Author: momo, ChainCatcher
Yesterday, Web3 reputation and reward system Shards Protocol announced the raising of 2 million dollars, with Animoca Brands, Kyber Ventures among the investors, and Yield Guild Games also made a strategic investment. This financing round is primarily aimed at advancing the core product's on-chain identification layer Aura.
Transitioning from Tool Layer to On-chain Identification Layer
Shards Protocol initially started as a software development kit (SDK) layer, known as Shards.Tech, focusing on helping game studios improve player retention and in-game average spending. Specific functions include allowing anyone (players, non-players, speculators, or community members) to purchase a part of the game team and freely buy and sell on the market, thereby enhancing user engagement and game economy.
According to Shards Protocol, after multiple games integrated Shards.Tech in 2024, the trading volume reached 400,000 dollars. Games integrated with Shards.Tech achieved over 200% improvement in player retention and over 100% increase in in-game average spending in 2024.
Currently, it has expanded from Shards.Tech to Shards Protocol and launched the core product Aura. Aura is an identification layer that converts on-chain contributions into reputation and rewards.
What is Aura's Model?
Aura aims to generate verifiable reputation and rewards by analyzing user on-chain behavior, addressing the lack of recognition for meaningful on-chain activities in the Web3 ecosystem.
Its core sections include two parts: first, soul-bound badges. Through non-transferable tokens, it records user on-chain activities in DeFi, Non-Fungible Token, gaming, social, and other domains (such as trading, staking, minting, governance participation), using these as proof of user on-chain identity and contribution, enhancing the verifiability of reputation.
Second, an AI driven reputation engine. It analyzes user on-chain data through artificial intelligence, generating multi-dimensional Aura scores, providing transparent behavior-driven assessments. Scores are primarily evaluated based on three dimensions:
- Credibility: Assessing wallet age, transaction diversity, and consistency.
- Expertise: Measuring participation depth in DeFi, Non-Fungible Token, gaming, and other domains.
- Loyalty: Tracking long-term participation and continuous platform asset contributions.
For users, by integrating Aura scores and badges into the X platform through browser extensions and publicly displaying on-chain reputation, they can transform passive data into social capital, enhance visibility and trust in the Web3 community, and obtain rewards at low cost, enhancing the utility of on-chain identity.
Aura mentions the following main rewards:
- USDT rewards, where users can receive direct USDT payments by participating in high-risk, merit-based lottery-style activities.
- Token airdrops for users who meet conditions based on badge activities and verifiable participation.
- Whitelist access for users holding specific badges, guaranteeing exclusive token issuance, Non-Fungible Token minting, or early protocol participation.
- Early access to products or activities for high-reputation users.
- Exclusive partner benefits for badge holders, unlocking enhanced yields, premium access, and invite-only community privileges.
For projects, precisely positioning users based on badge types and Aura scores can improve user acquisition efficiency and return on investment.
Technically, Aura primarily uses sharding technology (OSADA and SFlow) to optimize cross-chain transaction efficiency, combined with PoS consensus and random validator allocation to ensure security.
Aura hopes to redefine Web3 user participation through the on-chain identification layer, giving visibility and rewards to "silent contributors" while providing projects with efficient community-building tools.
What Participation Opportunities are Available for Users?
Shards Protocol mentioned in its financing news plans to expand Aura's functionality and prepare for TGE within 2025.
Currently, the official website allows minting of soul-bound badges at a cost of approximately 0.0005 ETH (about 1-2 dollars). Aura will provide airdrop rewards based on tracked on-chain behaviors such as staking, trading, minting, and governance participation.
