xDAI AMA with Wolf Crypto
We held an AMA with xDAI in our public Telegram channel on August 27th.
The xDai Chain is a stable payments blockchain designed for fast and inexpensive stable transactions. xDai is used for transactions, payments and fees, and STAKE is used to support Proof-of-Stake consensus.
xDai is the ideal cryptocurrency for everyday payments and transactions. Fees are extremely low, payments are very fast, and the value remains stable at ~ $1 US Dollar per xDai. User-friendly tools make xDai easily adoptable for crypto and non-crypto users alike! Users only need xDai to complete payments (a single stable token for payments + fees).
STAKE is a multi-chain staking token designed to secure the payment layer. Staking allows block producers (validators and their delegators) to provide transaction consensus and receive staking incentives for honest block production. STAKE is not required for everyday chain transactions or users, it is only required for consensus providers. STAKE is also not stable, it is a volatile token whose value is determined by the marketplace.
xDAI have recently launched an EasyStaking program on Ethereum —
Along with releasing their OmniBridge multi-token bridge extension —
You can visit the xDAI Telegram channel or the xDAI website for further details.
Here’s what Igor Barinov had to say in the AMA.*
*This AMA has been edited for clarity.
WC (Wolf Crypto Telegram Member)
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to another edition of Wolf Crypto AMA, this time with xDAI.
Joining us from the xDAI team today is Igor Barinov and Andrew Gross!
TEAM & TEAM GOALS
WC
Welcome guys, I interview a lot of projects in this channel, and it’s not often I feel a bit fanboi’ish, but today is one of those days!
xDAI is a project I’ve been following for a long time now, so it really is an honour to have you and your big brains here today!
For those who might not know who you are though, can I get a quick intro from you, your background in crypto and how you became involved in xDAI?
IB
Hi everyone, good to be here!
I’m Igor Barinov, technical lead and operations manager for xDai. I’ve been around the block a bit — I first got started in blockchain in 2014 working with data anchoring related to Bitcoin 0.9.0 development.
From there I founded BlockNotary, a blockchain-based notarization service, and then POA Network, a Proof of Authority Ethereum sidechain network where US Notaries are validators. With POA we have a big focus on R&D and open-source development.
We’ve created products like BlockScout, a widely used explorer (used by Classic, RSK, Celo, Matic and others) and TokenBridge for cross-chain interoperability. The idea for a stable sidechain (xDai) grew from these experiences and the tooling we created.
We’ve since developed a new consensus called POSDAO for validator selection and incentives, and have other exciting new products, ideas and plans on the way with the xDai stable chain.
AG
Hi guys, I’m Andrew, I work on technical docs and comms for xDai, basically interfacing with our developers and explaining many of the concepts to users and devs.
xDai is such a dynamic project, there are always new developments and ideas to keep up with!
WC
Andrew, I love your work, the site you’ve put together is CHOCK full of resources…Igor’s work is OK too I guess haha!
I think from that intro everyone can see what I mean by big brains…
How about some of your other team members who aren’t here today.
Who else makes up the xDAI brains trust and what are their backgrounds?
IB
We’ve got a global team with a ton of experience designing production-ready blockchain applications. The project leads have been with us since POA started, and other team members have joined as xDai has grown.
Vadim Arasev is project lead for POSDAO staking implementation, Victor Baranov heads BlockScout and Nifty Wallet development, and Alex Kolotov is lead architect on the TokenBridge project.
We also have Max Alexeenko who is working on our EasyStaking application, Kirill Fedoseev innovating on the TokenBridge. These guys are amazing and have been churning out and shipping open-source solutions for years.
Of course we do a lot of collaborating with other teams and programmers as needed. You can learn more about them here —
Each team member brings a unique perspective from fields such as telecommunications, robotics, ecommerce, informatics, genetics and research.
THE xDAI NETWORK & CHAIN
WC
Why xDAI and what for?
What’s the ideal use case and why is it better than other solutions?
IB
xDai is a platform that supports stable payments including digital cash transactions and application interactions. It is developer friendly, fast, very inexpensive and completely compatible with Ethereum.
When xDai started the first use cases were events and conferences. Users could access a conference wallet, quickly pay for items with a stable coin and vendors/organizers could accept stable value. With Ethereum congested and really expensive, the use-cases have really expanded.
Any application that needs lower gas fees and fast transactions can find a home at xDai.
This includes things like DeFi applications, DAO voting, crypto art, prediction markets, games — basically all of the cool and cutting-edge projects that are being priced out of the mainnet.
WC
Am I correct in saying this project was inspired by a doodle on a napkin?
IB
That is true — as most great ideas are! If it can’t fit on a napkin, it’s not quite where it needs to be.
The idea for xDai was born in September 2018 after a dinner, a few beers and late night conversations at EthBerlin. It went from idea to production in just a few months. For the whole inside scoop — we’ve got a forum post on it here (although the napkin is probably lost forever) …
WC
What was the thinking behind using DAI as the base for your “network stability”?
Why DAI and not another stable coin? Weren’t tempted to use USDT? lol
AG
MakerDAO was a part of the initial network design conversation, and they are currently validators on xDai. It made sense that we could tap into DAI liquidity with xDai.
However, now that the network is established we can look at adding other stablecoins. We envision many other x-stablecoins being used, swapped and exchanged on the network.
In fact, some have already been bridged — including USDT!
Check out this list of bridged tokens not living on xDai —
WC
Before we get too far into things, can you explain to me the benefits of using an EVM compatible side chain as developers and what the net gain for the end user is as a result?
AG
EVM compatibility is huge for developers, because applications can be ported to xDai with ease, you just need to change a couple of variables. We also support the same dev tools (like Truffle) and have support from applications like theGraph and many others. MetaMask works easily, you just add the xDai custom RPC.
So this all comes together to make for a painless transition. And once you’ve moved to xDai, contracts can be deployed really inexpensively. For users, this means much faster applications and a more enjoyable user experience (i.e less pending transactions and more blockchain interactions)!
WC
So the POSDAO….this seems like a huge step forward for the XDAI network.
Explain to me what POSDAO is, and how it differs from other POS networks…and other DAO’s?
IB
POSDAO is a new protocol we’ve created that stands for Proof of Stake Decentralized Autonomous Organization. It’s a Proof of Stake mechanism with pluggable consensus. We designed this protocol to provide decentralization features for the xDai chain. Validators are selected based on staking amounts of the governance token STAKE, as well as a random number generated on-chain.
The DAO is made up of the actual validators within the network.
POSDAO itself is very configurable, with xDai there will be a maximum of 19 validators at any one time. Validators will serve in staking epochs, which are set to 1 week. At the end of the week the algorithm will determine the set for the next week. There is also a delegation aspect, where delegators can place STAKE on validator candidates they like. When candidates are selected, their delegators earn rewards along with the validator for signing blocks, producing randomness, reporting, and other validator responsibilities.
The POSDAO whitepaper goes into great detail about the protocol (60+ pages!)…you can learn more about it here —
WC
So the POSDAO isn’t some bastardised Telegram group with a membership token, that’s great to hear! Haha
Though Dovey Wan says xDAI would be ideal for use in a DAO…
Although I’m no Dovey fan, can you explain what she means here and how xDAI could be used in a DAO?
Might wanna let Andrew Lee and co know about that one! Ivan….Haha!
AG
The DAOs are coming to xDai!
We’re seeing the migration happening now.
DOAHaus —
1Hive —
Aragon —
It’s about the costs related to creating (summoning) a DAO and then member interaction. If votes are too expensive, participation becomes really difficult. Interacting with a DAO requires active participation among members….
If votes are too expensive, participation becomes really difficult. Interacting with a DAO requires active participation among members.
Another cutting edge DAO use case live on xDai is called the Galt Project. This is a DAO for HOAs — home ownership associations — and votes are collected and decisions made on-chain.
More on Galt —
WC
Since we’re in a space that’s now gaga for DeFi, what’s your unique value proposition re xDAI and DeFi?
How do you improve the DeFI ecosystem and what can xDAI do that others can’t in that regard?
IB
There’s so much happening with DeFi that relates to xDai. First of all, it’s interesting that DeFi popularity is actually causing a lot of the issues on Mainnet which xDai is designed to help with (congestion and high fees).
Moving exchange capability to xDai also makes sense so that trading costs can become reasonable again.
There is already a Uniswap V1 clone deployed here —
…And we are expecting some more migrations and deployments.
With EasyStaking on Ethereum there is an opportunity for yield farming with the STAKE governance token, along with contributing to liquidity pools on the Mainnet.
We are seeing lots of interest from other DeFi protocols, one example is the Unit Protocol where STAKE can be used as collateral in a decentralized borrowing capacity.
More info on Unit Protocol here —
WC
The first exposure I had to the product side of things re xDAI was the Burner wallet. Seems like forever ago I saw that in action…back when conferences were a thing pre COVID…
Step me back and run me through how all that came about in the first place, and where you’re at with that now?
I believe there’s been a few versions of it released along the way?
AG
Man conferences seem like a long time ago.
We really miss conferences and gatherings… mostly our friends and the chance to talk crypto and show our solutions in action. Burner Wallet is special this way, it lets anyone use crypto (xDai) right away, without a lot of the extras that can make it hard for the uninitiated. It’s not the most secure, but perfect for small value transactions.
Burner wallet is really what brought xDai awareness to many more people in the Ethereum community and beyond. There have been many versions, the first wallet at EthDenver 2019 was an idea to involve participants actually using crypto to buy food from food trucks at the conference. The interface was simple, but it worked amazingly well!
Then devs started adding more features like the ability to collect conference points, vote on projects, persistent logins and other cool things. By EthDenver 2020 — right before Covid hit — it was a full fledged experience wallet! A similar burner wallet was also used at the Splunk conference with over 10,000 non-crypto attendees!
Still, innovations are happening with the Burner Wallet Collective, Austin Griffith, Dave Mihal and others. In fact, we recently collaborated with Amazon Web Services to write up a tutorial about using the Burner Factory to create custom tokens on xDai. Its use spans from a few users to a huge enterprise and everywhere in between!
WC
What’s the burner wallet collective? Sounds a bit like a band name or a cult name…haha
And who is Austin Griffith and what is his relationship to the project?
AG
Burner Wallet Collective are a very cool group of people — maybe Burner Wallet DAO makes more sense?
It’s a working group of devs who are collaborating on Burner Wallet updates and use-cases. This includes Burner Wallet groups in places like Venezuela and other countries where inflation is out of control. Stable value is really needed here, and the burner wallet interface makes it possible.
If you don’t know Austin Griffith, you should, check out —
https://twitter.com/austingriffith
He is a talented and super creative dev who is about adoption, onboarding, and bringing blockchain to everyone. His videos are really entertaining and he’s always cooking up new and innovating ideas.
Burner wallet is one example, he’s also bridged Reddit coins to xDai called xMoons, created games on xDai, created a build tool called eth.build and other cool things. He’s big on xDai because of the ease and interoperability with Ethereum.
WC
So once public POSDAO rolls around for you guys, I believe validator nodes for plebs like me will become active right?
Do you have an indication as to the amount of STAKE required for this? My grapevine tells me some of the price action of late on STAKE has been as a direct result of people buying STAKE bags to run nodes…
Case in point…
Just on that too Igor, how do you feel being a living meme these days?
IB
I appreciate our community and impressed by their meme making skills!
Yep we are looking at Q4 for public validator candidates.
Running a node will require 20,000 STAKE to start. This can be hard to come by because the available supply is pretty small at the moment.
WC
I just did some napkin math…it’s a lazy $350K USD for a validator node now STAKE is almost $20…I really should of stocked up at $2/$3…
So anyways, how would I benefit as a node runner in an XDAI/STAKE based ecosystem?
IB
You’ll be providing vital services and data availability for projects on xDai, and that will help you feel great to know you are supporting decentralized security and data access for all!
Of course there are emission incentives as well, 15% APR in STAKE which is distributed between validators and their delegators.
WC
Is the 15% APY is for an individual validator or split across all the nodes on the network?
IB
15% APR from all staked tokens in the protocol on a realm, e.g. xDai. Distribution between pools within one realm is equal between all pools. Distributions within pools is based on distribution of a validator and all delegates within this pool.
TLDR — consensus with socialism!
EASYSTAKING, VALIDATORS & DELEGATORS
WC
That a great segue, from node rewards to staking rewards…
Something I’ve been participating in and informing our community about is your recently released EasyStaking program.
For those not already in the know, can you detail the different methods of EasyStaking on xDAI and what the benefits of each method are?
AG
Easystaking is actually a way to stake STAKE on the Ethereum mainnet, and it is available now!
As the name suggests, it is super easy, just connect your wallet and add STAKE. The most painful part is paying the gas fees in ETH to start staking.
We’ve got some tutorials here as well if you want more info —
There are a few interesting things about EasyStaking cryptonomics. First of all, staking APR is divided into 2 categories; time and amount. With time, the longer you stake, the higher your APR. This grows really quickly over the first month, so there is a lot of incentive to stay in the protocol. With amount, APR grows based on how much is staked by everyone.
So if more people participate, more STAKE is distributed to all. It’s a collective approach to help increase participation.
Besides that, there is a second layer which incentivizes liquidity providers. So if you put STAKE/ETH liquidity into a Uniswap pool, you actually receive STAKE APR as well. All STAKE locked in EasyStaking accrues 15% total, and this is split between EasyStakers and Liquidity Providers.
There’s a lot more on our site that details the rewards and how it works, and we’re really curious to see if staking or being an LP is more advantageous. It will really be situational, based on time, supply, the earth’s rotation….who knows!
It’s an evolving and really fun way to stake, for sure. You can find more info here —
WC
As I mentioned, I’ve been participating in EasyStaking since the release of the program…
Firstly I would like to say, thank you for giving me an incentive to lock up my STAKE at like $3 or whatever it was at the time…worked out pretty well since then, past any extra STAKE I’ve received for doing so!
Can you give me an update as to the participation levels on EasyStaking so far?
How many people have gotten involved and what rewards have been paid out so far?
AG
It’s been a popular program — really the best way is to check the EasyStaking contract which is transparent on chain.
You can check it out here for the latest participation and STAKE in the EasyStaking contract —
https://etherscan.io/address/0xecbcd6d7264e3c9eac24c7130ed3cd2b38f5a7ad
We’re also working on adding more views in the UI to show how users are interacting with EasyStaking to give additional insights.
WC
Will EasyStaking be a continual program you run on the network, or will this be phased out as the public can start running validator nodes?
AG
We plan to keep EasyStaking on Ethereum and POSDAO staking will happen on xDai.
It’s a way to maintain 2 different staking protocols, and EasyStaking allows anyone to participate with no minimums and the chance to unstake instantly.
With POSDAO staking there will be minimums that exclude some STAKE holders, so we want to provide choices and different mechanisms for staking so people can decide what works best for them.
WC
What about “Pre-Staking” on Bitmax, that’s done and dusted right?
AG
Yeah that was a promotional APR program.
We were the first project to participate in that program, called StakeVault, but it was only designed to go for 3 months and expired at the beginning of August 2020.
WC
What’s the qualifying criteria for a user to run a validator node on xDAI, once available?
AG
Besides the 20K STAKE to become a validator candidate, you will need to run a node in the network.
The minimum specs are as follows —
- OS: Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS with root or sudo-user access over ssh
- CPU: minimum 2 cores
- RAM: minimum 4GB
- Disk: SSD
Open network ports: SSH port (default 22 TCP), 30303 UDP.
For security purposes, close other ports.
Additionally, we recommend running a fallback node. If for some reason your node fails at the end of a staking epoch, it will be seen as malicious behavior which can have some bad consequences...
We are working on instructions for onboarding new validators that will be easy to follow adn available before public POSDAO staking launches.
WC
On that note, who are the big boys who are currently already allowed to run validator nodes on xDAI?
XD
We have a strong group of validators who are currently running POSDAO for xDai, many have been validating for close to 2 years.
This includes MakerDAO, Giveth, Portis (Shapeshift), Gnosis, Nethermind and others.
You can see the current list here —
WC
What about delegators? How many coins are required and how and who can they delegate to?
XD
Delegators need 1000 STAKE to start, and they can delegate to any validators they feel will do the best job.
Delegators will also want to look at how much is already delegated on a validator when making this choice, as this will determine staking reward splits.
It’s another game-theory aspect of the protocol where smart delegators will make choices that increase their rewards, which will also serve to better protect the protocol. All this will all be accomplished through an easy-to-use UI.
WC
Nothing like a good old fashioned node war!
AG
Yes — it’s another game-theory aspect of the protocol where smart delegators will make choices that increase their rewards, which will also serve to better protect the protocol with the strongest validators.
All this will all be accomplished through an easy-to-use UI… the UI is coming along nicely and we’ll be doing some videos on it in the upcoming months.
WC
Great!
I’m looking forward to those updates as being to rekt pleb I am, 20K STAKE is out of reach for me…but 1000 I can do no problems!
IB
As I said, parameters of staking likely to be adjusted before the launch of public staking, to be agile and adaptive is important for governance processes.
TOKEN SUPPLY & UTILITY
WC
This should be a fun one, as you haven’t made this super simple for me, there’s a few tokens in your ecosystem all doing different things…
Let’s start with xDAI first…
The xDAI token supply requires DAI to be locked into a smart contact on the xDAI network right?
How much DAI is locked into the xDAI network and where can we see and keep up to date with this in real time?
IB
Sure, it varies as xDai <-> Dai are bridged back and forth. The easiest way to find it is through the Bridge UI.
If you go to the statistics page —
…you can see the total amount that has been bridged along with the current amount of xDai on the network.
You can also find the xDai Market Cap on BlockScout at any time —
WC
Is this the only way to get xDAI?
As a normal user, how do I mint xDAI from DAI?
IB
Right now the bridge is the best way to get xDai (of course you can get xDai from a friend as well). The Bridge UI is the easiest way to mint xDai from Dai.
Simply go to —
…connect to Ethereum, and choose the amount of Dai you want to transform into xDai. You can also bridge using a BurnerWallet.
If you go to —
…this will instantly create a burner wallet that you can use independently or connect to MetaMask, and then exchange through this interface. Other wallets are also adding exchange functionality.
You can find more tutorials here —
WC
Tell me more about this bridge and how it works…Will this end up being used for other assets or conversion of assets on the xDAI network
IB
There are 2 functional bridges right now. The main xDai <-> Dai bridge, where you can transform xDai into Dai and vice versa, and an Arbitrary Message Bridge between xDai and Ethereum. Both have smart contracts deployed on both sides of the bridge, and multisig wallet functionality is required for TokenBridge validators. Multiple parties must agree on operations before an action is executed. We also have plans to further decentralize these bridges.
The Arbitrary Message Bridge is really exciting for xDai, because it includes the new OmniBridge, where any ERC20 on Ethereum can be bridged to xDai, without deploying additional contracts or anything. RaidGuild is working up a UI for this, and we’ve already bridged a bunch of tokens (token list above).
WC
Speaking of bridged tokens, what’s the logic of adding tokens to xDAI?
Can I start adding in all my shitcoins?
AG
If you’d like to…. go ahead!
We’re looking at things like DEXs and really the ability to bridge, so people can bridge their own tokens. The JOON token is an example of a personal token that has been bridged to xDai and its used with KickBack for events.
Once the coins are there, the utility will follow…
WC
Apart from serving as a stable method of payment, is there any other utility to the xDAI coin on the network?
AG
It’s used for gas fees, which you know by now are really, really inexpensive (and stable and predictable).
It’s the native currency, so it is used like ETH on Ethereum.
WC
How about STAKE?
I know as the same suggests, its main purpose is to be used as a staking mechanism that secures the network, but does it serve any higher purpose past that?
AG
It’s the governance token for the network, so it’s primary purpose is for staking and ensuring security through staking.
With DeFi composability, there are new use cases coming up where STAKE can be used as collateral, for influence farming and other up-and-coming ideas.
WC
So the xDAI supply is based on how many DAI is locked, but what is the supply mechanics for the STAKE token?
It’s inflationary right?
AG
It is inflationary but it’s variable — inflation is based on how much is locked in staking protocols. STAKE that is “staked” accrues 15% APR.
This is distributed to validators and delegators at the end of a weekly staking epoch, and stakers and liquidity providers with EasyStaking when a staker exits the protocol. So inflation ultimately depends on STAKE usage.
You can find out more on our emission schedule here —
WC
Now I have to admit, in researching for this AMA, these two tokens came as news to me…
CHAI and EXIT?
What the? And what for?
AG
Yes — we like to stay on the bleeding edge to help increase rewards for POSDAO stakers.
The Chai token —
…automatically accrues interest from the Dai Savings Rate (DSR).
We can take locked Dai, convert it to Chai, and provide this interest as additional rewards to validators. Right now the Dai Savings Rate is 0, so it’s not impacting rewards, but it has been higher than 8% in the past.
It’s a programmatic way to capture more value for users.
Exit is purely exploratory atm. It’s a synthetic stable currency that is derived algorithmically and still in a deep research phase.
We see this as a possible future reward scenario equivalent to game points and rewards.
WC
So if I have this right…xDAI could be considered a synthetic asset right?
With that being the case, you have the ability to add in other synthetic assets I’d assume?
What would these be used for, especially taking in mind your main use case is payments?
AG
Yes, we can bridge any existing ERC20 synthetic asset to xDai and enable synthetic asset trading. Other use cases are wide-open.
I would say xDai started as a payments platform, but our main use case now much broader — xDai is here to empower all types of blockchain applications and promote cross-chain innovation and value transfer.
PARTNERSHIPS
WC
Talk to me about Splunk…
I know they’ve created a super sexy dashboard for you, but does the partnership extend past that at all?
AG
We’ve actually been collaborating with the Splunk team for quite a while now.
We first connected at EthDenver 2019 where they created a dashboard for the event that displayed food truck purchases and other real-time analytics on xDai. The crypto-wallet experience really inspired them and they created a Burner Wallet called Pony Purse and custom tokens called ButterCup Bucks for their Splunk .conf19 conference.
More than 10,000 people experienced crypto there. They also brought their wallet on xDai to the RSAConference 2020.
With the Reddit Bake-Off we worked side-by-side to create a production ready solution. They are an amazing group working to bring more data transparency to blockchain.
WC
It’s a bit of a loose use of the word partnership in its current context, but it’s me saying it, not you, so all good, but tell me about what you’re doing with the Reddit Bake-Off, what it involved and what it means for xDAI if you’re selected as the chain to power Reddit’s MOON token?
IB
We carved out all the time we could in July to work on the Reddit challenge. We were doing double duty with EasyStaking at the same time, so it was a huge month! We also spun up a testnet during called qDai to demonstrate how we can scale horizontally as required, and Austin Griffith did his thing with interoperability and xMOONs on xDai.
Just like the rest of the teams right now we are waiting for the results and answering any questions that come up. Regardless of what happens, it was an awesome way to showcase our network, and collaborate not only with Splunk but also with Connext, who demonstrate state channel interoperability on xDai with their Spacefold.io project.
If we are selected we’ll be ready to implement and very excited to help scale Reddit Community Points on-chain. It’s a great opportunity and one bringing a lot of attention to the Ethereum ecosystem as a whole.
WC
When do you expect to get the results and who are your main threats in that competition?
IB
The results will be published in September 2020.
There are no threats. Even though we compete in the challenge with other project it’s the community effort.
There are 3 main groups of projects .. rollups, sidechains/mainchains, state channels. Would be great to see a synergy between e.g. rollups and sidechains.
COMPETITORS
WC
That is a VERY PC response Igor, good work not falling for the bait!
I note on your website you have direct comparisons to Matic, OMG…and MKR?
Firstly, a couple of these do not seem like the other…haha…
Secondly, are these really actually competitors? The only one with stability is MKR and it’s not suited for payments at all…
Matic and OMG for payments makes me lol too. OMG was a deadcoin until recently and Matic coined a whole new phrase in “being Sandeeped”, so I can’t exactly see people using these networks for payments.
Do you have any more recent or relevant competitors that might make a bit more logical sense? One’s that involve a stable coin of some description?
IB
These comparisons are really about L2 scaling solutions (OMG & Matic). We added the MKR comparison to help show the similarities and differences between the two projects, and point out we both have governance tokens separate from the stable currency. It can be a bit confusing for new users, so we added these to help explain our project as it relates to other L2s.
Some other L2 sidechains we could look at might be Skale or Celo — although neither is a stable chain. With all these comparisons, though, we keep coming back to one thing. None of them have been around very long. We’ve been in production almost 2 years, and have learned so much from that time in the trenches. Our security model has been tested, and we’ve continued to innovate month over month.
We’ve got the support of so many ecosystem projects and tools. It’s hard not to take a wait-and-see approach with many of these new solutions, while xDai has been battle-tested and is ready and available to scale Ethereum now.
TOKEN SALE & SUPPLY
WC
Let’s go back in time a bit…
When and how did you raise for xDAI?
IB
Yes, it seems like a long time ago!
We secured seed funding in August of 2019, then started presenting to private investors about STAKE.
This was a much different time in the crypto world (and the world in general of course) so fundraising looked a little different than it does in the current environment.
WC
How much was raised at the time?
IB
We started with 500K in a seed funding round which closed August 16, 2019.
We then moved to a private investment round and raised an additional 225K.
BitMax held a public auction on April 28th, 2020 and raised an additional 220K.
WC
How many of those previously sold tokens are now part of the current circulating supply?
IB
All of the public tokens are in circulation, and many of the private/seed tokens are also circulating. 35% were released by the end of May 2020, and there is a daily release happening now until next year.
You can find the details here —
WC
Did you have any cornerstone investors as part of the initial raise?
IB
The seed round was led by B-Tech — the investment arm of BitMax.io and Focus Labs — together with blockchain VC firms Bixin Invest and NGC.
They all really helped STAKE get off the ground and we are grateful for their support.
DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP
WC
I have Q3 2020 marked in my calendar as the launch of public validators, but what else is on the development roadmap for xDAI that I can start getting excited about?
IB
It’s probably Q4 at this point…but EasyStaking is available for staking right now!
There are a lot of things we are excited about. We have regular DApp migrations happening at this point…KickBack —
…is an example of a recent convert along with DAUHaus and some other big ones that are getting ready but we can’t quite announce yet.
The OmniBridge is something we’re super excited about, it could really change the landscape quickly and make regular trades and transactions reasonably priced again by leveraging xDai.
We’re also exploring zero-knowledge protocols on xDai for private transactions.
WC
We’ve spoken a lot about what you’re doing at xDAI yourselves, but what about other developers building on top of the network.
Who’s building what right now and how do you guys support devs?
IB
We’re seeing a lot of new dev interest and activity. Since it’s the same process, same tooling it’s simple for devs to make the move.
DAOHaus just released a tutorial that shows just how easy it really is —
We support devs through a grants program and we invite devs to submit their ideas!
The ecosystem is strong and we will be encouraging a lot more development through our ecosystem fund.
WC
Ok so to finish this off from my end, in an ideal world, what sort of apps would you like to see built on xDAI?
Give me your dream scenario?
XD
The really exciting thing for me is there is no limit to what we can build on xDai.
Some ideas that come to mind are DeFi DEXs with built-in interoperability, multi-hop bridging, algorithmic synthetic assets, next generation games with cross-chain bridgeable assets, and of course real-world stable payment mass adoption.
These are all possible and we’re starting to realize some of these use cases.
It’s a really exciting time in blockchain right now, and we’re riding the wave along with everyone else!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
WC
Nice work guys, thank you so much for your time today.
The level of detail in this AMA speaks volumes as to your project and what you’ve been up to over the past 2 years, and I am SO EXCITED to find out the results of the Reddit Bake-Off!
Moon is going to have a dual meaning if that kicks off for you 😉
AG
Thanks Winston and to the great community here!
IB
Thanks for your questions and time…Now, let’s BUILD!
xDAI Resources
Website: https://www.xdaichain.com
Telegram: https://t.me/xdaistable
Github: https://github.com/xdaichain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/xdaichain
Whitepaper: https://forum.poa.network/t/posdao-white-paper/2208
Wolf Crypto Resources
Public Group: https://t.me/WolfCryptoPub
News Channel: https://t.me/WolfCryptoAnnounce
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WolfCryptoGroup
