Epoch 9

Updated epoch 9 rules and block rewards schedule has been published to our Medium.

Epoch 9: Bringing Back COFFEE

Starting in epoch 9 of TEA Project's testnet mining contest, contestants will no longer use USD to buy testnet CML seed vouchers directly. Instead, COFFEE will instead return to the contest as a proxy for USD. Users who want to join the mining competition will pay USD to get COFFEE for use in our testnet: COFFEE purchase link. The COFFEE can then be exchanged for testnet TEA, which is needed to interact with TApps and mine on the TEA Project platform. For example, COFFEE can be exchanged for testnet TEA to buy testnet CML from the marketplace.

We've designed the tokens to offer a similar experience to what users will face once the mainnet launches:

  • A user's USD is the same now as it is when the TEA Project mainnet launches: some stablecoin funds you have on a different chain (i.e. USDT / BUSD on the BNB Chain or USDT / USDC on Ethereum).

  • COFFEE can be thought of as the stablecoin funds that have been successfully bridged over into the TEA Project ecosystem. This is currently a manual process that will be automated by bridges when the mainnet launches.

  • COFFEE can be used to purchase testnet TEA just as bridged-USD can be used to purchase mainnet TEA.

  • Testnet CML can only be purchased with testnet TEA (not COFFEE), similar to the mainnet where bridged-USD can't be directly used to purchase mainnet CML (users must exchange to TEA first).

  • Similarly, testnet TApp tokens can only be purchased with testnet TEA.

Starting in Epoch 9, COFFEE is Backed by Stablecoin

We previously used COFFEE as a stand-in for USD during mining competitions epochs 2 - 5. In these earlier contests, the COFFEE token wasn't backed by anything and given out as loans to contestants. COFFEE's price would dump early in the competition and TEA's price (relative to COFFEE) would skyrocket as potential miners would take out COFFEE loans and exchange it for testnet TEA. Our new epoch 9 design for the COFFEE economy offers better stability for the COFFEE price and more closely mimics the action of market participants once the mainnet launches.

  • Miners must use their USDT to purchase COFFEE (1:1 exchange rate).

  • Miners can also sell (testnet) CML or TEA back to COFFEE. They can then put in a form request to get their USD back.

  • Contestants can only withdraw COFFEE back to USD if there are funds in the initial pool. While the exchange ratio may dip, it will never exceed 1:1. After the exchange, the amount of COFFEE used in the transaction will be burned.

  • Testnet TEA will still be used to exchange for mainnet CML vouchers.

Cashout Methods

This new model is to test out the token economy when contestants are allowed to exchange their TEA and exit the competition for other assets, i.e. exchange game assets for real world assets. There are two assets contestants can cash out their TEA for:

  • Mainnet CML vouchers.

  • USDT through COFFEE using a Google Form (manual process).

Note that the team will give out 3 mainnet coupons per week just like epoch 8 but we now have a hard cap of 6 mainnet CML vouchers outstanding at any one time.

Contestants can exchange TEA for COFFEE and then cash out for USDT at anytime (as long as there's USDT still in the initial pool) using the Google Form linked above. The COFFEE / USDT exchange rate will fluctuate according to demand but the value of COFFEE will never exceed 1 USDT.

Changes to TApps

  • TEA Party returns with private messaging and layer-1 notifications.

  • TEA Fluencer will remain in epoch 9 with a tighter cap on tipping. Also no existing YouTube videos will be approved, they must be new videos.

  • Referral TApps will be removed

Start Generating TEA Revenue Through Buying TApp Tokens

We've now setup everything and it's time to generate some contest TEA revenue so we can start moving up the leaderboard. The easiest way to start in TEA's testnet is to buy a TApp's token. Every decentralized app in our ecosystem, called a TApp, has its own token associated with it. Buying a TApp's token is just like owning stock in a TApp and gives the owner some financial benefits:

  1. Each time the TApp is used by someone, a consume action is initiated. The developer gets their share, and the rest of the consume revenue is converted to TApp tokens and distributed proportionally to TApp token holders. This is considered the dividend reward for being a TApp token holder.

  2. A TApp token is minted according to a bonding curve: as the supply increases, so does the price. We know that consume actions introduce a new supply of TApp tokens minted along the bonding curve. So not only will TApp token holders earn dividends, their token values will also go up at the same time.

Example of Investing in the TEA Party TApp Token

A contestant in the mining competition will increase their leaderboard position by increasing their net asset value. One way to do this is to purchase TApp tokens and enjoy both dividends and price appreciation (as long as people keep buying the TApp token). Let's see how you'd go about investing in the TEA Party's TApp token.

1. First navigate to the TApp list.

Using the TEA browser wallet, pick the TApp from the list whose tokens you want to invest in:

Note the price (in TEA) of the token's current price. The price you pay will be the buy price which will be above the sell price since tokens are issued along a bonding curve. Locate the buy button in the row of the TApp whose token you want to buy:

2. Decide how much of the TApp token you want to purchase.

You'll need to exchange TEA for the TApp tokens you want to buy. If you have a certain amount of TEA you want to spend, input it in the TEA section and click the convert back button to see how much TEA that will buy you:

Clicking the next button will initiate the transaction which you'll need to confirm in your wallet.

3. Keep track of your TApp tokens in the "My assets" section of your wallet.

You can always check the amount and current price of the TApp tokens you have by clicking the my investment in TApps tab of your assets page:

4. Keep Track of Your Position on the Leader Board

The goal of these testnet competitions is to increase the total value of your assets. As competitors increase their asset value in contest TEA, they'll have two options to cash out their winnings.

  1. Contest TEA can be exchanged for mainnet CML. CML is a valuable NFT that's used as a mining license on the platform.

  2. The COFFEE:USDT exchange rate will always be 1:1. Contestants can therefore exchange their contest TEA back into COFFEE to be cashed out anytime at the same rate.

The CML mainnet exchange happens every week and is announced in our Telegram group.

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