a creator can decide who gets to mint an NFT in a project that is likely to have high demand. Whitelist spots are limited and sometimes are combined with gaming elements, such as guessing the price of the native token used on the NFT platform or inviting a certain number of friends to join in.
Adding these elements sounds fun, but unfortunately, it can mean that even the most engaged NFT followers are not guaranteed a spot on the list. Randomized minting also has its drawbacks, failing to reward any engagement by putting the bet only on chance.
That can cause an adverse effect and sentiment from the community – the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve when launching a project.
So are there any other options for NFT projects that can offer extended reach for the creator and give value to the collector?
Enter SparkWorld*. Yes, the asterisk is supposed to be there. A community-focused Web3 ecosystem, it focuses on what it calls Fair Prediction Launches (FPLs) as an alternative to whitelists.
SparkWorld* offers similar gamification to whitelists involving token price prediction, but the startup claims its FPLs are fairer. How does it work? SparkWorld* places users into ordered lists based on the accuracy of their predictions, giving every user a fair shot at landing a more valuable piece of the collection and abolishing first-come-first-serve whitelists and randomized minting.
“Users stake $SPRK and get the opportunity to make predictions,” Jolyon Horsfall, Co-CEO at SparkWorld*, told me. “More staked tokens mean more predictions and, therefore, more whitelist opportunities. Users predict the price of the native blockchain of the NFT (for example, AVAX) or the governance token of the game or NFT project – always before the mint day.”
Unlike a regular whitelist, there are no losers due to this solution.
“Everyone gets staking rewards and prediction rewards,” Horsfall said. “SparkWorld* is non-punitive! The most accurate predictions get the whitelist spots and extra prizes.”
Does SparkWorld* limit creators when it comes to where they mint their NFTs?
“The NFTs are minted by the creators then verified and KYCd by the platform,” Horsfall said. “This means that the original minting address will be verifiable and that the NFTs will be distributed via our FPL protocol based on our gaming mechanics.”
It sounds great, but it is worth noting that whitelisting traditionally doesn’t cost anything other than the time spent promoting the project on social media sharing or other networking groups the collector may have. Why would a potential collector stake $SPRK to get their NFT before the public sale?
“The rewards are threefold,” Horsfall said. “Users will be obtaining guaranteed high yield staking rewards on entry to the prediction event and, based on the outcome of the prediction, be entitled to whitelist spots for the project’s NFT launch. In addition, they’ll earn prediction-based rewards (for example, AVAX, ETH, SPRK, etc.) over their staking yield.”
It is indeed an interesting idea with benefits for both creators and collectors alike, and the startup is focused on providing balance throughout the process and in its future development.
“SparkWorld* has a level playing field, where the prediction sorting algorithm eliminates the ‘First Come First Serve’ process,” Horsfall said. “This allows users to have a more fair and efficient journey.”
