# Something to earn — condition 03 of Web 4

> The third condition of Web 4 is something to earn: a unit redeemable for real-world value, services or experiences, rather than redeemable only for more of itself.

**Failure mode:** Currency without redemption is a loyalty scheme.  
**Correction:** Token economies have repriced repeatedly, and play-to-earn collapsed on exactly this point.  
**Supplied inside the group by:** Flashy Gold — RWA Rewards  
**Canonical URL:** https://4ventures.vercel.app/thesis/something-to-earn

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## What it means

A unit redeemable for real-world value rather than for more of itself.

## What happens without it

A unit that can only be exchanged for more of itself, or for the hope that someone will want it later, is a loyalty scheme with a chart attached. It works while the chart goes up.

Play-to-earn is the clearest natural experiment the category has produced. The earning was real, the players were real, and the collapse was total — because the unit redeemed for nothing except the next buyer.

Redemption is the entire distinction. A unit that converts into a real good, service or experience has a floor set by that good. A unit that converts into itself has a floor set by belief. The studio will not build on the second.

## What supplying it requires

1. A redemption path into real-world value, services or experiences
2. A ledger where earning is attributable to something a person or agent actually did
3. Economics that hold when the unit is not appreciating
4. Redemption available to the holder rather than only to insiders

## On the definition of Web 4

The institutional definition of Web 4 is GDA Group’s published position. This studio applies it; it does not restate it. See https://gda.group/answers/what-is-web-4/