Diamond hands baby, HODL HODL HODL, Ape stronk, we'll sell when he sells, to the moon.
Don't worry, this isn't a Reddit comment thread. I just thought that was an appropriate way to start this post considering what I'm going to get into.
I was speaking in the POB Discord last night about the Word of the Week rewards and how I have been feeling like an idiot giving away part of my earnings to watch them get sold on the market.
Before I go any further, "my earnings" is relative considering I have a 6150 POB delegation from @proofofbrainio (150 POB of which is a 1:1 HP-POB). I've currently got 3100 POB of my own stake delegated out to others;
I haven't staked any POB since 07/05/21 and have transferred close to 3000 POB overall to other members of the community since joining. Look for yourself.
Alright, specifics out of the way.
I brought up the topic of the WOTW prize pool and how the liquidity from it has been sold because I've noticed how quickly it is popped on the market after being transferred. This is fair play from any position, after all, once the tokens are in your account, they are yours to do with as you please. Your keys, your crypto.
However, this doesn't completely fall in line with the reasons why I am handing out liquid POB.
The motivations for such large prize pools during the WOTW are;
- Better prizes = more activity
- I want other people to build a solid stake faster (with assets they own)
The point about better prizes is fairly obvious. Creating high-quality content takes effort and it should be rewarded. It keeps people on the platform and it provides better content overall (hopefully).
Helping others build a solid stake is a more complex matter. It requires a "bigger picture look" at the platform and a fairly basic understanding of how Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) works.
My naive self assumed that the members taking part in Word of the Week had a more long-term vision for the platform and would want to position themselves somewhere on the DPOS ladder.
I don't see any other whale giving portions of their earnings to other members (with the exception of @lucylin and some smaller delegations from others*), so it would be accurate for me to say this;
*edit: @leprechaun did allocate a 3000 POB delegation to @vempromundo for multiple weeks which has helped build his curation efforts (it has helped with the wider distribution somewhat)
If the market was taken away now and nobody could buy POB, the top positions of stakeholders would remain relatively similar to where they are now going forward (theoretically, if consistent curation rewards are acquired across the board).
There will be some accounts that will creep up the list due to author rewards, but with the 50/50 split, the high accounts will always maintain the gap.
I get a sense that this economic model has some similarities to the legacy system.
We do have a market though, which means this hypothetical scenario above isn't anything more than food for thought. Unless you are in the position of "well, I don't use the market" in which case, it is the reality you're in.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if only a few hold stake, then only a few will control where the rewards/platform/opinions go. If I wanted to take part in an echo chamber of people nibbling at those in power, I'd dive back into addiction with two feet and would start reading the crypto news every day for ideas on what to post about.
Going back to the matter of "helping others to build their stake"...
Handing out liquid POB for it then to be sold is conflicting with my motivations to build a stronger "middle class" here on Proof Of Brain. It's going into the wallets of those who are snapping up all the weak hands and it's further increasing the gap between the stakeholders (funnily enough, this and burning tokens right now are the main factors that are hindering how diverse and strong the platform's "middle class" stakeholders are in the future).
More accounts with stake = more diversity = stronger network effect = fewer small power circles
Take the price of the token out of the equation and consider where this is heading.
When I said that "We're all POB Curators" I wasn't just saying it to cleanse my own ego and to feel like I was part of something bigger than what we've seen before. I was genuinely letting you all know that you shouldn't be looking at higher stakeholders as some kind of superior "power". Some of them are dull, lifeless, leeches who are devoid of any personality.
With talks about Governance popping up on the platform more frequently, the topics above definitely have importance and should at the least be pondered over by anyone staking tokens.
Anyway, I'm going to change the liquid prize pool for delegations primarily and I'll be sending over staked POB to accounts that I find to be "solid future stakeholders".
Thoughts on this are welcomed and I will take comments about the existing delegation I have into account.
On top of this, I'm also going to be directly selling POB to others on Saturday (I've mentioned my voting, delegating, and selling operations in detail here) instead of filling orders on the market. I'd rather give stake to accounts that have shown their motivations for the platform and I don't mind selling at a reasonable price knowing that the tokens will be in better hands.
I'd imagine this could be seen as a controversial move but it'll always fall back on "code is law", "my keys, my crypto", yadda yadda yadda.
I'll be keeping the prize pool of 1500 POB in this week's WOTW as liquid because if anything I'm trying to remain as a man of my word, but next week the changes in the form of delegations/staked POB will take effect.
Feel free to share your thoughts below and by all means challenge my points of view.
Don't forget to write your post for this week's POB Word of the Week!
There is 1500 POB (liquid) up for grabs. That's about 2400 HIVE at today's current price.