In Brief:
- Kanstar’s NFT collection sees its mint treasury drop from approximately $500,000 to $14,250 amid a price collapse of Ronin’s cryptocurrency (RON).
- Project leader Osito Lima responded to community criticisms with a transparency report, revealing that 250,000 RON remained untouched in validator funds while rewards were spent on project operations and team expenses.
- Despite negative feedback on social media platform X, with users labeling the team as “bad actors,” Lima vows the project will persist, planning a shift of funds to Binance staking for greater efficiency.
A Steep Decline in Treasury Value
The Ronin-based NFT project Kanstar recently faced a significant decrease in its treasury value, dwindling from an initial $500,000 to a mere $14,250 due to a drastic fall in RON’s market price. Kanstar had initially invested these funds—amounting to 250,000 RON—in setting up a validator when RON was valued at around $2 per token. However, the current trading price of RON is approximately $0.057, marking a near-total depreciation. Addressing this, Osito Lima stated, “This is simply the reality of the market, and one of the main reasons our runway became much more limited.”
Expenditure of Validator Rewards
The project’s revenue, generated through validator rewards, was allocated to various necessities including validator maintenance, AWS infrastructure, and the salaries for team members engaged in art, community management, and Discord. Additional expenditures included community giveaways and the development of artwork and assets. The project felt a financial strain especially after May, when Ronin’s migration to Ethereum stopped these validator rewards, severing Kanstar’s primary income source.
Challenges with the Pixels Integration
Further financial pressure was introduced by the Kanstar x Pixels integration, which involved creating animated versions of the 4,444 NFTs for use within the Pixels platform, a task that incurred thousands of dollars. To manage these costs, Lima undertook personal financing to ensure the completion of this integration.
Transparency and Future Plans
In response to the community’s backlash and accusations on X, where users like @kimbokitten criticized the team’s actions, Lima provided a transparent breakdown of financial activities within a detailed post, including on-chain evidence. The team’s $KANSTAR token treasury, holding 463,389,684.95 tokens, was reportedly untouched, barring necessary ecosystem rewards and team support.
Lima also highlighted his personal investment, owning 170 Kanstar NFTs, reinforcing his long-term commitment to the project. He plans to transfer the remaining 250,000 RON to Binance staking to enhance capital efficiency. Despite the community’s mistrust following the 97% treasury reduction and slowed project momentum, Lima emphasized, “Kanstar will continue building,” reflecting an intent to persist and stabilize despite the setbacks.