Name of Project
Bankless Academy
What is the work being proposed?
Bankless Academy would like to propose an interactive, illustrated ‘Staking on Ethereum’ lesson, with an onchain quest to acquire and hold rETH.
Lesson Overview:
- Introduction to Staking on Ethereum
- Ethereum’s role in web3 and why staking is essential
- Understanding Ether Staking
- How staking works
- The “Internet Bond” analogy
- Validator Nodes and PoS Consensus
- The transition from PoW to PoS
- PoS overview
- How validator nodes work
- Validators vs. stakers
- Benefits of Staking Your Ether
- Earning rewards
- Securing the network
- Network ownership
- Supporting decentralized systems
- Supporting green payment networks
- Long-term investment strategy
- Risks
- Economics of Staking
- Network activity, staking participants, and yield
- Inflationary and deflationary forces
- Centralization Risks in PoS Networks
- Wealth concentration
- 33% attacks
- Liquid Staking Tokens Explained
- The purpose of LSTs
- Types of LST
- Risks
- Rocket Pool and rETH
- The decentralized option
- Stake any amount of ETH
- rETH as a liquid asset
- Running a Rocket Pool mini-node in the future
- Onchain Quest: Acquire and Hold rETH
This lesson would feature a companion article in our ‘Explorer’s Handbook’ – a how-to guide, quest walkthrough, and quick reference sheet for users seeking more concise instruction (e.g. Delegating on Optimism).
Is there any related work this builds off of?
The Bankless Academy platform & curriculum.
Will the results of this project be entirely open source?
Yes, see our Github repository here.
Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate
| Group | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Potential rETH holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to stake ETH for rETH? |
| Answer: By providing concise information and an engaging walkthrough on staking ether. | |
| rETH holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help rETH holders? |
| Answer: By providing further education around their investment, and increasing demand for rETH. | |
| Potential NOs | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time? |
| Answer: By providing an entry point into the Rocket Pool platform, and initial information on NO possibilities. | |
| NOs | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people already running a Rocket Pool node? |
| Answer: Increased demand for Rocket Pool staking. | |
| Community | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help the Rocket Pool community? |
| Answer: By providing an entry point for new, educated community members. By giving the community an onchain method of recognising knowledgeable & informed users (via lesson completion badges). | |
| RPL holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help RPL holders? |
| Answer: Increased demand for Rocket Pool staking. |
What other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from this grant?
The broader Ethereum ecosystem, and any community looking to share concise information and an engaging walkthrough on staking ether. Bankless Academy will also benefit by providing its users with a strong, value-aligned recommendation for decentralized staking.
Team
Who is doing the work?
The Bankless Academy squad:
Tetranome.eth
Project Champion, Content & Design Lead
DidierKrux.eth
Dev Lead
OrnellaWeb3.eth
Marketing Lead
What is the background of the person(s) doing the work? What experience do they have with such projects in the past?
We have shipped a number of collaborative content in the past two years, including a lesson with 1inch, multiple lessons with Optimism. We have also shipped content focused on loveable platforms like Revoke.cash and Velodrome.
Layer 2 Blockchains w/ Optimism
What is the breakdown of the proposed work, in terms of milestones and/or deadlines?
#1: Beta test of English lesson | January 31st 2024
#2: English lesson deployed | February 14th 2024
#3: Marketing campaign delivered via Bankless Academy & BanklessDAO (Twitter & Newsletters) | February 21st 2024
#4: 5x multilingual lessons deployed (Optional) | February 28th 2024
How is the work being tested? Is testing included in the schedule?
We will host a beta test of the lesson for the Rocket Pool, Bankless Academy, and BanklessDAO communities.
How will the work be maintained after delivery?
Bankless Academy will monitor and update the lesson/quest as necessary, to stay functional and up to date.
Payment and Verification
What is the acceptance criteria?
N/a
What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting?
$25,000, disbursed upon shipping.
We also have the opportunity to translate and market this lesson + handbook companion in five languages, for an additional $5,000 grant. We are revisiting lesson agreements two years post-launch to discuss conversion rates.
How will the GMC verify that the work delivered matches the proposed cadence?
#1: Beta test of English lesson | Verified by Rocket Pool forum post
#2: English lesson deployed | Verified by Twitter announcement
#3: Marketing campaign delivered via Bankless Academy & BanklessDAO (Twitter & Newsletters) | Verified by Twitter posts and email newsletters.
#4: 5x multilingual lessons deployed (Optional) | Verified by Twitter announcement and email newsletters.
What alternatives or options have been considered in order to save costs for the proposed project?
Besides the optional translations, we are open to recommendations for adjusting the lesson scope or included features.
Conflict of Interest
Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).
No, Bankless Academy has no affiliation with the Rocket Pool GMC.
Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?
All funds will go towards lesson development, upkeep, and improved website experience.
Notes:
- We are open to adjusting the lesson scope and topics covered as the community or GMC recommends.
- Connection with a Rocket Pool staking specialist, for periodic discussion & review, would add even more punch to a collaboration. Advisory helps us to identify key analogies and make our information as accurate & concise as possible.