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> Disclaimer: None of this is financial advise and I’m just sharing information I have been given privilege of knowing. Some of the points mentioned here can still be subject to change as the project is still in development phases. I’m one of the beta testers for the project and also a token holder so you already know my bias on is. I highly recommend you just do your own research before putting your money in the token. 

I previously made a post about SMANA’s stealth launch as there was no official announcement from and official @nyxlabs account. I came upon the token after it was mysteriously airdropped on my wallet. I’ve been a beta tester for months (and haven’t been paying attention to every fine detail the project has been going over the course of those months) and there have been marked changes to the site’s content since I first encountered it. 

A brief recap on what SMANA is:

> [SMANA](https://leodex.io/market/SMANA) is a token tied to the project @nyxlabs has been working on for quite a while now. This is the frontend of the [River Styx](https://styx.nyx-labs.com/) project which aims to integrate blockchain technology, NFT, educate  artists about cryptotechnology, expansion across different blockchain by making it easy for artist to tie their works to multiple chains. 

I would also repeat this important detail before speculators start rushing and buying the token:

The token has no current use case and is currently being used as an incentive for the team as reward for putting in the work. Holding it will not give you any dividends, promise you riches, or 100% guarantee you profit when traded or hoarded (although there is trading happening for the token for the past few days). Holders hold it speculating on a future value that may or may not come to fruition. Members of the team that have acquired the tokens for free earned them from contributing to the content of what the site has now. 

I have mentioned on another post regarding the incentives users have when interacting with the site. Users can earn experience points, NFT collectibles, and trade their mana earned fro SMANA (which is planned to be reflected to the supply of SMANA on the blockchain). The mana a user earns from the site now has nothing to do with the SMANA supply on Hive Engine but the goal is to tie both up together without a fixed time table when. 

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Now that I have clarified that the token has no practical use or promises financial rewards when holding, I will share what River Styx project tries to accomplish from what @zeroooc has shared previously. 

> I think artist attribution of original digital content is the core of the Styx project.
The aim is to use this gamified fantasy blockchain RPG to:

- Educate people about attribution and copyright especially of their own work.
- Make it easy for non-technical minded/visual learning types to add content to a blockchain by putting the technical/financial stuff more in the background.
- Present it in a unified design and context
- Make it a fun, rewarding and humorous experience
- Make the intangible assets quantifiable/measureable by turning them into blockchain assets
- Create value through accessibility, accountability, transparency, ease of access, responsiveness and automation
- Create value through the curation and collection of high quality digital art and assets that work together in concert and simultaneously
- Create value through continuous compounding interest of blockchain assets begotten by the creation of all of the above (somewhere is where SMANA also fits in)
- Create value through building links, bridges, apps and connections to similar minded and compatible projects 

***

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If you want to check out how the project has been doing so far, here’s the working site link. It can be a little janky on some parts as testers discover what else isn’t working right before opening the flood gates for a wider audience. From the bucket list of what the project tries to accomplish, it’s clear that the project tries create value for artists across different blockchains. I can’t share the other specific details as everything can still be subject to change at these phases. No keys needed to use the site. Just register as any other site with your email and making up your password and you're set to go. 


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I would liken River Styx as a cross between cryptosocial media meets role playing games and NFT. You earn experience points which you can trade for mana, mint your own NFTs and have ownership over them across chains. 

One key visual element I like about the social part of the site is how status updates are like your standard social media where you give out emojis or comment. It sounds pretty normal until you get a random reward for just interacting with the comment or giving some emoji reactions. 

I also think it was for the better that the site did not visually display the $ symbol if ever SMANA was gained from engaging with the post. The $ symbol changes the message visually as people are constantly remined that their interactions have monetary incentives tied to it. This makes intentions utterly difficult to discern whether people are interacting to get more mana or are just really social much like our own Hive blockchain is. 


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I prefer to just do away with that visual cue or keep those stats personal. There’s also no monetary consequence for upvoting or downvoting like what we got going here. You just give emojis for agreement and disagreement along with other array of emojis available. One day I may have to propose or address the possibility of regulating how reward distribution is when interacting to the site as people would have a tendency to abuse free stuff and ruin nice things. Like simple interactions here can randomly earn you some rewards from log in bonus, forging, or exchange virtual items along with the role playing element to it all.

There’s no financial rewards when you use the site now and the mana you earned there are subject to change as tester are expected to make use of the site and see where it can be improved before a big launch (no time table yet) but you’re still welcome to volunteer some inputs, just ping @zeroooc up. The ideal candidate is someone inclined for the art, gaming and music as these interests will suit the use of the site. It’s not for people that aren’t into art or NFTs or just want to check it out for the money.

How will this project benefit Hive? given that it's potential to hook artists across different blockchains and even those that have little exposure to crypto, I can see the River as a hub to direct some traffic to our blockchain just as one of the many other frontends only focused on the art side of things. 

I can't stress this enough that people shouldn't buy the token now thinking it will have value as it's still being developed. It's still a project that has plenty of changes to be made, no whitepaper, a vague direction, and built on good intentions for the ecosystem. 

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Again, it's all speculation that the value the in holding the token will deliver. You can check out the [site](https://styx.nyx-labs.com/) and their [Discord server](https://discord.gg/pp7cP7hsa4) (please note this invite can only accommodate < 50 uses). 

If you made it this far reading, thank you for your time. 

Posted Using [LeoFinance <sup>Beta</sup>](https://leofinance.io/@adamada/exploring-smana-value-on-hive-ecosystem)