# CASCADE — Five Currencies ## 2026-05-19 --- ## The Economy Principle Cascade's economy is built on a single principle: > **Credits = Contribution, Not Access** You earn currencies through behaviors that improve the community. You spend them on things that improve your resonance quality. **You cannot buy visibility. You cannot buy connections. You cannot buy your way to the top.** This is anti-Skinner-box design. The currencies measure genuine participation, not engagement hacking. --- ## The Five Currencies | Currency | Shape | Pattern It Rewards | Earned When... | Spent On... | |----------|-------|-------------------|---------------|-------------| | ❤️ Hearts | Heart | Direct Overlap | Your cart item appears in another's cart | Send care packages | | ⭐ Stars | Star | Category Congruence | Your cart category matches another's category type | Boost item visibility | | 🌙 Moons | Crescent | Complementary Rhythm | Your cart fills a gap in someone else's | Unlock complementary filter | | ⏳ Hourglasses | Hourglass | Values Alignment | You pass a values-alignment quiz | Reveal deeper resonance | | 🎈 Balloons | Balloon | Frequency + Growth | Consistent presence over time | Float to higher visibility tiers | --- ## ❤️ Hearts ### Shape Meaning Heart — love, connection, shared thing. The most intimate currency. Earned when you share something specific with someone. ### How to Earn | Action | Hearts Earned | |--------|--------------| | Your exact cart item appears in another user's cart | +1 per matching item | | You receive a care package | +1 | | A match confirms a shared item "this is meaningful to us" | +3 | | Both users add the same item in the same week | +2 (bonus) | ### How to Spend | Action | Hearts Spent | |--------|-------------| | Send a care package | -3 | | Add a note to a shared resonance | -1 | | Feature a shared item on your profile | -5 | ### Care Packages A care package is a signal sent to another user. It says: "I saw you. This resonated with me." Care packages are NOT messages. They are: - An item from their cart that you also have - A "this made me think of you" note (optional) - Delivered as a resonance notification, not a chat message Care packages create a record. You can see who has sent you care packages. This is social debt — they showed up for you. --- ## ⭐ Stars ### Shape Meaning Star — orientation, direction, the kind of person you are. Earned when your cart category matches another's, even if the specific items differ. ### How to Earn | Action | Stars Earned | |--------|-------------| | Your cart category (e.g. "outdoor activities") matches another's category type | +1 per category match | | Category match confirmed over 2+ weeks | +3 (sustained bonus) | | Your category becomes someone's "resonance type" | +5 | ### How to Spend | Action | Stars Spent | |--------|-------------| | Boost an item's visibility in your cart | -5 per item | | See who has you as their "resonance type" | -10 | | Add a new category to your cart (unlock subtype) | -15 | ### Item Boosting Boosting an item makes it slightly more visible in your resonance broadcast. This is NOT paying for matches — it's choosing which part of yourself you want to highlight. You can only boost 3 items at a time. Boosts expire after 7 days. --- ## 🌙 Moons ### Shape Meaning Crescent moon — the missing piece, the complement, what you don't have that completes you. Earned when your cart fills someone else's gap, and theirs fills yours. ### How to Earn | Action | Moons Earned | |--------|-------------| | Your cart fills a gap in someone else's cart (they're missing what you have) | +2 | | Both carts fill each other's gaps (mutual complement) | +5 | | Mutual complement confirmed over 30 days | +10 | | Complement leads to a shared activity (you both did it together) | +15 | ### How to Spend | Action | Moons Spent | |--------|-------------| | Unlock "Complementary Filter" — see who complements you | -10 | | See your full complement map — what you have that they lack | -15 | | Request a "complement intro" — be introduced to your complement | -20 | ### Complementary Filter The complementary filter shows you people whose carts fill your gaps. This is different from "who's like me" — it's "who makes my life more complete." Example: You have climbing gear. You don't have a climbing partner. Someone who has climbing friends but no gear appears as a complement. --- ## ⏳ Hourglasses ### Shape Meaning Hourglass — patience, long-term thinking, time. Values alignment cannot be rushed. Earned by passing the values quiz, which measures worldview alignment, not taste alignment. ### How to Earn | Action | Hourglasses Earned | |--------|-------------------| | Pass the values-alignment quiz (20 questions) | +1 per quiz passed | | Your quiz results match another's for 90+ days | +3 | | Your worldview is described the same way by two matches | +5 | ### The Values Quiz The values quiz is generated from your cart patterns. It asks questions like: - "You see a food truck line vs. a restaurant. What's the instinct?" - "Your apartment is messy because..." - "The last thing you learned that changed how you see the world..." It is NOT a personality test. It is a measurement of how your cart patterns reflect your values. You can retake the quiz quarterly (R2 tempo). Each quiz round costs 5 coins from any currency to prevent spam. ### How to Spend | Action | Hourglasses Spent | |--------|------------------| | Reveal deeper resonance with a specific user | -10 | | See full values profile of a match | -15 | | Request a "worldview intro" — be introduced based on values | -25 | --- ## 🎈 Balloons ### Shape Meaning Balloons — celebration, presence, still being here. Balloons are earned through consistent, sustained showing up over time. They are the clearest signal that someone is real and still tending. Balloons cannot be spent in the traditional sense. They accumulate. They measure tenure. ### How to Earn | Action | Balloons Earned | |--------|---------------| | Add to your cart once per week | +1 per week | | Check in once per day | +2 per week | | Both you and a match add to carts in the same week | +3 each | | Attend a group event | +5 | | 30-day streak in any category | +10 | | A match leaves a review of their resonance with you | +5 | ### Balloons and the Float System Balloons determine your Float Level — your visibility tier in the ambient layer. | Float Level | Balloons Required | Label | Effect | |------------|------------------|-------|--------| | Level 0 | 0-9 | Grounded | Default new user, minimal visibility | | Level 1 | 10-49 | Rising | Visible to other Rising+ | | Level 2 | 50-149 | Airy | Visible to Airy+ | | Level 3 | 150-499 | Drifting | Visible to Drifting+ | | Level 4 | 500+ | Cloud Walking | Top tier, most visible, most trusted | ### Why Balloons = Anti-Gaming You cannot buy Balloons. You cannot fake Balloons. You cannot optimize for Balloons without actually showing up, being real, and tending your constellation. High Balloon users are, by definition, people who have been present and consistent over time. This is Cascade's trust signal. --- ## Earning Summary Table | Action | ❤️ | ⭐ | 🌙 | ⏳ | 🎈 | |--------|---|---|---|---|---| | Exact cart match with another user | +1 | | | | | | Category match | | +1 | | | | | Complementary cart fill | | | +2 | | | | Values quiz passed | | | | +1 | | | Weekly cart addition | | | | | +1 | | Daily check-in | | | | | +2/wk | | Shared weekly activity with match | | | | | +3 | | 30-day cart streak | | | | | +10 | | Group event attendance | | | | | +5 | | Match review of resonance with you | | | | | +5 | ## Spending Summary Table | Action | ❤️ | ⭐ | 🌙 | ⏳ | 🎈 | |--------|---|---|---|---|---| | Send care package | -3 | | | | | | Boost item | | -5 | | | | | Unlock complementary filter | | | -10 | | | | Reveal deeper resonance | | | | -10 | | | Feature shared item on profile | -5 | | | | | | See complement map | | | -15 | | | | See match values profile | | | | -15 | | | Request worldview intro | | | | -25 | | | Request complement intro | | | -20 | | | --- ## No Real Money There is no way to buy currencies with real money. This is intentional. Cascade's economy is entirely participation-based. If you want more Hearts, Stars, Moons, Hourglasses, or Balloons — show up, tend your cart, resonate with people, and be present.