Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between using Cred/Grain and just ETH or USD?

The dif between Cred and USD is that Cred fluctuates retroactively based on the page-rank style algorithm. Just like the relevance of a website goes up and down based on engagement and activity, so does a users Cred. Cred is recomputed every time SourceCred runs so it's a stateless (ephemeral) thing. Furthermore, you cannot buy Cred. Cred is earned based on engagement/contributions. It cannot be transferred.

AraCred mints on-chain tokens (durable) based on Cred over a period of time (default is 1 week). This way you get an on-chain representation of your contributions. These tokens (called Grain in SourceCred terminology) can be bought and sold. We recommend that they are bought and sold against a bonding curve so that there's constant liquidity. Anyone can earn Grain or buy Grain. The value of Grain is dependent on what it can be redeemed for. In this case we assume that there are in-game features/items you can access and engage with by burning your Grain on-chain. In this way, the price of Grain fluctuates based on supply and demand - and that demand is driven by the community's productivity. If you want to engage the community and/or unlock features you buy Grain. As the community engages with you they earn Grain (based on their Cred). Contributors can then cash out their Grain or recycle it back into the community economy.