Cards
Cards are the foundation of the Opals ecosystem. They're NFTs that represent ownership and contributions to projects launching on Opals. Cards unlock community ownership and capital formation from day one without premature token launches.
Why Cards Before Tokens
Most token launches face an impossible choice: distribute tokens early and watch speculators dump, or wait too long and miss the community-building window. Cards solve this by creating tradeable ownership from day one without the manipulation that plagues token markets.
Cards are non-fungible. This matters because you can't nuke the floor price of an NFT collection if there are no sellers, unlike an AMM which can collapse to zero. They're tradeable on secondary markets and OTC, giving holders a path to exit if needed.
When a project is ready to launch its token, Card holders can claim their allocation. But the Cards don't disappear, they continue earning protocol fees for the life of the project. This creates permanent alignment between early supporters and long-term project success.
Card Types
Opals uses five distinct Card types, each serving a different role in the ecosystem. Together, they create a complete ownership and incentive structure that rewards contribution, commitment, and conviction.
1. Presale Cards
Limited edition NFTs sold during the presale phase before token launch.
Purchase with ETH during the presale period, typically through stepped pricing (fixed batches at increasing prices).
What they grant:
The ability to claim tokens when the project launches
A share of permanently locked LP tokens
10x PatronPower multiplier on all locked LP sources
1% OpalSwap trading fees distributed based on PatronPower
Governance rights (via Tally.xyz integration)
Presale Cards are the cornerstone of launching projects. These aren't promises or whitelist spots, they represent actual ownership from day one, tradeable on secondary markets without the project needing to bootstrap liquidity.
When you sell a Presale Card, the new owner automatically inherits all allocations and token claims. No contract interactions required. No user migrations. Ownership transfers with the Card.
Even after claiming tokens, Presale Cards continue earning their allocated share of trading fees forever. Early supporters aren't just rewarded once they're rewarded for the life of the project.
2. Membership Cards
Cards distributed to early community members.
Earned by joining the community early, typically before the presale or token launch. Projects decide their own distribution criteria. There is also an option for a joining fee to be paid to the project.
What they grant:
Community membership and identity
10x PatronPower multiplier if they receive LP allocations
Governance rights in project decisions
Potential future token claims (project-dependent)
Membership Cards solve the cold-start problem. Projects need community before they have product. Membership Cards let founders reward early believers who showed up when there was nothing but an idea and a mission. Membership Cards identify true community members. They're non-transferable in most implementations, but can be unlocked for a fee.
Projects can issue Membership Cards without committing to tokenomics. It's community-building in its purest form.
3. Contributor Cards
Cards earned through verifiable contributions to the project.
Our contributors are called Opal Miners, and they require some form of Proof of work. Write documentation, create content, test new features, provide technical support, organize community events. Each project defines what contributions means to earn Cards. We have an XP system that tracks contributions and awards Contributor Cards at the project's discretion.
What they grant:
Recognition of specific contributions
10x PatronPower multiplier on any LP allocations
Potential token claims or LP allocations (project-dependent)
Governance rights weighted by contribution level
Most projects struggle to reward contributors fairly. Token allocations feel arbitrary. Equity doesn't work for decentralized communities. Contributor Cards create a transparent, verifiable record of who built what.
These Cards are harder to get than Membership Cards they require actual work. That scarcity creates value. When someone holds a Contributor Card, you know they didn't just show up early. They built something.
Contributor Cards create a permanent on-chain record of contributions. Even if the project fails, the contribution is documented. Even if token price crashes, the work is recognized. This matters for building reputation in Web3.
4. Vault Cards
NFTs representing locked LP tokens.
Stake LP tokens (from OpalSwap) into vaults with time-locks ranging from 7 days to 4 years.
What they grant:
PatronPower multiplier based on lock duration (1.024x for 7 days up to 5x for 4 years)
Share of 1% OpalSwap trading fees proportional to PatronPower
Tradeable NFT that transfers LP ownership (secondary market liquidity)
If you discover a project after the Presale Cards sold out, you can still earn by providing liquidity and locking it.
Traditional staking rewards capital. Vault Cards reward conviction. A small holder who locks for 4 years (5x multiplier) earns more than a whale who locks for 7 days (1.024x multiplier). Time beats money.
Key feature: You can sell your Vault Card before the lock expires. The buyer gets the remaining locked LP and time-weighted rewards. This creates liquidity for long-term commitments without breaking the lock. You can also unlock early with an Open Vested Liquidity (OVL) penalty.
5. Capital Cards
NFTs representing USDC deposits earning interest via Aave.
Deposit USDC into the staking contract. Your principal earns interest via Aave. Part of your interest is used to fund the project, the rest is used to create LP tokens that earn fees. The LP tokens are then locked forever for 10x PatronPower.
What they grant:
Liquid principal (withdraw USDC anytime)
Share of interest converted to LP and distributed via PatronPower
Risk-free participation in project growth
10x PatronPower multiplier
Capital Cards are the safest way to support a project. Your USDC principal stays liquid. You're not buying a token. You're not locking liquidity. You're simply depositing capital that earns interest, and that interest supports the project. Capital cards are redeemable anytime for the underlying USDC.
This creates a third path beyond "buy and hope" or "provide liquidity and lock." It's participation without permanent commitment.
Capitcal cards creates sustainable project funding from DeFi yields rather than extracting capital from the community. Projects receive cashflow from Aave interest. Supporters keep their principal. Everyone wins.
The Complete Incentive System
The five Card types create a complete incentive system:
Presale Cards fund the initial raise and reward earliest believers with permanent LP allocations and 10x multipliers. Membership Cards build community before product, creating identity and alignment without capital requirements. Contributor Cards reward builders and creators, turning work into verifiable ownership. Vault Cards let late arrivals earn through liquidity provision and time-based commitment. Capital Cards enable risk-free participation for those who want exposure without permanent capital commitment.
Card-Level Accounting
All Cards track ownership at the NFT level, not the wallet level. This creates powerful composability:
Sell a Card, transfer all economic rights automatically
No migrations when changing wallets
No contract interactions to update ownership
Clean secondary markets on any NFT marketplace
When you sell a Presale Card, the buyer gets the token claims, the LP allocations, the fee earnings, and the governance rights. The smart contract doesn't care who holds the Card it just pays whoever holds it.
This is how ownership should work in Web3. Simple. Composable. Trustless.
Cards vs Tokens: Why This Order Matters
Projects need community before they need tokenomics. They need contributors before they need speculators. They need alignment before they need liquidity.
Cards create all of that without the volatility, and extractive dynamics of premature token launches. When the project is ready when they've found product-market fit, built the product, sufficiently distributed digital assets to the community and proven the model, only then should they launch the token.
At that point, Card holders can claim their allocations through diamond hand vesting. Early claimers forfeit unvested tokens to those who wait. This creates natural incentive alignment without complex lockups or vesting schedules that can be gamed.
The Cards don't disappear after token launch. They keep earning. They keep governing. They keep representing the contributions and commitments that built the project.
This is how you build projects that outlast their founders. This is how you create digital institutions, not casino chips.
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