Today we present an exceptional project, Joel | Stakely will speak about StaFi with Liam Young (StaFi CEO).
- Joel |Stakely: Welcome! Liam.
- Liam|StaFi: Hello guys, sorry for the late, a bit of rush, just working on the testing.
- Joel |Stakely: No problem Liam. The AMA starts just now.
Q1) What’s StaFi?
[Liam]
A1) I used to work as a product manager in an internet giant, and joined in crypto since 2018, I started our business on staking space, I created Wetez with my colleagues, a staking service provider, then we entered into Staking Finance, StaFi is the first DeFi protocol unlocking staked assets, Which is related to staking and DeFi, we are interested in DeFi and found a matched point, then we start StaFi.
StaFi is the first DeFi protocol unlocking liquidity of staked assets. Users can stake PoS tokens through StaFi and receive rTokens in return, which are available for trading, while still earning staking rewards. FIS is the native token on StaFi Chain. FIS is required to provide security to the network by staking, pay for transaction fees on the StaFi chain, and mint & redeem rTokens.
Q2) Where can we find your book on staking?
[Liam]
A2) I intend to translate it into English, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been translated yet. I will let you know once it is completed.
Q3) What are the main milestones StaFi has achieved so far? What are the next targets?
[Liam]
A3) We have launch staking derivatives for ETH2 and FIS, we are working on an underlying framework for unlocking staked assets of substrate and tendermint, both are in the audit and will be launched soon. First product will be rKSM, then rDOT and rATOM if you are interested in staking derivative and StaFi, you can refer to our current roadmap :
StaFi 2021Q2 Roadmap: rDOT/rKSM/rATOM Launch, StakingDrop2, rSubstrate and rTendermint Booming Reviewing Q1. Once rDOT and rATOM are verified, then StaFi is enabled to launch staking derivatives for Cosmos SDK based projects and Substrate based projects within weeks. Like BNB, Band, AKT, ROSE, PCX, EDG, etc.
Q4) There is any important news about StaFi that you can tell us?
[Liam]
A4) Sorry, I can’t reveal the confidential news, but if you know our roadmap well, it will be huge in the staking industry.
Q5) Besides StaFi, what other project would you have liked to found or lead?
[Liam]
A5) I want to lead a DeFI project which is related to staking because I know staking, and DeFi is a trend, combination of DeFi and staking will have chemistry, I bet it will dominate a space in crypto.
Q6) The Slash is a big problem when you place your bet on a node. What does the StaFi system do to prevent the loss of user funds? Is it the same on different chains?
[Liam]
A6) The Slash mechanism is different, but almost the same on double signature or something like misbehavior. StaFi creates an algorithm to select validators automatically, which is referred to validators’ record, like uptime, slash record, productivity, etc. We are willing to build a staking network to secure the PoS network and help used maximize staking rewards. More details on the election will be released soon.
Q7) What differentiates StaFi from other projects like Ankr or Ramp DeFi?
[Liam]
A7) They are frequently asked questions. Ankr only focuses on node construction, and derivative for ETH2, while Ramp focuses more on derivative and Stablecoin. StaFi focuses on the Derivatives Platform.
With the release of #rETH, we made an infographic of #ETH2 liquid staking solutions, including StaFi, RocketPool, Lido and Ankr.
We’ve done many researches on these solutions, but not all the details are clear enough, but now it’s easy to understand and more needed to explore in the future. We have made a comparison before, you can review the details.
Q8) We know that Q2 2021 is a critical time for StaFi, what are the team expectations for the success of this campaign?
[Liam]
A8) Yes, Q2 will be crucial for StaFi, we will launch rKSM, rDOT, and rATOM, and the other-based projects. A New staking drop for the minting and liquidity provider will begin as well. We will see more TVL on StaFi, and more integrations with rTokens, more PoS project teams are working with StaFi to promote staking derivatives. And also there is a big milestone will be achieved at that time, you can stay tuned for it.
Q9) I have read that there will be an announcement about rETH liquidity problem, could you give us a hint on how this will be solved?
[Liam]
A9) As I mentioned above, we will have a new StakingDrop campaign and will work with other DeFi Dex to provide liquidity for rTokens. With the increase of rTokens, we need a completed solution for it, we can’t just give away FIS because there will be a big sell pressure on the market.
Q10) Staking has become a critical part in blockchain and is becoming an important piece in specific applications (like for ex: The Graph) to incentivize participants, What do you think is the future in the world of PoS? What is your vision?
[Liam]
A10) Our vision is to build a staking network for PoS projects and to provide derivatives for staker. StaFi will be an aggregator, it will decide how to nominate/vote/stake, to whom the stake can vote for, also the government in some projects follow the nomination as well. So, StaFi will become a Relay of PoS networks.
Q11) With all your experience, if you will have to start StaFi from scratch today, what would you change?
[Liam]
A11) It is an interesting question, I learned a lot from scratch, I have no experience in the audit process, like how to find a good auditor and how to handle the audit report, and how to deal the audit report, esp on how to book in good time deal with audit issue should be changed and learned.
Q12) How does StaFi make PoS networks more secure?
[Liam]
A12) It depends on how we optimize the nominating algorithm, we have formed a solution on how to do it, but it should follow the release of the corresponding rTokens, the unique nomination system, and its reward / bar mechanism. It will have many versions, each version will optimize to be fit for the status.
Q13) What’s the plan to win the Parachain auction?
[Liam]
A13) Auction is in plan, we run Parachain locally and found issues, then fixed it. We haven’t determined to join auction at the beginning because it will cost huge. And for StaFi, rToken will be more important. We will find a good to join as Parachain.
Q14) In the rETH OV program, validators needed to include eight ETH to pay for potential slashing, but it said that validators could redeem up to two or four ETH per node in the future. Is any expected date for this redemption or do you think that validators must continue keeping these eight ETH?
[Liam]
A14) Why we made this mechanism is to reduce the cost of a well-run validators, if an OV performance is good, the system can trust this OV and this OV has less opportunity to be slashed. Eight ETH still is a higher entrance for a validator, and compare to the other PoS projects, 8% APY is lower while staked ETH need to be locked more than 2 years.
Q15) How has been the rETH validator program in terms of slashing? There was more slashing than expected or less?
[Liam]
A15) ETH validator is supposed to be experience, if slash did happen, it will deduct from 8 staked ETH, if more ETH slashed, it will be shared evenly within staker.
Q16) I’m interested in running a Polkadot node with the StaFi solution. How will the process be? Like rFIS (pool of validators with rotating delegations) or like rETH (pool of validators with fixed delegation)?
[Liam]
A16) Yes, it is similar to the rFIS. If you are a validator on Polkadot, you can apply to be a OV of Polkadot on StaFi, will release the details for it soon, stay tuned.
Q17) In the rATOM solution, will a validator be able to be part of StaFi OV and also be a normal validator at the same time? In other words, will the rATOM validators be enforced to only receive delegations by StaFi? What about the rDOT/rKSM solution?
[Liam]
A17) Actually, nominated processes are similar to the original progress, the algorithm will select validators from the applied list and estimate their performance, the result depends on the estimation. Similar to rDOT those nominated method will be released when it is ready.
Q18) Will the rDOT and rATOM solutions be easy to port to other Substrate and Tendermint based networks? Or do these forked networks introduce many changes?
[Liam]
A18) Like I mentioned before, we are building an underlying framework for those base projects, so we can easily cope-paste and launch rToken for those projects.
Q19) The StaFi wallet interface is complex for new users. Do you plan to build a more user-friendly interface?
[Liam]
A19) App StaFi is complex (forked from Parity), while rToken App StaFi is not, we are building a new UI/UX for stakers, please try to use it.
- Joel|Stakely: With that, we will close this wonderful AMA. Thanks, Liam.
- Liam|StaFi: Thanks for your invitation. Thanks, @Cryptocapitalist @iicc1.
Stay tuned for our updates!
Do you hold StaFi tokens ($FIS)? You are welcome to stake in our node. Instructions are available here: Stafi Staking dashboard
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