Dear Cosmonauts,
We’re thrilled to announce that stkATOM is only a few weeks away from launching on the Persistence Core-1 chain, bringing our new and improved ATOM liquid staking solution to the Cosmos community.
The new implementation of stkATOM will offer several major advantages over the current implementation including low transaction fees, bolstered security, and IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol) interoperability – opening the floodgates to the use cases for stkATOM within the Cosmos ecosystem and enhancing the user experience throughout.
As stkATOM prepares to enter into the Cosmos ecosystem, we want to shed some light on the product development and our thought process.
Pioneering ATOM Liquid Staking Since 2021
The pSTAKE team has always been an early supporter of Cosmos and was the first to realise the need and scope of liquid staking for ATOM. Back in 2021, we launched the first-ever liquid staking solution for ATOM with stkATOM issued as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum.
So why Ethereum, you may ask? Those were the early days of IBC and Cosmos DeFi (decentralised finance) – there were no DEXs (decentralised exchanges) or major use cases across Cosmos to offer to the ATOM community and drive utility for stkATOM. Therefore, it made sense to begin stkATOM issuance on Ethereum, allowing users to stake their ATOM on pSTAKE to help secure Cosmos Hub while participating in DeFi on then-established protocols.
Although we were the first to solve the problem of liquid staking for ATOM holders, the implementation had certain tradeoffs. The major drawbacks included using a bridge to migrate between chains, expensive stkATOM issuance/burning, and a manual staking rewards claim process (due to our dual token model).
Though these tradeoffs hindered the growth of stkATOM beyond a certain point, our Ethereum-based ATOM liquid staking solution was able to hit several major milestones at peak:
- $39M+ in TVL
- 6,406 ATOM stakers on pSTAKE
- $33M pool liquidity in stkATOM’s pool on SushiSwap
Improving the user experience of pSTAKE has always been one of our key objectives. In early 2022, we made an upgrade to reduce the two-step staking process to a seamless one-step experience and thus eliminating ETH gas fees for staking transactions, lowering the barrier to entry for new users. Now, the IBC-native version of stkATOM is set to make a huge splash with many advantages ensuring better UX and improved security (no inherent bridge risks, etc).
pSTAKE: Built in Cosmos, for Cosmos
Over a year ago, our team wanted to enable stkATOM with IBC, but the environment then prevented us from bringing a non-custodial ATOM liquid staking solution to the community.
Now with a thriving DeFi ecosystem, non-stop developments taking place across the broader Cosmos landscape and major on-chain upgrades being introduced (e.g. Interchain Accounts & Queries), we feel it is the right time to bring stkATOM back to its home – the Cosmos ecosystem.
In a few weeks, you will be able to stake your ATOM and mint stkATOM on the Persistence Core-1 chain, using the IBC transfer module and Interchain suite.
The existence of multiple liquid staking solutions for ATOM will encourage not only healthy competition but also help further decentralization of staked ATOM. Huge props to fellow protocols: Stride, Quicksilver, StaFi, and Lido. We might be different in our own ways but let’s ensure to meet our collective goal – advancing the Cosmos Ecosystem.
Why Liquid Stake ATOM with pSTAKE?
With excitement building and competition growing, we know our fellow Cosmonauts are looking for the top reasons to liquid-stake and entrust their precious ATOM with pSTAKE in particular.
Here are 3 key pointers:
- Top-Notch Security: Protocol security has been a core focus. In the past, we’ve worked with multiple top security auditors across all implementations, such as Trail of Bits, Consensys Diligence, NCC, PeckShield, Oak Security and Certora. stkATOM on Persistence will be audited by Halborn upon its launch, with more audits to come as the protocol matures. We are also exploring other security practices such as bug bounty programs and on-chain monitoring.
- Driving Utility for Liquid-Staked Assets: Persistence is powering an ecosystem for liquid-staked assets, enabling developers to build innovative DeFi primitives (such as DEXs, money markets, borrowing/lending products, etc.) on the network, driving further utility for stkASSETs. Our team brings the experience of working with top dApps and protocols which will directly translate into creating robust utilities for stkATOM.
- Enhancing UX: We’re creating an optimised, seamless solution by leveraging our experience and learnings from years of building products for users within the Cosmos ecosystem. Ultimately, we strive to be aligned with Cosmos Hub and deliver value by leveraging IBC with a streamlined UX, incredibly low fees, lightning-fast transactions, and superb interoperability.
Get Ready for stkATOM in the Cosmos Ecosystem
We’ve received many questions regarding the migration of stkATOM from its current ERC-20 format on Ethereum to the IBC-native version on the Persistence Core-1 chain. Our team has been working hard to implement the best possible solution to make this transition as smooth as possible – a detailed plan will be posted on our Forum in the coming days..
With that being said, we want to foster an open and transparent relationship with the Cosmos community and will do so with the following:
- Creation of a dedicated stkATOM Twitter account where the community can keep track of all relevant updates moving forward and join us on our journey. The handle is now live – make sure to follow us!
- Development of a brand new newsletter for interested Cosmonauts containing updates on the stkATOM development and progress.
Don’t forget to subscribe here: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/pSTAKE_stkATOM
A huge shout out to the incredible and vibrant Cosmos community. We’re excited to be ushering in the next chapter for ATOM and the Cosmos ecosystem together.
Onward and upward!
pSTAKE team
