Transparency at Keep
We’ve joined Messari’s Disclosure Registry
I’m proud to share that Keep is now live on Messari’s Disclosure Registry. The registry is an industry-wide transparency effort, making diligence easier for anyone wanting to get involved in the Keep network.
Messari’s focus on transparency in crypto is well known and aligns with our values as an open-source project. The dashboard includes information on the token distribution as well as our corporate structure and team.
I wanted to share a few highlights from the disclosures, as well as offer some context on how we view transparency as a for-profit company in the cryptocurrency space.
Token Distribution
KEEP is a fixed-supply work token. Its distribution to date has been split between the early team and advisors, the company, private purchasers, and the public.
Public distribution
25% of the token supply has been set aside for the public.
20% was placed in smart contract escrow for the public stakedrop. The stakedrop will allow anyone to stake ETH to back Keep’s first application, tBTC. ETH stakers earn KEEP, and the ability to stake in the network long-term to earn fees.
The distribution loosely follows the above curve, with exceptions for low participation and other edge cases. Over half of the distribution goes out in the first months, tapering off over the next 24.
Another 5% of the supply has been set aside for additional network incentives. These incentives stretch for roughly 36 months, with over half distributed in the first 12 months.
Neither of these buckets includes our incentivized testnet, Playing for Keeps, which the company funds directly.
Staking requirements, usage restrictions, and supply impact
All advisors and team members’ token allocations are on 2-year vesting schedules with 2 to 4-year usage restrictions, restricting the sale of their tokens. In addition to legal agreements, all employees’ tokens have been issued via on-chain grants, verifiable via block explorer. The grant structure allows employees to stake as many as 3 months ahead of their tokens that have been unlocked to date.
The grant structure also allows the tokens to be released on a linear unlock schedule. While this schedule looks similar to the concept of vesting, it doesn’t give grant holders the right to sell their tokens — they’re still held to a usage restriction through the duration of their grant.
Private purchases held similar restrictions.
All purchases before the mainnet launch included usage restrictions of either 6, 12, or 24 months from the date of network launch. Tokens were delivered via on-chain grants. These purchasers are contractually obligated to stake and participate actively in running the network, and many have been operating the random beacon on mainnet since shortly after launch.
These restrictions and the structure of the public distribution mean that the entire KEEP token supply won’t be circulating for 2 to 4 years.
The Messari registry outlines the impact of this structure over the life of the token.
Corporate structure
We believe one of the most important elements of transparency relates to the structure of the business itself. Keep’s Messari page lays out the specific corporate structure of the team that’s developed the network to date. Specifically, Keep SEZC is a wholly-owned Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of Thesis, Inc, a crypto production studio structured as a Delaware C-Corp.
As a production studio, Thesis is set up to support multiple projects — you might be familiar with some of them. Keep SEZC, however, is 100% focused on building out and supporting the Keep Network.
Keep SEZC is not a foundation. Our team is dedicated to the concept of finance as a universal human right, and we hope to advance that vision with the platform we’re building. Ultimately though, and in keeping with our worldview, Keep SEZC and its parent company are structured as for-profit businesses.
I believe we’ve aligned the interests of the business and the network. We will do whatever we can to grow and decentralize the ecosystem.
Corporate treasury
Because we operate as a private, for-profit company, we don’t plan to publish details of our treasury or future budgets. However, we are committed to sharing what we can to give token holders confidence in us as part of the ecosystem.
For now, we have no active plans to stake the company’s holdings, though we might do so in the future.
Over the years, it’s important for network security that we lessen our holdings. We’ll accomplish this through a mix of grants, loans, equity distributions, and private sales. While we aren’t actively planning to launch a foundation, we might consider funding a separate non-profit entity in the future.
Along those lines, this week, we’ll be entering into a 3-year loan with a strategic partner for 7.5% of the token supply. This partner will help ensure the secure launch of tBTC and the success of Keep, and will have an option to repay the loan in USD, helping ensure the long-term funding of Keep SEZC.
The best way to keep up to date with changes in the treasury is on-chain. You can inspect the Keep SEZC corporate treasury on Etherscan.
Our commitment to the network
We are committed to transparency as a guiding principle, and I believe the long-term growth and success of a decentralized network can go hand-in-hand with private enterprise. We’re excited to get uncomfortable, opening up the structures, incentives, and token contracts that comprise the network, and moving to a more open and participatory model of development, community, and governance.
Over time, we’ll announce further efforts to keep the community informed and better expose how we work as a company, which you can follow on the blog and on GitHub. We’re committed to always be open and honest with this community as we grow together.
