Coinko:
Hello, everyone! It’s time for AMA with Thorstarter! Please welcome everyone! We have a live Q&A session today, so please participate.
Before proceeding to the AMA, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself.
Thorstarter:
Hi I’m MT — I am responsible for operations and growth at Thorstarter.
I’ve been personally active in the crypto space since 2016, investing and advising various projects, several of which are now DeFi blue chip projects. Previously I have worked with a few large Fortune 500 technology businesses in the enterprise sales, marketing and project management roles.
The marketing and operations team working on Thorstarter has likewise been involved in crypto for some 6+ years, and worked with several of the more well known projects in the DeFi space.
Our developer team includes 4 devs, two of which are full time. Our lead developer is working on smart contracts and core features of the Thorstarter protocol, and the others are taking a supporting role working on front- and back-end.
We have a large team of full- and part-timer contracts taking on various supporting tasks as needed.
Coinko:
Next, for those who don’t know Thorstarter well, can you briefly introduce the project?
Thorstarter:
We are heavily invested in the narrative that the future is multichain. Vitalik himself has been quite vocal that, if there were a network/protocol to effectively *nail* multichain, it could be orders of magnitude bigger than many of the largest blockchains now.
We firmly believe that Thorchain is that project.
However, the Thorchain protocol and network design is not super intuitive upon first glance. It takes some time to fully understand. It has been called — and probably deservedly so — not that beginner friendly.
For this reason, Thorchain has some of the most ardent and big brain supporters of any community in crypto. People who truly “get” how the project works on a deep level (we call them THORChads). 🙂
As the Thorchain mainnet launch grows near, a project was needed that onboards and introduces the core tenants of the Thorchain ecosystem to a wider audience. Thorstarter is that project.
More specifically, we built the project for a few reasons:
- Given our time in the space, we’ve advised or participated in many IDOs. We found that every IDO, without fail, had some unfair aspect to it — typically because the structure of the sale was limited / fixed without flexibility.
- So, we set out to build a launchpad that prioritizes fair launches, and takes a stand for great projects building in the Thorchain ecosystem. In this way, we aim to “heal” the IDO space a bit and also help bring attention, liquidity, and innovation to Thorchain.
Coinko:
This AMA will airdrop $500 USDT tokens, So please stay tuned! :) During the pre-Q&A session, chatting will be frozen.
Shall we get started?
Thorstarter:
Yes, Let’s get started!
Pre Q&A Session
Coinko:
Q1) @dtv1907
I saw that Thorstarter will have a DAO but also a “Council of Asgard”, could you give us more details about these two entities? What are the differences between these two? How can users be part of one or the other? And what are the main functions of these groups on the platform?
Thorstarter:
I hope everyone is familiar with the basic concepts of a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization).
It basically just means a group of individuals governed by laws that are written in code (smart contracts).
Thorstarter will launch as a community-governed DAO, and will evolve through two distinct epochs:
1. The Age of Asgard
The initial period of stewardship will be conducted by 9 members elected by the DAO.
Confirmed members consist of Thorchain core team members, developers, Thornode operators and early supporters, institutional liquidity providers, and thought leaders in the Thorchain ecosystem. Project Selection and Incubation The initial onboarding of any new project will be managed by the DAO and DAO fund. Each new project, after being selected, will pass through four stages:
- Project vetting and negotiation
- Liquidity provision of ASSET
- Liquidity provision of XRUNE/ASSET. This will be provided by the Treasury
- IDO announcement and marketing
2. Valhalla DAO
The final goal of the Thorstarter DAO is to evolve into an on-chain governance structure called the. In this later phase, Valhalla DAO members will identify and recommend projects, provide opportunities for liquidity pools, and adjust incentives for liquidity providers. Members of the DAO will be able to pool capital and decide which projects to support.
On-chain governance will allow XRUNE holders to propose and vote on a number of strategies via the DAO. Execution of these strategies will then be provided by Council members.
Valhalla DAO will allow democratic voting for protocol upgrades and new features, as well as treasury allocation. Decisions will be made via Discord discussions, community calls, forum discussions, and ultimately Snapshot votes.
One thing that might be interesting to Raccoons here, is that users will have the option to lock their XRUNE into a voting escrow version called vXRUNE. This will grant them voting rights in the DAO, i.e. they can have a say in which projects launch!
Coinko:
Q2) @vetataster
Various IDO platforms are coming out for each chain. Typical are dot-based polkastarter and sol-based solstarter. What are the advantages of thorstarter compared to other projects?”
Thorstarter:
We are quite different, in a few ways… Several of which we just touched on (the liquidity grants, the xIDO model with many features, etc).
From a high level, a good way to think about Thorstarter is betting on IDOs that will grow *alongside* the Thorchain ecosystem, and which we help accelerate.
Most other launchpads, including Polkastarter, claim to promote a particular eco but in reality will launch any project that comes along. (No problems there, just not our MO).
Additionally to that, IDO launches have been a popular target for bad actors of late. Launchpads have taken steps to protect users, largely by implementing defensive strategies and systems.
Still, each launch format has its own set of vulnerabilities. Ensuring that bots and attackers can’t steal value from interested investors will be an ongoing effort for the Thorstarter team, and one conducted in line with feedback from projects and investors.
Coinko:
Q3) @BrainRichiea
Can you tell us about Thorstarter current partners ,plans for partnership and what everybody stands to gain from these partnerships ?
Thorstarter:
We are partnered with Thorchain itself, and they are helping us structure the sale, assist with marketing, and advise us pretty much every step of the way.
Beyond the TC team, we are partnering with other key members of the Thorchain ecosystem.
XDEFI and other native Thorchain wallets → helping our users integrate multichain wallets and learn how to use native RUNE.
Several of our backers and advisors are building their own dapps and projects in the Thorchain ecosystem as well, and providing feedback on the protocol design, contracts, and security.
Coinko:
Q4) @LvSharmin
“I was exploring your website and I couldn’t find your roadmap. Do you have one? Could you share it? I am curious to know your plans and strategies for this 2021”
Thorstarter:
Thorstarter is approaching development using a lean model of building what we need. Development can be broken down into three distinct phases:
Phase 1: dApp Build and Launch DAO
(we are currently here)
The first phase of Thorstarter development is currently underway. The project will entail a forked version of ASGARDEX with specific features kept in tact, and others omitted. The end user will arrive at the Thorstarter website and be able to choose from the app (UI to swap between assets), available IDO projects, token farms, governance, FAQs, and other pertinent information. Thorstarter’s Aragon Company DAO contracts will be launched, and the Council of Asgard will be elected by the DAO.
Phase 2: IDOs and DEX Improvements
The second phase of Thorstarter development will include upgrades to the Thorstarter swapping functionality and UI, integrating with XDEFI and other chains, and launching IDOs. The IDO launch contracts will be able to be upgraded and modified over time, as the feature suite is rolled out. Thorstarter will launch with a plan to IDO 1–2 projects per month for the first several months.
Phase 3: Ongoing IDOs and Protocol Work
The third phase of Thorstarter development will refine the cross-chain IDO model. Further, protocol work will focus on partnering with existing projects to tap into XRUNE-RUNE liquidity regardless of whether or not they IDO on Thorstarter. This has the added benefit of bringing additional buying power to XRUNE as a means to tap into RUNE cross-chain liquidity. Projects which may wish to access Throchain liquidity but not IDO will be able to do so based on integrations during this phase.
Phase 3 will be an ongoing development phase.
Coinko:
Q5) @Marjuka_maIt
Is no secret that Project launches have been a popular target for bad actors. What mechanisms does THORStarter have in place to prevent these bad actions and protect users from losing their money?
Thorstarter:
This is definitely a concern that we are very cognizant of. We have seen projects like DuckDao who have benefited the top few large holders of their tokens.
To prevent this, our strategic sale will use a measure where the more $XRUNE a user tries to buy, the more gas fee they will have to pay (and this increases exponentially). This is called a “slip based fee.” It’s part of how the THORChain AMM works. Bigger transactions = much larger fees = whales are disincentivized by paying too many fees.
We have also recently successfully completed an airdrop to get $XRUNE in the hands of as many holders as possible!
Coinko:
Next, let’s have a real-time question session.
Real-time Question Session
In this session, 5 people will be selected and each $50 USDT token will be given. For your information, you have to ask all the real-time questions in English to win. I’ll open the community chat for 1 minutes.
Coinko:
So are you ready? Please give us questions!
Please select 5 questions and answer them please :)
Thorstarter:
On it!
Q1) @Opu94
I read that Projects launching on Thorstarter will have the flexibility to choose from several different launch models. Could you describe the different launch models? Is there an ideal or recommended one? Or does each have its advantages and disadvantages?
Thorstarter:
Very good question.
Projects launching on Thorstarter will use what’s called the xIDO model, which offers the flexibility to choose from several different launch models. This will allow them to optimize for a token distribution that is most suitable for their project and community.
Some examples of these include:
- Fixed Price Crowdsale. Sale participants would be given allocations of tokens at a specific price, which they can claim until all tokens in the crowdale are sold out.
- Dynamic Price Auction. Token price changes based on certain parameters. A common dynamic price auction format is the Dutch Auction, where token price starts high then decreases over time and is weighted to demand.
- Pool Share. Projects would allocate a fixed number of tokens to the sale pool, and a set amount of contributions in a contribution pool. The token price would be calculated at the end of the sale based on each participant’s contribution relative to the total contribution pool.
The xIDO structure actually allows for ~12 such customizations, and projects can pick and choose what they want for their early supporters.
Q2) @Crypto_King74
Can you share some details about your seed investors? Also since we are secondary buyers how can you guarantee that they will not dump on us?
Thorstarter:
Sure, Thorstarter structured its funding a little differently than most projects.
We had a small Prviate round from highly reputable VCs:
- NineRealms Capital — Focused on supplying institutional capital for Thorchain projects.
- IDEO CoLab Ventures — Early investor in distributed web startups including OpenZeppelin, Handshake and Fairmint.
- Proof Group — Led by Noah Jessop, one of the core developers at Facebook’s Libra project.
- MetaConstant — SEAsia investment group, notably advising a16z-backed Element Finance.
- Qi Capital — A global group of private investors and builders with strong ties to to the Thorchain ecosystem.
- Brilliance — An Israeli based Venture Capital fund that has worked with projects like Elrond and hosts several THORNodes.
- Next Ventures — Growth marketing fund for early stage decentralized finance and fintech ventures.
As mentioned before, since many users already hold $XRUNE and whales are disincentivized to hoard XRUNE, it is less likely that a whale will manipulate the market.
Q3) @hongdaoboy
Security is very important for investors to avoid hacking, so are smart contracts audited to prevent bad things from happening #Thorstarter ?
Thorstarter:
The Thorchain team is reviewing our code, as are our advisors. So, we are really happy that we have some of the best and brightest minds in crypto giving the green light on everything we do.
Apart from those code reviews, yes absolutely we have several audits lined up from some of the best auditing firms in the industry.
Q4) @soonuu77
I’m curious about Thorchain ($RUNE) token economy. What are the benefits for token holders?
Thorstarter:
$XRUNE is the native token for Thorstarter.
The X in XRUNE signifies cross-chain liquidity relaying of RUNE, therefore: $XRUNE.
XRUNE is the settlement currency of the THORSTARTER protocol.
After a project is selected, an additional pool of XRUNE will be seeded together with a project’s token — “ASSET” — for an initial IDO launch. The proposed distribution mechanism for provisioning liquidity and resources to Thorstarter IDOs will be discussed later.
In positioning XRUNE as a pair on both Thorchain and on AMMs on different chains, Thorstarter acts as a liquidity relayer for long tail crypto assets. Users will be able to swap cross-chain assets using an XRUNE-ASSET liquidity relay, regardless of whether or not ASSET is in an approved Thorchain pool. This will ultimately serve as an alternative to centralized exchanges (CEXs) like Coinbase and Binance and single-chain decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Bancor, Uniswap and Pancakeswap.
An additional relay mechanism is needed to swap between assets using the underlying RUNE pools on Thorchain. XRUNE provides an effective medium to access cross chain liquidity provided by CLPs by using secondary token XRUNE to pair with base RUNE. New assets can be paired with XRUNE in new XRUNE-ASSET pools to access the same liquidity as short tail crypto majors.
In essence, Thorstarter takes the original design of Thorchain and adds a liquidity relay to it. Assets paired with XRUNE can access RUNE liquidity without needing to hit the minimum required RUNE liquidity in Thorchain pools. This allows cross chain swapping without the required RUNE depth. This will bring additional liquidity to both base RUNE and XRUNE asset pairs.
In short — $XRUNE allows Thorstarter network participates to coordinate around IDO launches, establish governance and voting, and enable network participants to gain access to new IDOs.
More info about our tokenomics can be found here — https://docs.thorstarter.org/what-is-thorstarter/tokenomics
Q5) @Mskiwi206
ThorStarter is based on Enabling cross-chain exchanges between long-tail crypto assets. But for me and new users, can you explain what a long-tail asset is? Are there also short-tail assets?
Thorstarter:
Short vs long tail is not well defined. Just think of “short tail” as any crypto coin/asset that is economically significant, i.e. one that you would see in the top 50 or 100 on CMC.
“Long tail” assets are coins outside of this range, like new IDOs and small cap projects.
Simple!
This means Thorstarter helps projects raising funds to access liquidty from any blockchain that supports smart contracts 🙂
Coinko:
Thank you for answering the 5 questions in detail.
Congratulations to the winners of this event. If you win the live AMA event, I will contact you within 10m. Rewards will be distributed within a week. Please wait for further notice!
Is there anything you would like to say?
Thorstarter:
Thank you everyone for the amazing questions!! I had a great time here.
And thanks for being such an amazing host and building such an amazing community. I would like to invite everyone to want to learn more to come visit our website — thorstarter.org
We just announced our launch date and strategic sale- https://blog.thorstarter.org/official-thorstarter-launch-date-and-tge-announcement-5a3ef860be1d
Coinko:
Thank you for parcipating in the AMA with Thorstarter!
Thorstarter
Thorstarter is a multi-chain IDO platform based on Thorchain, and a project developed by the core team of Thorchain($RUNE).
The goal is to provide high scalability by overcoming the limitations of the platform from the launch stage of the project by supporting various crosschain technologies. Recently, True Ventures’ lead led the company to invest $1.5m from IDEO CoLab, Proof Group, MetaConstant, and more.
📖Related Link
Webpage: https://www.thorstarter.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thorstarter
Medium: https://blog.thorstarter.org/
Telegram: https://t.me/thorstarter
