The governance token for Splinterlands has now been available for a while and there are many ways to acquire it.
Known as “Splintershards” with ticker symbol “SPS”, many investors in Splinterlands will draw comparisons to Axie Infinity’s AXIE token which skyrocketed briefly into the top 25 of all cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Both tokens have a limited supply vs. the more easily acquired in-game currencies (Dark Energy Crystals for Splinterlands and Smooth Love Potions for Axie). Here’s how you can get a little SPS in your wallet!
Should you Buy Splintershards (SPS)?
Splintershards, also referred to as “Splinterlands Tokens”, are a risky investment. This is true for all cryptocurrency.
Many would argue that it’s a better investment than the other Splinterlands currency: Dark Energy Crystals. That’s because SPS has a finite supply and tokenomics that are designed to grow (in theory). By comparison, DEC is a soft-pegged stablecoin that should tend to revert to a price of $0.001 per $1 USD.
Past performance does not guarantee future results, but if you’d like understand how a past investment in SPS may have worked out, we recommend punching it into ROI.fyi.
How to Buy Splinterlands Tokens (SPS)
Buy Splinterlands Tokens (SPS) using U.S. Dollars (USD)
First, U.S. users will want to visit Binance’s U.S. website.
If you live in Europe, Canada, or elsewhere you’ll use Binance’s international website instead.
Both exchanges are extraordinarily similar with two relevant exceptions.
- In the United States, you’ll be presented options to first deposit USD using debit card, wire transfer, or ACH.
- Outside the U.S., ACH does not exist, but users can make deposits using credit cards.
Regardless of where you’re located, don’t panic–all steps will be the same from here.
After funding your Binance account, it’s time to buy a little Bitcoin.
Navigate to the Buy Crypto link, enter an amount (in USD) and choose “preview”. If everything looks good, click Accept.
Now, depending on your account status, you may need to wait up to 10 days for this a transaction to clear. This is unfortunately an unavoidable step to prevent fraud and it’s common across all crypto exchanges.
Once your funds become available, bounce back over to Splinterlands to complete the process using your Bitcoin.
Buy Splinterlands Tokens (SPS) using Bitcoin (BTC)
After logging into Splinterlands, click on the “+” icon beside your SPS balance.
A window will open.
Now, grab the drop-down menu and find Bitcoin. Enter the amount of Bitcoin that you would like to convert. You may want to also jot down the exact amount in a notes document since you’re about to need it again on the Binance side.
Then click Buy DEC.
On the next screen, you’ll be given a wallet address. Be sure to leave this window open in one tab as you’ll need to come back to confirm the transaction shortly.
Hope back into your Binance wallet on the top menu and use info to withdraw.
After you initialize the process, click the Transfer Sent button back on the Splinterlands side.
You should then receive a code from SimpleSwap that you can use to track your transaction on the Hive Block Explorer. The interface may encourage you to wait up to 24 hours (and do be patient!), but in my experience, these transactions usually complete in under 5 minutes.
If you get concerned, you can review the status of your transaction on the Hive Block Explorer and if you run into any issues, you can always submit a support request using the official website or hop on the official Splinterlands Discord for help.
Buy Splinterlands Tokens (SPS) using Altcoins
The Splinterlands token exists on the Hive blockchain, which has two major exchanges:
- Hive Engine
- Tribaldex
Tribal Dex is a newer and (by far) the more usable interface.
Often, it’s easier to convert currencies within the Splinterlands interface, which integrates SimpleSwap to convert TRON (TRX), Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), EOS (EOS), Cardano (ADA), Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM), and Tezos (XTZ) .
If one of these currencies works better for you, just swap out Bitcoin (above) with your currency of choice. If you do not yet own any of these tokens, all are also available at Binance.
Buy Splinterlands Tokens (SPS) using Dark Energy Crystals (DEC)
Maybe you’ve read our guide on How to Buy Dark Energy Crystals and already have your hive wallet loaded with Splintershards.
If so, the process is even easier!
First, make sure you have DEC in your Hive wallet rather than the Splinterlands platform. To do this, click your DEC balance in the header of the Splinterlands website when logged in. Follow the steps given to withdraw whatever balance you’d like to your Hive wallet. You should see all of your DEC tokens in your Hive Keychain wallet shortly after.
Next, head over to Tribaldex and convert your DEC into HIVE. To do this, you’ll want to Sell DEC to get HIVE tokens. Be sure to choose the Sell tab. Look at the current Bid and Ask rates on the right and left to determine what’s currently a fair price.
Once you get your HIVE tokens, you’ll do almost the same thing. This time, choose the Buy tab to Buy SPS using your recently converted HIVE.
After that, you’re all set. You can choose to re-deposit your new SPS tokens back on the Splitnerlands platform, keep them in your HIVE wallet, or use them elsewhere to earn DeFi rewards.