Hey Humans,

so far I was publishing content at Medium and Publish0x, but now it’s finally time to move my writing over to web3.

I’m a huge fan of PoolTogether, which has just launched its V4. To help everyone get started, I’ve written a FAQ for the PoolTogether Community Substack.

Have a look:

When is PoolTogether V4 launching?

It’s live! 🌊

What is the timeline for the launch?

1️⃣ Phase 1: Dev release of all smart contracts and related docs. Start of auditing. (Happened already)

2️⃣ Phase 2: Public release of V4 on Ethereum and Matic

3️⃣ Phase 3: Release on all EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) blockchains. (November)

What networks is V4 launching on?

Currently Ethereum and Polygon(MATIC). After that it's planned to other EVM compatible blockchains, such as Avalanche, Arbitrum, Celo, Optimistic, Binance Smart Chain, and more.

Deploying to new chains requires three things:

1. A strong bridge. V4 operates by moving liquidity betweens chains.
2. Gnosis Safe. Currently the best multi-sig and one the PoolTogether team is already leveraging at the moment.
3. Aave. PoolTogether has a battle-tested yield source integration for Aave, and as they roll out to new chains PoolTogether can follow them.

All that being said, there are two chains which look like great next steps:

• Arbitrum: Aave will be deploying there soon, and the Gnosis Safe just launched on Arbitrum. Obviously the "bridge" is the fact that it's an L2: very strong!
• Avalanche. Aave is deployed to Avalanche and Gnosis will be deploying there after Arbitrum.

What happens to the Celo and Binance Smart Chain pools?

For the moment they will remain operating on V3. If you are in one of the pools you can leave your funds in there.

What happens to the other V3 pools?

The current V3 pools will continue to exist.

What is the main difference to V3?

1. A single prize pool across all chains
2. Larger & tiered prizes
3. Near zero transaction fees to deposit into the main pool*
4. Thousands of winners

*for deposits on sidechains and L2s

What makes it so special?

Pool Together is actually the first dApp with a true cross-chain functionality. The pools are no more limited to the interest earned on one chain, but will benefit from yield generated on all chains combined.

This also offers a way to save on gas fees and deposit on the chain of your choice.

Will my funds transfer automatically from V3 to V4?

At phase 1 launch. There will be no upgrade mechanism. If you want to join you'll need to withdraw and re-deposit. Options for upgrading will be evaluated after the phase 1 launch. Have a look at "Action Steps" at the bottom.

What Pools will there be from launch day?

On V4 there will be one combined prize pool across all networks. On launch day you will have to possibility to deposit USDC either via Ethereum or Polygon.

How many prizes are possible?

Literally endless. The amount of winners is scalable. At launch day the amount is manually set, but after some data was collected it is possible to adjust it via governance.

Why are prizes customizable?

On V3 a growing prize pool lead to a lower chance to win for your deposit. V4 offers the ability to adjust the prize amount and increase the number of prizes. This way it is possible to sustain the same chances in winning, even if a pool is growing.

What features are planned to be introduced after the launch?

• Ticket Delegation - delegate your chance to win without giving up your funds
• Time Weighted Average Balance - reward mechanism for long term depositors
• POOL incentives + ongoing USDC apr for depositors

Is it possible to win with a small deposit?

It is, and V4 makes it even more likely due to the high amount of prizes. If you want to find out about all the small fish from V3, have a look at smallfish.win

How does Pool Together prevent whales from winning all the prizes?

V4 will introduce a limitation on the amount of prizes per wallet and the possibility of a maximum deposit cap. The exact mechanics can be adjusted by governance.

How do I deposit?

Find out more here or watch the tutorial by DeFi Donut on Youtube.

Is there a minimum deposit?

In V4 there is a minimum deposit of $4 due to technical reasons.

How are the winners chosen?

Winners are picked by a random number generator on the Chainlink VRF. Find out more here.

What are my odds to win?

Your chances to win a prize are dependent on how much you have deposited. The more money you deposit the higher your chances to win.

Your exact chances to win dynamically change in real time based on how many others are depositing and withdrawing. And what the prize distribution is for that specific prize pool.

PoolTogether governance targets a 1% chance of winning any prize for every $100 deposited.

I can’t see the Deposit in my wallet.

Maybe you still need to add the ticket token to your wallet.Polygon: PoolTogether aUSDC TicketEthereum: PoolTogether aUSDC Ticket

Has the code of V4 been audited?

The prize pool code for V4 which secures deposits is a simplified version of the V3 prize pool and therefore inherits much of the security of the V3. In addition to this the code has been internally audited and subject to a $100,000 audit competition with Code Arena. As always, you should exercise caution and understand that you are responsible for any loss of funds. The user docs answer any questions about potential risks.

What happened to the $POOL incentives?

There are no deposit incentives since the launch of PoolTogether V4, as the incentives are now included in the prizes. The plan is to refine the parameters to create an organic growth for $POOL. Find out more about the tokenomics.

Where can I find out more?

Read the User Docs.

Read the Medium Article: The New PoolTogether.

Ask your questions on Discord.

Action Steps on Launch Day 👣

1. Withdraw your funds from the V3 protocol. 📤

2. Swap your token into USDC, if necessary. 🔁

   1inch (Ethereum & Polygon) - Aave (Ethereum & Polygon) - Balancer (Ethereum & Polygon) - Curve (Ethereum & Polygon) - Sushiswap (Ethereum & Polygon) - Quickswap (Polygon)

3. Deposit your USDC into the V4 protocol on either Ethereum or Polygon (low gas fees). Which one doesn't matter, it's one prize pool now! 📥

4. Wait, win & tell your friends! 🏆🎉

Do you have any $POOL laying around on Polygon?

You can deposit it into the POOL pool on Polygon. It is not yet on the main page, but you can access it here. The current weekly prize is 50 $POOL and it is shared across 30 winners! 🐟🐟🐟

Know enough about Pool Together now?

Prove your knowledge on the new Gitcoin Quest.

If you like PoolTogether, you might also want to check the new Community Newsletter I’ve written:

Thanks for reading & see you all around the pool! 👋