The liquid staking protocol, LEEQUID, eliminates entry barriers for crypto enthusiasts seeking to stake their coins. It is designed to be user-friendly, catering to individuals lacking technical expertise in running their nodes. It is the first staking pool for LUKSO, a newly released layer-1 blockchain focused on improving the UX within Web3.
Staking is one of the most exciting developments seen in the crypto industry for several years. It allows holders of eligible coins to lock them up — and help secure the network.
While it wasn’t the first blockchain to adopt proof-of-stake (PoS), Ethereum helped bring this concept to the mainstream. In a significant milestone, the Ethereum blockchain transitioned from the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) to the more sustainable proof-of-stake consensus in September 2022 (the Merge).
But Ethereum’s approach has caused pain points for stakers, with some everyday consumers left reluctant to get involved.
For one, those who wanted to get in on the ground floor of this blockchain’s switch to PoS needed to deposit 32 Ether (ETH) in a deposit contract. This was then locked up indefinitely until the upgrade was completed. Those who did so faced a two-and-a-half-year wait before withdrawals were initiated again. That’s a long time to be separated from your crypto.
Back in December 2020, 32 Ether was worth about $19,000. When Ether reached an all-time high of $4,891 in November 2021, this would have surged to $456,000. Even now at current market rates, you need over $50,000 for the right to run your own node. Such extravagant sums put this out of many people’s reach.
Even for those with deep pockets, there are other hurdles to overcome. Running a validator node is technical and comes with responsibility — with those involved in inactive or dishonest behavior running the risk of paying penalties. And on top of all of this, staking can be a huge drain on a crypto holder’s liquidity, with a large part of their capital out of reach.
Liquid staking, which lets users earn yield by staking their coins without losing their liquidity, has now emerged as a compelling alternative that addresses many of these pitfalls — with LEEQUID offering the advantages that traditional staking cannot.
Source: LEEQUID
Speed and efficiency
LEEQUID is a protocol that offers liquid staking, enabling users to swap and leverage their staked positions within other decentralized platforms. Crucially, it’s noncustodial — meaning staked LYX coins always remain within control, and users have full authority over their holdings.
Once LYX has been deposited, users receive sLYX in return, which is redeemable on a 1:1 basis. This can then be used across other liquidity pools and decentralized applications (DApps).
Source: LEEQUID
And while the process of staking can often be fiddly and convoluted, LEEQUID says it’s boiled down to a few clicks. Its intuitive and real-time monitoring interface ensures that users are always well-informed about the performance of their staked assets. It fosters transparency and empowers users to make data-driven decisions, optimizing their staking strategies.
Crucially, staking can be an immediate process through this platform — as well as redeeming sLYX for LYX. Unstaking usually takes about one to three days, which can be considerably faster than Ethereum at peak times. That’s where liquid staking comes in, allowing users to instantly swap their LSTs’ for the native coin at any time.
Decentralized future for the new creative economy
LEEQUID operates on the LUKSO blockchain, which is designed to foster innovation in the digital economy. LUKSO serves as a neutral base layer and open technology playground where creators and users can leverage future-proof tools and standards to unleash their creative potential in an open and interoperable ecosystem. The creator of the LUKSO blockchain was the one who came up with one of the most important standards in the crypto world – ERC20, and was also among the lead DApp developers for the Ethereum Foundation.
The protocol LEEQUID is the brainchild of DROPPS, a decentralized infrastructure that builds DApps and protocols and aims to achieve a first-mover advantage as the demand for staking continues to grow. DROPPS won first place twice at LUKSO’s #BuildUP hackathon last year, seeing off competition from 100 other candidates. The team also managed to secure seed funding during a bear market as the ecosystem’s infrastructure was built.
With a strong emphasis on security, user-friendly features such as liquid staking, and real-time metrics, LEEQUID reflects the principles of the blockchain industry such as decentralization and financial accessibility. In line with this approach, LEEQUID’s plans for the future include decentralizing governance and expanding its network of node operators.
A dedicated DApp for LEEQUID has just been released alongside an automated market maker (AMM), a decentralized exchange where users trade with a smart contract, not other people. What’s more, LEEQUID also built the first native staking pool on the LUKSO blockchain. With an integrated LYX and sLYX liquidity pool and the AMM interface, users can now start reaping the benefits of liquid staking on the LUKSO blockchain.
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