​TL;DR

  • An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a 1-of-1 digital asset you can sell and trade on the open market.
  • An SFT, or semi-fungible token, has the same attributes and utility as an NFT but can be minted in quantities >1.
  • SFTs have lower minting fees because they are more resource-efficient on-chain.
  • SFTs can be stacked for easier buying, selling, storing, and crafting in-game
  • The first Genopets SFTs are Refined Genotype Crystals and Terraform Seeds
  • All Seeds and Crystals you craft will follow the SFT standard. Mainframe will allow you to swap old NFTs for SFTs.

What in the Genoverse is an SFT?

In Web2 games, farming and grinding can generate a near-endless supply of a single item for determined players. These items are commonly called stackable items. Stackable items are the base layer items of a game that players collect in volumes to use or craft more advanced items frequently. Stacking items lets you carry multiples of the same item in a compact way that doesn’t take up too much space in your inventory, streamlining how we interact with them. In the world of Web 3, these types of items are called semi-fungible tokens.

You may know about NFTs, but how familiar are you with SFTs? Let’s align on some basic principles.

Fungible vs. Non-Fungible

For those new to the space, Merriam-Webster defines fungible as “being something (such as money or a commodity) of such a nature that one part or quantity may be replaced by another equal part or quantity in paying a debt or settling an account.” A fungible item has a supply greater than one. And, in terms of value and utility, one fungible item does not differ from the other, so anyone would freely accept it in a transaction.

A typical example of a fungible item is the US dollar. If I give you a dollar bill, it doesn’t matter which dollar bill I give you. It doesn’t matter if the bill I give you has a serial number ending in XYZ or ABC. The only thing that matters is that both bills represent $1.

The opposite of something fungible is something non-fungible — a one-of-one supply. For reference, let’s go a little more abstract and look at physical art. There is only one Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa comprises wood and oil paint, is worth $100 million, and no one would trade it to you for an identical copy because it doesn’t hold the same value. This example is the core concept from which NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) get their name.

Non-Fungible vs. Semi-Fungible

NFTs stands for Non-Fungible Tokens, and SFT stands for Semi-Fungible Tokens.

SFTs are the new counterpart to NFTs and are about to make waves in the gaming space.

In Web3 gaming, NFTs have become a core technology that allows us to store in-game assets (like accessories, weapons, characters, clothing, etc.) on the blockchain. However, in a game where you’re chopping wood, each piece of wood generally has the same value, so it doesn’t need to be represented as a unique item. That’s where SFTs come in!

As you’ll notice in most RPGs, some items you obtain get their own slot in your inventory. However, there are certain items that, when picked up, are reduced to a single ‘stacked’ item in your inventory. So, if you’re holding one Earth Crystal and you collect five more Crystals, you’ll read something like “Earth Crystal (x6)” instead of seeing “Earth Crystal, Earth Crystal, Earth Crystal, etc.” Stackable items only take up one space, and when multiplied, a number is shown on the image of that item to indicate the quantity of the respective stack. That way, it’s easier to organize large amounts of a given item through use or transaction. SFTs allow us to carry over the Web2 concept of “stackable items” into blockchain gaming, making mechanics like crafting and trading a breeze.

The Fungible Asset Standard introduced by Metaplex for the Solana ecosystem defines an SFT as “A token with metadata that can also have attributes, sometimes called Semi Fungible.” This standard allows projects built on Solana to create fungible assets (SFTs). The Genotype Crystals minted from the Treasure Hunt were the first Genopets assets to follow this standard, but definitely not the last. SFTs have similar features to NFTs, like the image and attributes, but without being limited to a supply of 1. And, instead of being fractionalized like USDC or SOL, you collect SFTs in whole numbers, so you’ll never see “1.5 Earth Crystals.”

When you look at a marketplace today, you’ll see a collection of Refined Crystals comprising Water, Earth, Fire, Metal, and Wood. Each Crystal in its respective class is entirely identical (e.g., 1 Water Crystal = 1 Water Crystal), and in a world filled with refining and crafting, being able to buy them in bulk makes a lot of sense.

SFTs in Action

Let’s say you want to sell 10 Water Crystals for some Fire Crystals to craft a new Augment; instead of selling 10 NFTs individually, SFTs let you do so in one easy transaction.

When you mint an SFT, you’ll notice the fee is substantially less than that of minting an NFT. Why? SFTs all share a single “Mint Account” on Solana and can have a zero decimal supply greater than 1, whereas the supply of any given NFT can only be 1, meaning they cannot share a single mint account.

Terraform Seeds and Refined Genotype Crystals will be the first Genopets SFTs to hit the market. All Genopets Seeds and Crystals created in the future will follow the SFT standard. In the upcoming launch of the Habitat management portal players will be able to swap their older NFT Crystals and Seeds for SFT equivalents to be used for crafting and terraforming.

SFT Marketplace Support Coming Soon 👀

NFTs have shaped blockchain gaming over the past year. And over the coming years, SFTs will prove to be the next big innovation, making your Genopets experience more practical while boosting resource efficiency on the blockchain.

We’re excited to be one of the first projects working with Metaplex to back NFT marketplaces that support SFTs. It’s a giant leap forward for NFT games, and we’re honored to be at the forefront.

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Summon your Genopet and start moving to begin exploring and evolving together. Stay tuned for future updates, and join the conversation in our community channels below. See you in the Genoverse!

About Genopets

It’s time to step up your game. Genopets is the world’s first Free-to-Play, Move-to-Earn NFT mobile game, making it fun and rewarding to live an active lifestyle. A Genopet is your digital pet whose evolution and growth are inextricably linked to your own. The steps you take everyday power your journey through the Genoverse as you explore, battle, and evolve — earning crypto while you play.

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