stETH is trading at 0.98 ETH rn, what does that mean?
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💭First, what actually is stETH?
1 stETH is a claim on 1 staked ETH on the Ethereum Beacon chain.
You can redeem it after withdrawals from the BC are enabled, which is planned for EOY 2022.
This is the primary stETH market.
💭Who is unaffected by stETH secondary market price? (hint: almost everyone)
So, stETH is a claim on 1 ETH in the primary market, but these claims can be traded as well.
These are the secondary stETH markets.
(btw, that's why we call stETH a staking "derivative")
💭Who is unaffected by stETH secondary market price? (hint: almost everyone)
The price of stETH in secondary markets has no effect on its value in the primary market.
As a longer-term staker of ETH, you can always redeem 1 stETH for 1 ETH in the future.
💭Who *is* affected by stETH secondary market price?
For one, anyone looking to sell their stETH before the primary market opens.
‼️ But primarily, anyone who uses their stETH as collateral to get leverage (e.g. to stake more ETH and juice their returns)
💭 Note for leveraged stakers
Depending on the size of your leverage, a falling stETH price in secondary markets can reduce the value of your principal (stETH) compared to the value of your loan (ETH).
If this ratio (called LTV) falls enough, you are at risk of liquidation.
💭 Don't become a forced seller into an already falling market.
If you use leverage:
1) Use safe LTV ratio that can withstand big market swings! 2) Always monitor your current LTV ratio and react accordingly! 3) Use auto-deleveraging tools like @DeFiSaver!
💭 Finally, what is a risk to some people can be a big opportunity for everyone else.
Anyone can buy stETH at a discount, e.g. 0.98 ETH, and redeem it for 1.00 ETH once withdrawals are available. Risk-free.
This is on top of staking rewards, LDO incentives, and soon fees+MEV.
All NFT projects are better off long-term if honoraries can be sold
There are a lot of parallels between honoraries and like angel tickets - the receiver stakes their reputation on a particular project for a share in the collection.
Some honorary owners might decide to never sell the same way that many investors (esp those managing only their own money) never sell particular companies until they die.
In NFTs, this effect will probably 100x stronger because the token is non-fungible and deeply personal.
But the core of it, receiving an honorary and showcasing it is still a risk for the receiver. That‘s why many people are extremely picky about the ones they accept in the first place.
someone recently told me that withdrawal latency is not a bug but a security feature of the system. how could that insight be used to prevent most Defi/bridge hacks?
=> make a system where latency is proportional to the size of the withdrawal
how?
1) have instant withdrawal caps per account and per hour, relative to TVL
2) withdrawals above the cap are automatically approved after 2h
3) during the delay, "watchers" can stall withdrawals for another 24 hours, buying time for governance to evaluate further
a lot of parties could be good watchers:
- regular multisig holders/team members of the project
- simulation apps like @TenderlyApp or Flashbots
- security firms like @Quantstamp
once demand for the role exists, it'll be filled, no problem
After much contemplation & prep work, I have decided to become a delegate in one of my all-time favorite projects, @MakerDAO.
To maximize my impact, I will initially focus on two ambitious yet important goals & abstain from everything else:
1) Create a rolling team of executives in charge of vision & roadmap that answers to token holders and holds CUs accountable.
2) Create a treasury management CU in charge of developing and implementing a holistic financial framework according to the ideas @MonetSupply and I have laid out in uncommoncore.co/a-new-mental-m…