# Cultured Pearls

> Cultured Pearls are GenetixBay Pearls bought with money, usable only as store credit in the GenetixBay store; they never transfer between members.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cultured-pearls.html
- Also written: Cultured Pearl, purchased Pearls, store credit Pearls
- Glossary category: GenetixBay terms
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Cultured Pearls are the purchased kind of Pearl. They work as store credit in the GenetixBay store, for things such as digital items, memberships and merchandise.

## In practice

Cultured Pearls stay with the member who bought them: they cannot be sent, tipped or used in the Swap. This keeps money-linked value out of the peer layer. A seed pack is never priced in or paid with Cultured Pearls. If a purchase is reversed (for example by a chargeback), the Cultured Pearls from it and anything bought with them are reversed too.

The separation exists for legal reasons as well as fairness: points bought with cash are treated differently from points earned by contribution in many places' consumer and cannabis law.

## Don't confuse with

- **Wild Pearls**: earned by contribution and transferable between members.
- **Gift card**: Cultured Pearls have no cash value and are not redeemable for cash.

## Related terms

[Pearls](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pearls.md), [Wild Pearls](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/wild-pearls.md), [Founding Member](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/founding-member.md)