Each house is a unique ERC token which you can trade, mortgage, and burn down for insurance money.
Following last week’s near ‘cataclysmic’ bubble burst, the cryptocurrency market shook itself off and rose from a red-eyed slumber. In just a few hours, it bloomed back to green digits like new grass in the springtime. The terror during the great crash of January 2018 seems to be ludicrous if you zoom out and have a look at prices pre-November.
Speculation can easily drive one insane. Timing and precise movement drives this fast paced market and choices can make or break what comes next. What could be worth nearly nothing in one buyer’s mind is the world’s most amazing currency in another’s. Markets tumble around, crushing weak hands and making barons out of others — chaos is king in all speculative matters.
We all know the feeling of watching and holding. A sea of red numbers stares back at you, taunting you to sell and just get out. Right when it seems like all hope is lost — the market recovers and the stress fades again.
Is it any wonder that the generation raised on trading Pokemon, building empires in Grand Theft Auto, and grinding in World of Warcraft would find untold riches online? The grand crypto experiment rolls along, giving life to all new types of games. This time, they’re for real cash.
Blockchain games have come and gone, some being revolutionary (Cryptokitties) and some were just outright shams. With the Ethereum blockchain smart contracts, trust is earned after being blindly established. You put in Ether, you get out a product. No questions. With all of the different type of trading games on the market, one that stands out in particular is Subprime Crypto.
The house prices in the beta launch are an absolute steal.
Subprime Crypto is a Real Estate speculation game on the Ethereum blockchain. Each property is a unique ERC-721 token that you can trade on an open market. Every building carries a distinct and potentially rare set of stats and attributes — you can flip houses for quick profit or extract rent from the working class.
If you’re hard up for some Ether, you’ll be able to mortgage your property for a fixed length of time. If you don’t pay the loan back (with interest), your property is foreclosed and transferred to the lender….no credit check required!
By declaring one of your properties as your primary residence, you will earn STATUS. The nicer your property, the more you get! STATUS is a tradable ERC-20 token that can be used in-game or exchanged on the (coming) open market.
To get started playing Subprime Crypto, you’ll need a few things. One, of course, is some Ether. Right now the home prices are quite cheap and you’ll be able to pick up a wonderful property for the price of a cardboard box.
Second, you’ll have to install MetaMask. MetaMask is how you communicate with the blockchain; you’ll buy your homes via MetaMask transactions and the wallet identifies which homes are yours. No passwords, no worries. Transfer your Ether to MetaMask and head on over to the marketplace.
Once you’re ready to peruse the marketplace, you’ve got a few options. Say you’re the type that’s just got to have a new home — put up .1 Ether and you’ll be in for a surprise. Under the ‘My Properties’ link, you’ll find the Build a New House option. This feature builds you a home with fully random attributes. You might get a palace — or you might end up with a two bedroom family home. Either way, it’s a good entry point for the game with some randomness thrown in.
Does your taste lean towards modern architecture? Maybe classic luxury is more your style! Either way, if you’re looking for a guarantee on your home check the new listings and buy a few homes. As the game is brand new and still in beta, the deals right now are off the charts. A house with over 200 status will be very valuable in a short time.
Just a few of the beautiful homes for sale
Once you’ve got your homes, it’s time to play the game.
Note: Although the current game is in pre-beta, the Marketplace is fully functional — Status trading and Mortgage options are coming soon.
If you built a home (such as I did) and are feeling a bit bold, you’ll be able to burn it down for an insurance payout. The details in the smart contract show the chance of a payout being 50/50. In those two options, the house is either upgraded or converted to ash. (The ash pile is still tradeable, but it will have zero status.) I wasn’t as lucky as I’d hoped and ended up with a pile of ash.
Oh, Thompson Loop…our memories were short lived.
Once the game evolves from pre-beta, more options for functional profits will be available. The Status tokens will be tradable between users and will enable some homes to be extremely valuable while others are quickly flipped.
Within the game, the option to upgrade your current home is available. Say you’ve got a nice two bedroom but want a little more flash and flair — build an addition for 0.01 Ether. You never know what you’ll get and you might strike the Status jackpot.
All in all, the game is still very brand new. The development team communicates with the community in a timely manner, all bugs were found and fixed quickly, and the first adopters are sure to do well. Got a question? Head over to the Telegram and someone will be sure to help out!
What should you look for when purchasing a home?
The savvy investor should look out for the homes with potential value during the pre-sale. Right now, every property on the market is under true market value. The choices are randomized and there are some insane bargains out there. Just like with the kitties, there is true value in low house numbers. These first run houses, combined with upgrades and higher status will be worth quite a bit once the game takes off.
For the pre-beta run, 5000 homes will be generated. Right now, the game’s starting to pick up steam and the contract is making considerable gains. If you missed out on the kitties, missed out on the first run of Ethermon, missed out on Ethercraft — you don’t have to miss out on this one. With a beautiful UI and a competent development team, this game is going to be amazing once the word gets out!
Come hang with us on the Telegram, in our Subreddit, or in the Discord. Right now the functionality of the game is a bit limited but by getting in early, you’ll find that it was a good call later on. Into code and Solidity? Check out the smart contract details here.
What is the basic strategy?
Basic strategy in this game is to purchase an undervalued asset, watch it’s price grow in time and then sell the asset for a nice profit. Like the old saying goes: “There’s no safer investment than Real Estate — it always goes up!”
One possible strategy is to act as a bank and buy up the mortgages that are offered. Surely someone with a nice house would be willing to mortgage it for a sweet loan? Picture this: User A mortgages their high status home for 2 Ether. They’ll have to pay the loan back (with interest, of course) or they’ll be foreclosed on by the lender. User B comes along and acts as the lender, receiving an interest payment or in the case of default — a home.
Ok, I know what youre thinking: “Why the hell would I mortgage my home?”
Well, if you purchased a luxury home at .25 Ether and it now sells for near 2.5 Ether, you could take the loan and buy up another home to then mortgage again. Play your cards right and you’ll make a profit. Catch a bad break on a sale and you might lose it all. The opportunities for profit are limitless.
Buy up homes now to hold, but keep a keen eye for houses being mortgaged once the beta is finished. If you lend the money and they don’t make it back you might just pick up some cheap real estate.
Right now the game is quite bare bones. Once the beta has concluded and the housing availability gets squeezed, expect a bull run on this game. The options for fun and profit are nearly endless. If you have any questions, visit us in any of the channels above. Happy hunting!
Source: Robert Garcia (Medeum)
https://medium.com/@robert_72358/real-estate-speculation-on-the-ethereum-blockchain-subprime-crypto-has-arrived-5c87cc30227f