“The staking market will explode. More financial products featuring integrated staking will be created.”
- Mirko Schmiedl, the founder and CEO of Staking Rewards
Market overview
Current Value in Staking by Asset
- Staking Yearly Yield is the annualized yield for staking at current supply levels, as calculated by stakingrewards.com.
- Real Staking Yield is the annual yield expected from staking, after accounting for the network’s inflation. Real Yield is calculated as the nominal staking yield adjusted for the inflation rate.
- Token Staking is the number of tokens currently staking on the network, as reported by stakingrewards.com.
- Network % Staking is the % of current circulating supply that is currently staking, using data provided by stakingrewards.com.
- 5 Years Yield is counted like compound interest.
Think & Stake
- Liquid Staking WG call 2 recording and notes are up! (Paradigm Fund attended and it was amazing!)
We discussed:
- research report outline (5:00)
- Sunny’s Cosmos SDK multi-token Fungible Staking Derivatives (29:02)
- Trust-Less 2020, a FREE virtual Proof-of-Stake Validator Summit was a success! It was a historic opportunity to learn how to run validators from top blockchain architects and staking-as-a-service companies like Coinbase, Polkadot, Cosmos, Prysmatic Labs, Tezos, Coda, and many others.
Watch and enjoy:
- How Proof-Of-Stake (PoS) Blockchains Work (An Intro)
- Costs / Rewards Calculator: The Basics (Terminology & Walkthrough Of Tools)
- Approaches To Validator Architecture & Security: Trust Model & Slashing Basics
- Decentralization: Metrics & Methodology For Determining The Health (And Viability) Of A Blockchain Network with Reseachers from ConsenSys
- A Deep Dive Into Proof Of Stake (PoS) Validator Security & Attack Vectors
- How To Identify Which Proof-Of-Stake Networks Are Worth Mining
- How To Acquire Stake: The Different Profiles Of Stakers
- What Makes A Good Network Custodian: A Candid Discussion On Incentive Alignment
- Validator Tooling: Innovations On UX
- Democratizing Staking So That Anyone (Not Just Institutions) Can Participate
- Should Your VC Fund Stake Or Run A Validator?
- Incentivized Testnets: Learnings From Past Competition Winners
- IDEO on Doubling Down: Offering Additional Services with Validation
- ETH 2.0 Calculator: Validator Economics w/ ConsenSys CodeFi
- Prysmatic Labs On The ETH 2.0 Beacon Chain: Development Update
- Workshop: ETH 2.0 — How To Run A Validator On
- The Beacon Chain (Testnet Participation)
- Validator Taxes Spreadsheet: How To Track & Calculate Your Taxes For Block Rewards
- Building on DeFi x Staking Derivatives: Opportunities Squared!
- The Design and Risk of Staking Derivatives (with IDEO)
- A Candid Discussion On The Future Of Staking-As-A-Service: Exchanges, 0% Fees, and Centralization
- The Economics & Taxation of Block Rewards: Getting the Terminology Right
(Polkadot)
Hands-On Workshop w/ Demo Teaching
You How To Run A Validator on Polkadot
(Coda Protocol)
Hands-On Workshop w/ Demo Teaching
You How To Run A Validator on Coda
(Skale Labs)
Hands-On Workshop w/ Demo Teaching
You How To Run A Validator on Skale
(Celo)
Hands-On Workshop w/ Demo Teaching
You How To Run A Validator on Celo
(Tezos)
Hands-On Workshop w/ Demo Teaching
You How To Run A Validator on Tezos
(NuCypher)
Hands-On Workshop w/ Demo Teaching
You How To Run A Validator on Nucypher
(Matic)
Hands-On Workshop w/ Demo Teaching
You How To Run A Validator on Matic
- Coinbase Custody and Bison Trails join Proof of Stake Alliance, seeking to bring tax clarity. The Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA) — a group of organizations dedicated to educating U.S. regulators on blockchains — has expanded its membership. POSA has added Coinbase Custody and Bison Trails to its members’ list. The alliance aims to educate lawmakers and bring regulatory and tax clarity for PoS tokens. Matt Perona, COO of Polychain Capital and board member of POSA, told The Block: “Our main focus currently is on the tax treatment of staking rewards for token holders.”
- 30 Cosmos Governance Working Group with Figment’s Gavin Birch — In this episode Felix is joined by Gavin Birch, community analyst at Figment Networks, who has taken it upon himself to improve the decentralized governance process of the Cosmos Hub. They start by going into Gavin’s background in the crypto space and how he joined the Figment team before exploring Gavin’s experience working on coordinating the upgrade to Cosmos Hub 3.
- 31 Unslashed: Insuring Blockchain Risks with Marouane Hajji — Insurance is a part of the finance stack that has received less attention in the Defi space compared to other segments like lending and derivatives. In this episode, Meher and Felix are joined by Marouane Hajji, Co-Founder at Unslashed, to talk about blockchain risk, insurance, and the protocol that Unslashed is building. They start out exploring why blockchain risks can’t yet be insured using traditional insurance methods, as well as the go-to-market approach of Unslashed and their first product: a fully collateralized slashing insurance. They also discuss the interplay between staking derivatives and insurance and the interplay of the Melon Protocol and Unslashed to manage collateral for risk underwriters.
- Visit stakefish’s Oasis Protocol leaderboard to check the validator list and status. A better internet is only a matter of time. Oasis is a decentralized network that uses confidential computing to empower privacy-first applications.
- The total value locked in staking has crossed $10B. In the chart below you can find TOP 10 coins by value staked. Data based on Staking Rewards. See post by ICO Analytics.
- Staking overview by CryptoDiffer. The projects are sorted by Adjusted Rewards. Data is provided by Staking Rewards.
In the first days of January 2020, a new type of asset appeared on Tezos. In block 767840, a transaction was submitted to originate the StakerDAO Contract (KT1EctCuorV2NfVb1XTQgvzJ88MQtWP8cMMv) on the Tezos Mainnet — and StakerDAO, its STKR tokens, and the Staker Agora governance process were launched.
- Each governance cycle runs for 1 calendar month and is divided into 4 phases, and each phase lasts 1 week — with the 4th phase lasting the remainder of the calendar month.
- During each phase, a different set of tasks are eligible to be conducted — some on-chain and some off.
- This cycle starts on the 1st of each month, and the first governance cycle began on January 1, 2020.
- How Does Staking Economy Work? — By Alex Lielacher on Cryptonews.com
- Advanced Blockchain Technologies: Interview With Solana Founder Anatoly Yakovenko
Recently, Solana has successfully launched a testnet, and Everstake decided to make an interview with Solana founder, highlighting the path that he went through to build new technology. Meet Anatoly Yakovenko, founder of the Solana blockchain, a person who worked to solve technological complexities and eventually came with the working solution that can make a big difference in the blockchain space.
- Staking ecosystem surges to $8 billion valuation. The total amount of staked cryptocurrency has spiked to an all-time-high over $8 billion.
“Along with the proliferation of proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies, the other factor behind the growth says Yannick Folla from Figment Networks, is the rise of staking services. These allow investors to bypass the complexity of staking and avoid the annoyance of having to validate transactions or manage a node in exchange for surrendering a cut of the revenue.”
- Interview with Michael Ng, Co-founder of StakeWith.Us — in this post they share a conversation with Michael about the StakeWith.Us business model, staking architecture, and plans for 2020.
- Sunny Aggarwal — Core Developer at Tendermint / Cosmos. Founder of Sikka Tech & Blockchain at Berkley Ep #13. This episode is all about Validators. Are you interested in learning more about how to run a node and become a validator? Sunny and Anatoly go deep into the current models and how validation within the blockchain ecosystem is evolving.
Upcoming Staking Events
- 11th February 2020 — Crypto Underground — Staking: How to Get Crypto just by Holding Crypto.
For this edition of Crypto Underground, they are getting together notable companies from the crypto/blockchain space to discuss how it is possible to earn crypto from staking crypto and what needs to be done for the ecosystem and network. They look forward to hearing from the below thought leaders:
- Rachel Wolfson, Reporter at Cointelegraph
- Luke Youngblood, Staff Software Engineer at Coinbase Custody
- Stephen Akridge, Co-Founder of Solana
- Jack Zampolin, Director Of Product at Tendermint
- Kevin Nielsen, Ecosystem Development at TQ Tezos
- Maly Ly, CMO at Akash Network
- 12th February, 4 pm CET — Another Liquid Staking Group call will happen. Liquid staking designs will be discussed — the first one being Everett Protocol. More info to come!
- 25th April 2020 — Tezos Baking Tour: Thailand by Tezos Southeast Asia & Blockspaper. Tezos Southeast Asia’s next stop in the Tezos Baking Tour is Bangkok, Thailand! Join TSA and Blockspaper and learn why you should be part of the Tezos community and how you can earn a passive income through validating (a.k.a. ‘baking’) on the Tezos blockchain through this hands-on workshop. Bring down your laptop and interact with their developers at the workshop where they will guide you step-by-step.
Recent Staking Updates
All in Bits (“AIB”) has been contracted by the Interchain Foundation (“ICF”) since 2017 to build the software necessary to launch the Cosmos Network. All In Bits was crucial in bringing both the software and the Cosmos community to life, and the launch of the network would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the team members at AIB. The number one priority of the Interchain Foundation is to ensure the long term stability, security, and growth of the Cosmos Network, which includes the stability and security of Cosmos’ most valuable assets: its contributors. The ICF is committed to ensuring all major Cosmos contributors at AIB have a supportive place to continue their work, to grow, take risks, experiment, falter, and ultimately succeed.
- Join Kusama’s Thousand Validators Programme — Anyone technical and determined is encouraged to apply here. By applying and following the setup instructions, you will be eligible to receive nominations from Web3 Foundation and Parity Technologies to help kickstart Kusama node. You will also be able to work your way up the Thousand Validators leaderboard for the chance to gain even more support for the efforts.
- Milestone KAVA Testnet CDP System launch: successful. — > Next Lunar Mission Stop: Testnet 5000 for $BNB bridge.
- Welcoming Stake Capital as an Official Staking Partner — Matic Network — Stake Capital will be one of these Validators in the staking ecosystem, allowing MATIC holders to delegate their tokens to Stake Capital’s Validator node in order to generate a passive income via staking rewards.
- SKALE just released its first explainer video! See how SKALE’s elastic sidechains make ethereum an order of magnitude faster, while not sacrificing security and decentralization.
- Elrond week in summary:
- Binance program to support Elrond staking
- Major improvement in consensus reduces processing time
- Elrond listed on Staking Rewards
- Anatomy of a round — Sebastian Marian explains
- Our Network: Issue #6 — Updates on Tezos, Ethereum, Decred, Zcash, and Bitcoin.
{Tezos}
- Staking: Custodial staking continued to gain traction in Tezos. Throughout January 2020 staked balances at exchanges increased by +1.3% (26M) to 14% (89M) of all staked coins. Staking participation overall increased by +18M to a new ATH of 77.3% (635M). At the same time staking yield dropped to an all-time-low of 1.48% above inflation.
- Validators: Despite diminishing yield the number of consensus participants (bakers) remains relatively stable at around 430. About 50% (207) of all validators are self-baking entities, meaning they have <= 1 incoming delegation. 160 of them own less than 100k tez in staking balance, 10 self-bakers are whales with balances between 1–5M tez.
- Centralization: Although the amount of unique validators is high (430) the distribution of their weight tells a slightly different story. 50+% of Tezos staking is controlled by only 9 different entities while the top 100 bakers control 92% of the network. The largest entity (the Tezos Foundation) validates 27% of all blocks, the next largest are Coinbase (5.84%), Polychain (4.42%) and Cryptium Labs (3.62%), Binance (3.16%), Kraken (1.96%), P2P Validator (1.93%), Airfoil (1.72%) and FlippinTacos (1.71%). This is not troubling for consensus since rights are assigned randomly, but it plays a relevant role in governance. The foundation and some of the large bakers have historically abstained from voting. With the rise of custodial staking exchanges suddenly find themselves under pressure by the community to vote and build tools to let their delegators contribute.
- #33: Liquid Staking by Chorus One, an operator of validating nodes and staking services on Proof-of-Stake networks. Learn about Liquid staking working group kickoff, PoS networks final testnet stages, Trust-Less 2020 staking conference, slashing and economic waste in PoS.
- Monthly Roundup (Jan 20) — Liquid Staking Working Group kickoff, Cosmos community funding & incentivized testnet launches
- The Kava team announced their grant program. $1.16m will be dedicated to fund tools, research and community incentives that help the Kava platform to grow.
- The first proposal for funding from the community pool passed. 5,250 ATOM (at the time of writing $22,838) were distributed to Figment Networks to form and manage the Cosmos Governance Working Group and to create documentation to make it easier for Cosmos community members to apply for funding or to initiate other governance proposals, e.g. changes to Cosmos Hub parameters.
- IBC is moving to the center of attention in the wider cryptospace. CoinDesk published a piece about interoperability and the Persistence team released a post explaining the value proposition of IBC for enterprise use cases.
- FLETA’s New Validator: Coinone. To recall, FLETA is a blockchain ecosystem and platform designed to provide solutions for DApp developers and DApps, trying to solve all the current issues DApps are facing, mainly scalability and speed.
- Everstake Weekly Update Recap (February 3, 2020). Promising February.
{Tezos}
- Nomadic Labs developed the new consensus protocol called ‘TenderBake’
- AirGap releases Beacon, a dApp which allows connecting all types of Tezos wallets.
- BakingBad updated its TzKT explorer, and now it supports .csv export statements.
- Taquito updated its TypeScript library suite for Tezos development.
{ICON}
- An Austrian blockchain company block42 releases an ICON blockchain overview.
- Everstake updates its ICON Vote Monitor.
{EOS}
- An EOS developer Dexaran published an article regarding self-securing smart-contracts.
- WAX announces its partnership with AIKON to support the WAX network development.
- LiquidApps released LiquidX, the global network for illiquid assets.
- Block.one plans to rebuild the digital infrastructure of society.
{Cosmos}
- Band Protocol has successfully launched its mainnet.
- Cosmos plans to implement decentralized serverless computing.
- Sentinel wants to support Jae Kwon’s transition to Virgo.
- Check the recent updates on PoS Networks, created by Paradigm Fund:
