“If you’re using a free product, you are the product.” This saying has become a popular maxim in today’s tech-driven society, where major companies often invade user privacy to collect data for profit. The true value and cost of these free products lie in the user data they gather. Data is considered the “new oil” of the 21st century. With the rapid development of industries like gaming and artificial intelligence, data not only improves user experience but also serves as the foundation of the entire ecosystem.

Most users have never really considered the significance of their data, nor imagined they could one day benefit financially from the data they generate. CARV, the focus of this article, aims to change this by creating a modular data layer for gaming, artificial intelligence, and Infinity. As a foundational protocol, CARV offers an unprecedented data management experience for both project developers and users.

The CARV Protocol provides a comprehensive framework allowing users to have complete control over their data. Users can authorize, store, verify, and confirm their identity, player profiles, and game data, all while earning benefits from their data. Currently, CARV is selling verification nodes. By owning and managing nodes and proxy nodes, users can enhance and decentralize the verification layer.

Today marks the whitelist sale phase for CARV nodes, with the public sale set for June 5. This article aims to help readers decide whether investing in CARV is the right choice for them.

AI and Gaming: Earning Passive Income with CARV

CARV creates an ecosystem that includes the CARV Protocol and two key products: CARV Play and the CARV AI Agent. This setup allows users to link their gaming, social media, and various other accounts to the blockchain. Users can unify their digital identity and display their achievements, assets, and history all in one place.

Users also have control over how their data is used. By opting to share their data with brands, they can earn passive income when these brands use their on-chain and off-chain data.

For example, CARV’s Chief Business Officer, Delio Paul, explained that a popular Web3 FPS (First Person Shooter) game might want to acquire users through CARV. They would pay CARV for user data, provided the users consent to share their information. If the game wants to target a user from Thailand who holds game tokens, is a significant player in other ecosystems, and has spent hundreds of hours playing FPS games, CARV can supply this data. Importantly, users meeting these criteria will profit, as part of the fee paid by the game to CARV will be shared with the data-providing users.

Guided by this vision, CARV’s product development and data capabilities are highly impressive. The CARV AI Agent, known as CARA Bot, is built on the TON ecosystem and powered by the GPT model. It serves as CARV’s encyclopedia and smart assistant, helping users with inquiries about CARV. The next steps involve making smart recommendations, D2E tasks, and exploring advertisements based on personalized user data.

Another key product, CARV Play, is a cross-platform certification system and the largest Web3 game distribution and social platform. Currently, about 380 games are available, representing 30% of all Web3 games, including titles like MARBLEX, Shrapnel, Off the Grid, Pixelmon, and Pixels.

In the past quarter, CARV’s daily active wallets surpassed 500,000, ranking it among the top three ecosystems in on-chain activity, along with Linea, opBNB, zkSync, and Ronin. It offered an enhanced gaming experience to 2.5 million players, enabling them to share data, build credentials, play games, and earn rewards.

Understanding CARV’s Node Sale Model

A critical element in this process is CARV’s validator nodes, which are essential for maintaining the protocol’s integrity.

These nodes currently verify the outcomes of data processing and AI model training. These computations occur in Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to protect user data privacy. The results are then recorded on the blockchain with TEE attestations, ensuring the process is secure and confidential, which in turn ensures the fair distribution of data value.

To prevent manipulation and ensure fair distribution of data value, third-party verification of TEE attestations is necessary. This requires community involvement in operating validator nodes, which strengthens the protocol and enhances decentralization.

For users, the main benefits of running CARV nodes include three key aspects:

1. Reward Opportunities: A substantial portion of network rewards, with 25% of CARV tokens allocated to node validators.
2. Decentralization: Contributing to a genuinely decentralized data economy that respects user autonomy and privacy.
3. Influence: Gaining a voice in the CARV community, helping to shape the network’s development and governance.

To allow global users to benefit more from the CARV network and to enhance its decentralization, CARV will open lightweight node operation to users on June 5. Participants can acquire the right to operate validation nodes through node sales, participate in the distributed data network, and earn CARV native tokens. The whitelist node sale will begin on June 3 at 10:00 AM (UTC), followed by the public node sale on June 5 at 10:00 AM (UTC).

According to official documentation, 25% of the total supply of CARV native tokens, $CARV, will be allocated to validator node operators. The emission will decrease by 25% every six months, meaning that 50% of the node reward tokens can be unlocked in the first year.

The total supply of $CARV is 1 billion tokens, to be fully unlocked within four years after TGE. $CARV can be used for gas payments, purchasing game assets, and as ecological incentives to encourage data owners, providers, and consumers to engage in ecosystem activities. Additionally, $CARV can be staked 1:1 to convert to veCARV, allowing users to participate in community decision-making and ecosystem activities through veCARV.

Half of CARV’s total token supply is allocated equally between the community and nodes, an uncommon practice in the current climate of contrasting sentiments between venture capitalists and retail investors. This approach underscores CARV’s commitment to profit-sharing through its node sale model.

CARV’s partners, including Aethir, Sopon, and Xai, have successfully used this method to boost decentralization, gain significant node support, and raise development funds. For regular investors, participating in the node sale provides an opportunity to invest early, before the project officially launches, thereby securing early entry advantages and potential profits.

The first year is crucial for the release of node tokens, as it might coincide with a bull market, leading to higher token prices. If a bear market follows, increased token releases and the unlocking of tokens by institutions and teams could pose a risk of price decline. Thus, the primary focus of node release is on the number of tokens that can be mined within the first year.

CARV’s total token supply is 1 billion, with 25% allocated for node rewards—one of the most generous allocations among similar projects. Furthermore, releasing 12.5% of the total tokens during the first year’s bull market highlights CARV’s strategic planning.

After mining tokens from the nodes, operators do not receive $CARV immediately. Instead, they first get governance tokens, veCARV, which can later be converted into $CARV for trading on CEX. The veCARV has a redemption period, but CARV’s 150-day period is shorter than the 180 days required by similar projects, offering a time advantage.

Related Reading: “Data Comparison of Aethir, Sopon, and CARV: Which Node Sale Yields the Highest Returns?”

Node investors should pay close attention to the token unlocking schedule for the project team and investors. CARV investors begin unlocking their tokens 6 months after TGE, while the team starts unlocking 9 months after TGE.

Additionally, CARV node mining tokens have a 150-day redemption period, meaning node tokens unlock earlier than those of investors. This approach demonstrates significant goodwill towards retail investors.

Furthermore, CARV has announced a token buyback plan, giving node operators two options:

1. 100% $CARV Buyback: This option is valued at the node’s USDT price at purchase, with linear vesting over 30 days from the buyback date.
2. 80% ETH Immediate Buyback: This option is valued at the ETH price snapshot at purchase, with ETH released immediately.

Eligible node license holders must maintain a participation rate of 70% or higher and must not convert any veCARV rewards into $CARV. This plan offers greater flexibility and profit security for users and investors.

The Future of CARV

Projects that secure development funds through node sales face the crucial challenge of sustaining long-term operations. CARV stands out as a leading project that tightly integrates AI and gaming, leveraging a first-mover advantage.

In the AI sector, CARV has established partnerships with Aethir and Google Cloud. Aethir provides a decentralized GPU network, which is vital for AI due to its computing power. Google Cloud, a top-tier infrastructure provider, offers a range of resources including CPU, networking, and CDN.

As a middleware, CARV connects robust infrastructure and GPU computing power with its AI agent and integrates top AI applications, such as those from fetch.ai. This combination of data, infrastructure, and GPU resources opens up significant possibilities for AI development.

CARV’s other key area is gaming. CARV users can opt to provide their data in exchange for passive income. For business clients, CARV is focused on accumulating comprehensive data to better serve the gaming industry. CARV enables a win-win situation for both games and players, enhancing the overall gaming experience.

In an interview with CARV founder Victor, it was revealed that CARV is currently focusing on better supporting node development. This includes simplifying the process for users to run nodes and enhancing the overall operational and purchasing experience. Moving forward, CARV plans to rapidly expand the applications of its node network, including data layer verification and the implementation of oracles.

CARV’s broader vision is to establish its own verification network and processing system, ultimately creating its own data layer that encompasses data availability (DA) and storage.

On May 31, Animoca Brands announced that it has become a strategic investor and node operator for CARV, boosting confidence in CARV’s future development. According to CARV’s roadmap, significant support and incentives for node deployment will be provided in the coming quarters. For users, participating in CARV node sales now offers a low-barrier entry into the ecosystem, allowing them to earn both active and passive income.

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