Original Title: Virgenesis - The Playbook Original authors: @Defi0xJeff, Head of @steak_studio Original compilation: Xiao deep

Editor's Note: The article analyzes the strategies of veVIRTUAL staking and points games on the Virtuals platform. It introduces the latest updates in token economics, emphasizing alignment of long-term stakers with protocol interests and advising against locking all tokens to maintain liquidity. The author suggests earning 100,000 to 400,000 Virgen points daily, locking 10,000 to 50,000 $VIRTUAL, to flexibly respond to market fluctuations while selectively choosing high-potential projects to maximize returns.

The following is the original content (for ease of reading and understanding, the original content has been slightly reorganized):

This is a brief and concise article sharing my thoughts on veVIRTUAL staking and how to navigate the points game.

If you've been active in the trenches of Virtuals recently, you may have noticed that the team has just launched one of the most significant updates ever:

· Integrated Kaito, launched a comprehensive Yapper leaderboard to incentivize top Yappers and Kaito stakers to earn points.

· Updated the tokenomics, introducing veVIRTUAL (20% of the points are now allocated to veVIRTUAL stakers instead of holders).

The changes in token economics have aligned the interests of long-term supporters (those willing to lock $VIRTUAL) more closely with the protocol (Virtuals and the agency team). This new dynamic reminds me of the xGRAIL token economics during the Arb season, as well as the ve(3,3) token economics when Velodrome and Aerodrome emerged on OP and Base.

Since 2021, I have been navigating through various narratives and trends, and one lesson I have learned is that it is very unwise to lock up all your tokens to the maximum extent in any situation (especially in the veTokenomics model).

Why?

Looking at it from a step back, the value of $VIRTUAL comes from transaction fees, which are derived from trading activities on its platform. The more projects go live, and the more existing projects continuously innovate and launch exciting features, the more people will eagerly trade on Virtuals.

Next is "Virgen Points", which are essential for participating in the Genesis launch, obtained by actively trading on Virtuals, holding diamond hand agent tokens, and holding $VIRTUAL (before the latest changes). $BIOS has become the number one case, this hundredfold surge star continues to attract builders and traders into the Virgen trenches, solidifying the flywheel effect.

Virgen points have now been established as "digital gold," with each point valued between 0.012 and 0.034 USD (if you earn 100,000 points daily and assume you successfully invest points in launched projects, you could earn between 1200 and 3400 USD daily).

Now... the reason I say that maximum locking is a bad idea is as follows:

· No launch platform can be popular forever—the hype and narrative ebb and flow like waves, influenced by various factors. The Virtuals team has demonstrated that they are masters of narrative, but in the face of competition, no one knows how long the current Virtuals wave can last.

· The points earned daily have a threshold of "sufficient" (for each wallet). For example, if you lock a maximum of 150,000 $VIRTUAL, you will receive 150,000 veVIRTUAL and earn between 1.5 million to 1.8 million points daily. Brother, you don't need that many points.

· There are hidden liquidity costs. During a cycle, the token may rise (or fall) significantly. When it rises at full speed, if you don't have the ability to take profits, you won't be able to realize gains. Next, the token will fall because nothing is eternal. All good things must come to an end, the key is whether you can extract the maximum value from it.

To emphasize again - if you look at this table, you will find that the returns on point expenditure are highly dependent on the quality of the projects you invest in, as well as the hype around the projects (how many points have been invested), and how high the FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) can rise after launch. Project selection is crucial in this game. The better you choose, the higher the value you can capture from the points.

How much $VIRTUAL should be locked? What is the strategy?

· Assuming that $AXR is the worst-case scenario (requiring 4 million points for full allocation), earning 400,000 points per day for about one to one and a half weeks should be sufficient. This is equivalent to locking 50,000 $VIRTUAL for two years.

· Assuming $WHIM as the baseline (requiring 820,000 points for full allocation), earning 100,000 points per day should be sufficient. This is equivalent to locking 10,000 $VIRTUAL for two years.

The rule of thumb is to earn 100,000 to 400,000 points daily to ensure there are enough points to participate in medium to high-heat launches within a week or a week and a half.

It depends on whether it is a partial maximum lock-up of $VIRTUAL or a full medium-term lock-up of $VIRTUAL. But be sure to hold both liquid and illiquid assets simultaneously, maintain flexibility, and realize profits as $VIRTUAL continues to rise.

Specific Gameplay

I only lock a small portion (5-10%) of $VIRTUAL as veVIRTUAL to ensure I have enough points to receive the full allocation of high-demand launches, while keeping the remaining 95% liquid to realize profits when the market improves.

I can break even in just 5 days.

it only takes 9 days to break even.

I plan to select only the projects with the highest point value for short-term operations, while only holding tier one projects with diamond hands. The ultimate goal is to accumulate more $VIRTUAL, regarding the Genesis launch platform / Virgen points as a place and mechanism for generating profits from $VIRTUAL tokens.

Friends who are interested in my future choices can check out my latest Substack article "The After Hour EP.2", where I share my analysis of three upcoming investment projects.

Make sure you know what you are doing. Do the math before making decisions. Don't lock up all your assets because of FOMO; that's the worst decision.

Please remember that investing in Virtuals agents is more like "trading" rather than investing in technology (at least for now). You are investing in micro-projects with very low market capitalization, which have the potential for explosive growth.

"Original link"

：