Revisiting The MIN Staking Mechanism

Background

On June 28th the Minswap staking program saw its first set of 9-month staking contracts expire. A few weeks later, Minswap V2 started rolling out and there is a high expectancy for higher rewards to MIN stakers thanks to the newly implemented features. Looking back at how the staking model has performed we have identified areas for improvement based on community feedback and our observations over the past few months.

The Current Main Concerns

Based on community feedback and our own observations over the past few months, we have been able to identify the following main concerns:

1. Duration of Staking Periods
2. Negative Reinforcement Loop
3. LBE Rewards Utility
4. Incorporation of Industry Volatility
5. Predictability of MIN Trading Volume and Volatility

Kindly refer to the Temp Check [MIP2.2] discussion for a full breakdown of the value proposal.

Scope of Change

The changes this proposal aims to present as solutions, correspond solely to the rewards accrued from the Fee Switch. Therefore the aim is to answer the question “What can be done to improve the distribution of Fee Switch rewards?”.

This proposal presents three solutions:

1. Solution #1 rewards all users equally and enables scaling rewards via Early Redemptions, incentivising longer staking periods.
2. Solution #2 rewards all users equally and allows participants to withdraw their stake without an Early Redemption solution. This lowers the APR and is more predictable and risk-averse.
3. Solution #3 “Hybrid” presents a combination of solutions #1 and #2 in the form of a Tiered Contract (TC) or a Liquid Contract (LC), allowing stakers to choose their preferred one. The LC has part of its APR tied to the real-time average APR obtained from ADA delegation, while the rest of the rewards are redirected to the TC.

For details, kindly refer to the technical document which explains thoroughly the approach for each solution.

Implementation

After compiling feedback with the Minswap Labs technical team, if any of the proposed solutions were to be passed, once developed, they would be implemented as following:

Solution #1

If solution #1 were the most voted option:

1. Disable 1,3,6 month locked options and maintain “old” APR.
2. Enable Early Redemptions to all active staking options based on contract maturity.
3. Once the last 6-lockup expires, rewards in the 9-month lockup will be set to the “new” APR.

Solution #2

If solution #2 were the most voted option:

1. Disable 1,3,6,9 month locked options and enable Liquid Staking Option.
2. All active staking positions are set to receive the same APR.
3. Disable early withdrawal penalty.

Solution #3

If solution #3 were the most voted option:

1. Disable 1,3,6 month locked options and maintain “old” APR.
2. Enable Early Redemptions to all active staking options based on contract maturity.
3. Once the last 6-lockup expires, rewards in the 9-month lockup will be set to the “new” APR.
4. Enable Liquid staking option, with fixed APR (as defined in Solution #3) and no early withdrawal penalty.

Proposed Compensation

As detailed in the written report, the proposed compensation is 720$ in MIN Tokens to the Author and 110$ in MIN Tokens to Elder Millenial.

Conclusions

This report has presented 3 different improvements to the current MIN Staking Mechanism.

Solution #1 maintains the design of the current Tiers, by rewarding longer staking periods via Early Redemptions.

Solution #2 completely changes the design to a simple and liquid design, which results in a lower APR.

Solution #3 attempts to find a “sweet spot” in between #1 and #2. It offers a reliable and predictable APR for liquid stakers as well as a higher APR for users who resonate with the current tiered staking model.

Voting Options

The on-chain governance proposal will allow for the following voting options:

1. Keep MIN Staking as is (No Changes)

2. Solution #1 - One 9-month Tiered Staking option with Early Redemptions and scaling rewards.

3. Solution #2 - One Liquid Staking option without Early Redemptions and flat rewards.

4. Solution #3 “Hybrid” - Two contracts: a Liquid Staking option with bound APR and a 9-month Tiered Staking option with Early Redemptions and scaling rewards.

This Proposal is based on Proposal posted on the Minswap Forum provided by CWSchub