In Brief:
- Yield Fields launched its Founding Deeds sale on October 13, raising approximately $8.3 million in a 24-hour auction.
- All 3,333 deeds sold at a final price of 0.999688 ETH, generating around 3,332 ETH.
- The game is the first significant success on the newly debuted Robinhood Chain.
Yield Fields’ Founding Deeds sale raises millions
Yield Fields opened its Founding Deeds sale on October 13, 2023, using a fair Dutch auction format. In just a few minutes, all 3,333 deeds were sold at a final average price of 0.999688 ETH, totaling approximately 3,332 ETH or $8.3 million.
Founder Skarly expressed surprise at the rapid response, posting, “What the f* just happened.” While the public phase of the auction is noteworthy, it’s unclear if whitelisted wallets received the same price.
The sale marks a significant moment for Robinhood Chain, the newly launched EVM Layer 2 that has attracted small games such as idle cat businesses and pixel farming. Yield Fields stands out as it has achieved substantial funding without traditional venture capital.
Previously, players of Skarly’s other game, Maze of Gains, acted as a funding source for Yield Fields. Competition for 850 whitelist spots in Maze of Gains saw players spend over $3 million before Yield Fields even launched.
Yield Fields allows all players to farm without owning a deed, although deed holders gain land and resources, including Fertilizer produced in Fert Decks. This design aims to provide deed holders with productive roles rather than restrictive ones.
Following the mint, deeds became tradeable on OpenSea, with 464 sales and a volume of around 439 ETH, totaling about $1.1 million. However, the sale price sat 6% to 9% below the mint price, reflecting ongoing market fluctuations.
Ownership distribution is diverse. Approximately 1,440 wallets hold deeds, averaging 2.3 deeds each. Yet one wallet, labeled Chunibro, owns 149 deeds, representing roughly 4.5% of the supply. This wallet’s stake is valued at around 131 ETH, or approximately $250,000.
Moving forward, specifics about the game’s development remain unclear. Skarly noted the mint proceeds would “kickstart our various flywheels,” but no official announcements regarding farming or launch dates have been made.
The questions ahead are straightforward: When does farming launch, and will players without deeds participate? If a token is introduced, will the treasury support it, or does the mint serve as exit liquidity for deed holders?
While venture capital for web3 games has decreased, Yield Fields demonstrates that player funding remains viable; it raised substantial capital quickly, signaling a shift in the industry’s funding dynamics.
