On Monday, August 24, the biggest upgrade we've ever made to how money works on Phenom goes live. It's called CHIP — and if we've done our job right, the only thing you'll notice is that everything got simpler.
Here's what's changing, and why it matters.
What is CHIP?
CHIP is Phenom's new in-game currency - an ERC-20 Token on Base . Instead of playing with USDT on Polygon, you’ll be playing with CHIP. 1 CHIP can always be redeemed for 1 US-dollar-backed stablecoin with reserves always fully backed and auditable on-chain. When you deposit, CHIP is minted straight into your wallet. When you cash out, your CHIP is redeemed and you receive stablecoins back — you choose the chain and the coin.
Why make the change?
There are several enhancements CHIP comes with but ease of depositing is one of the biggest reasons we decided to make the change. Although both CHIP and PHNM tokens and the underlying in-game contracts all reside on Base chain, our user experience is moving towards a chain-agnostic approach. Deposit any major stablecoin and receive CHIP instantly in your wallet. One of our largest support requests is players asking how to convert to Polygon tokens - this removes that point of friction.
Massive improvements to gameplay
One of the toughest challenges of building the first ever on-chain poker experience has been trying to get as close to real-time as possible while still using blockchain technology to power the system. CHIP takes that to the next level. Every aspect of money movement on Phenom Poker just got an upgrade. Some of the biggest quirks on the system are about to become a distant memory.
- Instant tournament registration/unregistration
- Instant cash game buy in/cash out
- No more reload bank needed - just click auto top up and top ups are now instant!
One chain: hello, Base
Until now, Phenom has lived a double life: gameplay on Polygon, staking on Base, two wallets, and a bridge in between when you cash out. That's over.
Everything now runs on Base — one wallet for playing, staking, and withdrawals. Faster confirmations, near-zero fees (which we cover — you'll never think about gas), and no more bridging step when you withdraw.
What to expect
On Monday at 11:40 UTC we have planned for 3-6 hours of maintenance time to complete the upgrade.
The first time you login after that you will be be prompted like this:
All you have to do is click the button and your funds will automatically be converted and you’re ready to play!
Note - We are pausing tournaments and Other Token deposits while we upgrade and swap the system architecture. Please do not use the alternate deposit address any more, once the upgrade is complete, depositing other tokens will use a new address. Your playing wallet address will not change.
What’s next
CHIP and the Base migration is a huge change to our system architecture and has been many months in the making. We can’t be more thrilled about this change because we have many cool changes to follow including:
- Expanded deposit methods
- Jackpots
- New game variants (hint: ever been to Taiwan?)
- PHNM Lending
- First ever Phenom tournament series
- And more
As always, we are highly appreciative of our growing community as we continue on our journey to make Phenom the most player-centric poker site in existence. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions/concerns.
The Phenom Team
