Wonderland Crypto: Smart Investment Or Risky Gamble?

Wonderland (TIME) is a decentralised reserve currency protocol and one of the first Olympus forks on the Avalanche blockchain network. Its native token, TIME, is backed by a treasury of liquidity tokens, including Magic Internet Money (MIM).

The project was launched in September 2021 by Web3 developer Daniele Sesta and an anonymous team from the decentralised finance (DeFi) community. They adopted a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) model, so governance decisions about the development of the protocol are made by token holders.

TIME's price soared from $554 on 2 September 2021 to a peak of $9,993 on 8 November 2021. However, it has experienced a steep decline since then, losing over 99% of its value in 2022.

The crash was fuelled by various controversies, including the revelation that a key community member, Michael Petryna (aka 0xSifu), was a convicted felon with ties to one of the biggest cryptocurrency scandals, the failed Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX.

Despite the recent crash, some analysts remain bullish on Wonderland. PricePrediction's long-term Wonderland TIME crypto price prediction had the coin averaging $13.75 in 2022 and soaring to an average of $252.76 by 2030.

However, it's important to remember that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets, making them high-risk investments, especially newer coins like TIME. Whether or not to invest in Wonderland depends on your personal circumstances, risk tolerance, and investment goals.

The high APY is a marketing gimmick

Additionally, the high APY does not take into account the volatility of the token price. Wonderland's TIME token is highly volatile and has experienced significant price swings since its launch. The token reached an all-time high of nearly $13,000 per coin shortly after its release but quickly fell back down, and has been trading at a fraction of that price ever since. The high APY also does not consider the potential impact of fees, which can eat into investors' returns, especially on blockchains like Ethereum that are known for high fees.

It's important to remember that APY is just one factor to consider when evaluating a crypto investment. Other factors, such as the team behind the project, the strength of the community, the uniqueness of the value proposition, and the overall market conditions, can also play a significant role in the success or failure of a crypto project.

In the case of Wonderland, there have been several controversies and issues that have impacted the project's reputation and the price of its token. For example, the revelation that a key member of the Wonderland team was a convicted felon with ties to a major cryptocurrency scandal caused a significant loss of faith in the project. There have also been issues with the team failing to deliver on promises, such as airdrops that were supposed to take place in late December 2021 and early January 2022 but never materialized.

Overall, while Wonderland's high APY may initially attract investors, it is important to look beyond this marketing gimmick and consider the bigger picture. The high APY does not guarantee high returns, and there are other factors that may have a more significant impact on the success or failure of the investment.

The price of TIME is volatile

The high APY is due to a high rebase rate, which causes high inflation. When you buy TIME, you're buying at a premium. If enough people do the same, this can inflate the price several magnitudes.

The coin is very volatile, and the price can drop significantly. For example, if the price is dropping more than the rate of staking rewards, you may end up in a negative position.

The short-term objective of the token is to generate wealth in the community by using the TIME token as the medium of exchange. Wonderland (TIME) emerged to create a non-pegged stablecoin called TIME, which focuses on supply growth and functions as a currency that holds its purchasing power.

Each TIME token is supported by a range of assets in the Wonderland treasury, such as MIM and TIME-AVAX LP Tokens, which prevent a downfall and give an intrinsic value. The treasury system is a decentralized and community-controlled decision-making mechanism for sustainable funding in the community.

The TIME token is also backed by 1 MIM (Magic Internet Money). When TIME trades below 1 MIM, the protocol will buy back and burn the TIME token. The burning mechanism in cryptocurrency is a tool that stimulates the token's price.

The team behind the project

The team behind the Wonderland crypto project is led by Daniele, who is also known for abracadabra.money. People generally trust him a bit more than other project founders because he has a track record in the crypto space.

Daniele has been explicit that $TIME is not a reserve currency in the same way that $OHM is. $TIME is a way of funding a treasury that can be used for VC investments. The implication is that the APY will stop in 3-6 months, and the remaining tokens will be burned. Current token holders will get an APY based on how the treasury performs.

In June 2024, it was announced that $800 million of Wonderland treasury funds would be moved to Abracadabra and that wMEMO would be valued at $40k. However, some people on Reddit accused Daniele of cashing out and claimed that the project was dead.

The future of the token

The future of the Wonderland TIME token is uncertain. It has been the centre of many controversies, which have caused its value to plummet. In January 2022, it was revealed that the treasury head of Wonderland, Michael Petryna, was a convicted felon with ties to one of the biggest cryptocurrency scandals, the failed Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX. This led to the resignation of Wonderland's co-founder and treasury manager. The price of TIME fell to $9.02 on 19 August 2022.

However, there has been a recent rally, with the community voting on various proposals, including a formal inquiry into the DeFi protocol's founder. As of 15 September 2022, TIME was trading at $14.70, following the integration of the Avalanche (AVAX) Liquid Staking Testnet.

From a short-term perspective, technical analysis from CoinCodex suggested that the value of the Wonderland token could have fallen to $10.61 by 14 October 2022. The Wonderland coin price prediction from WalletInvestor was very bearish, with the TIME price falling below $2 by the end of 2023. However, the prediction from DigitalCoinPrice was more positive, projecting that TIME could gain in value over the next few years, reaching a maximum price of $208.39 by 2030.

The future of the TIME token depends on various factors, including the performance of the wider cryptocurrency market, the actions of the Wonderland team, and community sentiment. It is important to carefully consider the level of risk you are prepared to accept before investing in cryptocurrencies, as they are highly volatile and can be subject to rapid price swings.

The competition

Wonderland has competition in the form of other DeFi apps, or rebasing DAOs, some of which offer even higher APYs than Wonderland. Examples include Olympus, OneDAO, XEUS, GYRO, HEC, Invictus, Spartacus, and MarsEcosystem.

Some of these rebasing DAOs are scams, and the whole system should be considered high risk. It is important to do due diligence and understand how the system works before investing.

One user on Reddit commented that "if OHM does well then Time will mostly follow. If ETH does well, then OHM will do well". Another user said that "if [the staking rewards] exceed the rate of price decline there might be a very nice net return for early adopters and more stable returns down the road".

Wonderland is considered one of the better rebasing DAOs. It is one of five+ crypto entities tied together by The Frog Nation and is the first self-sustaining ecosystem on AVAX.

Frequently asked questions