In Splinterlands there is a lot of controversy on the published decision to make SPS staking a factor on the rewards earnings. While this was anyhow part of the whitepaper and quite long overdue, now that the Splinterlands team finally took decision to take action on it and implement it, it seems that those milking the game for SPS rewards and selling them right away have started to voice themselves as an opposition to this decision. Myself I am positioning on the other side of things as I have been gathering SPS tokens since they've started being airdropped and I am continuing to do so. Why? Simply because at its core the governance tokens are the most powerful assets that one could hold if they have use cases within the game. And with the SPS staking requirement to be factored into the earnings, I think we are starting to finally see real SPS use cases.
SPS rewards
What I like about this decision and the new system that will be available probably somewhere in Q3 of 2023, is the fact that you can increase your earnings by playing and reinvesting SPS. This are the pillars of a healthy economy as will incentivize players to hold on their precious SPS tokens instead of dumping them on the market and either exchange them for other cryptocurrencies or buying NFTs. It simply adds value to the SPS token just by holding it and should make the market more dynamic and create buying pressure. And as most of the bot farms for sure do not meet the criteria we might see some leave the space which should imply more rewards for fewer human players. And this is a good thing in my opinion.
SPS renting
Along with this we will have a new market create for renting SPS tokens as considering the thousands of players (or better said accounts as many of the players also have alts), it will simply not be enough SPS to maximize the earnings through matching that with staked tokens. So imagine that if now you earn 20% APR from staking it, you could add some new earnings from renting your SPS tokens that you have in excess. In my case while I have 5 accounts that I am playing with or even split with some of my friends, I will be able to meet the levels of required SPS staked in order to get most of the rewards and we'll have some SPS remaining to be rent. So, I will be able to tap into a new revenue stream.
SPS DAO Treasury
Along with the new use case for SPS and the new markets and functionalities that will be opened around it (rent and delegate SPS), should appreciate the SPS price which ultimately will determine also an increase of the DAO Treasury assets. That should allow the community and SPS holders and investors to better use the funds to expand the game and benefit them as well. I think that the DAO Treasury has a hidden power that still awaits to be unleashed. And us, as SPS holders, it is like we are entitled to a specific share split from the total number of assets of the DAO Treasury. While this is a simplistic view and there are so much other greater things to be done with the DAO treasury, that's still an angle to view things on it.
While the staking SPS is a new and long overdue use case for SPS, I hope that this is only the beginning to strengthen and capture more value for this token. If the DEC gets pegged and we'll enter into a flywheel effect to sell SPS at pegged value within the game and buy it back once the market gets settled, we'll see another indirect use case for it. Such mechanics are improving the tokenomics from Splinterlands and with that more players we'll join the platform seeking for some sweet returns. But that will not happen almost for free, but will require some investment which in the end will be reflected also in the earnings of already established SPS stakers and holders. And I think that such an economy is one healthier and which can make this ecosystem provide earnings steadily and without dropping as going with a car downhill without any brakes.