8️⃣MetaTrees
MetaTrees Executive Summary
This whitepaper introduces MetaTrees, a blockchain game-world where players can earn digital assets while also playing an active role in the preservation of real-world natural resources.
MetaTrees is the first sub-verse of the EktaVerse, Ekta’s ecosystem and a unique version of the metaverse. As a product of Ekta, MetaTrees aims to:
Make blockchain more accessible for the masses
Unlock financial opportunities for the people who need it most
Incentivize reforestation and environmental protection initiatives and projects
Through MetaTrees, players can earn a variety of in-game NFTs and tokens with the option to sell, stake, hold, or play. Ekta will also facilitate the planting of real-world trees and award players with verified carbon units (VCUs) when they burn a set amount of tokens, plant and preserve a specified number of trees or reach specific milestones.
MetaTrees Origins
In the beginning, the metaverse was formless and empty. There was no light as you stepped into the vast expanse. You thought, “let there be light”, and the empty space lit up. And it was good.
You named it the EktaVerse, and began to create. You started with a single tree, rooted at the center of the EktaVerse, the Genesis Banyan, the tree from which all other trees would source their life.
As you stood in wonder at the foot of this magnificent giant, you remembered the real world where trees were no longer sacred. You remembered the devastations as humans destroyed endless acres of forests, trading the souls of trees for metal and stones. An idea started to take shape in the mists of your mind, "What if your discovery of the EktaVerse could alter the course of the future and help humanity rediscover its place and purpose in the natural world?"
And so you began to fill the hollow emptiness surrounding the Genesis tree with more trees, mirroring the last remaining real-world forests. You added bamboo, banana trees, coconut trees, frangipani trees, mango trees, jackfruit trees, and dragon fruit trees. Each tree was distinct and served its own unique purpose. You noticed that when two trees from different species were cross-bred, they produced new species with their own special characteristics, so you continued to create these trees, filling this new world with wonder.
Soon, MetaTrees took root, leading to a burgeoning of life. All living things started to grow from a foundation of long-forgotten values. Values that could flow back into the real world to reshape our views, societies, and what we hold sacred. You now knew that through the EktaVerse, you could save the natural world and in turn, save humanity's soul too.
Mission and Vision
The Ultimate Question
The narrative around global environmental degradation always leads back to the question; “Why do people destroy the environment and what can we do to change this behavior?”
Ekta’s goal has always been to create a better world, which is why our team had to analyze this question in depth. In order to initiate change, we need to first identify the root of the problem. We realized that to understand the phenomenon, we had to look at the situation with both scrutiny and empathy. This approach led us to a deeper understanding and new perspective on how blockchain can change our world for the better.
The Problem
According to David Attenborough's documentary and witness statement "Life on our Planet", human impact on the environment has spiraled out of control. Attenborough states that humans log as many as 15 billion trees annually. Other sources reveal that wild fish populations are in steep decline due to overfishing (it's estimated that up to 2.7 trillion fish are caught each year), and experts believe that between 0.01% and 0.1% of all species on earth become extinct each year.
Attenborough goes on to reveal predictions of this impact on the natural world if we continue on our current trajectory:
2030 - Continued deforestation of the Amazon rainforest will result in dry savannas, altering global rainfall patterns with devastating effects
2050 - As oceans continue to warm, coral reef ecosystems collapse, affecting millions of people who rely on near-shore fish populations for their livelihoods
2100 - With the planet being 4° Celsius warmer, large parts of the world will become uninhabitable. This will lead to extreme weather events, overpopulated cities, and the collapse of food supplies.
These are just the symptoms of the problem that have given humanity no choice but to respond.
We believe the real problem is rooted in economic systems that have led us, for generations, to establish values that are not aligned with the natural ecosystems we are dependent on. Ultimately, we need to reset the current economic systems, realign our values, and carve out a path to solve the root issue.
Our Vision: Reconstructing the human social value system
Society’s intrinsic values and economic systems determine human behavior.
When people profit from deforestation rather than protecting trees, they will undoubtedly choose to sacrifice forests and natural resources for monetary units. Profit-seeking is the essence of commercial society. Throughout history, people have placed value on commodities that are inessential to human survival such as oil, gold and diamonds, while sacrificing the natural resources we depend on like forests, oceans, and grasslands. Today, people are acutely aware of the threat of climate change, yet even though many have begun to experience the consequences, they continue to destroy our natural world in order to obtain material wealth.
As the human population continues to grow, our natural resources are declining at an alarming rate. It's clear that we need to rethink and redesign our value system, which is why the Ekta team is looking to the blockchain for a solution.
The evolution of blockchain technology and its various functionalities (DeFi, NFT etc.), has created the opportunity for us to reinvent these value systems. With this in mind, Ekta ideated the concept of the EktaVerse.
The Solution - EktaVerse and MetaTrees
MetaTrees, a blockchain game world that connects the virtual world with the real world, is the first sub-verse of the EktaVerse. With MetaTrees, Ekta aims to incentivise environmental protection through tokenization and gamification. By utilizing the play-to-earn model and transforming it into a PLANT-TO-EARN model, users can help protect the natural world and earn digital assets while playing.
What is the EktaVerse?
Ekta's ecosystem, called EktaVerse, is yet another way through which Ekta bridges the physical world with the digital world. With the development of the EktaVerse, we’re able to provide out-of-the-box solutions to serve as a blueprint for companies who wish to partner with us. The EktaVerse also facilitates projects where Ekta, its partners, and users, can play an active role in creating profit with purpose.
Through MetaTrees, Ekta can initiate real-world change by tokenizing natural assets such as trees and land. Players start by planting, protecting and caring for the virtual trees in the MetaTrees game-world. As players progress in the game, they will start to develop sustainable, organic agriculture and fisheries, build new communities, incubate advanced technology initiatives, and more. By actively playing the game, users can earn digital assets and verified carbon units (VCUs). Every VCU earned symbolizes a one-tonne reduction or removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. This is accomplished through Ekta's partnerships with environmental and reforestation projects.
The main focus of the game will be to rethink our societal values, redefine the way we live and restore the natural world to create a society that has a symbiotic relationship with nature. Over time, as the EktaVerse continues to develop, Ekta will gradually unlock new landscapes and worlds like tropical rainforests, snow-capped mountains, grasslands, and more.
What is the MetaTrees sub-verse?
MetaTrees, a forest reserve scene, is the first sub-verse of the EktaVerse and the first creation game. MetaTrees focuses on planting trees and protecting rainforests, allowing Ekta to spearhead and support reforestation projects in the real world. With MetaTrees, each player and community member will help to establish a new economic order where trees serve as the core asset.
How does MetaTrees work?
As part of the EktaVerse, natural capital like trees, indigenous plants, wildlife, and water will be tokenized and represented as NFTs in the MetaTrees game world. We also plan to add mythical creatures to enhance the gameplay and all NFTs will ultimately become rare digital collectibles. As with other play-to-earn games, players earn digital rewards and collectibles which they can convert or sell for fiat currencies. Through the plant-to-earn economic mechanism, players will be able to get blockchain asset value growth through planting and preserving trees in the real world. And by developing the EktaVerse on the EktaChain mainnet, we have also been able to greatly reduce the gas fees for all operations.
Every player and community member will be able to jointly build and develop this new micronation through the planting, renting and preservation of trees. Moreover, they will be able to earn rewards as well as hold, pledge, trade, and lend NFTs as well as EktaVerse and sub-verse governance tokens. As the game continues to grow, so will the demand for these digital assets. The NFTs and governance tokens will also become an economic source that supports us in exploring a sustainable, long-term future.
MetaTrees
With MetaTrees, players can experience the unique game world through three (3) different types of game roles:
First, as a landlord renting out land for other players to plant their trees,
Second, as a natural resource provider, generating water and nutrients that is needed to grow trees,
Third, as a forester who grows and breeds trees as well as harvest $MTREE tokens in order to expand and keep the cycle of life going inside the game.
Each role plays a crucial part in the ecosystem and has its own benefits and features. Players can choose the role that best fits their time and play style and become part of the plant-to-earn, play-to-preserve revolution.
One of the core gameplay features of MetaTrees is for players to use various NFTs which they combine, stake or burn to create new NFTs. Players will create "compounds" in the MetaTrees game world by holding various NFT attributes (for example, Seed NFT + Land NFT = Tree NFT), allowing them to expand the main storyline. This means that players can use a Land NFT and combine it with a Seed NFT to create a Tree NFT. In order for a Tree NFT to grow, players need to care for their trees by watering and feeding them using Natural NFTs like Water NFTs and Nutrient NFTs. However, it doesn’t stop there, as a Tree NFT starts to age, it boosts current features and unlocks new features. At a certain point the tree starts producing $MTREE tokens which players can exchange for fiat currencies. Players can also stake Tree NFTs on the blockchain to get more Natural NFTs, allowing them to continue expanding their gamespace. From here, the other features of the Tree NFT allow players to expand and create Seed NFTs for a new generation of Tree NFTs.
Players will also have the opportunity to donate Tree and Seed NFTs to environmental causes. The NFTs’ value will be converted into real-world currency which is then donated to the cause.
With the emergence of more plots and rarer attribute NFTs, there will be more opportunities to create digital wealth in the game and support reforestation projects in the real world.
Game Mechanism Diagrams
Game Mechanics - Phase I
Collecting
Collecting refers to the accumulation of valuable, unique NFTs earned in the game through upgrades and random generating systems. The value of these tokens is often community-driven and can reach extraordinary prices.
Ekta NFT Marketplace
The Ekta NFT Marketplace allows players to buy or sell Seed NFTs, Land NFTs or Natural NFTs using $EKTA.
There are 4 ways to sell your NFT in the marketplace:
Normal listing: Players set a price for their NFTs and determine how long it stays on the marketplace.
Bid listing: One player sets a base price for their NFTs along with selecting a bidding time duration. During this time period, other players can send bids for the listed NFTs. Once the time duration expires, the player with the highest bid wins the item.
Auction listing: Players can set the price for their NFTs to increase or decrease over time. Once a stipulated price is met, the NFT will remain on the market at the set price. Players can cancel this sale at any given time.
RNG Raffle listing: First a player sets a price for their NFTs. Next the Ekta NFT Marketplace platform creates 10 raffle slots. Other players will then be able to purchase slots for the chance to win the item for one-tenth (1/10) of the cost. Once all 10 slots have been sold, an automated system will randomly select a winner. Example: You list a Land NFT for 100 $EKTA. The system divides this into 10 raffle slots available for purchase at 10 $EKTA each. Once all the slots have been sold, Ekta’s automated system will select one of these slots as the winner, sending out a notification to all participants.
Land NFT features
Initially, all Land NFTs will have all the necessary areas to play the game. As the main tree grows bigger and starts producing seeds, the need for more land will increase. This is where the land upgrade feature comes into play.
With MetaTrees, no land is complete without a little embellishment. Through events and promotions, players can acquire Fun NFTs which they can use to decorate their piece of paradise. These Fun NFTs range from common, uncommon, to rare in value.
Seed features
There are 7 types of Seed NFTs representing each of the trees in the game with the exception of the Banyan Genesis Tree:
Bamboo
Banana
Coconut
Frangipani
Dragon Fruit
Jackfruit
Mango
In order to earn more Seed NFTs, players are required to tend to and care for each tree. Once the tree is fully grown, it will be able to produce seeds which the player can then collect.
Through the breeding feature, players can create new types of hybrid seeds that have special attributes. Hybrid seeds are designed to grow into truly unique and beautiful trees.
Creature NFT features Initially acquired through the Mystery Chest, these fun type NFTs are used to decorate a player’s land to give it more vibrance and life. The quality of these NFTs range from common and uncommon to rare and legendary. The rarer an NFT is, the more animations it will have.
Game Mechanics - Phase II
Staking
Staking refers to the act of locking up NFTs for a set period of time in order to acquire rewards. With MetaTrees, players stake Seed NFTs and Tree NFTs, and in return will earn staking rewards in the form of Natural NFTs (Water NFTs and Nutrient NFTs). This will allow players to \ to engage in trading and commerce inside the game using their asset collection while maintaining ownership of their NFTs.
Note that NFTs can’t be used in the game while staked. Players will be able to claim their rewards once the staking period has expired and can use these rewards in the game after a 72 hour cooldown. There is also a corresponding $MTREE fee for each time a player unstakes their Tree NFT or Seed NFT. Leasing
Players who own land can lease their land to other players in exchange for $MTREE tokens. If a piece of land is large enough to accommodate more than one (1) tree, multiple players can lease the land. Players are required to sign a lease contract stipulating the details of the agreement including the lease fee and duration. Once signed, an automated system will activate, governing the lease.
Note that landowners will not be able to sell or trade their land while the lease agreement is valid.
Planting
In order to own a Tree NFT, players are required to combine a Land NFT with a Seed NFT. Once combined, it will initiate the Tree NFT’s sprouting process, effectively burning the Seed NFT.
Growing
Once planted, Seed NFTs go through seven (7) changes as they sprout and begin to grow. Seeds need to be watered (Water NFT) and fed (Nutrient NFT) daily in order to mature. It takes several days for a Seed NFT to fully mature.
As trees grow older, they gain value and become more powerful. All Tree NFTs fully mature after 320 days after which they stop growing altogether.
Tree features
Once a tree matures, it starts to produce $MTREE tokens. To ensure a tree continues to produce a good supply of $MTREE tokens, the player has to maintain the tree’s health by watering and feeding it daily. The stronger a tree’s health, the more $MTREE tokens it will produce.
During its lifespan, a tree will go through seven (7) life stages:
Seed
Sprout
Sapling
Mature
Ancient
Elderwood
Ent
As trees grow older, their power and attributes change, becoming more powerful. Once a tree becomes an Ent, it stops producing $MTREE tokens and seeds.
Harvesting
Harvesting refers to the act of claiming your $MTREE tokens which you can then use for the many other features of the game. Harvesting happens during certain seasons similar to nature.
Breeding
In order to produce interesting and unique seeds and trees, players need to experiment with different breeding combinations. In order to breed, a player will need two (2) mature trees and a number of $MTREE tokens. During the breeding process, the $MTREE tokens and one (1) Tree NFT are burned. In return, the player will receive the chance to produce either a hybrid or a normal seed. Hybrid trees are new, unique trees with higher production output and seeding rates.
Breeding seasons also occur in certain time frames inside the game.
Combining Seed NFTs
Another method of acquiring rare hybrid seeds is through a process called combining. With this feature, two (2) or more seeds can be combined for the chance of producing a hybrid seed. The more seeds a player combines, the higher the chances of producing a hybrid seed.
Seeding
Seeding is an automated process wherein a tree spontaneously creates a seed without the need for breeding. The process is totally random but requires a tree to be in good health. Hybrid trees generally have higher seeding rates than other trees.
Variegation
As trees grow, the MetaTrees processing system randomly creates and assigns unique appearances for each tree. In order to create unusual and remarkable trees, players can apply a powerful Fertilizer NFT to help unlock genetic traits hidden inside each tree. Adding the Fertilizer NFT to the tree will result in cell mutations that change the color, pattern and shape of the leaves.
Players can constantly apply this process to unlock different genetic mutations and discover a wide range of tree aesthetics, the only limit is your imagination.
In-Game Marketplace
The MetaTrees in-game marketplace allows players to buy, sell or trade their in-game assets using $MTREE tokens or SEEDS (in-game currency) . The in-game marketplace has a 5% fee which is deducted from the sale amount.
Game Mechanics - Phase III and IV
Seasonal Features
There will be a simulation of realistic seasonal changes in the MetaTrees sub-verse. Tree NFT features and harvest yields will vary according to the different seasons. Details to be revealed later.
Donation
If users voluntarily burn a Tree NFT they own, Ekta will donate stable coins to environmental protection organizations or to its own conservation efforts.
Carbon Offset
Tree NFTs (including old Ent Tree NFTs) can be donated for a chance to win a certain number of VCUs (Verified Carbon Units).
Online Action Strategy Beta Gameplay
Players will learn about environmental protection and conservation while engaging in awesome gameplay.
Multiplayer Coop
Details to be revealed later.
Tokens and Utilities
$EKTA - Governance Token
The $EKTA token is the native token of EktaChain as well as the ERC-20 token used in the EktaVerse. It will be the main form of currency in the EktaVerse while also granting holders governance voting power. $EKTA can be staked or used to purchase $MTREE tokens. The total supply of $EKTA has been fixed at 420,000,000 tokens.
Utility: (A) DAO governance
$MTREE - Utility Token
$MTREE tokens are ERC-20 tokens used in MetaTrees gameplay. The $MTREE token is the main form of currency on the platform itself.
There is a maximum supply of 6 billion $MTREE tokens, a number that symbolizes the estimated 6 trillion trees on Earth before human activities started to reduce the numbers. As a result of ungoverned deforestation, it's estimated that less than half the original number of trees survive today.
MetaTrees will incorporate our deflationary mechanism to reflect this loss by burning 1 billion tokens immediately upon minting $MTREE.
We will burn another 1 billion $MTREE tokens over time to support the token value and the activities naturally taking place during MetaTrees gameplay. This brings the total supply of $MTREE tokens to 4 billion, which supports our goal of planting 1 million trees through MetaTrees and the overall Ekta mission of tying profit with purpose.
Ekta aims to facilitate a round of private and public sales on the launch of MetaTrees Phase I.
Source: through (A) harvesting, (B) selling NFTs in the in-game marketplace, (C) purchasing with $EKTA (D) lease payments
Utility: (A) needed for all in-game actions including Harvesting, Breeding, Variegation, Upgrades, Transfers and Summoning.
$MTREE Tokenomics
Genesis Pack
Genesis Packs are used to sell initial NFTs for MetaTrees. Genesis Packs consist of a combination of Land NFTs and Seed NFTs.
Mystery Chest
A mystery chest is a surprise box that contains various items that are equal to, or greater in value than its price.
MetaTrees mystery chests contain different types of NFTs used in the game. One of the unique items included is a fun cosmetic NFT used to decorate land. This allows players to be creative by adding more character and life to their gameplay.
These Fun NFTs can also be traded and sold in the Ekta and in-game marketplace.
Tree NFTs
● Components: various types of Tree NFTs and various rarities
○ Genesis tree - Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis)
○ Bamboo (subfamily Babusoideae)
○ Banana (Musa acuminata)
○ Coconut (Cocos nucifera)
○ Frangipani (Plumeria rubra)
○ Dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus)
○ Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
○ Mango Tree (Mangifera indica)
● Source: through Planting
● Utility: (A) Collecting, (B) Growing (C) Breeding, (D) Seeding, (E) Feeding, (F) Upgrading, (G) Donating, (H) Staking
Element NFTs
● Components: Seed NFTs and Land NFTs.
● Source:
Seed NFTs: through (A) Breeding, (B) purchasing Genesis Packs, (C) Seeding, (D) Purchasing with $MTREE via the in-game marketplace, (E) Mystery Chest, (F) Combining, (G) Purchasing with $EKTA via the Ekta marketplace
Land NFTs: through (A) purchasing Genesis Packs, (B) Mystery Chest, (C) Purchasing with $MTREE via the in-game marketplace, (D) Purchasing with $EKTA via the Ekta marketplace
● Utility: (A) Planting, (B) Leasing (C) Sold to receive $EKTA or $MTREE, (D) Staking (seed only)
Natural NFTs
Components: Water NFTs, Nutrient NFTs, Fertilizer NFTs
Source: through (A) Staking, (B) purchasing with $EKTA in the marketplace, (D) Purchasing with $MTREE via the in-game marketplace
Utility: (A) Growing plants (B) Upgrading trees (C) sold on the marketplace to receive $EKTA or $MTREE
Creature NFTs
Components: Humans, Animals, Relics, Structures and Mythic creatures
Source: through (A) Packs and (B) purchasing with $EKTA via the marketplace
Utility: (A) Cosmetic decorative items placed on land and trees (B) NFT collection of rare and hard to find types (C) sold on the marketplace to receive $EKTA
Technology
EktaChain mainnet
As a sub-verse of the EktaVerse and an original product from Ekta, MetaTrees is powered by the EktaChain mainnet. The Ekta Mainnet is based on Hyperledger Besu technology to allow for the building of secure, high-performance transaction processing in EVM-based networks. By offering blockchain solutions that are easily implemented, EktaChain can significantly improve the performance, efficiency, and employment of business processes.
EktaChain implements Proof of Authority (POA)- QBFT protocols consensus mechanisms and supports enterprise features including privacy and permissioning. Ekta will use QBFT protocols due to its high fault tolerance and since adding blocks is comparatively faster when the number of nodes are large.
Ekta NFT Marketplace
The Ekta self-developed NFT platform or marketplace will be a blockchain-based cross-platform ecosystem for the sharing and selling of NFTs. The platform aims to provide a unique and novel market for NFT collection and distribution.
The Ekta NFT Marketplace is dedicated to creating NFTs and the issuance of NFTs related to physical assets, which is a novel way for NFT creators and the owners of physical assets to connect with consumers and brands through digital collections. The Ekta NFT Marketplace will become a top NFT brand that provides a market for NFT creators and collectors to interact and share exclusive content in a multi-platform environment.
EktaBridge
The EktaBridge is Ekta’s superhighway between EktaChain and other mainnets. Through EktaBridge, users are able to bridge to and from EktaChain, Ethereum networks and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). The EktaBridge facilitates interoperability and allows users and developers to easily move tokenized assets (ERC-20, BEP-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155) from EktaChain to EVM compatible based networks and vice versa. Smart Contracts
ERC-721 | Official NFT Standard (Web Page)
The ERC-721 is a standard for NFTs and implements an API for tokens in various Smart Contracts. This means that ERC-721 tokens provide the first set of standards for NFTs. Each token is unique while values can vary despite the tokens being from one specific Smart Contract.
ERC-721 functionalities include:
transferring tokens between accounts
viewing the current token balance of an account
identifying the owner of specific NFTs
viewing a networks' total available token supply
ERC-721 tokens are created using Solidity, allowing developers to create ERC-721 compliant contracts by simply following the basic template. Once implemented, developers can create each token's unique details such as token name, symbol, and owner. The difference in tokens can be attributed to their age, rarity, etc.
Each of these NFT tokens has a uint256 variable called a token Id. The pair contract address and uint256 token Id must be globally unique for any ERC-721 contract.
A Smart Contract can be called an ERC-721 NFT Contract, Transfer, Approval, or ApprovalForAll when it implements these protocols and functions.
ERC-1155 | Official NFT Standard (Web Page)
The ERC-1155 token supports both fungible and non-fungible tokens and was designed to create a number of different NFTs using a single contract. Secure and immune to hacking, these tokens are more efficient and speed up batch transfers. The ERC-1155 token also cuts gas fees by up to 90%, allowing users to efficiently bundle transactions at a more affordable rate. These low rates ultimately help to democratize blockchain minting, creating more opportunities for everyday people to adopt and earn through blockchain technology.
MetaTrees Roadmap
Phase 1
Tree Soul PFP Mint sale
Genesis Packs
Mystery Chest
Ekta NFT Marketplace
Creature NFTs
Phase 2
Game launch
In-Game marketplace
Launch of $MTREE token.
Staking
Land features: leasing, upgrading, cosmetics, and in-game scape.
Tree features: planting, growing, aging, feeding, variegation, collecting, seeding, breeding and harvesting
Natural elements: water and nutrient NFTs
Phase 3
Carbon offset
Tree planting in the real world
Donation of Tree NFTs to save real trees
Seasons and Weather
Land map locations
Real-time strategy beta gameplay
Phase 4
CrossVerse
Partnership NFTs
New ECO partnership projects
RTS version update
Multiplayer co-op
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