Users post tracks they consider special, and the community decides whether they are worth revealing.

How Gems Work

Each user starts with a limited number of tokens that allow them to post tunes they find worth sharing.

1. A user posts a Gem from a track.
2. Other users see the Gem in the Gems feed.
3. Users can choose one of three actions:
   • Reveal – upvote the Gem, unlock the track information, and optionally import it to your Collection.
   • Pass – skip the Gem without voting.
   • Downvote – mark it as not a good fit for those tags.
4. If enough users choose to Reveal your Gem, you earn reputation points and receive more tokens to post additional Gems.
5. If not, you can always try again with another discovery.

What a Gem Contains

A Gem is a track recommendation that includes:

• Tags that help match the recommendation to interested listeners
• A short blurb or comment from the recommender
• Preview URL information

Before a Gem is revealed, important metadata such as the track title and artist is hidden from other users, to focus on the listening experience and give a touch of ritual to the process.

Viewing the Gems Feed

Click the Gem icon in the sidebar to view the latest Gems posted by the community.

Users interested in the tags of a Gem will see it in their feed and can decide whether to reveal it, pass, or downvote.

Posting Your Own Gems

You can post a Gem directly from a track:

• Press MODIFIERKEY+G
• Or right-click a tune and select Post as Gem

If the community validates your Gem, it increases your visibility and reputation within the associated tags.

Availability

Gems are currently available only to Crates Supporters.

To become a supporter and access Gems and other exclusive features:

https://crates.app/upgrade

Summary

Gems are Crates’ social recommendation system: users share strong track picks, the community validates them, and the best discoveries rise to the surface.

Crates uses CRT tokens to enable access to special social features like posting or revealing a “Gem”.

When you see a message like:

“Insufficient Funds: 4.5 CRT, required 10 CRT”

…it means your wallet doesn’t currently hold enough CRT tokens to complete the action.

But do not worry — this is part of our way to keep Crates thoughtful, meaningful, and spam-free.

What are CRT tokens?

CRT is a utility token used inside the Crates ecosystem. Think of it like credits you can use to:

• Post a Gem (a precious music recommendation to the community)

• Reveal downvote, or pass a Gem posted by others

• Curate public playlists (Future)

• Unlock perks like discounts, gear, subscriptions, or future giveaways

Do I need to pay to get CRT tokens?

No. During our experimental phase, CRT tokens are given for free to Supporters and other contributors. The goal is to:

• Encourage meaningful participation

• Prevent spam and abuse

• Make interactions feel playful and rewarding

Can I earn more CRT?

Yes! Crates is designed as an open and evolving music ecosystem. In the future, users will be able to earn CRT tokens by:

• Getting upvotes from Gems your post

• Bringing in new users

• Participating in beta testing 
• Contributing editorial content or reviews (Future)

These tokens can then be used or redeemed within the Crates ecosystem. We haven’t revealed much of it yet, but it’s coming! 

Why use tokens at all?

We believe great music recommendations have value. By introducing CRT tokens, we:

• Incentivize quality over quantity

• Create a community-driven economy

• Make discovery more fun and thoughtful