Schrodinger’s Box Integrates Chainlink VRF To Help Power Mystery Box Prize Selection
We’re excited to announce that Schrodinger’s Box — a cutting-edge Web3 project featuring tradable and decentralized NFT mystery boxes — has integrated Chainlink Verifiable Random Function (VRF) on Ethereum mainnet.
By integrating the industry-leading decentralized oracle network, we now have access to a tamper-proof and auditable source of randomness needed to select a single prize out of a prize list in a provably fair manner. Ultimately this creates a more exciting and transparent user experience, as users have high assurances that Shrodinger’s Box NFT Tickets are underpinned by a verifiably random number generator.
Schrodinger’s Box is an interactive lucky draw system that employs chance in exciting new ways using Web3 technology. Here’s how the core mechanism works. Both users and the Schrodinger’s Box team can input a variety of NFT and digital asset prizes to be distributed through Mystery Boxes, which are then sold to project users. Mystery Boxes are resellable, and their price fluctuates based on the remaining prize pool value. Opening a Mystery Box results in a random prize or non-prize, ranging from blue-chip NFTs to an empty box. As more boxes are opened for a particular prize pool, it’s possible that the chances of winning a big prize rise substantially.
For example, imagine a prize pool of 10+ NFTs, distributed through 100 Mystery Boxes. 90 Mystery Boxes were opened, leaving only 10, but only 5 NFTs have been distributed — the remaining 5 are still part of the prize pool. This means that the last 10 boxes are guaranteed to distribute 5 NFTs collectively, so accordingly the price per box will increase as boxes are dynamically priced based on the remaining value of the pool. Users could either buy the last 10 boxes — with a much higher chance of receiving an amazing reward — or resell their unboxed box to gain a margin from the increased price of the box.
This system means there are three main strategies for users playing the Schrodinger’s Box game.
- Play the game of chance — Open a Mystery Box and see what reward you get!
- Wait and resell your Mystery Box — Mystery Boxes increase in value if previous draws did not yield many prizes, but this can backfire in the opposite case.
- Create your own Mystery Box — Users can input their own prizes and sell Mystery Boxes at a markup!
In order to help ensure each Mystery Box opening results in a randomly-chosen prize, we needed access to a secure random number generator (RNG) that any user could independently audit. However, RNG solutions for smart contracts require several security considerations to prevent manipulation and ensure system integrity. For instance, RNG solutions derived from blockchain data like block hashes can be exploited by miners/validators, while off-chain RNG solutions derived from off-chain APIs are opaque and don’t provide users with definitive proof about the integrity of the process.
After reviewing various solutions, we selected Chainlink VRF because it’s based on cutting-edge academic research, supported by a time-tested oracle network, and secured through the generation and on-chain verification of cryptographic proofs that prove the integrity of each random number supplied to smart contracts.
Chainlink VRF works by combining block data that is still unknown when the request is made with the oracle node’s pre-committed private key to generate both a random number and a cryptographic proof. The Schrodinger’s Box smart contract will only accept the random number input if it has a valid cryptographic proof, and the cryptographic proof can only be generated if the VRF process is tamper-proof. This provides our users with automated and verifiable assurances directly on-chain that the prize selection is provably fair and was not tampered with by the oracle, outside entities, or the Schrodinger’s Box team.
Our team envisions sharing the variety of NFT use cases across chains, as well as securing our mystery box drawing process with Chainlink VRF in other prominent mainnets in the near future.
“When you need a verifiably random number that no one knows in advance, Chainlink VRF is unequivocally the best option. While our team could always know if a number is truly random or not, Chainlink VRF enables us to extend this assurance to our users by providing a uniquely Web3 guarantee, also known as a cryptographic proof.”
— Michael, CEO of Schrodinger’s Box
About Chainlink
Chainlink is the industry-standard Web3 services platform that has enabled trillions of dollars in transaction volume across DeFi, insurance, gaming, NFTs, and other major industries. As the leading decentralized oracle network, Chainlink enables developers to build feature-rich Web3 applications with seamless access to real-world data and off-chain computation across any blockchain and provides global enterprises with a universal gateway to all blockchains.
Learn more about Chainlink by visiting chain.link or reading the developer documentation at docs.chain.link. To discuss an integration, reach out to an expert.
About Schrodinger’s Box
Schrodinger’s Box is a cutting-edge tradable and decentralized NFT mystery box where users can win valuable prizes.
Learn more about Schrodinger’s box by visiting schrodinger.me or our Twitter https://twitter.com/schrodingerhq.