Killer Whales: Markets - Ft Warp & CyberKongz

The Spaces centers on Episode 26 with a deep dive into CyberKongs’ token rebrand from Banana to KONG and a second segment on Warp’s node-powered game publishing model, plus closing market takes. Henry (CyberKongs) explains why Banana’s legacy emissions and lack of a flywheel warranted a reset: KONG is a rebrand, not a fundraise, built for 2025-era tokenomics with TGE in September on Ethereum mainnet (LayerZero-ready), migration off Ronin, deeper liquidity and planned CEX listings. Utility returns to community roots: Wall Street Kongs access via KONG, seasonal KONG airdrops, Baby Kongs art upgrade that burns KONG, and a 2% activity-based airdrop for web3 participants. He recounts SEC constraints (a ~27-month investigation ending late March) and Kongs’ track record (early ERC20+ERC721 meta, highest historical floor, products via Full Port Labs like Trench Spot) and why they paused web3 gaming for now. Matt (Warp) outlines how nodes align incentives with real revenue sharing, avoiding extractive P2E loops. Warp bundles many web2-first games with web3-enabled ownership, gives node holders anonymized game performance data, runs UA/marketing, and uses a token (TGE Nov; ~$37M FDV) for buybacks/emissions to nodes and services, not as a game token. The show ends with market predictions (ETH to $5k, BTC consolidating/pullback, potential alt moves).

Killer Wells Markets (Ep. 26) — CyberKongz’s KONG Rebrand, Ecosystem Reset, Web3 Gaming with Warp, and Weekly Market Calls

Guests and Roles

• Henry the Great (CyberKongz; core spokesperson for the brand and ecosystem)
• Matthew/Matt/Maddie (Warp; publishing/infra for Web3 gaming and UA/monetization)
• Hosts/Panel: Nate (host), Bunny (co-host), Shotgun (panelist)

Context and Setup

• The show started with tech issues (audio routing/RØDECaster) and moved fully onto X Spaces. After a restart, all speakers were audible.
• This episode focused first on CyberKongz’s token and ecosystem reset, then pivoted to Warp’s approach to Web3 gaming economics, and closed with short-term market predictions.

CyberKongz: Why Banana → KONG and the 2025 Reset

The Rebrand and Token Mechanics

• KONG is a rebrand and migration of the long-standing BANANA token, not a request for new capital. It will have a new ticker and chart.
• Motivation:
  • BANANA’s original 2021 design (10 BANANA/day passive yield for 10 years to 1,000 Genesis Kongs; no staking) no longer fit 2025 realities. Emissions became a persistent overhang and utility flywheels diminished after breeding and the game sunset.
  • Chart psychology and onchain liquidity hurdles (yield on Ethereum mainnet; thin liquidity on Ronin; bridging friction) deterred new entrants.
  • Post-SEC resolution, the team wanted a modernized, sustainable token that better represents current community/product direction and can serve as ecosystem access and rewards.
• Where KONG will live:
  • KONG launches on Ethereum mainnet (designed with LayerZero-style cross-chain optionality). BANANA liquidity is being pulled from Ronin as the migration approaches.
• TGE and listings:
  • TGE targeted for September (exact date TBA). Expect deeper mainnet liquidity and CEX listings; many buyers are waiting for KONG’s mainnet launch vs. bridging BANANA via Ronin now.

Airdrops/Allocations

• A 2% KONG airdrop is planned for communities, but it will be activity-based rather than brand-only. The emphasis is on participants who remained active/believing through the difficult market window, not simply on blue-chip labels.
• Specific communities and metrics are not yet publicly disclosed; more details will follow closer to TGE.

Ecosystem Focus and Product Changes

• Return to core identity:
  • CyberKongz will orient around their strongest edge: a highly active, alpha-driven community. The goal is not to be an IP/entertainment powerhouse but to be the best place to sharpen on-chain skills (DeFi, yield, trading, ordinals, infra, etc.).
  • Wall Street Kongs (the gated alpha hub) will re-center as a flagship utility: gated to Genesis/Babies and via new KONG-paid passes at TGE.
• Baby Kongs upgrade:
  • A post-TGE upgrade path for Baby Kongs with new art and a new Baby contract. Migration will be required to participate in seasonal KONG airdrops.
  • KONG used in the Baby upgrade will be burned, introducing a direct sink.
• Broader build track via Full Port Labs:
  • CyberKongz’s secondary company, Full Port Labs, will build products for the wider Web3 ecosystem with a bias toward “grungy alpha/degen” use cases. First up: Trench Spot, a Discord trading bot for memecoins (campaign upcoming).

Why Now? The SEC Overhang and Market Timing

• CyberKongz were under SEC investigation from Jan 2023 through late March 2025. This effectively froze major roadmap moves for ~27 months (every initiative required legal review; most were advised to pause).
• With the “shackles off” and markets re-energized, the team is executing the long-contemplated reset (token, access model, product cadence) they couldn’t pursue during the investigation.

Community, Track Record, and Perception

• History and impact:
  • CyberKongz launched March 3, 2021 with 1,000 Genesis Kongs uploaded manually to OpenSea contracts at 0.01 ETH each. They were early pioneers pairing ERC-20 + ERC-721 and popularized passive yield to spawn second collections (breeding Babies).
  • Banana was among the earliest NFT-linked tokens (Hashmasks also had a token, but Kongs made the meta stick). Genesis floor once peaked at 208 ETH (Sept/Oct 2021).
• Contributions and experiments:
  • Created the ERC-721x contract (two-factor style locking on-chain).
  • Early to ordinals (etched “Rule No. 2”).
  • Significant charitable giving (close to $2M to a national park in the Congo).
  • Partnerships: Adidas, 9dcc, a major Japanese Nanoblock maker, and others; Genkai anime collection on Ronin.
• Lessons learned:
  • A heavy metaverse bet (largest landholder in The Sandbox among PFPs) and VX (15k rigged 3D avatars) didn’t pay off; the game (Play & Collect, Polygon → Ronin) has been paused. Assets and logic are preserved for a future cycle, but Web3 gaming is capital- and marketing-intensive; timing matters.
  • IP/entertainment routes (e.g., toys, fashion) were “cool” but landed flat vs. community’s core alpha/value expectations. The reset doubles down on what Kongs do best.
• On being overlooked:
  • Despite longevity, high floors, technical contributions, and an unusually active Discord (“Wall Street Kongs”), Kongs get less Twitter discourse than Punks/Apes/Penguins (and even some projects that came later). Henry attributes this to matured allegiances/KOL gravity and smaller PR footprint; the aim now is to “crack that code” through consistent delivery and clearer messaging.

Token/Economy Snapshot (from the session)

• BANANA price trajectory cited: ATH near ~$120 (Sept 2021), as low as ~$0.049 in March (2025), recently around ~$0.75 but with thin liquidity on Ronin.
• KONG’s roles: access gating (e.g., Wall Street Kongs passes), reward distribution, upgrade sinks (Baby upgrade burn), and broader brand representation. The team is explicit: this is not a cash grab; it’s a remodel for sustainability.

Warp: A Publishing Stack for Sustainable Web3 Games

Core Thesis: Realign Incentives; Revenue First, Tokens Second

• Problem framing:
  • Web3 gaming’s “play-to-earn” era trained players to swarm, extract, and dump around airdrops. Many projects leaned on token issuance as a growth hack (akin to giving away your equity) instead of building games people love and monetize sustainably.
  • Axie Infinity was a seminal event—opening financial access to the un/underbanked—but SLP economics proved fragile when market tides receded. The pendulum is now swinging toward durability.
• Warp’s model:
  • Build/publish fun, sticky games (often web2-fronted for reach) and align economics via real revenue instead of extractive token emissions.
  • Share revenue network-wide via nodes; bundle exposure across many titles to reduce studio/holder concentration risk.

Nodes, Revenue Share, and Data Transparency

• Nodes:
  • Every published game contributes to network value. 20% of network value accrues to node operators. Studios split 50% of game revenue with Warp and receive node-based kickbacks, starting as net extractors (to help bootstrap) and becoming net contributors once profitable.
  • Guilds can receive nodes through a “capital guilds” program, aligning them to support long-term success vs. short-term extraction.
• Data nodes (highest tier):
  • Provide anonymized, real player/business data (DAU/MAU, stickiness/retention, ARPDAU/LTV vs. CPI/UA efficiency). This offers “X-ray vision” to investors and partners—grounding decisions in actual performance vs. hype.
• Marketing/UA at scale:
  • Warp brings decades of mobile/PC/console marketing and publishing experience. They can scale UA from thousands to millions/day—so long as payback windows and LTV/CAC math supports it. Channels include mobile app stores, Steam, social (Reddit, Twitch, quests), etc.
  • Philosophy: outperform web2 titles by being “a little less extractive, a little more rewarding” while keeping core monetization healthy. The example of simple hit titles (e.g., ad-driven mobile games) shows how backend monetization can exceed 6–7 figures/day with minimal social presence.

Token, TGE, and Sale Details

• Node sale: August 31 (via AV Cloud; links will be posted from Warp Chain accounts; best path is to join Warp’s Discord from the official Warp Chain profile).
• Token TGE: November; ~$37M FDV target at launch.
• Token utility:
  • A value distribution/synchronization asset across the network (buybacks from revenue; emissions to nodes; used for on-chain services like Token Sandbox and Catalyst tooling). It is not a per-game token and is not for P2E emissions.

What Warp Looks For in Games/Studios

• Studios should have:
  • A game with a realistic path to profitability (or strong prototype and runway), clarity on target audience, and willingness to co-own long-term execution.
  • Warp provides production sensemaking, design loops, monetization tuning, UA/partnerships, and distribution muscle; but studios must be capitalized and deeply engaged.
• Pipeline/context:
  • The web3 gaming space has seen billions invested but relatively few shipped, sustainable titles; Warp reports ~300 games in their pipe and only ~15 verified web3 games live at present.
  • Market tilt: 93% of Gen Alpha prefers mobile; Warp expects more small-to-mid games to win with solid revenue loops, not just AAA bets.

Example Project and Industry Commentary

• “Node Rocks” (Bitcoin Ordinals community) — a web2 mobile game in development (stylistically likened to an enhanced Angry Birds) that acts as a love letter to its community while targeting real monetization.
• Industry notes:
  • Expect strong sell pressure at big psychological levels (e.g., ETH $5k) for tokens tied to game ecosystems, but fundamentally, community-scale revenues (e.g., $200k/day) can transform project tokens/treasuries (buybacks, runway, utility funding).

Market Segment: Short-Term Calls (1-week horizon)

• Nate (host): ETH to $5,000 by next Wednesday.
• Matt (Warp): BTC likely to pull back/crab; if ETH runs, BTC could revisit ~$109k. Possible mini alt run (mentions XRP as a potential beneficiary if ETH up/BTC down).
• Bunny (co-host): Football.fun to a new all-time high (prior peak cited ~150M mcap; retraced to ~70M). Also referenced a prior “LIGHT” token call to $300M mcap (currently ~90M).
• Shotgun (panelist): ETH to at least retest/tap prior ATH; acknowledges heavy sell pressure near $5,000; breakout would invalidate resistance quickly but getting through will be hard.
• Recap from prior week: A playful victory lap that last week’s bit about BTC hitting ~$117k then ~$109k actually played out.

Key Takeaways and Highlights

• CyberKongz are executing a comprehensive 2025 reset:
  • BANANA → KONG rebrand/migration with mainnet-first liquidity and better token sinks/utility.
  • Renewed focus on the crown jewel: a hyper-active alpha community (Wall Street Kongs), with access sellable in KONG post-TGE.
  • Immediate post-TGE Baby upgrade (new art, new contract, seasonal KONG airdrops; KONG burn on upgrade), signaling ongoing KONG utility.
  • Activity-based cross-community airdrop (2% of supply) emphasizes genuine participation over brand badges.
• Warp is pushing a revenue-first gaming thesis for Web3:
  • Nodes share network revenue across many titles; data nodes give real performance transparency.
  • The token is a value rail for buybacks/emissions/services, not a P2E faucet.
  • UA and publishing depth matter as much as code; with the right payback math, games can scale extremely fast.
• Macro-vibe: With the SEC overhang gone and markets healthier, both segments (NFT communities and Web3 gaming) are leaning into measurable, sustainable mechanics.

Dates, Actions, and Open Items

• KONG TGE: September (date/time TBA). Watch for CEX listings and mainnet liquidity.
• CyberKongz:
  • Post-TGE: Baby Kongs upgrade/new contract, seasonal KONG airdrops, KONG burn on upgrade.
  • Wall Street Kongs passes will be purchasable with KONG at/after TGE.
  • Full Port Labs: Trench Spot bot campaign upcoming.
• Warp:
  • Node sale: August 31 (AV Cloud; enter via official Warp Chain links/Discord).
  • Token TGE: November (~$37M FDV at launch).
  • Studio intake: builders with audience clarity, runway, and a plausible path to profit.
• CyberKongz airdrop details: Specific eligible communities and the final activity metrics remain to be announced.

Closing Notes

• The panel appreciated CyberKongz’s longevity, impact, and renewed clarity, and encouraged cross-pollination with Warp when the time comes to revisit gaming.
• Thanks were extended to Hello Labs and the organizing team. Both CyberKongz and Warp are expected to return with updates (KONG post-TGE results; Warp node sale/TGE progress).