This week, we conclude November 2023 and enter the last month of 2023. This month’s community update covers lots ranging from Twitter Spaces to collaborative efforts to protocol updates / SLURPs and data analytics / metrics reports.
Let’s dive into what you need to know for stake.link’s November.
1). SLURP-Updates
The protocol saw the following SLURP-Alerts in the month of November:
A). SLURP-13: The v3 SDL/LINK liquidity pool is now live! As per SLURP-13 and SLURP-10b, SDL incentives are now flowing, and users can enjoy the full suite of features available to Uniswap v3 liquidity providers.
** B). SLURP-14 | Deprecation of SDL Token Mint Function (Passed - 7 Votes For)**
SLURP-14 outlines the deprecation of the SDL Token Mint Function in accordance with SLURP-8.
• As ratified by SLURP-8, the total supply of SDL tokens is capped at 100,000,000 and no longer elastic.
• SLURP-14 disposes of the SDL token contract by the stake.link Multi-Sig, which disables the ability to mint new tokens.
• For future node operators that may join the protocol, they would be allocated #SDL from the stake.link Treasury instead of minting new tokens.
2). LToads and stake.link
stake.link is proud to have collaborated extensively in the month of November with the LToads -- the first Chainlink Ecosystem NFT project built by the LINK community. “DAO structured, utility focused. Educational based community project, helping the Chainlink ecosystem.”
This collaboration took place on two fronts:
A). Spaces with Chainlink Node Operator and stake.link member-node Matrixed.Link (and on Monday December 4, 2023, Twitter Spaces with stake.link member-node CryptoManufaktur.
-The Toads got the chance to speak with CEO of Matrixed.Link Kubilay Özçelik.
-This Spaces was recorded and can be viewed here.
-Running Chainlink Nodes takes years of legwork, commitment, and self-improvement. Matrixed.Link has exhibited qualities of one of the highest performant node operators in the Chainlink Ecosystem.
-For community members that missed the spaces, we encourage everyone to check it out!
B). LToads <> stake.link Educational Campaigns
-You read it right, campaigns plural!
-stake.link is collaborating with the LToads in an educational series surrounding Chainlink Staking v0.2 and the mission-critical role that the stake.link protocol is playing in securing the ETHUSD data feed.
-Part 1 concluded on November 22, and in the first week of December, we kickoff Part 2.
Our focus with Part 2: Education surrounding the General Access opening of Staking v0.2.
stake.link is uniquely positioned to provide value to LINK token holders for a multitude of reasons.
-Users may be away from keyboard / wallet for the holiday season and want to stake their LINK.
-Users want to save money on high gas fees from manually staking (there is currently a deposit fee into the Priority Pool that costs anywhere from 25%-33% as much as the cost to migrate to v0.2).
-The ability to take advantage of Chainlink Automation contracts to stake LINK as quickly as possible with limited space.
and more.
stake.link through the Priority Pool and Chainlink Automation has delivered the most refined staking experience for the Chainlink Ecosystem, and with the LToads, we’re looking forward to showcasing this to LINK token holders who want to meaningfully participate in securing the ETHUSD feed.
Stay tuned for Part 2 on December 4!
3). stake.link’s First Monthly Spaces!
On Thursday November 16, 2023, stake.link hosted its first inaugural spaces -- we thank those who attended!
As the first-of-its-kind and sole liquid staking protocol for the Chainlink Ecosystem, our job is to ensure that the community is as informed as possible. This goes beyond Twitter posts, blogs, articles, Telegram, Discord, or even the governance forum.
Twitter Spaces are a unique way to further deliver to the community just what’s going on in stake.link and in the broader Ecosystem. Users may not always have the time to tune in live, either. Spaces are recorded and can be viewed at any time.
Did you catch our first spaces? stake.link was joined by the CEO and founder of LinkPool Jonny Huxtable, and the Director of Innovation of LinkPool Eric Jaurena.
Check the first stake.link Spaces out below.
We appreciate Jonny and Eric’s time sitting down with the community to discuss the protocol and Chainlink Staking!
For future Spaces -- we’re excited to announce that we will be joined by CEO of Matrixed.Link’s Kubilay Özçelik.
Kubilay will be our co-host on all monthly spaces moving forward. We’re privileged to have the opportunity to sit down and talk with one of the most prominent minds in Web3 each month, and we encourage everyone to tune in.
The next stake.link spaces is scheduled for Thursday, December 21, 2023.
4). stake.link & stLINK: Enabling Composability and Use-Cases
In November, stake.link published a blog outlining the protocol’s role in Chainlink Staking and how it achieves the “liquid” in liquid staking via the staked LINK receipt token, stLINK.
We can point to broader, established blockchain staking when attempting to better understand what the market demands when it comes to staking and security: users want their tokens to be liquid when securing networks (whether oracle or validator networks).
We look to the state of Ethereum staking to outline why stLINK delivers value for users, and what the future of liquid staking for the stake.link and Chainlink looks like based on what LST protocols like Lido, RocketPool, and Frax have achieved in Ethereum alone.
Check the article out here.
5). Meet the Nodes Part 4: ChainLayer
In November, stake.link published the 4th part of the ongoing series Meet the Nodes with one of the most veteran node operators in the Chainlink Ecosystem, ChainLayer.
We sat down and spoke with ChainLayer’s Chief Financial Officer Peter van Mourik.
Meet the Nodes is an ongoing series that focuses on the nodes that make this protocol great: Who are they? How did they get to this point? What are they doing today? What do they see in a Chainlinked Future?
Peter’s background speaks for itself: he has extensive work with financial services firms and banking institutions in software and development roles.
In case you missed it, check out Part 4 of Meet the Nodes with Peter / ChainLayer to learn more about Peter’s background, how ChainLayer came to be, and what they’re working on today here.
6). The Priority Pool and Chainlink Staking v0.2
In mid-November, Chainlink Labs released the remaining specifics of the details surrounding Chainlink Staking v0.2.
Here’s what you need to know from the release:
• Unbonding (withdrawing) via staking.chain.link entails a 28 day cooldown period
• Non-claimable rewards may be penalized if withdrawn before a set period of time.
• Chainlink General Access Staking v0.2 opens on Monday, December 11, 2023, at 12:00pm EST.
These are the key takeaways that pertain to the protocol, and the takeaways reiterate the solutions provided by both stake.link and more broadly liquid staking:
-Users do not want to wait to receive their principal stake when withdrawing
-Users do not want to be penalized for claiming their rewards
Through stake.link, users are able to swap stLINK for LINK in the Curve DeFi pool whenever they please and even withdraw from the protocol itself at stake.link at a 1:1 ratio. Users also aren’t penalized of their hard-earned rewards when unbonding / withdrawing.
That’s the Power of Liquid Staking. In November, we released two updates showcasing this →
On November 22, 2023, we showcased the ability for the Priority Pool to instantly fill space at the benefit of Priority Pool depositors looking to stake LINK in v0.2 here.
-TLDR; In the event somebody exits from stLINK to LINK, their stLINK will go to the Priority Pool and be distributed as claimable to the queued Priority Pool LINK depositors.
On November 28, 2023, we announced the completion of the migration from v0.1 to v0.2 at no cost to our users, who instantly began earning rewards in v0.2.
As of writing, here is the rundown of LINK in the Priority Pool and staked through stake.link:
• Priority Pool Deposited LINK: 919,340.35479 LINK
• LINK staked with stake.link: 842,349.33 LINK
As can be seen, LINK deposited into the Priority Pool exceed total LINK staked with the protocol. We’re excited to keep tabs on this figure as we inch closer to December 11, 2023 when General Access opens.
Discussed on Twitter today, here is the rundown of stake.link metrics for the month:
To conclude our discussion of the Priority Pool: We have airdrop incentives for depositing into the Priority Pool!
See details below:
7). stake.link Goes Cross-Chain for the First Time!
This is the first demonstration the protocol’s ability in moving an asset across multiple blockchain networks, and as time progresses, we expect this to ramp significantly in order to keep up with market demand for a cross-chain infrastructure that more than ever requires a safe and secure way to transfer messages and assets cross-chain.
In Conclusion
November was a productive month. We look forward to continuing delivering in the month of December with all eyes on 2024.
November marks an important milestone in the Chainlink Ecosystem. We waited years to provide explicit security guarantees to the Ecosystem. In November and December, we’re expanding on those security guarantees, and on December 11, 2023, on the opening of General Access Staking v0.2, we’re going to do just that in the most user-friendly and stress-free manner possible through the stake.link Priority Pool.
As always, we thank the community members who consistently provide valuable feedback and discussion, aiming to make the protocol better. This extends to the member-node operators that make stake.link great.
We encourage everyone to stay engaged, continue asking questions, and providing us with input in the stake.link telegram, discord, and governance forum.
OK;LG!
Disclaimer: This communication is directed only and persons outside the UK, and should not be acted on by any person located in the UK. Any persons located in the UK should make their own determination as to whether their participation in the stake.link protocol could be subject to UK regulatory requirements, and stake.link makes no claims (express or implied), and accepts no liability, in relation to the potential application of UK regulatory requirements to such persons or their activity.