RSOP (5)

A Community Newsletter — December Review

by @jvn_xyz; 1/1/2023

A plume of purple smoke rose from the ominous Zed Keep informing the Royal Legion of their victory. The campaign to free JOKER #9 had succeeded, but the twisted genius of ZK85 had taken its toll.

GM Royals,

After overrunning the Onyx castle defenses on the Great River, the long-fought campaign against the evil king’s remaining Pink guard to free the last joker in captivity ended victorious. His fortified Keep folded under a constant barrage of golden arrows and blades, eager to make whole the Joker Council and reset the kingdom’s destiny. But in the end, there was no celebration, only inward reflection as Jokers, Eternals, and Royals lay scattered across the battlefield.

Welcome to the conclusion of RSOP’s Royal Game of Thrones (RGOT).

In case you’ve just joined us, the RGOT challenge has been the ultimate riddle, scavenger hunt, and detective saga mirroring an extended game of CLUE, a game with the much-coveted JOKER #9 as the prize, immobilized and languishing in the Royal Treasury since mint.

For over four months, RSOP members (Royals) have followed clues and rumors of its whereabouts. The only certainty confirmed the evil king had JOKER #9 stashed in his vault collecting benefits and lauding it over the Joker Council to bring them to heel, lest they never see him released into the kingdom.

As the game began, missions followed quests, and quests followed quests totaling FIVE over time, one by one laying the path to 15 Golden Tickets and qualification for the FINAL ROUND. Despite its slow start, the crafty quests gained interest from players struggling through the debacle of the 2022 crypto winter pulling in more and more Royal freedom fighters into the plot.

From the start, the intricately structured quests focused on the three collections of the RSOP universe the MetaVerse Players (MVP), RSOP Cards, and RSOP Chips. It wasn’t long before a clear leader emerged from the rank and file to notch not one, not two, but five Golden Tickets, inspiring others to step up their game or lose any chance at the JOKER.

Navigating the multiple twists deployed by the evil king, including the rotation of game masters, the Legendary @Elmwood illustrated the Art of Deconstruction across evolving clues and communication mediums. Clues ranged from Atomic numbers, binary code, and star constellations to an intimate understanding of the traits and numerology of the Royal Society of Players Collections.

Entering the final round, the Golden Ticket holders encountered a new twist. Instead of deciphering one collection to move ahead, the winning solution required ALL THREE collection IDs. This devious pivot took a toll on the holders as one by one they fell to the wayside with the majority of guesses only catching one of the collection IDs. In the end, @Elmwood submitted the correct combination on the fourth day of competition 7/22/2023 (Chip ID#/MVP ID#/Card ID#). Bravo!

Once again, we’d like to congratulate @Elmwood and all the players on the hard-fought victory and thank them for their efforts to free JOKER#9, the JOKER COUNCIL can now re-convene their master strategy sessions. #STAYROYAL

Joker’s Lounge

An Interview with JOKER#9 (aka @Elmwood )

Q1: What brought you into NFTs?

A1: Like many I was introduced to NFTs with NBA Top Shot. The combination of collecting, investing, trading along with being able to follow/track onchain had me instantly hooked. That then led me to a greater appreciation of art & community.

Q2: Do you have a trading philosophy? As one of the most active traders in the community, what would you do to improve RSOP liquidity?

A2: I went through my phase of FOMO, speculation and following the wave but now have settled into somewhat more of a disciplined approach of sticking to a handful of projects which I fully understand the ecosystem and believe in the long-term vision. Then from there seeking value buys like a more rare or desirable trait near the floor which I have no problem hodling or flipping then buying back in again but at the end of the day I just love the dopamine hit from buying/selling/trading & pretty much near impossible not spend any ETH left in my wallet.

The Liquidity crunch in this current market is real; the only real way is to create a buzz for new members to join and/or encourage current members to complete hands or enter competitions by gamifying the cards more. One idea would be to offer an incentive $ROYAL bonus for any purchases made during the month of January which could be tiered or gamified in a number of ways. There also is so much potential to unlock with the cards & traits; we have seen some of this with the Royal Competitions but I can envision a more incentivized & interactive experience where you get to select the cards yourself vs. a snapshot & can go shopping for any you might be missing for a certain competition/challenge.

Q3: Given the global macro environment, what is the best strategy for onboarding new members in 2023?

A3: Picking up a single card is an incredible value at a great entry point with a good chance of re-paying your initial investment in no time whether it be by being active playing games, WL opportunities, knowledge shared in the NFT chat & more. I honestly can’t think of any NFT that will give you a better bang for your buck.

Q4: Royal Society of Players is unlike any other NFT project. Do you think the size and complexity make it less attractive to other degens? If so, how could we remedy this?

A4: You can have the best built platform, great art & sophistication but unfortunately degens would rather flock to a Mutant Squirl Yacht Club that is trending on Open Sea. We need to do something to create some buzz whatever that may be.

Q5: Lastly, is JOKER#9 for sell or is this the ultimate HODL? :)

A:5 Definitely going to enjoy it & HODL unless there is an offer I can’t refuse.

Crypto and NFT Headlines

As we reflect on the events of 2022 and pontificate about the opportunities in 2023, we prepare to hunker down. Considering the available data, whether you are a Bitcoin Maxi or an NFT degen, a downdraft is on the horizon. Once you accept this, the question becomes how to position yourself for an eventual recovery, which is followed by the question, will it be a V-shaped recovery or something more brutal?

From the beginning of the year, there was optimism about not only repeating a 2021 market volume of US$22Bn but exceeding it, with research houses publishing a 5-year CAGR of 60–87% through 2025. Unfortunately, the expectation that the crypto markets and their respective blockchains would be immune from the spiraling global geopolitical events proved incorrect and full of hopium.

If nothing else, the institutional money now involved in crypto (est. 8% market share vs. 0% in 2018) is connected to the broader financial markets and pressured by geopolitical happenings. Adding to the geopolitical meltdown was the outright fraud from a range of actors, including a group of young guns shooting from the hip with their Algo stablecoins to the politically connected “altruists” and their centralized crypto exchanges, exacerbating the already rising uncertainty in the markets.

On the flip side, a couple of potential breakthroughs arrived in the form of tie-ups between BlackRock and Coinbase and the completion of the Ethereum MERGE. These two events marked milestones for the mass adoption of mainstream investors and creatives looking for alternative solutions. With BlackRock’s extensive retail client base and the global concern on climate change, ESG-minded investors began to feel more at ease with crypto post the MERGE, which brought energy consumption down some 99%.

Across the blockchain, a few late-in-the-year NFT projects have helped alleviate the pain from geopolitical tensions and fraudulent actors, but nothing has slowed the tax harvesting cycle.

From my lurking in the #nft-market-chat, I’ve noticed the Mutant Collars and Hounds have captured a healthy amount of focus from the broader NFT community. There’s been a large amount of trading going on in the #buy-sell-trade channel for those looking to get som matchy action.

Net net, the year ahead looks bumpy, but keep an eye open for pockets of strength on the more stable blockchains. If 2022 taught us anything, it’s that luxury brands and advertising gurus have finally taken notice of the potential of digital marketing in the web3 universe.

Discord #battle-cards = !HOTD

An evolving proprietary discord game, !HOTD (Hand of The Day) offers more than a chance to win some ROYAL for the best and worst hands, it offers an escape from the chaos. From the beta testing to the official roll-out users were enthralled by the simple yet addictive game as they tried to best their fellow Royals. The best hand wins 25 ROYAL while the worst hand wins 10 ROYAL, something for everybody. #STAYROYAL

Royal Rumble — December Roundup

The HOUSE OF SPADES rallied in December edging out the House of Diamonds for the WIN led by @Grahambo/JOKER#1 with 255 ROYAL/RLP.

While there was a new House at the top of the charts for the month, the individual reward stayed with @Elmwood at 500 ROYAL/RLP, especially after claiming his JOKER#9 through the RGOT challenge.

Rounding out the Top 5 participants were @ian813 Diamonds(400 ROYAL/RLP), @Grahambo/Joker#1 Spades (255 ROYAL/RLP), @1CentCollector Clubs (205 ROYAL/RLP), and @jvn Hearts 190 ROYAL/RLP).

COMPETITIVE STAKING — DECEMBER ROYAL DISTRIBUTION

First Place = 16x (House of Spades)
Second Place = 12x (House of Diamonds)
Third Place = 8x (House of Clubs)
Fourth Place = 4x (House of Hearts)

*The earned ROYAL from the staking period will be distributed based on your House’s finishing position as noted above. #STAYROYAL

Royal Treasury Report — December 2022

Despite a long and tumultuous year, our Royal Treasurers have continued to make inroads in improving our quality of assets, which has had a two-layered effect by adding value and improving the quality of items offered on our Royal Platform and marketplace.

As mentioned, a couple of late mints in December afforded the team the opportunity to pick up a Hounds Collar and watch as it appreciated into the yearend (Good news). Aside from the collar acquisition there were a few other deals including one with NFT Canvases whereby the Treasury will get 10% of purchases stream back to the treasury as well as acquiring several free prints for our usage.

On our existing assets, the team upgraded the Royal Treasury’s Deluxe Bees and turned them into worker bees, which will earn $HONEYD in perpetuity. Then after selling a couple more common Mavia Lands that netted 0.4498ETH, the treasurers added some Metakrew to the vault.

Over the next week, the Landmark Team will add the full accounting and report to the discord channel #treasury-updates channel. A quick refresh of the stated ETH in account as December 5 was 49.934ETH +0.66%M/M. Unfortunately, the secondary volumes have been razor thin and the commissions from that line limited. In the meantime, enjoy the start of a new year and a blank page on your ledger.

Wishing you health, wealth, and happiness in the year ahead! #STAYROYAL

Disclaimer: NFA (Not Financial Advice), DYOR (Do Your Own Research).

#GAME ON