The Economy of Trust

A community without an economy is just a chat room. A community with an economy is a Nation.

Sovereign gives you two layers of economy:

Soft Currency (Credits): Earned by engagement. Drives retention.
Hard Currency (Fiat/Crypto): Paid via Stripe. Drives revenue.

1. The Credit System (Soft Currency)

Why do people grind in video games? Because the points imply status.

Earning Mechanics

Configure these in Settings:

Message: +1 Credit (Cap: 20/day to prevent spam).
Receive Upvote: +5 Credits (Incentivizes quality).
Invite User: +100 Credits (Incentivizes growth).

Burning Mechanics (The Exchange)

Credits are worthless if you can't spend them. Setup your Exchange.

Menu Items Ideas:

Role: "Regular": 1,000 Credits. (Access to voice channels).
Feature: "Image Posting": 500 Credits. (Unlock media perms).
Service: "Profile Review": 10,000 Credits. (Admin reviews their bio).

[!NOTE] Deflation: You want users to spend. If everyone hordes millions of credits, the economy breaks. Create "Consumable" items (like a pinned message for 24h) to burn supply.

2. Billing & Subscriptions (Hard Currency)

Sovereign integrates natively with Stripe Connect.

The Hybrid Model

The most successful communities combine both.

Free Tier: Can chat in #general. Can earn credits slowly.
Premium Tier ($10/mo):
- Access to #alpha and #signals.
- Multiplier: Earn credits 2x faster.
- Monthly Drop: 500 Credits deposited.

Setting it up

Go to Billing.
Click "Connect Stripe".
Create a Product: "VIP Membership".
Set Price: "$9.99 / Recurring".
Role Mapping: Map this product to the Discord Role VIP.

Result: Deep integration. If the credit card fails, Sovereign removes the Discord role instantly.

3. Magic Invites (Affiliate Mode)

Turn your members into a sales army.

Enable Bounty Mode in Monetization settings.
Set a Commission: e.g., "30%".
User A generates a Magic Link.
User B joins via that link and buys a VIP sub ($100).
User A gets $30 (or equivalent in Credits).

This is how "Newsletters" grow. Now your Discord can do it too.

4. The "Whale" Strategy 🐋

Use Member Intelligence to spot high-value targets.

Filter: Churn Risk < 10% AND Engagement > 90th percentile AND Tier = Free.
Action: These are people who LOVE your community but haven't paid.
Sovereign Move: Have an Agent DM them a "24h Discount Code". Conversion rates on this segment are typically >40%.

Monetization: The Sovereign Exchange