Spore Protocol 101
What is a Spore？
Spore is an on-chain asset backed by CKB. This connection provides a concrete basis for valuing your digital asset created using Spore Protocol. Unlike many traditional NFTs, assets created as Spores don't solely rely on external market demand for their value. Instead, Spores are not only created with intrinsic value at minting, but also have the potential to capture more value. As more Spores are created and the utilization of on-chain space increases, the value of existing Spores grow organically.
Spore holders have the unique power to "melt" their Spore at any time, converting it back into the underlying CKBytes. This means you can access the value you've contributed to the network whenever you choose, providing a unique level of control over your assets.
What is an On-Chain Asset?
An "on-chain" asset refers to a digital asset with a significant portion of its data directly encoded onto the blockchain. These assets aren't stored in a single location; instead, they are stored on a decentralized network that thousands of people all over the world help operate.
There's a spectrum of "on-chain" attributes, with on-chain NFTs generally being seen as more censorship-resistant, permanent, and secure compared to "off-chain" alternatives. However, the majority of NFTs are more "off-chain" than "on-chain."
What does it mean to be Fully On-Chain?
The Spore Protocol takes your asset fully on-chain, meaning all of its data is encoded and stored directly on the blockchain. This makes your asset more secure and resilient, and it cannot be taken away or destroyed by anyone else when it's in your hands.
What is Minting?
Minting transforms your creation or any item into a unique digital asset on the blockchain. When minting with the Spore Protocol, your asset is not only created but also securely stored, establishing its immutable record of ownership. In contrast, minting on other platforms or protocols may only involve publishing NFTs on the blockchain without the same level of storing of data and security.
Is there a cost to mint a Spore?
Minting NFTs often involves unpredictable gas fee expenses and the NFTs are not even fully on-chain.
With Spore Protocol, you are not spending on fees - you acquire ✨ capital ✨. This capital, in CKBytes, secure ownership and reserve a portion of the network's resources to safeguard your creation.
With your creation fully on-chain, larger creations need more reserved capital. Don’t worry - the CKBytes used for reservation is not spent; instead, it is locked in your creation itself. Think of it like forging gold into an exquisite artifact - the value is preserved within the work itself. If you ever want to melt down the artifact back into its original form or redeem the CKBytes, you have that flexibility. Your creation, your rules.
Do I need to hold CKB to transfer and receive Spores?
The short answer is No.
You don’t need to go through the painful process of sourcing tokens beforehand to cover gas fees like you would in a traditional blockchain experience.
Every spore you create is inherently fueled with “gas”, enabling your audience to receive it and further share it to others without friction. When you receive a spore from a friend, there's no need for you to possess or deposit additional tokens in your wallet before you can engage with it. You can confidently send the spore to others or melt it to unlock the CKBytes stored within this Spore. On-chain perks in a web2 experience.
What is a Cluster?
A Spore can be thought of a valuable digital artifact. When you have multiple artifacts you want to organize together, you create a Cluster. Importantly, each Spore can be linked with only one Cluster, while each Cluster can be associated with many Spores.
Clusters can be of two types, Public or Private, allowing anyone or exclusively the owner to tag a Spore with that Cluster when minting.
Cluster is also indestructible by design. Once it's created, it remains permanently on-chain.
Intrigued？Explore Spores and Clusters on the testnet using this demo!
