> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.asphodel.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.asphodel.io/whitepaper/economics/usdonyx.md).
# $ONYX
ONYX was released midway through 2025 alongside the release of Kamigotchi World, and is one of the key economic primitives underpinning our whole ecosystem. It is traded mostly on [Baseline Markets](https://app.baseline.markets/) on Ethereum.
ONYX is a [Baseline Token](https://www.baseline.markets/docs) - this means it is backed by a reserve of ETH which sets a maximum drawdown (in ETH) and serves to provide a permanent, thick basis of liquidity. This makes ONYX less volatile than traditional, unbacked ERC20s. This structure also means it will have decentralized liquidity on Ethereum forever, managed by a decentralized market-maker, without centralized dependencies.
We think of ONYX as a digital commodity that is used as a means of exchange throughout the Asphodel ecosystem. We would like it to become the Asphodel equivalent of real-world Oil - a power source and driver used widely, in a variety of different contexts and industries, which adds complexity to the interlocking economy of all our games.
Baseline offers some advanced DeFi features such as staking and loans - for more details, please see their docs.
### Initial Distribution
ONYX was distributed through a unique presale mechanism. 2000 presale slots were allocated, each for 0.5 Eth. 1010 of these slots went to playtesters, 800 to private investors, 150 to the team, and 40 were used for marketing.
A total of 1 million ONYX tokens exist; each 0.5 Eth slot allowed the user to mint 500 ONYX. Over 90% of the presale slots were used during this presale, with the remaining ONYX staying in the LP to provide liquidity.
All ONYX has been distributed, and is either with holders or in the LP; there are no hidden reserves, unlocks, or supplies. There will be no inflationary events; there will only ever be 1 million ONYX tokens.
### In-Game Utility
In Kamigotchi World, ONYX is used to exchange value with other players, and to transport value in and out of the game World. ONYX can be transformed into in-game ONYX shards, which creates liquidity between the in-game economy and the wider blockchain.
In the Asphodel Prologue, ONYX is used to mint and reroll characters, to enter higher level tournaments, and is distributed as rewards. 90% of the ONYX paid by players goes into reward pools.
We plan for each World to include some new form of utility for ONYX, and we specifically plan to add more utility to Kamigotchi in the near future.
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