Theoretically, we can all make a difference! Our first support from the 3 blocks produced went out to the animal welfare organization @gnadenhofanna in the Eifel (Germany).
The Gnadenhof-Anna has the mission to give old and sick animals a chance for a nice and species-appropriate life. Unfortunately, the flooding in Germany hit the farm very hard, so we decided to join this association.
We are happy to be able to support many more great charitable projects in the future with each newly produced block.
If you would also like to find out more about Gnadenhof-Anna or support it as well, visit her profile on Instagram @gnadenhofanna
Project Catalyst was created by IOHK to drive innovation more effectively and to involve the global community even more in this process. From the beginning, IOHK has thus set itself the goal of gradually putting Cardano in the hands of the community and working closely with the people within this community. IOHK itself intends to be involved in the day-to-day operation of Cardano later on only at the request of the community. With such an international community of entrepreneurs, experts and professionals around the globe, a hitherto unknown source of inventiveness is revealed.
So anyone can contribute their ideas for the project on the Ideascale platform, have their idea voted on, comment on other projects and vote for them as well. This is to ensure that members also comment on and push the projects of other developers and that the main focus is not only on realizing their own project. The “Proposals” or proposals with the highest number of votes by the community are then financially supported by a specially established fund, so that they can be successfully realized by the authors. All Cardano community members can influence the voting process, because every vote counts. The more constructive the feedback, the more likely it is to achieve the strategic goal. The Catalyst team also developed a guide for behavior and feedback within the community. If violations occur, “offenders” will be warned or banned to protect the project, Cardano, and the community. The forum should remain a place for engaging discussions without stifling the exchange of ideas and creativity.
The goal of the program is, among other things, to achieve concrete results from the funds. This requires determining how many developers, founders, companies and DApps the individual ideas ultimately generated. The reward system for votes on innovative proposals and the reminder function for future ballots are intended to ensure that interest in voting for new ideas remains permanently high within the community. Cardano thus continues on its path to becoming the most decentralized blockchain protocol with full scalability, interoperability and sustainability.
What will be voted on?
After you have successfully registered for voting, you can start the Catalyst Voting App and begin voting. You will then have 10 days to cast your vote. It is important that you take your time and understand your vote and its implications, as this will determine the future direction of the Cardano ecosystem.
Knowing that there are so many proposals out there competing for your attention and votes will be very challenging for each and every voter. The easiest way to start browsing the proposals is to use the community-created voter tool. Just give it a try.
Note 1: Each proposal is assigned a rating in the form of 1 to 5 stars. This rating represents the result of the Community Advisor (CA) review of all proposals. CAs were asked to review each proposal and give a rating in the three different categories – Impact, Reviewability, and Feasibility:
(1) I strongly disagree
(2) I do not agree
(3) I neither agree nor disagree
(4) I agree
(5) I fully agree
The scores from each of the three categories will then be averaged into a final score that will be visible within the app from all valid participating CAs. Please note that these are guidelines and you are free to select suggestions based on your own understanding and personal research. Consider this a useful tool to help you make your selection decision. For more information, please see the Community Advisor Guidelines.
What is there to consider?
If you have at least 500 ADA on your wallet at the time of the snapshot (a few days before the registration starts), you are eligible to participate in the voting. In order to receive rewards, your ADA must be delegated to a stake pool. If you have your ADA stored on a hardware wallet, make sure the firmware of your Ledger/Trezor is up to date. Make sure you have the latest version of the Cardano app installed on your hardware wallet so that the registration process is error-free.
Be sure to save the QR code generated by your wallet during registration and write down your PIN.
Your Voting Power represents the number of ADA you hold at the time of the snapshot.
Your ADA never leave your wallet when you register/vote.
The actual voting process runs through an additional app currently available for iOS and Android.
For participating in the voting process, all voters will receive rewards in the form of ADA.
How much ADA you receive for your participation depends on various factors:
How much ADA was in your wallet at the time of the snapshot. Which funding round we are currently in, as the amount of the fund is constantly changing Number of individual participants in the overall voting process.
Have fun exploring the many exciting projects that exist in the Cardano ecosystem and will be created in the future!
– No access to the staked ADA, as these must be located on the exchange and cannot be held in the user’s own wallet.
– minimum duration for staking, as the staked ADA are locked for a defined period of time (minimum duration differs depending on the provider)
– high risk for users, as there is never full access to the staked ADA and if the exchange is hacked or closes unexpectedly, the user can lose his ADA
Conclusion
Staking on an exchange (central stake pool) offers higher rewards but at the same time an enormously high risk for the user with regard to his staked ADA.
The famous phrase in the crypto market “Not your key, not your coins” fits very well in this case. Because you should always store your cryptocurrencies on your own wallet and not on an exchange. This is the best way to avoid the risk of hacker attacks and scams. In addition, you have the opportunity to support decentralized stake pools and promote the decentralized idea of Cardano.
