What happened in the Staking Space from 25th October to 31st October?

      We are glad to present to you the 6th Staking Rewards Report. Here we will provide a weekly update on all things Staking. A general overview of the market highlighted research in the space, news on all launched staking networks, updates on upcoming Staking networks, the latest developments from Staking infrastructure providers, and a handful of Staking-Related events. The news is being curated by Mirko Schmiedl, Co-Founder at Staking Rewards, and Rina Spasenkova, Marketing Lead at Citadel.One.

      Citadel.One is the sponsor of the Staking Rewards Report.

      Citadel is a multi-asset non-custodial platform to manage and store crypto assets. Stake multiple tokens all within a single interface and seed phrase.

      Staking Rewards Report TL/DR

      • CertiK Chain Mainnet
      • Balancer will build on NEAR
      • Bitcoin coming to Polkadot
      • $145mio USD staked in Persistence StakeDrop
      • Figment raised $2.5mio in Funding

      …And many more!


      Staking Market Overview

      Total Value Participating in Staking (24h change): 

      $13,663,454,828 (-1.31%)

      Top 7 Coins by Value participating in Staking (7d change)

      • Polkadot: $2,798,188,277 (-2.55%)
      • Cardano: $1,596,755,842 (-12.34%)
      • Tezos: $1,360,077,611 (-9,19%)
      • Algorand: $906,616,917 (-17.73%)
      • Cosmos: $880,922,017 (-11.50%)
      • Tron: $541,251,506 (-2.46%)
      • Band Protocol: $478,328,045 (-23.78%)

      Staking Research

      Liquid Staking: A Discussion of its Risks and Benefits by Marco di Maggio

      While mainstream still perceives cryptocurrency as a synonym of bitcoin, the last couple of years has seen the rise of two innovative trends in the crypto land. First, a significant migration from proof of work to proof of stake is booming, with the most visible case being how the an implementation of Ethereum, named Casper, will eventually convert it into a PoS blockchain from its current PoW state. Second, the emergence of DeFi applications has dominated discussions about investments in the crypto space. This article highlights benefits, risks and suggestion for risk mitigations by Marco di Maggio of Terra.

      The Convergence of ETH Staking and DeFi (Video)

      In this talk, stakefish Head of Strategy & Operations Jun Kim explains the rewards we can expect to see in Ethereum 2.0 staking and compares them with typical DeFi earnings. He also dives into topics like tokenized staked ETH and gives a sneak preview of our Ethereum 2.0 staking platform.

      A Tendermint Light Client

      In this research paper the authors formalize the dynamic fault model imposed by Tendermint, and describe a light client protocol that allows to check the state of the blockchain application that, in realistic settings, reduces significantly the amount of data needed to be downloaded, and the number  of required computationally expensive signature verification operations. In addition to mathematical proofs, they have formalized the light client protocol in TLA+, and checked safety and liveness with the APALACHE model checker. Learn more via the link above.

      Staking vs Lending on PoS Blockchains

      Lending and Staking are two hot topics in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) realm. These have respectively grown to around $11bn in total value locked. In this article, authors look at the differences between Staking and Lending digital assets. They are also breaking down some recommendations for different situations.

      What is Ethereum 2.0 and Why Does It Matter? By Decrypt

      In brief:

      1. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is planning a major update to its network.
      2. The Ethereum 2.0 upgrade aims to address the network’s scalability and security.
      3. The first phase of the upgrade, due in 2020, will see Ethereum switch to a proof of stake consensus mechanism.

      Live Networks Updates

      The Launch of the CertiK Chain Mainnet

      The new blockchain places a heavy focus on security, turning the previously static process of analyzing smart contracts into a real-time safeguarding system. The blockchain also carries an interoperability focus through the concept of Security Oracles, which provide real-time analysis of smart contracts on other blockchains. The oracles will work through a system of customers and operators. End users or developers who wish to understand the level of security of a particular contract will submit a request, funded with the blockchain’s CTK tokens. The operators behind the oracles will then conduct the analysis and publish the results on-chain.

      Bitcoin is coming to Polkadot

      In early 2021, Interlay will introduce Polkadot’s first trustless wrapped Bitcoin – PolkaBTC – marking a critical step towards a truly interoperable ecosystem.

      Learn more about Polkadot on Staking Rewards

      Balancer will build on NEAR

      Major Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Balancer will also be available via NEAR, an Ethereum competitor that just fully opened its mainnet last week. The team behind the smart contract platform, which promises reduced latency and fees compared with Ethereum

      Learn more about NEAR on Staking Rewards

      Kava Labs Successfully Verifies Its Confidence In Harvest.io With Third CertiK Audit

      Backed by Binance among other fintech giants, Kava is expanding its influence with its first app Harvest.io, a cross-chain money market that would leverage the Kava DeFi architecture to connect a variety of digital assets and virtual currencies hailing from a big spectrum of the broader blockchain industry. A comprehensive examination has been performed, utilizing Dynamic Analysis, Static Analysis, and Manual review techniques. Learn more in the detailed article above. 

      Learn more about Kava on Staking Rewards

      Orbs Locking of Team Tokens

      The team has voluntarily elected to place the entire team pool under the same locking mechanism that applies to all staking participants in the Orbs Proof-of-Stake Universe. The team tokens will not be participating in any PoS elections and will not share in the PoS staking rewards divided among Delegators and Guardians. 

      The Matic Validator onboarding Phase 3 continues to gain momentum 

      There are already 53 validator nodes on Matic. Once 100 validator slots have been filled, Matic will begin shutting down the Foundation nodes. Matic will then be a full-blown decentralized public network powered by external validators. 

      See a list of all MATIC Validators on Staking Rewards

      Gangnam Testnet Opens (ICON 2.0)

      Gangnam testnet is powered by Goloop (ICON 2.0) and supports Java SCORE. Additionally, ICON 2.0 includes a Java virtual machine that enables Java SCORE, eliminating the need for audits by the Foundation.

      How To Submit a Bounty Proposal On Kusama and Polkadot networks?

      The new Bounty Extension allows curators to autonomously allocate funds to projects that bring value. With everything happening on-chain, this is an efficient way to administer Treasury funds, boosting the Polkadot ecosystem and giving more autonomy to those curating their development. The new extension works as a budget mechanism aiming to help the Councils scale their tasks. Learn more on how to set up your proposal via the link above.


      To-Be-Launched Networks’ Updates

      Peggy Dev (Ethereum -> Cosmos Bridge) update #3

      The team hosted Peggy BrokenNet #1. Over the course of the rapid 4 hour test they:

      1. Successfully deployed a 10 validator Cosmos blockchain with the Althea-Peggy Cosmos module
      2. Successfully deployed the Peggy Ethereum contract to Rinkeby
      3. Successfully bridged ERC20 tokens from Rinkeby to our Cosmos blockchain.

      $145 million USD have already been staked for Persistence Cosmos StakeDrop Campaign

      StakeDrop is a token distribution mechanism that allows token holders of some of the most prominent Proof-of-Stake networks to get exposure to XPRT tokens (Persistence tokens). StakeDrop went live on 26th of October and more than 700 people have already joined in and started staking. Learn more here.

      Passive Income Explained with Liquid Staking & Staking Derivatives 

      In this article the author explores Liquid Staking and discusses how KIRA Network revolutionizes this mechanism with Stake Farming, which is the ability to utilize any type of digital asset to optimize passive income without liquidation and/or volatility risks that are present in almost all other DeFi applications.

      Introducing the Oasis ROSE Garden

      The Oasis Foundation in collaboration with CoinList launched the ROSE Garden. Participating in the ROSE Garden gives community members early access to the ROSE token and provides an opportunity for further staking rewards. The ROSE garden will help grow the Oasis community, while also supporting the stability and security of the Oasis Network. 

      Staking Hub: Akash AMA

      Quick Takes: 

      1. Akash is eliminating the need to rely on centralized cloud computing providers 
      2. Anyone with compute capacity can bid for jobs on the Akash marketplace
      3. Stakers earn rewards from inflation, transaction fees, and from the marketplace take rate
      4. Trusted provider program will help ensure quality of providers
      5. Stablecoin payments will be supported via IBC

      Learn more about Akash on Staking Rewards

      Stakebird Albatross Cosmos Testnet

      Check the participation instructions via the link above.


      Staking Providers Update

      Taurus enables secure Tezos staking infrastructure for institutional use-cases

      Since the start of the cooperation between the Tezos Foundation and Taurus Group in the end of 2019, Taurus Group has deployed a strategic roadmap to work towards institutional adoption.  Recently, they announced that Taurus has integrated the Tezos protocol’s staking capabilities into its digital asset infrastructure solutions. These include Taurus-PROTECT, the leading digital asset custody solution for banks, asset managers, and exchanges. This is a second step of several strategic initiatives.

      Figment Raises $2.5 Million in Funding Round

      Figment has closed a second round of venture funding totaling $2.5 million led by Bonfire Ventures and joined by, FJ Labs, XDL Capital Group, Leminiscap, BKCM, and angel investor Stephan Patnernot. The capital raised will be used to grow our team, scale infrastructure and further develop Figment’s market leading staking infrastructure and developer services.

      Learn more about Figment on Staking Rewards


      Upcoming Staking Events

      About The Author

      Rina Spasenkova

      is the CMO, and blockchain analyst at Citadel.one. Being in crypto since the age of 17, she mainly focused on the topics related to PoS systems of passive yield, smart contracts, and social construction of cryptocurrency