10KTF: Is Trouble Brewing In New Tokyo?

Season 2 of 10KTF is currently underway, marking a transformative period that fans of the Yuga project have eagerly anticipated for about 18 months. If you’re new to the project or need a refresher on past events, check out our previous two articles: “How To Get Exposure to Yuga Labs Without Breaking the Bank” and “10KTF Revisted: G-Tags and Kagami.”

Those previous features were overwhelmingly positive in their coverage, but alas, even Wagmi San is not infallible. Trouble seems to be brewing in the city of New Tokyo, and it may be the culmination of some long-standing issues finally reaching a breaking point.

PFP: The Long wait is over

10KTF, for better or worse, has always stood out in the NFT market for being one of the only projects of its ilk that doesn’t have a standard PFP. However, it’s been heavily hinted for the past 18 months that a PFP is indeed coming.

Fast forward to the present day, and the project has now reached the stage where PFPs are inbound! Participation in weekly missions and bounties accrue items (tea leaves and popcorn) as a reward, and these items are instrumental in constructing unique 10KTF PFPs for holders. Everyone in New Tokyo has eagerly awaited this moment. However, the execution has left some, in the usually jovial community, with a bitter taste.

Frustrations Begin to bubble over

10KTF, for better or worse, has always been known for its complexity. It’s a labyrinthine project with numerous NFT collections linked to it. The downside of this is the complexity makes it challenging for even seasoned veterans to keep up with, and certainly for newcomers to enter into the project seamlessly.

On the flip side, 10KTF has always rewarded involvement and given the most back to those who are paying attention to the latest developments. Given the attention required to keep up with the most complex project in the NFT space, these rewards – sometimes totalling thousands of dollars a piece – are well-deserved.

This week, the fusion of G-Tags began. G-Tags have always been considered the “King” in the 10KTF ecosystem and are essential for obtaining the coveted 10KTF PFP. A tiered system was established to allow those with the most mission badges to fuse their G-Tags first. The more you fuse, the rarer your G-Tag becomes, with a maximum of 8 for Epic status.

The problem is that the Epic tier was capped at 300, and by the time the second tier had their turn to fuse, they were all gone. Understandably, some loyal 10KTF members who have faithfully participated in missions and followed the weekly storyline felt left out. Moreover, this issue was exacerbated by Tier 1 minters fusing G-Tags for lower-tier members and receiving payment for it. This shady practice was discouraged by the 10KTF team but wasn’t stopped, even though mint limits, or other deterrents, likely could have been enforced.

Symptoms of a larger issue

10KTF, for better or worse, has thrived on speculation; of where the storyline is going from week-to-week, to what function 10KTF assets will have in the future. Some holders have grown increasingly frustrated with the secrecy and mystery, especially considering that the most dedicated supporters have invested nearly two years and tens of thousands of dollars into the project. Consequently, there are calls for more transparency, especially since this is no ordinary project; the value of holders’ assets largely depends on decisions about how to use their 10KTF assets through gamification.

For instance, the convoluted process of attaching popcorn (the reward for participating in missions) to G-Tags, and then having said G-Tags ranked dependent on how much popcorn is loaded on to those G-Tags, is mind bending enough to digest.

Additionally, you then have to consider that each rank of G-Tag, Common (1 Tag), Uncommon (2 Tags fused), Rare (4 Tags) and Epic (8 tags,) all have separate rarity systems according to the popcorn loaded. This means that you may end up with a common ranked Epic, or an uncommon ranked Rare, and so on.

Essentially, this means that actions could have extremely adverse effects on a holder’s investment value, without them even really knowing because of three crucial points:

1. It’s challenging to forecast how others’ fusing and loading will affect your rank in each rarity bracket
2. In usual fashion, details as to what the result of fusing these expensive assets together, or even what any of this means going forward, is far and few between
3. Assets which were acquired under the pretence that Genesis, and subsequently, G-Tags, are “King ” now run the risk of losing their value due to rarity being affected by Popcorn; a factor of the project that did not exist when the King assertions were made

It’s all a bit messy!

Final Thoughts

Fatigue has begun to weigh on some who have endured two years of complexity, only to find themselves denied opportunities in New Tokyo due to unfavorable decision-making that, astonishingly, sometimes benefits individuals with little involvement in the project.

I’ve long advocated for the idea that you can’t please everyone, and equally, you should never yield to the mob when a just decision points in the opposite direction. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the shifting sentiment as it starts to discourage potential participants from becoming more engaged in the project. This is regrettable because 10KTF has stood out as one of the most undervalued and innovative projects in a sea of cash grabs and uninspiring NFT ventures.

Are big things on the horizon for the project? One would expect so, given the significant funding it has generated and its association with Yuga. However, 10KTF seems to be at a turning point, where it needs to evolve from its old style of pure mystery to something more manageable, as it risks losing the interest of its core supporters should this issue worsen.