Helium network, coined ‘The People’s Network’’ is taking real-world adoption of cryptocurrencies to new heights. Helium’s native cryptocurrency (HNT) is used to incentivise individuals around the world to provide coverage on a global peer-to-peer wireless network. This is done using a Helium compatible hotspot, which to date provides coverage for low-power IoT devices.
Traditional networks such as WiFi do not suit IoT devices well because of their lower range compared to other types of networks such as LoRaWaN. To solve this problem, Helium pioneered LongFi, which represents a mixture of LoRaWaN and blockchain technology. In the past, there were not enough incentives for participants to operate LoRaWaN hotspots resulting in higher costs for companies using IoT devices. With the introduction of LongFi and using HNT to reward participants to grow the decentralised network, IoT companies now have a cheaper alternative to use. Helium has already secured multiple partnerships with IoT companies, such as Salesforce, Lime, Airly, Nobel Systems, and more.
Previously on Helium, hotspots used to not only transmit data to IoT devices, but also play a role in the consensus of valid transactions. In recent times, Helium has experienced immense growth, which has impacted network performance whilst hotspots were involved in consensus. As 86,540 Helium-compatible hotspots have been set-up around the world (at 39% MoM growth), it has been harder for hotspots to secure the network. This is because Helium-compatible hotspots had built-in hardware specifications that limited the number of hotspots that could take part in consensus per epoch and the addresses of hotspots were not static, making it harder to reconnect if a block producer (hotspot) crashed during consensus. Low powered hardware (hotspots) using consumer-grade (personal) internet was a risk to Helium network and exposed to attacks such as DoS. Not only was network security at risk but incentives to secure the network in consensus also decreased as more hotspots joined the network (because new hotspots diluted consensus rewards from other hotspots).
For these reasons, Helium governance proposed in HIP-25 to introduce validators that use high-end servers and enterprise-grade internet with specialised experience in securing networks to help improve block performance and alleviate the consensus pressure from hotspots. The governance proposal passed and validators are now live on Helium network as of July 8th. There are now 1802 validators online on Helium network as of time of writing, translating to 19.96% of the whole network (HNT) being staked (18.02m).
We recently released research into the updated staking economics of Helium and how it improves the utility of HNT. Introducing validators into Helium network importantly assists network performance and block propagation and results in reliable returns for stakers.
We are excited that Helium governance has voted on introducing validators into the Helium network ecosystem and we have every intention to contribute to the network’s long-term success by ensuring the security of it.
Helium’s network is unique in that delegations are not currently possible. For this reason, we support Helium network with our NaaS offering. For information on pricing, please contact whitelabel@chorus.one. To read about the benefits of our NaaS service for those interested in staking HNT, please visit: https://chorus.one/products/whitelabel-staking/
Epoch: An epoch in Helium is 30 blocks. A block occurs roughly every 60 seconds. Thus, each epoch is lasting around 30 minutes. Staking rewards are distributed at the end of each epoch.
Minimum Bond: 10,000 HNT
Helium APR (as of 14/07/2021): ~11%
Chorus Commission: Contact whitelabel@chorus.one for pricing of HNT NaaS offering
Withdrawal Delay: After withdrawing, your staked funds will only become accessible after a 5-month cooldown period has passed.
Slashing: Slashing is not currently possible on Helium.
Partial Staking: Partial staking of HNT is not possible with Chorus One as we are operating a non-custodial staking service.
Overstaking: Overstaking on Helium does not earn additional rewards (i.e. a node with 15,000 HNT staked and a node with 10,000 HNT staked earns the same rewards). To earn more rewards, HNT holders need to launch multiple nodes with 10,000 HNT each.
Injective is a decentralised exchange (DEX) that facilitates permissionless cross-chain derivative trading.
Since DeFi summer in 2020, there has been an explosion of innovation in the decentralised exchange space. Automated market makers (AMMs) that use mathematical formulas and liquidity pools to calculate token prices instead of order books, have become the standard for swapping tokens on decentralised exchanges. AMMs are practical and accessible, no KYC is required of users and anyone can create pools of assets to be traded against. However, AMMs have been a victim of their own success. As popularity of AMMs has risen, so too have issues that users experience when interacting with them (such as high gas fees and front-running). AMMs are also limited when it comes to interoperability and only spot trading can be done using AMMs. Injective solves the problems suffered by AMMs by creating an interoperable order-book based decentralised exchange that acts as a layer-2 sidechain built using Tendermint-based consensus.
Injective has EVM-compatibility built on top of it’s Cosmos-SDK chain, meaning users experience a fast finality and interoperable network with the benefits of Ethereum tooling. Injective is using Tendermint consensus, which allows trades to be made cheaply and with 1 second finality. Injective is also IBC-compatible, meaning it is able to connect with hundreds of other networks that have been built with IBC compatibility to facilitate cross-chain interoperable trading. On top of this, Injective has its own Ethereum <> Injective bridge for users wanting to bridge their Ethereum ERC-20 tokens into and out of Injective. What is interesting here is that Injective is not limited to interoperability within Cosmos and Ethereum. Injective will also be interoperable with Polkadot in the near future via Moonbeam. It is not hard to envision a future where assets from multiple networks will be bridged onto Injective and be available to be traded with cheap fees and 1 second finality. Injective could potentially be the most interoperable decentralised order-book exchange seen-to-date.
The possibilities for a fast and interoperable order-book decentralised exchange are limitless. Anyone in Injective can also propose an arbitrary derivative market for INJ token holders to vote on. A scalable, interoperable, innovative and community-driven DEX that gives users permissionless access to any derivatives market in the world and is exactly the type of use case that crypto is made for. We are excited to announce our support for Injective and look forward to facilitating the network’s long-term success.
Injective uses the standard DPoS staking mechanism found in the Cosmos-SDK. Users can delegate their INJ tokens to Chorus One to receive a share of rewards generated by the network.
Validating Rights: The weight of validators such as Chorus One is determined by the amount of staking tokens (INJ) bonded as collateral.
INJ Inflation: 7%
Staking Reward Rate: Rewards from staking INJ will vary depending on the inflation and total amount of tokens that are staked at a given time. Learn more about the details of staking reward rates for chains built using Cosmos SDK here.
Chorus Commission: 7.5%
Withdrawal Delay: After withdrawing, your staked funds will only become accessible after the unbonding period (1 day) has passed. It takes a further 7 days withdraw INJ back to Ethereum.
Slashing: You can get slashed (loss funds) in case the validator you are delegated to commits an offense. Make sure to do due diligence to minimize this risk. Offences include double-signing (5% slashing penalty for delegators) and downtime (no slashing penalty, validator is ‘jailed’ and delegators miss out on staking rewards for minimum 2 hours).
Re-Staking: You need to withdraw rewards and re-stake them with some frequency if you want to make use of compounding returns.
Minimum delegation: There is no minimum delegation.
Stake your INJ: https://staking.injective.network/validators
Learn to delegate: Equinox Staking Guide
Wallets: Metamask
Block Explorer: https://explorer.injective.network/
Chorus One Validator Address: injvaloper14yeq3lkajldaggj28hmq8xng9xux7x5g46hezv
Today, we are excited to announce our staking partnership with Zero Knowledge Validator (ZKV), a collective of blockchain entrepreneurs, researchers, and developers focused on advancing the adoption of privacy and zero-knowledge technologies across multiple blockchain ecosystems.
Chorus One will provide node infrastructure to enable the Zero Knowledge Validator team to focus on privacy-focused initiatives and to participate in network governance representing their community and mandate. We will initially operate the Zero Knowledge Validators on Cosmos and Osmosis, with other networks to follow in the future. By delegating to the Zero Knowledge Validator nodes, ATOM and OSMO holders can support ZKV’s mission while ensuring their tokens are staked with the industry-leading reliable, secure, and diversified node infrastructures that Chorus One has built over the past three years.
The ZKV team, led by Anna Rose and Will Harborne, is active on the forefront of privacy research and development in the Ethereum, Cosmos, Polkadot, NEAR, and Mina blockchain ecosystems. Anna, who is hosting one of the most esteemed crypto podcasts (Zero Knowledge Podcast), is a pillar in the community and has provided a platform for privacy-focused researchers and builders to come together through a series of high-quality events such as the Zero Knowledge Summit, hackathons, online webinars, and more. Will, co-founder of the zk-STARK-based decentralized exchange Deversifi, has a vast network and experience in building scalable, privacy-preserving applications. Together with their collaborators and team of researchers and developers, ZKV provides invaluable help to projects and entrepreneurs to develop and grow their privacy-focused applications.
We are thrilled to be able to provide our services and work closely with ZKV. We expect this collaboration to increase our own knowledge and involvement in the promising field of privacy-preserving technologies and are looking forward to helping the ecosystems we are a part of tap into the resources and support provided by the ZKV team.
If you are interested in learning more, join the upcoming ZKV online event this Wednesday (June 30) focusing on privacy in the Cosmos ecosystem, which will also feature our CCO Felix Lutsch during the panel discussion. Register here: https://hopin.com/events/privacy-in-cosmos
Our mission is to help stakeholders participate and shape the decentralized networks they are a part of. Aside from accepting delegations on our own public nodes and building protocols to advance the staking ecosystem, we are also providing infrastructure services to stakeholders seeking to participate in staking and network governance themselves. To learn more about how we assist our partners that include institutions and companies like Zero Knowledge Validator in their exploration and participation in the staking ecosystem, visit our whitelabel node product offering at: https://chorus.one/products/whitelabel-staking
Chorus One is offering staking services and building tools that advance the Proof-of-Stake ecosystem.
Website: https://chorus.one
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chorusone
Telegram: https://t.me/chorusone
Newsletter: https://substack.chorusone.com
Zero Knowledge Validator champions privacy and zero-knowledge technology across the blockchain ecosystem through various initiatives such as research, content, and events.
Website: https://zkvalidator.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZKValidator
We are pleased to announce that we have onboarded Osmosis, a heterogeneous, interoperable automated market maker protocol built on the Cosmos SDK that gives users and LPs flexibility and customisation never before seen in existing AMMs.
Osmosis is governance-first, it places emphasis on governance having a maximum level of customisation on protocol parameters so it can keep the protocol competitive in the long-run.
Osmosis is likely to introduce a new wave of innovation and creativity for AMMs as participants have the accessibility and flexibility to customise all aspects of an AMM. LPs can select their time horizons for providing liquidity, third-parties can incentivise pools ad-hoc, governance can distribute OSMO rewards where they deem fit, pool creators can play with mathematical expressions (curves) for lower-slippage swapping and users can swap assets cross-chain using the Interblockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, whose usage in the Cosmos ecosystem has been kickstarted following the chain’s launch this weekend:
Osmosis is airdropping a portion of OSMO to those who were holding ATOM when the screenshot was taken for the quadratic fairdrop. You can see if you are eligible here. Without doing anything, holders of $ATOM taken on the day of the blockchain screenshot receive 20% of their allocated OSMO rewards. To achieve the other 80% of allocated rewards, 4 steps are required by $ATOM holders within the first two weeks, outlined below:
Further information about who can claim the airdrop and how to claim it can be found here and here
Osmosis uses the standard DPoS staking mechanism found in the Cosmos SDK. Users can delegate their OSMO tokens to Chorus One to receive a share of rewards generated by the network.
Epochs: Osmosis uses epochs to account for reward distribution. There is 1 epoch per day. Therefore 1 epoch is ~14440 blocks. Staking rewards are distributed at the end of each epoch.
Validating Rights: The weight of validators such as Chorus One is determined by the amount of staking tokens (OSMO) bonded as collateral.
OSMO Inflation: 300m OSMO in year one. 200m in year two. 166m in year 3. More here.
Staking Reward Rate: Rewards from staking OSMO will vary depending on newly minted and distributed to stakers and the total amount of tokens that are staked at a given time. Another unique aspect of Osmosis is that only 25% of inflation rewards go to stakers (as of genesis). As OSMO is highly inflationary, the expected APR for staking OSMO can be expected to range somewhere between 300–1,000% for the first year (this depends a lot on how OSMO holders are engaging with their tokens). At the time of writing, with around 5.6% of the supply staking (6m of 102m available OSMO tokens), OSMO stakers are receiving a ~3.5% rewards on their OSMO tokens a day!
Learn more about the details of staking reward rates for chains built using Cosmos SDK here.
Chorus Commission: 7.5%
Withdrawal Delay: After withdrawing, your staked funds will only become accessible after the unbonding period (28 days) has passed.
Slashing: You can get slashed (loss funds) in case the validator you are delegated to commits an offense. Make sure to do due diligence to minimize this risk. Offences include double-signing (5% slashing penalty for delegators) and downtime (no slashing penalty, validator is ‘jailed’ and delegators miss out on staking rewards for minimum 2 hours).
Re-Staking: You need to withdraw rewards and re-stake them with some frequency if you want to make use of compounding returns.
Minimum delegation: There is no minimum delegation.
osmovaloper15urq2dtp9qce4fyc85m6upwm9xul3049wh9czc
Learn more: https://chorus.one/networks/osmosis
Wallets: Keplr
Block Explorers: Mintscan
Staking: Keplr — Once Keplr is installed, find ‘Chorus One’ on this page, click ‘manage’, put in the amount of $OSMO you would like to delegate to Chorus and then click ‘ delegate’.
