Ilman Shazhaev is CEO and Founder of Farcana — an AAA blockchain metaverse with battle royale mode, and also the first game on the market to introduce the new Play-to-Hash model. In this interview, we’ve explored the benefits of the model, uncovered some secrets to creating a stable game economy, and discussed what the future holds for GameFi.

Q: Farcana is one of the metaverse projects most integrated with the real economy. Can you elaborate? 

A: Farcana is the first triple-A GameFi metaverse with a battle royale mode. It features a unique, multi-layered economy with numerous participants, from players to investors to developers, and offers a few ways of earning both in-game assets and Bitcoin. While players can use our native $FARCANA token to attend in-game events and buy NFT gear and upgradable avatars on our marketplace, they will appreciate our unique Play-to-Hash (P2H) model, which enables us to introduce real BTC awards backed by actual hash power.

Thanks to this model, players of Farcana can earn Bitcoin by competing in daily, monthly, and yearly tournaments, that incentivize them to perform to the best of their ability. As for those who can’t afford a tournament ticket but have showcased their player skills, a manager delegates it to them in return for a cut of the rewards. This way, we are making Farcana tournaments accessible to everyone.

Q: You’re the first project to leverage the Play-to-Hash model. Can you share more detail on how it works, and what advantages it has over other models?

A: Instead of backing our economy with an asset that comes and goes with its population, like many gaming projects do today, we decided to tie it to Bitcoin. I believe it’s an asset that will never die and can carry us through any altcoin winters and crises. This is how the idea of Play-to-Hash was born.

To bring this idea to life, Farcana has backed the BTC tournament prize pool with our own mining power. This way, we make sure the pool never runs out, as the supply is endless, and bring stability to our in-game economy. 

On top of that, P2H allows us to create transparency, and thus additional motivations to our players to join the game and do their best to excel at it.

Q: How exactly is transparency achieved?

A: Farcana provides a watcher link connected to the reward mining pool. By logging in to it, our players can ensure all Bitcoins actually come from mining. This link also provides data on how many miners are connected to the pool, the overall hashrate consumed, and how much BTC each miner has mined.

Through this, we aim to openly provide all of the information necessary to players and investors alike. After all, transparency translates to a positive view of the game, and can greatly contribute to our longevity as a project.

Q: How scalable is this model? Will there be any limitation to the number of players who are fighting for BTC in battle royale mode?

A: At Farcana, we give players different opportunities to increase the platform’s overall hashrate natively, within the game. For example, the FARCANA token is a hashrate token. Those who buy $FARCANA, add to the value of the project and ensure we can invest in additional hashrate. On top of that, token holders can stake a portion of their tokens to earn a cut of all mining rewards.

By assuring we can continually increase our hashrate as more players come along and invest, we’re creating an infinitely scalable foundation for the Farcana metaverse.

Q: Are there plans to increase the amount of hash rate backing the prize pool, to increase the Farcana Metaverse capacity as well?

A:  Absolutely. The more players participate in the game and invest in $FARCANA, the more hash power we can dedicate to Bitcoin mining, and create more rewards for top players.

Crypto mining companies can also become Farcana mining partners. Through the partnership system, they can sell hash power to Farcana metaverse citizens, increasing their own hashrates as a result.

Q: How do you see the future of this model across GameFi? What significance can it have for the development of the sector?

A:  Right now, many GameFi projects suffer from building up hype in their pre-sale, but the release might be years away. During this time, the hype dies off and the token drops in value, making it essentially worthless even when the game eventually comes out.

With Farcana using Bitcoin mining hashrate as collateral, we are setting the precedent. It’s a considerable upgrade for the current P2E model. We envision other gaming companies doing this as well, maybe tying their assets to Ethereum or another asset instead of Bitcoin. This way, we can set a new bar for GameFi, potentially making the solutions within the sector more sustainable and attractive for users in the long run. 

The possibilities are endless, and we hope to inspire other developers to examine our model and innovate upon it.