📃Litepaper
Project Pi: Simplified Node Infrastructure and Liquid Staking Protocol
Last updated
Project Pi: Simplified Node Infrastructure and Liquid Staking Protocol
Last updated
The evolution of blockchain technology has seen significant advancements in consensus mechanisms, starting with Bitcoin's resource-intensive Proof of Work (PoW) and progressing to Ethereum's more efficient Proof of Stake (PoS) with Ethereum 2.0. Building on these advancements, PulseChain has emerged as a next-generation PoS network, offering faster transactions, lower costs, and reduced environmental impact. Project Pi leverages PulseChain's capabilities by introducing innovative liquid staking derivatives (LSD), providing users with enhanced flexibility and opportunities in the staking ecosystem, thus continuing the journey of improving blockchain efficiency and scalability.
Project Pi provides the framework for validators to earn more yield compared to solo-validating and also provides Liquid Staking which allows users to generate yield while remaining liquid. Utilizing smart contracts, Project Pi provides a seamless and trustless protocol that benefits the network as a whole. Token holders are able to generate yield without losing access to their capital and node operators are able to generate even more yield with less up front costs. Our collateral & governance token, Project Pi Yield (PPY), is distributed to node operators increasing APY and has been implemented in a way to create a stable ecosystem promoting steady and healthy growth of our platform.
Traditional staking mechanisms require users to lock their assets for a period of time, leading to a loss of freedom and capital inefficiency. The lack of options hinders the growth of a network and slows down the rate of adoption. These are the 2 main problems that Project Pi aims to solve.
Capital Inefficiency: Over $65M+ of PLS is locked up in validators, resulting in an inefficient use of capital. Stakers are forced to give up their ability to readily utilize their assets which prevents potential activity.
Lack of Opportunity: Currently, there is no other method for PLS holders on PulseChain to put their existing holdings to work and create more PLS. Users must swap or sell their PLS to acquire another protocol's token before they can earn more PLS.
Opportunity Cost: The absence of liquid staking on the PulseChain network prevents users from leveraging their staked assets in other profitable activities. Without liquid staking, users miss out on potential gains from participating in DeFi protocols while their assets are locked in staking.
Scaling Demand: As PulseChain grows, the requirements for validators increase, which may price out smaller participants. This scaling demand could lead to centralization and reduce the decentralized nature of the network.
Project Pi addresses these issues with 2 solutions, Pi Pools & Liquid Staking.
Pi Pools lowers the barrier to entry for validators by cutting the required amount of PLS by half AND increases the rewarded amount.
Instead of 32M PLS to become a validator, you will only need 16M + PPY collateral(25%-150% of 16M PLS in USD$). This will make becoming a validator more accessible to all.
Pi Pool operators are helping run the PulseChain network, so they will be rewarded with validation rewards, but with the PPY collateral, they will be increasing their reward amount from ~9.9% APR to ~20%-45% APY.
Liquid Staking allows all PLS holders the ability to create yield with a click of a button without being forced to having to give up their immediate access to their capital.
PLS holders will stake their PLS on our Protocol to begin earning yield (~3-5% APY)
After staking, users will immediately receive a 1:1 liquid staking derivative token (stPLS), which represents their initial staked amount.
With their stPLS, users can trade, restake, and utilize other DeFi protocols.
As the protocol is used more, the exchange rate will change from 1:1. For example, if the rate becomes 1 PLS = 0.997482 stPLS, exchanging 100,000 stPLS will yield 100,254 PLS with a 2.60% APY.
PulseChain has a total value locked (TVL) of over $100.12M, while Ethereum boasts a TVL of $41.544B.
PulseChain's market cap stands at $5.7B, with $100.12M available for liquid staking.
Project Pi is the first and only liquid staking platform on PulseChain, offering a significant first-mover advantage.
With 49,397 active validators, PulseChain is rapidly growing and expanding its user base.
Strategic partnerships will enable non-technical users to become node operators with both cloud and physical hosted nodes.
Project Pi focuses on simplicity and user experience, making it perfect for yield seekers at any level. Whether you're new to crypto or a seasoned user, our intuitive interface makes staking and validating easy. Key features like Liquid Staking, Pi Pool creation, and asset management are easily accessible. Plus, our helpful guides and video tutorials ensure a smooth onboarding experience, making it simple to stake and become a validator on PulseChain.
The business model of Project Pi is designed to generate revenue while providing value to its users. Revenue is derived from unstaking fees, PPY inflation, node sales, hosting Project Pi nodes, and offering nodes as a service.
Unstaking Fee: A .5% unstaking fee is applied when Liquid Stakers convert their stPLS back to claim their rewards.
PPY Inflation: 10% of the amount of PPY being inflated every 28 days will be allocated to the company.
Hosting Nodes as a Service: A monthly fee will be charged for users that want to utilize Pi Pools without owning a physical node.
Project Pi Nodes: Project Pi will jump-start the Pi Pools by hosting nodes for Liquid Stakers to be matched with, generating PLS and PPY rewards every reward cycle.
Node Sales: Fully set-up, “plug and play” nodes will be sold for Node Operators seeking a seamless set-up process.
By creating multiple revenue streams, Project Pi ensures a sustainable and growth-oriented model. This aligns the platform's interests with its users, capturing a share of the growing Liquid Staking market. As demand for secure and transparent staking platforms rises, Project Pi is well-positioned to provide valuable services, leading to substantial growth and long-term success.
Project Pi Yield (PPY) is a PRC404 token that forms the backbone of the Pi Staking protocol. Node Operators must use PPY as collateral, along with 16M PLS to launch Pi Pools, which would be paired with liquid staking funds.
Node Operators must stake a minimum amount of PPY as a guarantee of good behavior, initially set at 25% of the 16M PLS stake (in USD value) but can be as high as 150%. The more PPY staked, the greater the monthly PPY rewards, which can be reinvested to launch new validator nodes.
If a Node Operator performs poorly, the staked PPY which served as insurance, is slashed. The slashed PPY is ultimately burned via smart contracts.
PPY holders are also integral to the Pi DAO, allowing them to propose and vote on various governance matters such as inflation schedules, community rewards, and protocol adjustments.
To further decentralize PulseChain, we are making it easier to become a validator while simultaneously providing yield to liquid stakers:
Liquid staking to maximize rewards for all participants
Decentralized, permissionless node operators
Democratizing and decentralizing PulseChain staking and validation
Ensuring maximum decentralization, trustlessness, and scalability of staking infrastructure
Socializing staking losses and rewards across the network to minimize risks and maximize returns
Developing a self-sustaining community through PPY tokenomics
The journey from Bitcoin's Proof of Work to Ethereum's Proof of Stake and the advent of PulseChain highlights the continuous evolution of blockchain technology. Project Pi is at the forefront of this evolution, offering innovative liquid staking derivatives that enhance the staking experience. By providing liquidity, flexibility, and enhanced returns, Project Pi is paving the way for a more efficient and rewarding staking ecosystem on PulseChain.
Project Pi acknowledges the pioneering efforts of the Rocketpool team in permissionless staking.
We extend our gratitude to the Atlanta Blockchain Center and Starter Labs, particularly for their innovative and supportive Immutable Founders program, which has been instrumental in incubating and advancing our project within the Web3 ecosystem.
We also thank the PulseChain Tour for welcoming the Project Pi team and allowing us to present our vision for Liquid Staking on PulseChain at several in-person events.
📨
