Announcing Grassfed Network and Decred Staking Pool with Placeholder
Read more about this announcement on CoinDesk.
Summary
- CoinFund is announcing Grassfed Network, an initiative that uses generalized mining and proprietary software strategies to directly participate in decentralized networks.
- As its first external collaboration, Grassfed Network and Placeholder are announcing a staking pool — referred to as a Voting Service Provider (VSP) within Decred’s community — to contribute to the security and governance of the network.
Launch of Grassfed Network and Placeholder partnership
We are pleased to announce the launch of Grassfed Network, a CoinFund initiative that directly supports decentralized networks through the development and deployment of software built to gain access to network incentives, aid in network governance, and provide value-additive services and resources.
Grassfed Network engages in generalized mining (also referred to as “keeping”, “supply-side services”, and “mining 2.0”), an activity in which decentralized networks compensate third parties for providing useful services to the network. CoinFund and Placeholder have both spoken previously on the use of generalized mining as a differentiated strategy for cryptofunds to directly engage networks and generate returns. These services include, but are not limited to, transaction processing, staking, software or Merkle Mining, content curation, market making, active governance, and many others.
Via Grassfed Network, CoinFund is presently participating in live networks such as Livepeer, Steemit, Compound, and others. CoinFund is also in the preparatory phases to service soon-to-launch networks NuCypher and GEO; and is in the process of diligencing a wide set of opportunities to generate service provision rewards.
Additionally, CoinFund is announcing a partnership with Placeholder, a cryptoassets-focused venture capital firm managed by Chris Burniske, Joel Monegro, and Brad Burnham. Earlier this month, Grassfed Network launched a Voting Service Provider (VSP) on the Decred network, which Placeholder will delegate its own voting tickets to, and we welcome other investors to delegate to this pool should it match with their own requirements and governance ethos. Readers can review Placeholder’s investment thesis on Decred here.
The Decred Network and VSPs
Decred was founded in 2015 with the mission to improve upon Bitcoin by building best-in-class governance, security, and funding. Today, the Decred network features a system of checks and balances between users, miners, and developers. The network uses a hybrid Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) voting mechanism to secure the network and achieve consensus.
The Decred cryptocurrency (DCR) is required to participate in validation of blocks on the Decred blockchain, approve protocol upgrades, and vote on allocation of the network’s treasury. To participate in network consensus, users lock DCR in exchange for digital voting tickets.
Some of Decred stake-holders may not have the resources to run a full node or keep their Decred wallet unlocked 24/7. These parties have the option to authorize a VSP to vote on behalf of their tickets, and thus to participate in governance of the protocol without bearing the aforementioned technological responsibilities. Delegators still receive rewards from the protocol for contributing to the network, and the VSP receives a small fee from the Decred network.
Generalized mining as a differentiating strategy for cryptofunds
CoinFund, Placeholder, and other crypto-focused funds have previously written and spoken at length about the various benefits that a generalized mining strategy may bring a crypto-investor.
A strategy of active network participation may represent:
- A prospective opportunity to make principal investments productive and accrue network rewards from decentralized networks. At times, network growth is most effectively captured through direct network access and strategic entry points.
- An active role in increasing the chances of success for a portfolio network through bootstrapping decentralization, liquidity, or governance.
- A higher level of commitment to post-investment services for forward-looking teams seeking highly aligned investors.
- An accretive or differentiated risk-return profile.
Messari has compiled an extensive repository of materials on generalized mining here.
CoinFund looks forward to growing its portfolio of generalized mining strategies through Grassfed Network and is excited to work alongside Placeholder in their efforts to support Decred.
Disclaimer: The content provided on this site is for informational and discussion purposes only and should not be relied upon in connection with a particular investment decision or be construed as an offer, recommendation or solicitation regarding any investment. The author is not endorsing any company, project, or token discussed in this article. All information is presented here “as is,” without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, and any forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. CoinFund and its affiliates may have long or short positions in the tokens or projects discussed in this article.
