In the early days of crypto, the concept of staking remained relatively obscure. This was largely because Bitcoin — the most well-known digital asset in the market at the time — relied on a consensus mechanism called proof-of-work (PoW), where miners competed to solve complex mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain.
However, as the industry matured and grew, concerns regarding the environmental impact of PoW mining and the centralization of mining power (in the hands of a few large players) led to the exploration of alternative consensus protocols. Enter proof-of-stake (PoS), a mechanism that allows users to validate transactions and earn rewards by staking their assets.
In the early years, staking was primarily focused on ensuring network security and distributing newly minted coins to stakers as rewards. However, over time, the idea has evolved significantly, offering additional benefits beyond network security and token distribution.Â
To this point, since 2015, many platforms have started allowing stakers to participate in important decision-making processes associated with the platform as well as allowing them to earn passive income in the form of a project’s native transaction fees and newly minted tokens.
The Evolution of Staking: From Simple Rewards to Governance Power
As the staking market has matured, several promising features have emerged, only for them to fade away or evolve into more sophisticated offerings later down the line. For instance, the concept of “masternode staking,” which required users to hold a certain number of tokens and run a full node, gained a lot of popularity in its initial days but eventually lost traction due to scalability and centralization concerns.Â
Another example is the concept of “pooled staking,” which allows users to combine their tokens in a single pool to increase their chances of validating blocks and earning rewards. While this idea gained traction initially and is still used to a certain degree, it eventually faced challenges due to potential centralization risks and the complexity of managing such pools.
In the midst of these developments, one platform that has embraced modern-day staking in all its forms and features is JellySwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built within the Jellyverse ecosystem. JellySwap is the only staking protocol on the Sei Network — a general-purpose L1 blockchain offering the DeFi 3.0 infrastructure for the exchange of digital assets — that offers stakers a part of the protocol’s revenue in addition to traditional staking rewards. Â
Moreover, JellySwap grants stakers voting rights in the platform’s governance processes, allowing them to influence key parameters across multiple protocols and decentralized applications (dApps) built within the Jellyverse ecosystem. Not only that, Jellyverse’s approach to staking goes beyond traditional rewards and governance rights. The platform introduces innovative features like Staking-NFTs through its JellyStake protocol, streamlining its user experience and creating new avenues for interaction.
Lastly, Jellyverse prioritises consumer-friendliness and security, providing a seamless interface for even novice users to participate in various staking-related activities while implementing robust measures to protect their funds and ensure the integrity of the process’ entire lifecycle.
A Promising Future Ahead
As more people begin to comprehend the immense social, financial, and technological impact of crypto, the staking market remains primed for exponential growth in the coming years. According to recent studies, the sector is expected to reach a valuation of $49.7 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.6%.
This upsurge can be attributed to several factors, including the ongoing rise of DeFi and the growing demand for passive income opportunities in the crypto space. Furthermore, as the staking ecosystem continues to evolve, it is reasonable to assume that further innovations and improvements will permeate the space.
In fact, over the last couple of years, aspects like liquid staking (which allows users to stake their tokens while retaining liquidity) and cross-chain staking (enabling users to stake tokens across multiple blockchain networks) have already become mainstays of this burgeoning realm. Similarly, more experimental offerings like proxy staking — where users delegate their staking responsibilities to another account, often managed through a proxy contract — have also emerged and accrued significant interest over the past year.
Lastly, the ongoing integration of staking with emerging technologies within Web3 and the metaverse could unlock new use cases and opportunities for investors, empowering users, fostering decentralization, and driving the adoption of blockchain technology across various sectors.
