WagMedia Mythology 101: What is CHRWNA?

I’ve been awarded something called CHRWNA for posting news or content on the WagMedia Discord server. What exactly is CHRWNA, how do I know if I have some, and what can I use it for?

I have been asked something approximating the above question from interesting strangers via direct messages, which is the motivation behind the creation of this post. First, some history…

Chrawnna Coin (aka CHRWNA) is a token that was permissionlessly minted “without any whitepaper or tokenomics” by Jay Chrawnna back in July 2021 on Statemine (Kusama’s first common good parachain). The minting process was featured in one of Jay’s episodes of Polkadot/Kusama what the FAQ? Followers of CHRWNA lore will have noticed that the Chrawnna Coin was actually first named CHRNA, and that Bruno from RMRK (aka Swader) indirectly helped guide the way to its creation. CHRWNA was the 70th token minted on Statemine (asset ID #567). RMRK is #8 (wen #27 RUNE airdrop for Valhello.app?).

Jay has previously described the Chrawnna Coin as “a centralized stable coin pegged to the absence of value” which is a way of saying that the CHRWNA originally had no specified value or utility, and that Jay owns most of the supply (currently around 70%). However, due to the ongoing ‘create 2 earn’ Dotsama content experiment that is WagMedia, which rewards freelance reporters (aka finders) and bardic storytellers (aka creators) with CHRWNA (as well as with other less dubious cryptocurrencies), we are currently witnessing the gradual decentralization of the Chrawnna Coin.

CHRWNA lore aside, if you want to check your balance of Chrawnna Coin you can do so via SubID, the Nova wallet, or via Statescan where you can see the CHRWNA holder leader board. Rumours about support for CHRWNA on the Talisman wallet have yet to be confirmed.

When I first saw Jay’s ‘What the FAQ?’ episode on the Chrawnna Coin in early August 2021, I dreamed that one day I would also be a diamond hand CHRWNA holder, even through times of a negative market cap. Thanks to the generosity of the first WagMedia treasury, I now own 0.3% of the total supply (I’m coming for you Csaint02!).

With such ever-expanding adoption, it remains unclear for how much longer CHRWNA will remain pegged to the absence of value. I suspect it won’t be long until a DPS NFT sails a tricked out pirate ship into Karura to collateralize the boat and borrow CHRWNA against it. In the shorter term, rumour has it that the CHRWNA will transition to a governance token.

If you also want to be a CHRWNA holder, join us on the WagMedia Discord server and help us create a more open, trustless and permissionless future.