Introduction 

Gary Vaynerchuk’s VeeFriends Series 1.5, Book Games, launched today on TokenTrove and it’s done 3,346 ETH in sales volume in 5 hours. That’s $10.4 million in sales volume which breaks down to $2 million of sales per hour. 

You can check out the collection on TokenTrove by clicking here. 

Back in August, Gary V said that anyone who bought 12 copies of his book, Twelve and a Half, would receive an NFT. 

Little did they know, the NFT they received would have varying levels of rarity (one rare token has already sold for over 7 ETH) and the opportunity to burn a book token in exchange for a reward via an Exchange. 

What Prizes Are in the Book Games Exchange? 

There are currently 2,346 items in the Book Games NFT exchange ranging from VeeCon tickets to Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks NFT assets. 

Each asset has a price requirement for the exchange: 

A number of book game tokens 

A combination of specific book game tokens (some rarer than others) 

Below are the top 8 assets that require the most tokens in order for an exchange to happen with the asset’s expected value: 

Source: VeeFriends.com

For example, the World of Women asset is projected to be worth 100 ETH and in order to exchange for that asset, you would need 999 tokens. 

They can’t just be any random 999 book tokens either. They need to meet the rarity requirements outlined below: 

Source: VeeFriends.com

This may seem daunting, but there is a tremendous amount of arbitrage opportunity with other assets from the exchange. The below screenshot is just a snapshot of your potential trades (this isn’t the full list, just some): 

Source: VeeFriends.com

There are multiple variables to consider within each of these NFT assets, physical goods (like sports cards), and other prizes: 

1. The Current Price of ETH 

2. The Current Price of the Book Games Tokens 

3. The Current Price of the Assets Offered in the Exchange

4. The Exchange Requirements for the Asset 

Managing these four variables at once is challenging for anyone, which creates an opportunity for you. 

Why do you think so many people can buy an item at a garage sale and sell it for profit on eBay? How are people able to buy an item on eBay and sell it for more money on Facebook Marketplace? 

Imperfect information. Your average shopper won’t check 5 platforms for the best price. They want to use what’s most convenient for them. 

Let’s break down how this plays out in Book Games and how it can help you profit or trade up to rare Book Games Tokens. 

How to Find Arbitrage Opportunities in The Book Games Exchange — Examples 

One of the best plays on opening night was a user exchanging 9 book tokens for a Mona Lisa Curio Card and I’m going to break down exactly why, and how you can do this too. 

I’ve written extensively about Curio Cards but the short of it is that it’s the first art NFT on Ethereum. Card #8, the Mona Lisa was listed for 9 tokens at a valuation of 0.82 ETH on the Book Games Exchange: 

Source: VeeFriends.com

However, savvy Book Games players may have been aware that Curio Card prices have increased over the past week, and the Mona Lisa is one of the fastest-growing in value, with a current floor of 1.299 ETH: 

Source: Opensea.io 

Each Book Token originally cost ~$250 (.08 ETH), and there’s currently a .135 ETH floor on Book Tokens. 

9 tokens at the original purchase price is 0.72 ETH. 

9 tokens from the floor cost 1.2 ETH. 

However, more than 9 tokens sold between .1 ETH and .11 ETH during the first few hours of the release. 

You could have snatched up 9 floor tokens for .9 ETH, and exchanged it for an asset now worth 1.299 ETH that has a thin floor. 

That’s a .3 ETH gain and potentially more if the Mona Lisa card continues to appreciate in value. The person effectively bought it for a discount. 9 other people did the same thing, as other Curio Card assets have already been exchanged. 

The Flipside: The floor of Book Games is now .135 ETH, still slightly less than the Mona Lisa Curio Card, but if the price of Book Games NFTs goes up, it wasn’t a good trade. If the price of the Mona Lisa comes down, it wasn’t a good trade. 

It’s a risky proposition, but if you know an asset has increased in value from its original set exchange value and price, you could do well. 

Let’s look at another example, the 2003 Topps Chrome LeBron James PSA 10 rookie: 

Source: VeeFriends.com

This card last sold for $11,400, so its estimated value of $12,263 is actually higher than what it’s currently worth. However, it takes 40 tokens to get one, and you could set a price target to give yourself a nice arbitrage opportunity. 

If you acquire 40 tokens at .07 ETH, that would cost 2.8 ETH or $8,680. 

That would require the floor to cut in half, but it might do that as the hype dies down (but I wouldn’t underestimate Gary V and the value he will bring). 

You might also think that the Lakers and LeBron will step up their game and go on a championship run, so the card will appreciate in value. 

A lot of this is hypothetical — the card could decrease in value, Book Game tokens can go up, the price of ETH could go up, but you get the idea of the framework. 

If LeBron’s card does increase (it once sold for $43,000) in value rapidly, you may be savvy enough to do the math, acquire the tokens, receive the card, sell for a profit and go get more book games tokens. 

There’s a lot of volatility that could go both ways in any scenario, but this will create opportunity if you know how to look for it. 

Other Strategies You Can Deploy with Arbitrage

If buyers decide to go after a Bored Ape Yacht Club Asset, World of Women Asset, etc. they will need to buy a lot of Book Games Tokens and specific tokens. 

You can check the rarity of the tokens here, but what happens in two years when a pop 279 Empathy..Drink It! Holo is the last asset someone needs to get a CryptoPunk?

Say the CryptoPunk is worth 80 ETH, and that person spent 65 ETH to get the tokens. 

They could spend up to 10 ETH and still make an instant 5 ETH profit. 

What happens to the price of your Empathy..Drink It! Holo if it’s the last one remaining? 

What happens if two people have all assets but 1 and you own it? Bidding war! 

The point is, savvy buyers will have an arbitrage mindset. How often would they get a chance to buy a top-tier asset at a discount? 

These assets also could increase in price, which would create interesting dynamics for holders of the tokens they need to complete a set. As more and more tokens get burned, the more valuable the tokens you hold become. 

Expanding on the Tokenomics of VeeFriends: Book Games 

Tokenomics is the study of economics in Cryptocurrency. 

Gary V has done something genius: he’s turned Book Games into a tradeable asset for multiple levels of awards, effectively creating a currency for a mini economy. 

The total token supply is 125,000, with different levels of rarity. 

However, users can burn (and remove supply) of tokens in exchange for value. This makes Book Games deflationary. 

There won’t be more Book Games tokens, only less. 

And he’s going to make it harder and harder for people not to burn. 

He’s already looking to add other NFT assets to the exchange, he’s said that he could have caviar and champagne in the future with holders of 10 caviar/champagne frame book games. 

He can create value in perpetuity that will tempt holders into holding book game assets. 

It becomes a valued currency in an economy of NFT assets, sports cards, VeeFriends V1, Gary V original art, access, a mint pass to VeeFriends series 2, and whatever else Gary decides. 

He may decide that anyone with a Lava token can join a 45-minute hang-out session with him.

Most people buy an NFT and hope it explodes in popularity. Many buy a cryptocurrency and hope it increases in value. 

Gary has created an NFT that becomes a currency for access, perks, and assets that keep people in the mini economy. 

For years, he studied what people valued in him — specific advice, attention, recognition, and exposure. 

I expect that Book Games tokens in 5–10 years will be able to gain more access to Gary, something that people would pay big money for otherwise. 

There are a lot of ways for Book Game tokens to become more valuable, so if you can afford it, I’d advise you to stay patient and enjoy the ride.