The Ultimate Guide to WAX Carbon Offset vIRLs

It’s no secret that the booming popularity of NFTs has prompted questions about the impact of energy-intensive transactions on the environment, which is why more energy-efficient solutions are vital. Step forward WAX, who have not only based themselves around a far more efficient proof of stake system than that used by the Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains, but who have now launched the first carbon impact NFT for consumers — Carbon Offset vIRLs.

Pairing the real-world benefits of a physical redemption model, with their certified carbon-neutral blockchain, WAX is making a strong case for NFTs to be a force for change not only in the world of digital collectibles and online commerce, but also in helping in the battle to curb emissions.

Not only do these unique NFTs offer owners the usual options to collect and trade through markets like Atomic Hub but, due to the unlimited minting, they can be purchased at will anytime you feel you’d like to offset some of the carbon generated in your daily life.

1. How it Works

Carbon Offset vIRLs are a new way of thinking about NFTs and the impact they can have in the real world. vIRLs (virtual + In Real Life) NFTs, remain a digital product, but one that has a real-world benefit, either in the form of a physical product or service, or in this case both — the planting of new trees.

WAX has partnered with the National Forest Foundation for this NFT, who will plant a tree for every dollar that is spent and then ‘composted’ (in other words, redeemed).

There are four different packs available to purchase, each containing an assortment of cards with set values. So, as an example, when you purchase the Get Planting pack of 8 cards for $19.99 and then redeem them, your cards cease to exist and instead a total of 20 new trees will be planted.

Each pack reflects the total number of trees that will potentially be planted once the vIRL has been composted, with the higher value packs containing pricier cards which equal more lovely greenery.

As a collector or trader, you can choose to purchase packs to fill out your collection, sell them on to others, or redeem them to make a real difference in helping to negate carbon emissions.

2. How to Buy Carbon Offset vIRLs

Buying Direct

Due to the unlimited minting of these Carbon Offset vIRLs, it's possible to purchase as many packs as you like, whenever you like, with each pack purchased and composted making a real world difference to our environment.

To purchase your packs, you'll first need to make sure you've set up your WAX Wallet. Check out our handy guide on how to get started — it's super simple to create your wallet and begin trading NFTs.

Once that's been done, you can simply browse the available packs and purchase whichever bundle you'd like. Packs purchased directly in this way must be paid for by credit card. Up to 10 of each pack can be purchased at a time, and remember that the higher the value of the pack, the more trees you'll be helping to plant once the cards have been redeemed.

Buying on the Secondary Market

Like any other NFT, individual Carbon Offset vIRLs, as well as packs, can be bought and sold on the secondary market, so if you're keen to collect the whole set, or have opened a rare variant and wish to sell it on, you can do so via marketplaces such as Atomic Hub.

Trading on Atomic Hub is done using WAXP, so be sure to add funds first.

Take a look at the available Carbon Offset vIRL listings on Atomic Hub.

3. Composting your Carbon Offset vIRLs

In order to actually realise the real-world benefits of the these Carbon Offset vIRLs, once purchased the cards themselves need to be burned (or in this, composted).

Burning your card takes it out of circulation, which in standard limited collections increases the scarcity of that card, affecting its value on the secondary market.

With vIRLs, burning your card can be used to trigger the physical redemption attached to the token, which in this case means planting some leafy new friends.

Composting a Carbon Offset vIRL within your WAX wallet couldn't be simpler:

1. Once you've opened your pack, navigate to your NFT inventory within the WAX Cloud Wallet.

2. Click on the leaf icon in the top right corner of the card you'd like to compost. Alternatively, click on the card itself to review its info, and click the Compost NFT button at the top.

3. You'll be presented with a pop-up notification confirming that you're about to compost your card. Tick the box stating you understand and then click on the big old Compost button at the bottom to proceed.

4. Another pop-up will appear asking for approval to burn the card. Click Approve and you're done. Congratulations — you just did your bit to help the environment.

4. Carbon Offset vIRL Cards, Packs and Rarities

The Carbon Offset vIRL Season 1 line up includes 5 designs in 6 different rarity variations, including:

Cards are available to purchase in 4 different packs ranging from $19.99 through to $199.99 — and remember that once composted that would mean 200 new trees being planted.

Available packs include:

• Get Planting — $19.99
  8x cards total: 5x Seedling ($1) cards and 3x Sprout ($5) cards
• Go Greener — $49.99
  12x cards total: 5x Seedling ($1) cards, 5x Sprout ($5) cards, and 2x Sapling ($10) cards
• Think Big — $149.99
  2x cards total = 1x Matriarch ($50) card and 1x Forest ($100) card
• Save the Planet — $199.99
  18x cards total: 10x Seedling ($1) cards, 4x Sprout ($5) cards, 2x Sapling ($10) cards, 1x Matriarch ($50) card, and 1x Forest ($100) card

5. Keep Updated

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