What Is Aavegotchi Coin (GHST)?

Aavegotchi (GHST) is a DeFi-focused non-fungible token (NFT) that runs on the Aave protocol. Simply put, Aavegotchis are game avatars that can be used as DeFi collateral to earn staking rewards.

Like CryptoKitties, the tokens have differentiating qualities such as body color and personality. Being a staked asset, its owner can liquidate the tokens at any time. Unfortunately, liquidating the NFTs means you lose your Gotchi.

The characters have a pixelated ghost appearance since they follow Aave, which translates to “ghost” in Finnish. The token ticker also cleverly spells out “ghost,” minus the vowel.

In November 2020, Aave invested in Pixelcraft Studios, bringing raffles to its protocol. The project’s mainnet launch was scheduled for Jan. 4, 2021, but was pushed to a future date due to high transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain, where it runs as a side chain.

Who Are the Founders of Aavegotchi?

A team with vast experience in different fields runs the DeFi project. Coder Dan is its pseudonymous chief executive officer and co-founder. Its other known co-founder is Jesse Johnson.

Johnson is also the founder and COO of Pixelcraft Studios and the creator of Bullionix, the first gold-backed NFT collectibles. In the past, Johnson held key roles such as director of business relations/development and manager of international market development in different companies, including China Intop Exhibition Co and ZB Group.

The team also includes other pseudonymous members handling critical roles such as art director and Solidity lead. Aave’s founder, Stani Kulechov, is the project’s advisor.

What Makes Aavegotchi Unique?

Firstly, Aavegotchis are playable assets that also act as collateral on DeFi networks. Unlike other NFTs, they have inherent benefits in the industry where their value surpasses the gaming prospects. To interact with a Gotchi, DeFi users need to stake a select group of tokens known as aTokens such as LINK (aLINK) and USDC (aUSDC) into a Gotchi.

Coder Dan notes that the game’s use of aTokens is due to their positioning to earn interests and “the interest accrues natively in your wallet, in real-time.”

Apart from earning interest from staked tokens, holders of the platform’s native currency, GHST, are positioned to “win high-end items,” as noted by Johnson. Aavegotchis are tradable on OpenSea and other market places specializing in NFT trading.

The project’s revenue comes from fees charged for interacting with mini-games, as well as the sale of consumables and wearables.

Aavegotchi banks on what it calls rarity farming. Basically, the rarer the Gotchi, the higher the price it fetches in the market. Moreover, the platform shares part of its revenue with leading rarity farmers.

Related Pages:

Read more about Blockchain Cuties Universe, another collectible crypto game.

Read more about Terra Virtua Kolect (TVK), an NFT project.

Read CoinMarketCap Alexandria’s definition of an NFT.

Read the CoinMarketCap blog.

How Many Aavegotchi (GHST) Coins Are There in Circulation?

Notably, the token doesn’t have a maximum supply. The total GHST token supply is 22,854,372. The platform uses a bonding curve to cater to the continued GHST distribution.

For example, the curve ensures that a higher utility positively impacts the demand and price over a given period of time.

GHST tokens were distributed in two initial rounds, with each round having different amounts. To elaborate, the private round involved 5 million tokens, while the presale saw 500,000 tokens sold. Governance rewards and rarity farming are some of the other ways that the token found its way into investors’ hands.

The vesting period for tokens distributed during the private and presale rounds was fixed at 365 days. Other beneficiaries in the distribution of tokens include the team and ecosystem fund that received 1,000,000 GHST.

How Is the Aavegotchi Network Secured?

Being powered by the Ethereum blockchain, the project is secured by a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. However, since Ethereum just started its journey to a proof-of-stake (PoS) system through the Beacon Chain’s launch, it may ultimately transition into it.

Additionally, Aavegotchi smart contracts are open source to ensure individual access and review for any errors and/or hidden backdoors.

Where Can You Buy Aavegotchi (GHST)?

The protocol’s native token is listed on major cryptocurrency exchanges. GHST is paired with different tokens on platforms like Binance, OKEx, MXC, Bilaxy and Uniswap.

On Binance, it is paired with Ethereum (ETH) and Binance USD (BUSD), while on MXC, it is traded against Tether (USDT). On the other hand, Uniswap puts GHST against WETH. Read more about how to buy cryptocurrencies here.

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