Agoric

What is Agoric?

Agoric is a Proof-of-Stake Layer 1 blockchain designed to enable JavaScript developers to rapidly build safe smart contracts.

The Agoric blockchain, part of the Cosmos ecosystem, is built upon the Tendermint Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus system with native Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) support.

In addition to using the JavaScript programming language, the Agoric platform introduces Zoe, an innovative platform service that enables safe economic composition between smart contracts.

Zoe brings to Web3 developers on the Agoric platform the kind of modern, pluggable component framework that has dominated Web2 development.

The Agoric chain features two native tokens, BLD and IST.

BLD is the native staking token of the Agoric blockchain, used to secure the network and for governance. IST is a stablecoin and a fee token that can be used to pay for chain services (e.g., gas), execute smart contracts on-chain, and enable cross-chain activity.

What is Agoric staking?

Staking is a great way for long-term crypto investors to earn passive income on their Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrency assets (such as BLD) while taking part in securing the network.

Stakers, by delegating tokens to validators, give voting rights to these to validate transactions on the blockchain and propose new blocks. The more stake is attributed to a validator, the more it will be able to take part in the network consensus and earn rewards for its stakers.

A quick example: Suppose a blockchain network offers a 5% reward rate for a staking period of 1 year (5% APR). You decide to lock up and stake 100 tokens on the network. After a year, you can access your staked tokens, and you receive 5 additional tokens as your reward – minus eventual fees charged by the staking provider.

Staking Proof-of-Stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies such as BLD does not require stakers to transfer their token to validators. It is a non-custodial process.

Why is Stakin a great choice for Agoric staking?

Staking your assets on your own is operationally challenging as it requires specialist expertise to set up nodes and ensure constant uptime to maximize rewards or prevent so-called slashing: partial loss of your staked cryptocurrencies due to prolonged downtime, or inappropriate/malicious behavior by the node operator.

Stakin is an excellent choice for staking your Agoric (BLD) tokens, as we have a strong expertise and track record of reliable operations on this network. We have been a participant in Agoric incentivized Testnet in June 2021 and mainnet validator since November 2021, and also an active governance participant and voter on all key proposals. Stakin is also one of the largest and most active IBC relayers in the Cosmos ecosystem already supporting 20+ Cosmos networks.

There are several advantages when staking your BLD tokens with Stakin, such as:

• Triple AAA-rated institutional staking provider by Staking Rewards

• ISO 27001-certified staking provider

• Tracking dashboard, to easily track and generate reports for the performance of your staked assets

• Reliable infrastructure - We distribute our servers across various geographical locations and partner with premier bare metal and cloud providers

• Dedicated support for all your staking, unstaking, and network-related questions

• Institutional grade SLAs with uptime and slashing guarantees

• Support a community oriented validator and our contributions such as IBC relaying, governance participation, and more

What kind of institutional services does Stakin offer for Agoric (BLD) Staking?

As an institutional-grade Agoric node operator, Stakin has a full range of staking services and advantages to cater to the needs of enterprises and investors, such as asset managers, company treasuries, exchanges, VCs and hedge funds, wallets, custodians, and liquid staking services.

• Institutional grade SLAs with 99.5%+ uptime guarantees and slashing guarantees

• Integration with custodians, such as Anchorage and also Fireblocks (via raw signing)

• Dedicated Account Manager to answer all your technical and commercial questions

• Information about potential airdrops that you may be eligible for by staking with us so that stakers can maximize your staking yield

• Custom integrations and solutions such as custom performance reporting via API or CSV with the possibility to match your backend requirements

• Whitelabel and dedicated nodes with dedicated infrastructure which can be deployed in your preferred region to fit decentralization or compliance needs

• Automated commission and reward management with clear reporting

• 24/7 monitoring and alerting with a private dashboard for dedicated and whitelabel nodes

• Free premium access to Stakin Dashboard which includes staking data visualization across any validator, and premium historical data features (on selected networks)