HOW TO: POWER UP & INCREASE YOUR HP!
Greetings, Praetorians!
The other day, I wanted to increase my HIVE POWER. I was sending some HBD from my main @splinterlands account to my alt account, but didn't want to lower my KE-Ratio (Krampus Co-efficient) because that would make my account look like it existed solely to extract HIVE from the ecosystem, something that is frowned upon. This meant I had to convert the HBD (Hive Backed Dollars) I'd been earning from my posts into HIVE, then use that HIVE to "Power Up" my account by increasing my "staked" HIVE, AKA: POWERING UP my HIVE account!
If this sounds confusing, it was. I couldn't find any resources and had to resort to Discord conversations within the Splinterverse to figure out what to do. For something so important to your account (as HP also grants you RESOURCE CREDITS to play the game!) I would have thought there would be more information on the process in which to do it. After fumbling my way through things, I was finally able to succeed in powering up.
I would love for the next hapless Hivers to have an easier time than I did, so I made this article showcasing a few of the ways you can convert your HBD into HP, as well as POWER UP your account!
THE KRAMPUS CO-EFFICIENT
Firstly, why did I feel compelled to Power Up? What is the KE-Ratio that I hoped to keep as low as possible?
Since I started getting more into HIVE Blogging, I've been following @azircon and he talks a lot about "showing your commitment to growing your stake in HIVE" and the benefits that come from doing so. The KE-Ratio was first mentioned in this post and details the fundamentals of the KE-Ratio: @azircon/top-1000-hive-stakeholders-moments-of-pleasure-years-of-pain
Basically, KE is calculated by "dividing Author Rewards + Curation Rewards by Held HP". So "people who held more HP than they earn will have a fraction less than 1.0. Those who held less HP will have a fraction higher than 1.0. This is the Krampus Co-efficient! Or KE." So, to simplify, a LOW KE is good, a HIGH KE is bad. The lower the number, the more it shows you are investing long term in the HIVE ecosystem, which looks good on your account from the lens of extraction.
If you want to see YOUR KE, you can do so by following this link https://beebalanced.streamlit.app/
That being said, since I was REMOVING HBD from my account to send to my alt, I wanted to counter the perceived extraction by "powering up" my HP to make up for it. This is where I ran into the problem... how do I DO this??
Well, there was a really, REALLY easy way, then there were a few more difficult ways...
THE EASY WAY
The easiest way to convert AND Power up my HP in my experience, was within HIVE KEYCHAIN itself! First you convert the HBD to HIVE, then you power up... all within the App!
What is the HIVE Keychain? Let's ask AI!
"The Hive Keychain extension is a gateway to interact with the Hive ecosystem securely from your browser, offering a blend of security, ease of use, and broad functionality for managing blockchain interactions. It's particularly valuable for those engaged with the Hive community, developers, and users of dApps built on the Hive blockchain."
If you are a Splinterlands player, you've probably already got your keys in Keychain to make your log in and transactions easier!
For the purposes of converting HBD to HP, here is the simple step by step process that I followed. This method does incur a 0.75% fee, but due to it's ease of use and simplicity it is still my favorite. IF I was converting a large amount, I may consider one of the other options.
First, convert your HBD into HIVE:
EASY! Now that you've converted your HBD into HIVE. Time to power up!
CONGRATULATIONS! You've powered up your HIVE! All in one easy to use App!
I know of two other ways to convert HBD into HIVE! These involve NO fees, but involve external sites, and you still need to go elsewhere to power up.
HIVE Wallet
https://wallet.hive.blog/market
HIVE WALLET uses a more traditional market interface with a buy / sell option.
You can BUY your HIVE using HBD right away, or place a BID to try and get it filled. Either way, this allows you to convert your HBD to HIVE.
HIVEHUB
https://hivehub.dev/market/swap
HIVEHUB has a simple interface that allows direct conversion from HBD to HIVE. The "trade" happens in the background, so there is no need to use a market.
Once you have converted your HBD to HIVE using one of these sites, you are ready to POWER UP! We just need to do it in some other way since you can't do it directly from either of these platforms, they are just to convert and get you ready.
A NOTE ON SLIPPAGE
You may have noticed the word "slippage" on some of these sites or applications. Slippage in finance refers to the difference between the expected price of a trade vs the actual execution price of that trade. It occurs when there is a delay between placing an order and its execution, during which time the market price may change.
So if you buy at 0.01, but upon execution the price is 0.0101 because the price went up in the time it took you to press "BUY", that would represent a 1% NEGATIVE slippage, since you'd pay 1% more, and get less than expected. If the price became 0.0099, that would represent a 1% POSITIVE slippage, and you'd get more than you expected. You can often set your maximum slippage when executing trades to ensure there is not an unexpected loss.
USING PEAKD TO POWER UP
Once you have your HIVE, you can also POWER UP using the PEAKD site!
To access your wallet, first choose your HIVE "Name" in the upper right corner of the page.
- Choose your "Wallet" from the list
- Click the menu selection drop down icon next to "SEND" and your HIVE balance
- Press "Stake (Power Up)"
- Choose how much to Power Up, Continue, and Sign!
You've now POWERED UP your HIVE using PEAKD!
Well there you go, fair Battlemage!
You are now armed with the knowledge of how to POWER UP your HIVE!
Doing so will not only give you additional Resource Credits, but it will increase the weight of your influence in the HIVE ecosystem, allow Splinterlands contest participation, and maintain a lower KE score!
You'll also need HP to participate in Splinterlands contests, as they have a new rule in place:
"Participants who demonstrate an investor mindset by holding and growing their HP are more likely to be rewarded. Those who consistently extract all rewards without reinvesting into the ecosystem may not be eligible for prizes."
@splinterlands/splinterlands-social-media-challenge-new-rules
I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful!
Until next time, it's your guy, the Psi, and I'll see you around the game!
Psilence
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET that for the next 4 seasons (THIS season included) I will be giving back to the Splinterlands and HIVE community with a CONTEST! Leave a comment on any of my HIVE and/or YouTube posts and include your in game name, and you will be entered into a draw to win 1 of 2 Chaos Legion packs at the end of the season! You will receive 1 entry per video / HIVE post, so drop me a comment, leave me your IGN, and cross your fingers!
UPDATED! A fellow Battlemage has added 12 more packs to the reward pool! So we will now be giving out 5 packs per season! 3x for 1 lucky winner, then 1x for two more winners! Thanks DruidsBlood!